There's plenty to be in the dumps about these days: Uncertainty in Juneau on the state's financial problem — depletion of state cash reserves, low oil prices and industry layoffs.
But here's some news that should buck up your spirits, as it did mine. Alaska's Native corporations, which are financially strong and stable, are investing and keeping Alaskans employed.
Take oil and gas, for example, one industry that is troubled.
Two Alaska Native corporations are drilling strategic exploration wells this summer in largely untested Interior Alaska sedimentary basins. Doyon Ltd. of Fairbanks and Ahtna Inc. of Glennallen are going it alone on these ventures and without partners, although the state's exploration tax credits are helping.
A third Native corporation, Arctic Slope Regional Corp., is meanwhile expanding its equity holdings in oil and gas projects on the North Slope, following the sage advice that when markets drop there are opportunities.
On the exploration, Doyon has started drilling in the Nenana Basin 60 miles west of the Interior city. "It won't be long until we know if we have something. We expect to reach total depth by mid-July," Jim Mery, Doyon's senior vice president for lands and natural resources, told us.
Ahtna Inc., another Alaska Native corporation, plans to begin drilling in July in the Copper River basin in the state's eastern Interior.
Both corporations have drilled two test wells each in the basins in past years, and believe they are now zeroing in on the best prospects with the third wells by both.
On the North Slope ASRC has acquired 10 percent of the offshore Liberty project that is planned for development by Hilcorp Energy and BP, who are the majority owners. Hilcorp and BP were previously 50-50 partners in Liberty until BP sold part of its share to Arctic Slope, so that the project is now 50 percent Hilcorp, 40 percent BP and 10 percent ASRC.
[ICYMI: New Liberty development plan relies on old-style island concept]
Ahtna had expected to be drilling by early summer but there were delays in moving a drilling rig from Cook Inlet to the well location, which is about 10 miles west of Glennallen, a community northwest of Anchorage.
"We'll have plenty of time to get the well drilled this summer," said Ahtna's CEO, Tom Maloney.
Ahtna's primary target is a shallow natural gas prospect at about 5,000 feet. If the discovery is made the gas will be primarily used for power generation and space heating of buildings in the region, which is now primarily dependent on fuel oil.
Mery said Doyon is looking for oil in the Nenana Basin, although gas is also expected. Geochemical analyses in the basin as well as results of two previous test wells drilled by Doyon near the present test location show the presence of an active oil and gas system, he said.
Exploration wells in Alaska are usually drilled in winter when frozen land surface allows cross-country movement of rigs and other heavy equipment, but Doyon and Ahtna are able to take advantage of all-weather roads near the test sites.
Doyon is drilling about 8 miles west of the community of Nenana near a 13-mile gravel road built into the area recently by the city of Nenana. Ahtna's location is 1 mile from the Glenn Highway, the paved state highway that connects Anchorage with Glennallen.
Both corporations are large landowners but their current exploration locations are on state of Alaska lands held under leases.
Doyon is one of the nation's largest private landowners with about 12 million acres of surface and subsurface lands, virtually all in Interior Alaska.
Ahtna's landholdings, which total about 1.6 million acres, are mainly in the Copper River basin but also extend west to the Denali National Park, which is north of Anchorage.
On the North Slope, ASRC is also a major landowner with about 5 million acres of surface and subsurface rights including shared subsurface rights with the state of Alaska in the producing Alpine field and subsurface ownership in parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
In addition to being a landowner ASRC has been also increasing its equity stake in projects on state lands in the central North Slope. The corporation owns a minority working interest in the small Badami field, which is producing, 25 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, as well as a share of the Badami pipeline.
The latter will become more profitable as ExxonMobil ramps up its shipment of natural gas condensates from the Point Thomson field. Those will be shipped through the Badami pipeline. ASRC has also conducted its own exploration on state oil and gas leases on the slope.
ASRC is very tight-lipped about its commercial activities and wouldn't respond to phone calls about Liberty, but Mark Fesmire, Alaska director of the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said his agency had been informed of the ownership change at Liberty.
That project, in shallow offshore outer continental shelf waters in the Beaufort Sea, is planned for development using an offshore gravel production island.
One of the things that all of these initiatives have in common is that all three corporations — Doyon, Ahtna and ASRC — are experienced oil service contractors and have long been familiar with the industry.
For years Doyon Drilling has been one of the state's major oil drilling companies and the parent corporation is using its company-owned Arctic Fox rig in the Nenana Basin.
Ahtna is a major support contractor for Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., and ASRC Energy Services has long been active on the North Slope.
These provide interesting examples of Alaska-based corporations who are land and resource owners moving over the years to diversify within an industry, gain experience and then grow their holdings.
Watching these companies, I feel a lot more confident about our state's future.
But back to Juneau: If the Legislature could just get its work done in strengthening our state's finances, I'd feel even better.
Tim Bradner is co-publisher of Bradners' Alaska Legislative Digest. He writes a regular column for Alaska Dispatch News.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.