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Above & Beyond, Canada's Arctic Journal: "Tilting heads upward, the Royal Canadian Air Force took to the skies over the Western Arctic this summer as part of their rigorous trainingtour, Operation Northern Reach.  (Also see, Watchers of the North.)


For our Washington readers: On Thursday, November 14, the Christopher A Smith, Chris, energy, department, fossil, Alaska, gas hydrates, Photo by Dave HarbourSenate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Chris Smith (NGP Photo) for the post of Assistant Secretary of Energy (for Fossil Energy) .  The committee will also consider the nominations of  Steven P. Croley to be the General Counsel of the Department of Energy and Esther P. Kia’aina to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior (for Insular Areas).  The hearing will be held in Senate Dirksen 366 at 9:30 a.m. and webcast live on the committee’s website at www.energy.senate.gov.  Smith is well known in Alaska for his visits and understanding of state energy issues — and Alaska's potential for pioneering new technologies, such as those required to convert methane hydrate potential into commercial enterprises.  He is a former Chevron executive familiar with LNG import/export issues and former Army officer. Croley is an attorney, professor and author primarily known for his teaching and writing about administrative law.  Kia'aina is a politician (former candidate for the U.S. Senate), lawyer and former deputy director of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources.  While we currently tend favor one of the three for confirmation; we will judiciously await completion the committee's hearing record to draw final conclusions.  -d

Beware Beringia's Unknowns

 

by

 

Dave Harbour

 

​America would not be an Arctic country were it not for Alaska.

Alaska brings to America the majority of the country's coastline, a land mass over twice as big as Texas, 300 times more lakes than Minnesota and it shares with Russia the Western gateway to the Northwest Passage.

Its oil, gas, coal, copper, gold, silver and other strategic and critical mineral potential rivals any in the world.  Its sustainable timber resources are gargantuan.  It has carefully presided over the largest, sustainable commercial fishery in the world.

Over the last decade, Russia and Canada have been particularly concerned about developing their Arctic energy reserves, protecting their Arctic jurisdiction, and developing Arctic ice breaking ships and military support capability.

The American Administration, however, has been more consumed with:

  • killing a sustainable timber enterprise,
  • slowing or stopping oil and gas exploration and production,
  • blocking mining before permit applications have even been filed,
  • placing critical habitat designations on vast lands to 'protect' species like the polar bear, Steller sea lion and Beluga whale when their populations are actually increasing,
  • using military assets of the Army Corps of Engineers and United States Coast Guard — under close supervision of the EPA and environmental allies — to hinder Arctic development more than defend national sovereignty…,
  • patterns that, unhappily, threaten Lower 48 Activity as well (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.).  

In short, the Administration seems more interested in preventing development of Alaska's on and offshore natural resources than establishing and protecting Alaska's Arctic land claims and responsibly developing her resources for the good of the Nation (Note: by concluding this we do not minimize the strength and commitment of United States Army and Air Force national defense personnel and capability in Alaska to protect the state from traditional air, land and sea attacks.  Our concern lies in the more subtle jurisdictional issues involved with political natural resource decisions, the use of certain military and homeland defense assets to promote political agendas). 

What in the heck is Beringia (Bur-in-gee-a)?

“Beringia is defined as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula.” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Don Young, Mark Begich, Beringia, Federal Overreach, Obama, Kerry, Photo by Dave Harbour  National Park Service website, 8/10/13.  It is another example of potential federal overreach and another potential threat to both the sovereignty and economy of America.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Don Young, Mark Begich, Beringia, Federal Overreach, Obama, Kerry, Photo by Dave HarbourYesterday, Senator Lisa Murkowski (NGP Photo) and Representative Don Young (NGP Photo), both of Alaska, expressed concern over the, "Bering Strait Park Proposal With Russia", as they called it.  In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Secretary of State John Kerry, they said, "…there has been a woeful lack of transparency Senator Lisa Murkowski, Don Young, Mark Begich, Beringia, Federal Overreach, Obama, Kerry, Photo by Dave Harbourand communication with Alaska officials regarding the creation of such a park."  We hope Senator Mark Begich (NGP Photo) will support the Parnell-Murkowski-Young initiative to protect Alaska from this looming threat of yet more federal overreach which could negatively affect Alaska and the nation.  At a recent meeting, he told the audience he would check into the matter.  His own news release today, "Commends FAA for Lifting Electronic Device Restriction."  We hope our entire elected leadership team will move forward, focusing on substantive matters that are of upmost concern to Alaska's citizens.

