Energy Update 2-22-12
Energy news in Alaska this past two weeks has been dominated by talk of oil taxes and the recent blowout of a North Slope well. However, there are a few bits of other important energy news that are of interest.
Yesterday, a bill designed to encourage Alaskans to switch from heat generated by oil, coal and wood, took a positive step by moving into the House Finance Committee. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Tammie Wilson (R-North Pole) would offer 1% loans to Alaskans who want to convert their outdated burners from oil, coal and wood to cleaner burning fuel sources such as natural gas, propane, or biomass. A similar bill, sponsored by Sen. Joe Thomas (D-Fairbanks), is in the Senate Finance Committee.
Last Friday, Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) announced in a press release that they would be increasing rates by 2.55%. The increase was approved by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and should go into effect in April. The average MEA user will see an increase of $1.81 per month.
In a special committee meeting on Tuesday, House leaders heard about the benefits of biomass in Southeast. The recently released Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan (SEIRP) recommended the expansion of biomass fuel to heat homes in southeast Alaska. Devany Plentovich, AEA Biomass Program Manager, told the special committee that adopting cord wood, wood chip or wood pellet biomass for space heating could alleviate the pressure on Southeast hydro assets as well as save Alaskans money. Plentovich noted that Angoon residents currently pay $350 each month to heat their homes, which is expected to increase over the next few years. By implementing the recommendations in the SEIRP, Angoon residents could see their bills drop to $180 per month. Juneau residents currently pay an average of $225 per month, and they could see their rates drop to $129 per month.
Here are a few upcoming items to put on your calendar:
- Free hands-on workshops are available to teach homeowners how to do, or direct, their own energy efficiency improvements. The workshops are held every Monday through Thursday from 7pm-9pm at ACHP. Go to their website for more information, www.achpalaska.com.
- March 14th REAP Forum- Biomass in Alaska. Come hear the latest on the development of biomass and its potential in Alaska. More info, 929-7770 or www.alaskarenewableenergy.org.
- 2012 Business of Clean Energy in Alaska Conference- April 19th-20th. Registration and details at: http://www.bceaconference.com/.
Conservation News Round Up 2/17/12
Happy Friday Alaska! Here is your weekly round up of the conservation news making headlines this week.
Myth busting claims in Alaska’s oil tax debate
Young pushes ANWR bill through U.S. House for the 12th time
North Slope blowout still out of control
Shell response plan wins approval
Pebble Partnership ready to permit as early as FY13
Bear Snaring 101
Bear Snaring 101- From the Alaska Center for the Environment
The Board of Game has greatly liberalized regulations for killing predators in recent years, to benefit the human harvest of prey populations. A recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Wildlife Management claims that the State of Alaska has liberalized grizzly bear hunting regulations 124 times between 1995 and 2010. State regulations and policies now allow the snaring of brown and black bears, killing sows with cubs and cubs, year-round seasons, unlimited bag limits, and killing animals in their dens. In conjunctions with these changes, the Board of Game has also reauthorized land and shoot hunting, and has vastly expanded “predator control areas,” where the general public may get permits to shoot wildlife from aircraft. All of this has been done with little scientific or social justification.
Click here to tell the Board of Game to Stop Bear Snaring!
The new Board of Game proposal book is riddled with even more outrageous proposals which you can see for yourself by clicking here.
The Board of Game will soon be deciding on the statewide expansion of the most recent of these liberalizations, allowing the snaring of bears. Some facts that are relevant to this decision include:
- The snaring of bears has been illegal since statehood.
- The Board of Game classified black bears as a furbearer in 2010, thereby paving the way for bear snaring. This was done quietly without public notice.
- An “experimental” program in Unit 16B to bait and snare black bears was conducted in the summer of 2010. That summer, 81 black bears were killed by snare and 8 brown bears were snared, 3 of which were killed, one due to severe injuries sustained by the snare.
- Snaring falls under trapping regulations. Bear snaring involves securing a bucket filled with bait to a tree above the ground. When the bear tries to remove its paw from the bucket, a snare is triggered.
- Sows and cubs may legally be taken using baiting and snaring.
- Bears have one of the lowest reproductive rates for mammals. Females are slow to mature and they breed only every other year or so.
- The state claims predator control is conducted to protect rural subsistence hunting opportunity. The fact is nonresidents compete with rural residents even in areas of the state where the Board of Game has made a finding for predator control. There is no requirement to limit harvest of ungulates to residents in areas where predator control is being conducted, and in fact the Board recently opened unit 16 to non-resident hunters seeking moose. It is apparent that the real purpose of the state’s predator control policy is to provide increased nonresident hunting opportunity.
