Alaska Archives - PEER.org

Alaska

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

COMMENTARY | Alaska Can No Longer Ignore Climate Change: Latest Disaster Should Be Wake-Up Call

by Jeff Ruch | October 21, 2025
Remnants of typhoon Halong battered Alaska with hellacious winds and record-breaking storm surges, yet national and even state policies are unlikely to change in its aftermath ...

COMMENTARY | Overlooking the Obvious: Red King Crab Collapse Due to Overfishing

by Guest Contributor | March 26, 2025
NOAA claimed that the primary cause of the Bering Sea red king crab's collapse was warming seas caused by climate change rather than overfishing. A new NOAA study puts the lie to that alibi ...

Alaska Aerial Gunning Bears Yields No Clear Benefits

by PEER | January 7, 2025
State Has No Evidence Strafing Brown Bears Increases Caribou Calf Survival ...

Alaska to Resume Aerial Gunning of Bears and Wolves

by PEER | December 11, 2024
Strafing Predators Aims to Increase Moose and Caribou Hunting Permits ...

PETITION | Reject Aerial Gunning of Bears and Wolves in Alaska

by PEER | December 10, 2024
Petition urging Alaska Department of Fish & Game Commissioner Vincent-Lang to reject the plan authorizing state agents to shoot hundreds of predators ...