A portion of the Bering Sea is now designated as a Climate Resilience Area, thanks to an executive order from President Barack Obama on Friday. The White House says 112,300 square miles of the Bering Sea was set aside to protect the health of marine ecosystems, while allowing for sustainable fishing and economic development.
Kawerak President Melanie Bahnke says her organization has been interested in making Arctic policy for years and recently sent a request to President Obama.
“In June, our Kawerak executive Board passed a resolution asking for an executive order, basically asking Obama to safeguard our subsistence resources and our access to those subsistence resources. So, we were very pleased when he actually issued this executive order — that, among other things, it formally mandates that the federal government include us in deliberations that impact the marine environment.”
Governor Walker responded to the White House executive order with a release on Friday, which his Press Secretary, Katie Marquette, summarizes.
“The Governor and Lt. Governor support tribal leaders in the Bering Straits region who work diligently to provide economic opportunities for their community while protecting their valuable resources; however, the (Walker) administration is concerned about any further erosion of our ability to support much needed resource development at a time when the State is grappling with declining oil prices and production.”
Bahnke disagreed with the Governor’s concern that a protected area in the Bering Sea, near the Bering Strait Region, would limit the state’s economic growth or opportunity in the future.
“If you look at the actual executive order, it impacts federal waters and the federal government’s ability to lease in the ocean for oil and gas development, and there’s been very little interest in our region other than in the 1980s.”
She adds that it shouldn’t be a matter of choosing between economic growth or protecting marine environments.
“The two can go hand in hand: you can protect your natural resources and still have sustainable economic development. These are the charges that our people have given us, and that’s what we are working on.”
One of Governor Walker’s other concerns, as mentioned in his press release, was the lack of clarity given on how this executive order from the White House would be implemented going forward.