- Bait, scent lures and bucket snares are allowed within ¼ mile of public roads, trails and the Alaska Railroad. No public notice is required. This policy creates a public safety hazard. The Board claims that it is unfair to the trappers to have to post the whereabouts of their traps due to the possibility of theft of equipment or vandalism.
- Snaring of bears occurs during summer months when there is maximum opportunity for conflict with other users.
- Locating, tracking, and chasing by aircraft, then landing and shooting black bears, including sows and cubs is now allowed, including when the black bears are first emerging from the den and are very vulnerable to aerial spotting.
- Use of communication equipment to locate, track, and harvest bears is now allowed.
- There is no requirement to salvage the meat of the black bear even though it is widely considered a very high quality food source. This is wanton waste of an important subsistence wild food source.
- In 2009 the Board legalized the sale and resale of brown and black bear hides and skulls, claws and fur as an “incentive” to harvest bears. The Board has also approved the commercial sale of black bear meat.
- The Board has authorized the use of helicopters to access bait stations, camps, or snares in Unit 16, harvesting bears the same day they have flown.
- In 2011, the Board adopted controversial new bear and wolf management policies without any public notice or any participation by Fish and Game advisory committees. The new bear policy expanded the powers of the Board to implement regulations on management of both black and brown bears in absence of biological justification and through the use of highly controversial harvest practices.
The Alaska Board of Game has incrementally made these changes over the past several years and has expressed the desire to continue to expand these bear snaring programs to other parts of the state. The original
justification of providing for local use of game is no longer relevant. The Board now seeks to minimize predator populations while expanding nonresident and commercial use of wildlife.
Though we here at ACE recognize the value of harvesting wild game to feed Alaskan families, we oppose the widespread killing of bears and wolves. Even the Department of Fish and Game acknowledges the fact that the link between extreme predator control and increases in moose harvests remains un-established. Our wildlife resources are being managed with only consumptive uses in mind, and non-consumptive users have no representation on the Board of Game. The Board consists of seven members, all appointed by the Governor. These seven people are responsible for how our wildlife is managed. Most have affiliations with the commercial guiding industry, amply illustrated in their voting records promoting game ranching for profit and sport.
We need a groundswell of citizen activists from all walks of life to stand up and let the board know they have gone too far and we want our wildlife back.
What you can do:
Sign our petition to tell the Board of Game to stop Bear Snaring!
ACE has submitted a proposal to the Board of Game which would prohibit the snaring of black bears in the State of Alaska. You can submit comments to the BOG in support of our proposal #127 Statewide and #142 Interior. Of course they do not accept comments via email, so you must mail or FAX them! Comments are due two weeks prior to the meetings. The Interior meeting is in Fairbanks March 2-11, 2012.
ATTN: Board of Game Comments
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Boards Support Section
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526
Fax: 907-465-6094
Please contact Valerie if you have further questions: valerie@akcenter.org or call 907-274-3632. Click here to read more about bear snaring on ACE’s website.
Conservation News Round Up 2-10-12
Happy Friday Alaska! Here are some news articles from this week that you shouldn’t miss!
Alaska Supreme Court to decide whether Exxon Mobile is ‘warehousing’ oil and gas at Point Thompson
AK Lawmakers are heading to D.C. to sell drilling in ANWR
Great editorial in the ADN about DNR’s mission change
Op-Ed piece co-authored by our Executive Director about DNR’s unfortunate mission change
Permit issued for Healy Clean Coal Plant
Fourth warmest January for contiguous U.S. but record cold for Alaska
Energy Update 2-8-12
By Betty Jo Pritchett
It is finally February in Alaska which means more light and only a few more months of winter. Things have been changing around here at the Alliance as well. Kate McKeown, our energy coordinator, has moved on to bigger and better things. We will definitely miss her great work ethic and her smiling face! That means that I’ll be taking over the Energy Update on the blog. It also means that Energy Updates will now be every other week instead of every week. Speaking of, let’s get on with our Energy Update!
The last few weeks has seen some great developments on the clean energy and energy efficiency fronts. Alaska’s potential for ocean energy development made headlines in two reports released in the last week of January. According to the reports, released by the U.S. Department of Energy, Alaska’s waters have enough energy to produce over 850 terawatt hours of electricity EVERY YEAR. That’s enough to run over 800 billion space heaters all day, year round! This means that Alaska has the potential to produce almost a fifth of our nation’s electricity from a renewable, clean energy source. Considering that clean energy investments shattered records last year at $260 billion dollars, this could mean some big opportunities for our state.
