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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Scope & Schedule
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.
Download the study group charge statement.
Session Summaries
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 |
References
Commonwealth North is pleased to collaborate with Arctic thought leaders as part of this series of Arctic policy study sessions:
