Trustees for Alaska is a public-interest law firm that works on cases against policy action that it claims have a negative impact on the state’s “lands, waters, wildlife, and people.” ¹

As of 2026, listed clients for the group include the Alaska Wilderness League, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, the Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Ocean Conservancy. ²

Background

Trustees for Alaska was founded in 1974 by activists Rod Cameron and Peg Tileston to provide legal representation in state-level cases involved with impacts on the state’s environment, wildlife, and community. Several cases have involved challenging the Alaska Homestead Act, lawsuits to prevent oil and gas leases along the Arctic Refuge coast, opposing the Pebble Mine and Chuitna coal mine, opposing the development of commercial roads through state national parks, and protecting brown bear and wolf populations in natural preserves. Trustees for Alaska claims to advocate and litigate on behalf of “local and national conservation groups, Native villages, Alaska communities, citizen groups, statewide coalitions, hunting and fishing groups, and individual Alaskans” free of charge. ^{3  4}

Clients

As of 2026, Trustees for Alaska’s website lists over 100 clients including the Alaska Center, the Alaska Wilderness League, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, the Earth Island Institute, the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Greenpeace, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Ocean Conservancy, SalmonState, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Wilderness Society, and WildEarth Guardians. ²

Advocacy and Coalitions

In February 2026, Trustees for Alaska filed a lawsuit on behalf of several environmental activist groups which included the Alaska Wilderness League, the Conservation Lands Foundation, and Defenders of Wildlife. The suit was against oil and gas leasing efforts by the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska. ⁵

In January 2026, the firm represented a “coalition of Indigenous, conservation, and environmental organizations” planning to sue the U.S Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service over the 2025 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, claiming the program put polar bears and their habitats at risk. Other coalition members include the Alaska Wilderness League, Environment America, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Sierra Club. ⁶

In January 2026, Trustees for Alaska represented several groups in a complaint challenging the development of an industrial road through northwest Alaska proposed by the second Trump administration. Those it was filing on behalf of included the Center for Biological Diversity, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and the National Parks Conservation Association. ⁷

In July 2025, Trustees for Alaska was one of over 600 organizations to co-sign and send a letter to the U.S Congress titled “Solidarity with Targeted Nonprofits” after previous letters were sent by the U.S House Homeland Security Committee to dozens of nonprofit organizations seeking to question the source of their funding. ⁸ Other signers of the statement included the AFL-CIO, the Alliance for a Just Society, the Center for Progressive Reform, the Civil Liberties Defense Center, the Climate Justice Alliance, the Democracy Defenders Fund, Earthworks, Funders for Justice, Indivisible, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Abortion Federation, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, People Power United, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Service Employees International Union, Solidaire Network, the Transgender Law Center, and Women’s March. ⁹

Finances

According to its 2023 990 tax filings, the Trustees for Alaska reported a revenue of $1,753,335, expenses of $1,896,764, and net assets of $739,255. ¹⁰

Funding

According to its 2024 Annual Report, listed funders for that year to the group included the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the Campion Foundation, the Harder Foundation, the New-Land Foundation, the Northlight Foundation, Patagonia, the Tortuga Foundation, the WestWind Foundation, and the Wilburforce Foundation, as well as individual donors. ¹¹

Leadership

Victoria Clark is the executive director for Trustees for Alaska, serving in the role since 2014. Previously working as a legal intern for the group, she later joined as a full-time staff in several roles including staff attorney and legal director. ¹²

Chase Hensel is the board chair for the organization’s board of trustees as of 2026. He is listed as a “cultural and linguistic anthropologist,” previously worked at the University of Alaska Fairbanks until retiring from his position. ¹³

1. Trustees for Alaska homepage. Accessed March 6, 2026 . https://trustees.org/
2. “Our Clients: Who We Represent.” Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://trustees.org/our-clients/
3. “Our History.” Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://trustees.org/mission-history/
4. “50th years of Trustees for Alaska.” YouTube – Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdcT2VqhNO8
5. “Lawsuit challenges Trump’s expansive oil and gas leasing plan for western Arctic.” Trustees for Alaska – Press Release. February 19, 2026. Accessed March 6, 2026 . https://trustees.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Feb.-Groups-challenge-Trumps-management-plan-for-western-Arctic-V2.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawQX6EtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFWSTlrV3hvekkzZ2R2eVpwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjwElShv469yYb7o6CqG9UDSzi7b8M61sjWbHM3X_cqdYzs4g6BEU5t0NNqC_aem_aTM1sa2uqipsodwnr_zkxg
6. “Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Coalition Partners Warn of Lawsuit Over Arctic Refuge Oil Leasing.” Alaska Wildlife Alliance. January 5, 2026. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.akwildlife.org/news/2026/1/5/alaska-wildlife-alliance-and-coalition-partners-warn-of-lawsuit-over-arctic-refuge-oil-leasing?utm_source=copilot.com
7. “Legal Filing Challenges Trump Approval of Amber Mining Road Through National Preserve.” Center for Biological Diversity. January 22, 2026. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/legal-filing-challenges-trump-approval-of-ambler-mining-road-through-national-preserve-2026-01-23/
8. “600+ Nonprofit and Nonpartisan Organizations Condemn Congressional Effort To Target Civic Groups.” Democracy Defenders Fund. July 16, 2025. Accessed March 5, 2026. https://www.democracydefendersfund.org/prs/07.16.25-pr
9. PDF of Statement dated July 16, 2025. Accessed March 5, 2026. https://cfce73f5-6016-42c8-9343-fa96f8863f56.usrfiles.com/ugd/cfce73_a89039b9bc0441fd893efa362d7f130b.pdf Link from Democracy Defenders Fund press release https://www.democracydefendersfund.org/prs/07.16.25-pr
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Trustees for Alaska. 2023. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/926010379/202500639349301010/full
11. “Annual Report FY2024.” Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://trustees.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Annual-report-FY24.pdf
12. “We ae Trustees for Alaska.” Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://trustees.org/our-team/
13. “Board of Trustees.” Trustees for Alaska. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://trustees.org/board-of-trustees/