The Northern Alaska Environmental Center is moving forward with a recovery plan after paying off debts following near financial ruin.

At the beginning of September, following a separation with their executive director, board of directors members said they discovered there was not enough funds for payroll. That led to the furloughing of the staff and the pausing all programs.

Former staff members claim that the board was aware of financial and leadership issues before September.

The board stated that while finances were negligently handled, there was no malfeasance.

“It’s just when you are spending more than what you’re bringing in over the course of multiple years, it eventually catches up with you,” Board President Krystal Lapp said.

“And so we came to that point a few months ago. It

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