Ketchikan races to clear landslide zone. Plus, Ludacris fans ask: Is glacier water safe to drink?

And: Biden administration will keep 28 million acres in Alaska closed to drilling and mining ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( Today's sponsor: [Today's sponsor: Matson]( Good afternoon. It’s Wednesday, August 28. In today's newsletter: - The Biden administration [will keep in place protections]( against potential oil and gas development and mining claims on 28 million acres of federal land across Alaska, the federal government said. - Emergency crews were[racing to clear tons of earth and downed trees]( from a landslide zone in Ketchikan before another storm front that officials fear could trigger further slides. - The rapper and actor Ludacris made headlines this week after [drinking straight from an Alaska glacier]( with fans worried about his health. But a UAF professor says there is generally no risk to taking a sip of fresh glacial water. For the first time in more than a century, [salmon will soon have free passage]( through a major watershed in the Pacific Northwest, as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. Crews will breach dams that have been diverting water on the Klamath River, just in time for the fall chinook spawning season. Anchorage weather It's cloudy and rainy with a high near 56 degrees today. The precipitation will decrease overnight and the forecast calls for mostly sunny skies on Thursday before a return to rain. Daytime temperatures will hover in the low 60s over the next few days. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [Biden administration will keep 28 million acres in Alaska closed to drilling and mining →]( [The Trump administration had taken steps to remove the protections, but the Biden administration found legal flaws in that process.]( ADVERTISEMENT [Ketchikan races to clean up, fearing more landslides with the next storm →]( The steep hillside above the Ketchikan neighborhood where the landslide struck was once densely forested, but is now a 1,000-foot gully of loose earth and logs lying over bedrock. Without trees to anchor the soil, officials are concerned another storm could wash tons of debris down the hill, causing further devastation below. [Ludacris drank water straight from an Alaska glacier. Fans wondered: Would it make him sick? →]( [Drinking meltwater directly from a glacier doesn’t generally pose a health risk, said a physics professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks]( with expertise in glaciology. [JBER soldier facing federal charges is accused of using AI to create child sex abuse images →]( A soldier stationed in Anchorage is accused of using artificial intelligence to generate explicit materials and storing tens of thousands of additional images depicting child sexual abuse on multiple cellphones. [SPONSORED: Building new opportunities at an old lumber mill site in Wrangell →]( Presented by the City and Borough of Wrangell: As one of the last remaining deep-water ports of its kind in Alaska, its development could help sustain Wrangell’s way of life for future generations. [Small Cook Inlet producers say they need state government help before drilling for new natural gas →]( With time running out before a shortfall in local natural gas production forces Alaska’s urban utilities to import more expensive supplies, two companies say they have reserves that could help fill the gap. (via the Northern Journal) ADVERTISEMENT More from the ADN [Man found dead on island shore near Kodiak with kayak nearby →]( [Court revives Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times →]( [Progressive independent drops out of Anchorage state House race, leaving Democrat uncontested →]( [Kroger hiked milk, egg prices above inflation, merger judge is told →]( [Cellphone bans spread in U.S. schools amid growing mental health worries →]( [Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? →]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Anchorage Daily News, 300 W 31st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99503, United States