U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) last week had a mixed reaction to the White House release on Oct. 7 of the updated United States’ Strategy for the Arctic Region, which she says contains both positive elements and others that fall short.
“There is no question this administration and the country need to pay greater attention to the Arctic,” Sen. Murkowski said in an Oct. 7 statement. “This strategy document has promising elements, but it is deliberately incomplete, and that will only work against the United States’ ability to assume a true global leadership role in this crucial region.”
The senator said that the updated 10-year strategy from the Biden administration is an important message to the American people that the U.S. must continue to advance Arctic priorities.
“It does contain positive elements, many of which implement my priorities to drive greater federal attention and resources to the U.S. Arctic,” she said. “For example, I’m pleased with the administration’s emphasis on security, infrastructure, climate adaptation and resilience, greater consultation with the State of Alaska and Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations, and its elevation of Arctic diplomacy through the creation of the Arctic Ambassador — all of which I have called for.”
At the same time, though, Sen. Murkowski said that the strategy falls short regarding Arctic resources and pays “very little attention” to the opportunity and necessity of domestic production of the region’s vast resources.
For instance, “there is no mention of responsible oil and gas development to help offset Russia and ensure reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy supplies for our nation and the world,” she said.
And while the strategy suggests that critical minerals can be produced in the Arctic, “the administration’s obstruction of the Ambler Road Project makes it impossible to take that seriously,” added Sen. Murkowski, referring to a proposal by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to construct a 211-mile private industrial access road from milepost 161 on the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District to facilitate mine development and transportation of ore as part of the Ambler Access Project. No public access would be allowed.
“The strategy even invokes the 30×30 initiative, suggesting it is ‘consistent’ with further conservation in the Arctic, in blatant disregard of ANILCA [Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act] and its ‘no more’ wilderness clauses,” said the lawmaker.
To highlight the need to bolster U.S. initiatives in the Arctic region, Sen. Murkowski also pointed out that on Monday last week, two Russian asylum seekers landed on St. Lawrence Island to avoid being drafted to fight in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
“The federal agencies responsible for processing these men were more than 700 miles away and it took them an entire day to respond,” she said. “What this incident makes clear is that even as Putin undertakes rapid military and industrial development in Russia’s Arctic, the United States is behind in its Arctic initiatives.”