Recently, Senator Lisa Murkowski held a field hearing in Anchorage for the United States Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security Appropriations on the strategic importance of the Arctic.

I was among those who testified on the challenge of developing that policy necessitated by the Arctic’s rapidly changing shape and the need for understanding, protection and responsible development. In this article, I’d like to share some of my thoughts.

Alaska is America’s Arctic. The Arctic’s abundant resources: human and natural, and our strategic location, demand our attention. The people of Alaska understand and eagerly accept our role in the examination and development of national Arctic policy.

I present Alaska’s view of U.S. Arctic policies in five areas: resources, national security, homeland security, science, and foreign policy. In the Arctic, these policies are inextricably linked and must be acted upon jointly, and discussed in the context of climate change.

Our first focus is on Alaska’s resources – most of all, our human resources, Alaska’s people. Changes in the Arctic affect us directly, every day. No one is more vested in Arctic policy than the people who subsist from the land: hunting, fishing and gathering, not just for food, but for the survival of their culture. Collaboration with our Arctic residents is a must.

Any conversation about the Arctic must also include Alaska’s natural resources: gold, zinc, coal, natural gas and oil, among them. These resources make the Arctic vital to American energy security. Alaska is America’s Arctic energy breadbasket. We have traditional and renewable sources of energy in staggering volumes here. Alaska can play an even greater role in reducing the amount of oil and gas we import from abroad. And we can be America’s test-bed for renewable and alternative energy sources.

Offshore Alaska, the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas can be explored safely in the near-term, producing oil and gas for decades. Without these known, traditional sources of energy, we risk higher cost energy, higher taxes, and greater dependence on foreign oil.

The onshore Arctic areas, such as the NPR-A and the coastal plain of ANWR, also hold great promise. Alaska is home to the Trans- Alaska Pipeline System, which carries 685,000 barrels of oil a day to the lower 48 states. This major supply of oil is key to our national energy security.

Turning to cleaner fuels, the State of Alaska is also pursuing the construction of a pipeline to bring the North Slope’s abundant, clean natural gas to American markets. If we can turn on the supply of clean, American natural gas – from Alaska – we will reduce our dependence on imports and bring less expensive energy to homes across America.

Alaska also remains fully committed to alternative and renewable energy. This is the place to field test every alternative. From wind turbines, to hydro-electric, to chip-fired systems that burn wood for fuel – Alaska is America’s alternative energy center.

I am confident that together we can bring traditional, renewable and alternative energy to market and increase Alaska’s contribution toward our nation’s energy independence for years to come.

Alaska is America’s Arctic guardian. Our strategic location, resources and people compel strong funding for homeland security purposes. Melting sea ice and increased military and commercial activity require a greater Coast Guard presence. We need to fund a new Coast Guard duty station on Alaska’s western or northern coast. They need to move north and improve their capability. To provide homeland security, the Coast Guard must have new Arctic-class ice breakers.

In addition, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency must have authority to prevent long-term disasters we can predict - before they occur. Erosion threatens the sustainability of some communities. The federal law was not written with such hazards in mind and does not provide the large-scale response these small communities need.

As the summer ice retreats, opportunities for commerce, tourism and transportation advance. As we have seen throughout the world’s oceans, increased maritime traffic elevates both risks and threats. We can no longer assume that the Arctic is an impenetrable barrier. Instead, we must take steps to protect our nation’s people, our economy, and our energy infrastructure.

Alaska’s strategic position as the northern crossroads also places us squarely between potential adversaries and the rest of the United States. I urge the Congress to support the ground-based missile defense system in Alaska and reconsider the proposal to scale back the placement of interceptors at Fort Greely.

Despite centuries of exploration and study, much about the Arctic remains a mystery. Standard weather and climate models are not sufficient for understanding and predicting trends and patterns. New models require fresh data and up-to-date research.

The State of Alaska strongly supports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its initiatives to improve its observations and research across the Arctic and to develop innovative models for forecasting weather.

And the Arctic, literally, needs to be put on the map. Scientific research and economic exploration are set back by low-quality, decades-old mapping data. We need high-quality maps of the Arctic, both land and sea.

For much of its history, the Arctic has been both ungoverned and ungovernable. Those days are over. Arctic nations have stepped up economic and military activity in the region.

I strongly urge the Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Once ratified, the treaty will allow us to claim jurisdiction over the offshore continental shelf behind the 200-mile limit. U.S. boundaries could grow into areas that may hold large deposits of oil, natural gas and other resources. Russia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway already have claims to Arctic territory, and we need a seat at the table.

Alaskans know this land. The changes in the Arctic ice - their timing, extent, and nature - give us cause for concern. To define and address these concerns, we have formed the Climate Change Subcabinet to respond to immediate needs in rural villages, and to plan for future needs as well. And the subcabinet has turned recommendation into action. We’re now working on coastline stabilization, emergency and evacuation planning, hazard mitigation planning, and training and exercises for the communities that need help most.

Senator Murkowski deserves recognition for bringing the hearing to Alaska, as these policies will have a profound effect on the nation and on our state for generations.

Alaska and the U.S. government share a policy that is balanced and recognizes the diversity the Arctic offers. And it highlights the Arctic’s unique characteristics and the consequent need for unique treatment.

I urge the Congress and the federal Administration to continue the good work on Arctic policies. Alaska will participate and Alaska will contribute.

Return to newsletter headlines