Beringia, National Park Service, Treaty, Agreement

Three months ago, a State of Alaska Legislatively appointed panel convened a hearing on "Federal Overreach".  Steve Borell, a revered natural resources expert, delivered one of the presentations that day (i.e. linked above) — discussing Beringia and other examples of overreaching Federal jurisdictional efforts. 

Two months ago, we editorialized here that, "In May 2011 Russian and American presidents issued a joint statement, 'Calling for protection of the shared natural and longstanding cultural heritage of Alaska and Chukotka.'  Chukotka is the region immediately across from Alaska on Russia’s Far Eastern border.  While the statement made politically correct pronouncements about the Native people, culture and a common boundary, it also made clear an objective of, “…cooperation to protect nature and natural resources in the Bering Strait region.”  The statement also pays homage to, climate change and ‘other’ pressures on the common natural and cultural heritage of the Bering Strait region.” 

"The ‘joint statement’ is a reality and – as you will see – it was another step toward the creation of Beringia.

"The Parnell Administration in both its Juneau and Washington D.C. offices has been keeping track of the Beringia program.  Judging from a letter sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 7, 2012, we sense that the Alaska governor was deeply concerned about seeing federal decrees affecting Alaska—especially when the words are coordinated with Russia’s and not Alaska’s leadership."

A year ago, we wrote that, "The Beringia agreement — while begun under earlier Administrations — is yet another layer of regulatory malaise this Administration will employ to smother the economic and jobrecovery of America.  It will violate our treaty ratification process and set America up via Park Service and/or State Department rules to enforce American compliance while the Russians may or may not be willing now or in the future to help enforce treaty provisions on their side of the fence.   It will very comfortably augment the current Administration's effort to impose further restrictions on ANWR and NPR-A, to establish critical habitat for species whose numbers are growing and to create a new omnibus zoning plan for restricting access to and use of oceans surrounding America, the Great Lakes–and the watersheds feeding the oceans…and lands affecting them. 

"We wonder just what blocked access to natural resources, ocean transport limitations, or emasculated national defense capabilities to which this Administration might be committing America.  It's all in the hands of these unelected bureaucrats, guided by Salazar and Clinton at Obama's direction….

"Shame on Congress in general and the Senate leadership in particular for letting this matter move so far ahead, so far under their radar!  Where are the press conferences?  Where in the Congressional Record is news or the language of this proposed treaty?  Where is a well publicized hearing schedule to attract comment on the treaty language?  Could this agreement affect existing jobs and/or operations (i.e. Red Dog mine)?  As the Administration seeks to block access through NPR-A for a Chukchi and/or Beaufort Sea oil pipeline is it now planning to block the ability to move any discovered oil by ocean transport?  Why didn't the State Department seek the State of Alaska's formal advice and consent?"

We've said enough, we hope, to share with readers our studied conclusion that citizens should, indeed, "Beware Beringia's Unknowns".  

It is up to Alaska's elected officials to act in concert to alert their colleague Governors, state legislatures, mayors and Members of Congress about an activity that could rapidly degrade America's national security, job market and economy.

Our leaders must acquaint their colleagues with an imperial, federal government that is moving resolutely — as we've shown here — to shut down the wealth potential of America's great Arctic state, Alaska! 

Lastly, we would welcome a little investigatory help from the mainstream media of America, which also stands to gain or lose as so many Alaska-related decisions continue to strengthen or weaken the country's economy.