373
Arctic Yearbook 2015
Arctic Policy Committee is chaired by Representative Bob Herron; the Senate Arctic Committee is
co-chaired by Senators Lesil McGuire and Cathy Giessel. These committees have and will continue to
meet both separately and jointly to further discuss and seek ways to execute the AAPC
Implementation Plan.
The Implementation Plan includes 32 Strategic Recommendations organized into four Lines of Effort:
1. Promote Economic & Resource Development
2. Address the Response Capacity Gap
3. Support Healthy Communities
4. Strengthen Science & Research
Some examples of recommendations from each of these Four Lines of Effort:
1A - Facilitate the development of Arctic port systems in the Bering Strait region to support
export, response and regional development.
1B - Strengthen or develop a mechanism for resource production-related revenue sharing to
impacted communities.
2D - Facilitate and secure public and private investment in support of critical search and
rescue, oil spill response and broader emergency response infrastructure
3B - Reduce power and heating costs in rural Alaskan Arctic communities.
3F - Enforce measures that protect and help further understanding of food security of Arctic
peoples and communities.
4F - Invest in U.S. Arctic weather, water and ice forecasting systems.
4G - Update hydrocarbon and mineral resource estimates and mapping in the Alaskan Arctic.
The Implementation Plan has three target audiences and represents the playbook for Alaska Governor
Bill Walker’s Administration and the Legislature, through the work of its Arctic Committees, and the
federal government to implement Alaska’s Arctic Policy. In the Implementation Plan, each
recommendation is assigned one or two departments or agencies as leads, and also includes
suggestions for legislative actions to further the recommendation. As part of the Governor’s efforts,
nearly every Administrative Department is involved in Arctic policy implementation – the undertaking
is led by Craig Fleener, Governor’s Arctic Policy Adviser, and includes, among others, Commissioners
from the Departments of Commerce, Community & Economic Development; Transportation &
Pu