Arctic Policy Study Group
The Arctic continues to be a region of increasing importance and rapidly changing issues and opportunities. Commonwealth North recently authorized a new charge for the Arctic Policy Study Group. Read more about the scope of study and upcoming study sessions below.
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As the U.S. government undertakes an update to its Arctic Strategy, Commonwealth North charges the Arctic Policy Study Group to:
- review previous recommendations for state and federal Arctic policy;
- develop updated and revised policy recommendations; and
- produce a report to the White House and the U.S. Congress that summarizes Alaska perspectives on Arctic policies.
SCHEDULE:
January 13 The Honorable Caroline Cochrane, Premier – Northwest Territories Canada
January 20 The Honorable Ranj Pillai, Deputy Premier – Yukon Territory Canada
As study sessions are held, the topics and materials will be stored here for reference.
| Date | Topic | Presenter(s) | Documents and Recordings |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 20, 2021 | Yukon Territory Canada | Deputy Premier Ranj Pillai | Session Recording |
| January 13, 2021 | Northwest Territories Canada | Premier Caroline Cochrane | Slide Deck Session Recording |
| December 9, 2020 | Tourism in Alaska’s Arctic | Andrew Mew Kris Fister | Kaktovik Video Session Recording Slide Deck – Andrew Mew |
| November 4, 2020 | Telecommunications in Alaska’s Arctic | Alex Hills, Christine O’Connor, Mac McHale, Josh Miner, Chuck Schumann, David Goldman | Session Recording Slide Deck – O’Connor – AK Telecom Assoc. Slide Deck – McHale – Quintillion Slide Deck – Miner – Iridium Slide Deck – Schumann – Pacific Dataport Slide Deck – Goldman |
| October 28, 2020 | Work Session | ||
| October 21, 2020 | Arctic Fisheries | Steve MacLean Stephanie Madsen Simon Kinneen | Session Recording Slide Deck – MacLean Slide Deck – Madsen Slide Deck – Kinneen US Russia Bilateral Agreement |
| October 14, 2020 | Powering the Arctic | Rob Roys Ingemar Mathiasson Matt Bergan | Session Recording Slide Deck – all |
| September 30, 2020 | The Arctic Council | Mike Sfraga David Balton Liza Mack Gail Schubert | Session Recording Slide Deck – Balton Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic |
| September 23, 2020 | Work Session | Session Recording | |
| September 2, 2020 | State and Federal Lands in Alaska’s Arctic | Sara Longan Chad Padgett | Session Recording Slide Deck – Longan Slide Deck – Padgett |
| August 26, 2020 | The Ocean Between Us: Governance and Cooperation in Arctic Waters | David Balton Mike Sfraga | Session Recording Slide Deck |
| August 12, 2020 | Alaska’s Arctic and the New Great Power Competition | Randy “Church” Kee Mike Sfraga Shannon Jenkins Michael Smith David Martin | Session Recording Slide Deck – Jenkins |
| August 5, 2020 | A Warming Arctic: National Security Challenges and Opportunities | BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (retired) President, American Security Project | Session Recording Slide Deck Arctic Imperatives Alaska’s Changing Environment |
| July 29, 2020 | Accessing Alaska’s Arctic: Surface Transportation | Jeff San Juan, AIDEA Ryan Anderson, ADOTPF | Session Recording Slides: Ambler Access Project Slides: Northern Region Projects James DeHart, U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region National Defense Authorization Act 2021 |
| July 22, 2020 | Accessing Alaska’s Arctic: Ports and Icebreakers | VADM Linda Fagan, USCG RADM, Matthew Bell, USCG | Session Recording Presidential Memo USCG Arctic Strategic Outlook Bering Strait PARS Arctic Coast Guard Forum |
| July 17, 2020 | Alaska Voices: Nothing About Us Without Us | Mayor Lucy Nelson Teresa Imm Lt. Gov Kevin Meyer | NW Arctic Borough Statement Session Recording Declaration of State Arctic Policy |
| July 10, 2020 | Study Launch | Co-Chairs and Collaborators | Coming Soon |
| May 27, 2020 | Alaska’s Role in America’s Arctic Strategy | Senator Dan Sullivan | Session Recording |
| May 12, 2020 | Sen. Sullivan of Alaska talks military strength and strategy in the Arctic | Joe Gould, Senator Dan Sullivan | Defense News Article |
| May 6, 2019 | Looking North: Sharpening America’s Arctic Focus | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo | Address to the Arctic Council |
Commonwealth North is pleased to collaborate with Arctic thought leaders as part of this series of Arctic policy study sessions:
