Mayor Shirley Marquardt, Unalaska

Secretary Salazar,

Thank you for visiting Alaska to see for your self many of the positive impacts of the different Resource Industries in our State to our diverse regions.

Like so many other municipalities here in Alaska the City of Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor is a firm supporter of the responsible development of our natural resources in order to provide a strong economy for ourselves and the State of Alaska.

As the Number One fishing port in the Nation that exists in a National Wildlife Refuge, we know firsthand that a solid balance between a healthy marine environment and a robust economy is not only possible but sustainable, and encourages communities to prosper and thrive. We are cautiously optimistic that oil and gas exploration and production can occur without negatively affecting the healthy and bountiful fisheries resources of the Bering Sea region, and that is extremely important to all of us who live in the Aleutian Islands and depend on them for our livelihood and way of life.

We encourage new exploration for oil and gas and the responsible development of natural resources in Alaska. The possibilities for new employment in Southwest Alaska are directly related to future resource extraction and our young adults and students can look forward to opportunities in so many different fields as a direct result of the responsible development of them.

The technical advances in the oil and gas industry over the past twenty years is nothing short of astounding. These improvements have resulted in the creative and highly incentivized development of resource extraction in a safe and careful way. Layers of State and Federal regulations as well as the interest of numerous watchdog groups provide an extremely high level of control and public scrutiny seldom found in many other energy producing countries.

This is very good news for an energy hungry Nation and for the natural environment that we all respect. Science, economics and protection are all necessary pieces of the puzzle to provide the United States with a responsible energy plan. This plan, if done correctly, could provide needed jobs, state and local tax revenue, strengthen the public’s trust in the mechanics of accountable resource extraction, and help us secure American sources of energy for our State and Nation.

OCS exploration and production can and should be accomplished in the most responsible and respectful way possible and the United States should make it a priority to reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers of energy resources who do not have those same core beliefs. We don’t want to use fuel from sources that extract with a heavy hand and little respect for the human and natural environments that they negatively impact. We know that in our lifetime fossil fuels will continue to be the foundation of the Worlds ability to ship cargo, provide air transportation and energy for our families, our community, our State and our Nation, and we want to develop our resources responsibly rather then leave it to Countries with much less stringent environmental regulations. 

We have the opportunity to shape the direction of an energy policy that best reflects our Nations desire to both protect the environment and reduce our energy dependence on fuel from a world that too often does not have our best interests at heart. We need to move forward letting American ingenuity and an innovative workforce once again prevail by taking a leadership role in responsible resource development of the Outer Continental Shelf.

Thank you