Interior Secretary Salazar Wrapped Up “Historic” Trip To Alaska

Energy and development were some focal points of trip

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By Andrea Gusty

Story Created: Aug 11, 2011 at 1:30 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Aug 11, 2011 at 3:19 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE—An historic trip—that’s Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is calling his week-long visit to Alaska. 

Salazar toured the North Slope and the interior and said he saw first-hand how to advance the interests of Alaska and the country.
 
Sen. Lisa Murkowski invited Salazar and Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), who is Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, to Alaska to meet with energy officials in Prudhoe Bay and speak with residents in the Arctic about concerns over both on- and off-shore development, including Shell’s proposal to drill exploratory wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
 
Salazar said oil must be produced more safely.
 
“Moving forward in a way that is thoughtful,” Salazar said. “Make sure we are developing additional information off of the oil and gas resources in those seas, but also moving forward in a way which ensures we are going to protect the fragile environment of the Arctic.”
 
Murkowski said Shell’s push to get permits and tap into more energy resources is fine, but says the oil company must include input from village residents
 
“Recognizing that you do have Native villages up there that continue to rely on the caribou coming through, and so it is a coexistence that we have been working hard to develop,” Murkowski said.
 
Salazar said he is going back to Washington, D.C., with a great deal of knowledge on issues that will help the entire country. 

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jjj said on Thursday, Aug 11 at 2:49 PM

what a joke!!! the u.s. goverment is a joke, anybody disagree with that statement?

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silenced said on Thursday, Aug 11 at 2:45 PM

Once in awhile, and I mean just once in awhile, it sure would be nice if some politician actually contacted members of the public about their concerns with some out of control agency like the Interior Dept., and the contact was NOT a 'show' carefully choreographed in advance.

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OlypoppersPop said on Thursday, Aug 11 at 2:26 PM

Sounds like a lotta BS to me.

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