Last week the Attorney General for the State of Alaska, Dan Sullivan, came before the House Finance Committee to talk about something that I fear could be tragic for the Kenai – and the entire state for that matter – if the state and federal government don’t do something about it soon. The topic of the meeting, called by Co-Chair Bill Stoltze of Chugiak and Mat-Su, was the Endangered Species Act, or ESA. It seems that there’s a growing push to list species all across Alaska, some 16 in all. Those listings could have a devastating effect on industry and economic development if left unchecked.

Stoltze called the hearing to get a read on AG Sullivan’s strategies and thoughts on the matter, and I for one am glad he did. Sullivan told the committee he was “quite frankly, scared” of the potential the current listings and litigations could have on our state.

The hearing wasn’t called to denounce global climate change or to roast environmentalist groups (though some deserve it in my opinion) but to understand the changes in the last 10 or 15 years and get an update on the state’s cases and budget requests.

I believe we need more scientific study on the issues, especially on the KP as it concerns Cook Inlet Belugas, to make sure the facts are there first. The state Dept. of Fish and Game is requesting $150 thousand in the budget to help in this area. Consequently, the AG’s office can then use that to help their cases before the 9^th Circuit court in San Francisco.

Statewide, with groups suing to list everything from Polar Bears and Walrus to Mirullets and Otters, we need to aggressively assert our state’s rights and demand the federal government listen to us in handling our own lands and laws. The proposed area for listing the Polar Bear, the new “critical habitat,” would designate more than 200 thousand miles of state and federal lands, without our own consent. That’s downright sad and unacceptable.

I support the Dept. of Law’s push for funding to help fight these extraneous lawsuits in court, and think that we also need to make it be known to the President and Congress that before they change the way they interpret their scant data – with modeling that goes out hundreds of years in some cases to justify the listings – they need to change the way they go about settling these issues; the ESA was never intended to become a cottage industry for environmental lawyers, it was intended to preserve actual species from actual extinction.

I don’t have the answers to the climate or endangerment, but I also don’t think anyone does. I do think we need to make sure we get the facts straight before we close Alaska, and other parts of the U.S., for business and economic development.

 I’d like to thank Co-Chair Stoltze for calling the meeting and AG Sullivan for standing up for Alaska.