Alaska News

Alaska's Arctic Policy Commission wraps up work on recommendations

The Arctic Policy Commission met this week in Anchorage, taking testimony, refining its recommendations, and working through the challenges faced when trying to answer to the needs of a large, complex and ever-changing region.

The 26-member panel has recommended sweeping infrastructure improvements in the Arctic, as well as increased funding for and presence of the U.S. Coast Guard.

In a speech at a recent Arctic policy meeting in Iceland, commission Co-Chair Lesil McGuire said Alaskans are cautiously optimistic that they will be at the table when decisions are made by the federal government, but said there is concern that the state will be treated more as a specimen than the dynamic, living state that it is.

McGuire compared the expansion and development of Arctic resources to the building of the Alaska pipeline and noted that the federal government stood in the way of that project for a while.

The U.S. government is only just now waking up to the fact that the U.S. is an Arctic nation, she noted.

"We are pleased that our message has been heard, but want to remind the world that Alaskans have been living in, developing and protecting the American Arctic for decades," she said. "We are not charging into the unknown, but rather we are continuing to do the things that we do well. Our other Arctic nation neighbors are living proof that we can develop the Arctic responsibly."

The commission noted during a paper on national and international interests that its recommendations are somewhat contingent on the cooperation of others who have jurisdictional authority, from the federal government to international waters.

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"The federal government needs to be a partner in moving Alaska forward without overreaching or expanding its jurisdiction; as a partner it can open new areas to development, remove barriers to access and eliminate regulatory uncertainty," the commission noted.

The commission recommended that the federal government sufficiently fund the U.S. Coast Guard to carry out its assignment and emerging duties in the U.S. maritime Arctic without compromising its capacity to conduct all Alaska missions.

It also recommended addressing amendments to the Magnuson Stevens Act to maximize the value and use of an emerging Arctic fishery, and asked for the establishment of federal revenue sharing for communities impacted by the development opportunities on the Arctic outer continental shelf.

The commission also asked that the state establish an ongoing state and federal public forum regarding risk management and safety for the outer continental shelf development.

Climate change was another place where the commission requested a response from federal agencies, or rather, a federal agency.

The commission requested a single coordinating agency and a designated funding stream be set up to respond to climate change impacts, especially in cases requiring community relocation.

"The commission understands climate change to be a global challenge that has important implications for the state of Alaska, many of which act as drivers for a conversation now about Arctic policy," the commission wrote. "The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission recommends federal agencies focus on ways for Alaska communities to adapt to a changing climate."

This story originally appeared in The Arctic Sounder and has been republished with permission.

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