Alaska State Senator Lesil McGuire addresses participants of the Arctic Caucus Roundtable on March 8. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska

The Pacific NorthWest Economic region hosted a U.S. - Canada Arctic Roundtable at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on March 8, 2012. The roundtable provided an opportunity for regional stakeholders to highlight the collaborative efforts underway between Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories and share the action plan of the PNWER Arctic Caucus with our Federal partners.

An extraordinary group of participants and speakers joined the roundtable including Alaska's U.S. Senators and several legislators from the PNWER Jurisdictions.They were joined by representatives from the U.S. State Department; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. As PNWER's Arctic Caucus continues to look for solutions to the shared challenges of its three jurisdictions, high-level meetings that include federal participants like this one help achieve the Caucus's goal of increasing the visibility and priority of Arctic issues throughout PNWER to our federal partners.

Kicking off the Roundtable, Alaska's U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich spoke to role of the U.S. Federal Government in the Arctic. Both agreed that Alaska's policy should help drive the U.S. Federal policy. Senator Murkowski highlighted the need for greater icebreaker capacity in the far North, and applauded PNWER for working with Alaska and the territories to highlight the needs of northern communities.  Senator Begich noted that there is substantial opportunity for commercial and economic development in the region.  These opportunities also come with responsibilities, notably the responsibility to study and understand the Arctic oceans and environment and the impacts development in the region may have in 10, 15 and 20 years in to the future.  

Insights from Hon. David Ramsay, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Northwest Territories; Senator Lesil McGuire, Alaska; and, Hon. Currie Dixon, Minister of Economic Development and Environment Yukon exemplified the collaboration between the jurisdictions. Rep. Bob Herron from the Alaska Legislature showcased the work of the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force, which has outlined several recommendations addressing the need to develop policies that include priorities of northern communities. Minister of Political Affairs Kevin O'Shea from the Canadian Embassy provided comments from the Canadian Federal Government and was excited to see the work that PNWER is doing in the Arctic Caucus. 

The roundtable also featured comments from Fran Ulmer, Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC), who suggested that the Caucus help answer the question, "How do we make sure research that is being done is relevant and applicable to the communities and businesses in the North?". The PNWER Arctic Caucus will have the opportunity to present at the joint USARC and Canadian Polar Research Commission on April 27^th in Montreal, QC.

Lt.Commander Michael Krause, Polar Icebreaking Program Manager of the U.S. Coast Guard spoke about the current Icebreaker situation in the U.S., and Rep. Herron concluded with comments on the Joint House Resolution he is sponsoing in the Alaska House supporting the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard in the Arctic.

Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. State Department gave a U.S. Federal perspective and mentioned that in preparing for the back to back chairmanships of Canada and the US in the Arctic Council it is important to get input from groups like the PNWER Arctic Caucus and the State of Alaska.

As an emerging frontier, the Arctic represents a significant opportunity to demonstrate that collaboration, from the local to the international level, can create sensible policies that incorporate the needs of all stakeholders and bring lasting benefit to the region.

The 2012 Arctic Caucus Forum will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada this coming May 17-19. The Whitehorse, YK Capital visit for legislators starts on the morning of the 17th.  The Arctic Caucus Forum will start with a kick-off reception on the evening of the May 17th.  If you are a legislator and plan on attending the capital visit, please book your flight so you can join the delegation in the Morning of May 17^th. The agenda is currently under development by the Forum planning team. Topics to include:

• Sub-national Government Priorities for Arctic Council Leadership
• Policy Best Practices Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA)
• Regional Research priorities in the Arctic