First, the good news

WWF’s Arctic Council Conservation Scorecard—which scores all Arctic nations on the progress they’ve made toward Arctic Council recommendations—found that the US continues to perform well in the area of monitoring Arctic sea ice and other ecological conditions. This is important as the region continues to warm faster than any other place on Earth, creating a cascade of impacts that nature and people everywhere are forced to live with.

In December 2018, voluntary shipping routes and so-called ‘Areas to Be Avoided’ by ships went into effect in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and Bering Strait. The US and Russia agreed on the measures and ship traffic is largely respecting the rules to enhance maritime safety and protect marine areas with ecological importance and subsistence values.

But we’re still missing the mark

Aside from science and shipping, there are many instances in which the government is trying to reverse existing environmental and management standards.