Gov. Mike Dunleavy levied heavy criticism at the Biden administration in his opening remarks to the Western Governors’ Association currently holding a workshop in Ketchikan.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the conference via video Tuesday, Dunleavy said Alaska’s ability to develop its resources was being stymied by Biden’s policies which he accused of hurting the U.S. and Alaskan economies. In a similar vein to statements made in the past, Dunleavy said resource development was an essential component of modern civilization, and that newer, less environmentally impactful technologies were still dependent on resource extraction. The governor said the president’s policies were undermining efforts to extract resources safely, and sending jobs and money overseas, particularly to China.<\/p>\n
“You’re going to need resources to take care of these new (renewable) resources,” Dunleavy said. “(Alaska) needs to be able to make our case it makes absolutely no sense to push these opportunities overseas.”<\/p>\n
The Western Governors’ Association is a nonpartisan group of 19 Western U.S. states and three territories. Members include Alaska; Arizona; California; Colorado; Hawaii; Idaho; Kansas; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Mexico; North Dakota; Oklahoma; South Dakota; Texas; Utah; Washington; Wyoming and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.<\/p>\n
[Village president: Shooter surrendered in Kake, no injuries reported<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n The workshop in Ketchikan was one in a series called Working Lands, Working Communities, an initiative by the WGA’s current chair, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican.<\/p>\n Dunleavy’s opening remarks came at the beginning of a day of panels discussing the relationships between local, state and federal authorities on topics including resource development, fisheries management and tribal engagement.<\/p>\n Dunleavy lauded the nation’s economic performance during the Trump administration calling the U.S. “an economic powerhouse” but said that Alaska’s energy projects have been canceled by the Biden administration. The governor said the environmental standards in Alaska are among the highest in the world, and that the state could develop its resources in a manner consistent with modern environmental standards.<\/p>\n President Joe Biden is currently at a United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Associated Press reported, where he released a plan to curtail greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In August the Biden reversed a decision by the Trump administration to allow additional drilling on Alaska’s North Slope<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, AP reported in July<\/a> that despite overtures at emissions reductions, approvals for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. public lands were on pace this year to reach their highest level since George W. Bush was president.<\/p>\n “You don’t send your industries overseas. You don’t send your wealth overseas, you don’t send your jobs overseas.” Dunleavy said.<\/p>\n Dunleavy did not mention which projects had been canceled by the administration, but on Monday a federal court ruled in favor of groups opposing the Pebble Mine near Bristol Bay, which the governor has advocated for.<\/p>\n The Pebble Mine is strongly opposed by several regional Alaska Native groups, commercial fishermen and environmentalists and the proposal has attracted national attention. Critics of the Pebble Mine — including Donald Trump Jr<\/a>. — and other mining projects in Alaska have pointed to the threat that industry poses to the fishing industry, a significant part of the Alaskan economy.<\/p>\n