Natives fail to sway Norton from ANWR oil stance
© 2001 Reuters
June 22, 2001
Story by Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week a visit to an Alaska Native community this week had not changed her opinion about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but had given her a "better appreciation" for local concerns.
During a visit Monday to Arctic Village, a community on the refuge's southern edge, Norton met with Gwich'in Athabaskan Indians and listened to their concerns about the potential impact of drilling on the region's Porcupine caribou herd.
Historically, the Gwich'in have subsisted on the caribou that roam the northeastern hills in and around the refuge. They fear oil drilling outlined in President Bush's energy plan would devastate the migrating herd and threaten their traditional hunting practices.
In a speech to Commonwealth North, a business group in Anchorage, Norton expressed confidence Wednesday that modern drilling technology would protect the caribou and other wildlife.
Norton said Gwich'in concerns, which are shared by environmentalists, must be balanced against the needs of others who have a stake in the decision.
"The children throughout America, their lives will be affected by this decision as well - whether they will have heat for their homes, whether they will have jobs and a prosperous economy, whether we will have a nation that has a future of security," she said. "ANWR plays a role in that balance."
This week Norton's also traveled to Kaktovik, an Inupiat Eskimo village, which is the closest settlement to the site where oil would be drilled - if Congress approves the Bush plan.
Kaktovik villagers and other Inupiat, who own mineral rights in the area that would be drilled, favor oil development in ANWR and the economic boon it would bring. Norton said their economic interests were also important.
Norton used her speech to defend her selection of a pro-drilling nominee for the position of special assistant in Alaska, a decision that has been attacked by environmentalists.
Over the weekend, she named Cam Toohey to the post of special assistant to the secretary, a position in charge of all the Interior Department's operations in Alaska. Toohey served since 1996 as executive director of Arctic Power, an Anchorage-based group which campaigns for ANWR oil development.
Rather than representing the industry, as critics have charged, Norton said Toohey has represented Alaska's residents in his position at Arctic Power.
"I think many people may not realize that Arctic Power is funded by the Alaska legislature. I think it shows how strongly the people of Alaska feel about the energy issues and the widespread support that those have in Alaska," she said.
In Alaska, oil revenues fund most state government operations, and the state imposes no personal income tax or sales tax. The proposal for ANWR oil development enjoys broad support, including that from almost all elected officials.