In news around the state, Juneau is facing an unusual energy challenge. The recently released Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan shows that while Southeast has plenty of water to generate electricity from hydro, it is running out of ways to store it. Partially to blame is skyrocketing winter heating demand, as residents switch from oil to electricity. As a fix, the Plan proposes a ‘vigorous biomass conversion program’ which would lighten loads on hydro-electric installations. Proponents of the program say that biomass is stably priced and has low volatility, making it a good choice for space heating.
Moving to the Interior, Fairbanks Representative Bob Miller is setting his sights on alternatives to an in-state natural gas line. Representative Miller introduced a measure to study the feasibility of extending Southcentral’s existing natural gas system to the Interior within the next few years. “We’re not precluding or trying to hinder other projects at all,” Representative Miller says. “In fact, I’m still hoping that Fairbanks can get a pipeline from the North Slope. The question is, can we get gas faster from the Cook Inlet than the North Slope? We believe it would be faster and cheaper.”
Items for your calendar:
February 8th, 6-8pm- Join the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) for a discussion on Alaska’s Stranded Renewables at the Anchorage Museum Auditorium. For more info contact 907.929.7770 or go to www.alaskarenewableenergy.org.
February 15th, 12:30pm-2pm- Join Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE) for a brown bag lunch and webinar ‘Alternatives to Susitna Dam: Cook Inlet Natural Gas’ with a presentation by Jan Konisberg of the Natural Heritage Institute. For more info or to RSVP contact Louisa Yanes, louisa@akcenter.org
Conservation News Round Up 2-3-12
Happy Friday Alaska! Here are some conservation headlines from this week that you might have missed. Have a safe and warm weekend!
Another questionable appointment to AK Department of Wildlife Conservation?
ANWR bill passes Natural Resources Committee
Science, not politics, must rule at Fish and Game- great opinion piece
FBX Rep. Miller looks south for energy
Coastal Zone initiative signatures counted by state computer
DNR’s unfortunate mission change
First published by Juneau Empire. Click here to view.
By Lindsey Ketchel, Karen Max Kelly, Trish Rolfe, and Andy Moderow
February 2, 2012 – 04:09am
Earlier this month, Department of Natural Resources employees received an email from a Deputy Commissioner, saying that their mission statement had been changed. The old one read: “To develop, conserve, and enhance natural resources for present and future Alaskans.”
The new one: “To responsibly develop Alaska’s resources by making them available for maximum use and benefit consistent with the public interest.”
The word “conserve” and the phrase “future Alaskans” have both been removed in this change. Under the old mission, the department served “present and future Alaskans.’ Under the new mission, the department serves development, so long as it is ‘consistent with the public interest’.
The new mission puts development interests ahead of Alaskan interests, and removes the focus on Alaska’s future. This is a step backwards for our state.
Alaska’s leaders hold our riches in trust, not just for the benefit of this generation, but also for those to come. We are all concerned with how we leave Alaska for future generations. We want our children to enjoy the benefits of resource wealth, like we have enjoyed in recent decades. Given this, it saddened us to learn that DNR lost an explicit focus on conservation and future generations in the new mission statement.
Long term, strategic development of our resources requires more than a test of whether development ‘is consistent with the public interest.’ It requires our leaders determine how development serves Alaskans.
Development serves us for what it provides to our communities, the royalties we get for selling our resource, and the jobs it creates for Alaskans. A conservationist approach to resource extraction simply asks that development benefits outweigh the costs, both in the present and in the future. This change removes the balance between development and conservation, and doesn’t take our future into consideration.
It would be nice to know that our energy needs, our economy and the livability of our communities is secure when TAPS closes down, when the gold is gone, and when we’ve sold all the North Slope gas to China. We want our leaders to make hard choices about how we conserve and develop our resources today, so Alaskans get the maximum benefit from our non-renewable resources.
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear that Governor Parnell has our long term interests in mind when putting our resources on the market. At a time of record oil industry profits and high commodity prices, Governor Parnell wants to increase oil industry corporate profits with a $2 billion a year tax break. He has proposed spending $500 million in public funds to support resource extraction infrastructure. Put simply, you don’t lower the price of a product when demand is increasing and supply is limited.
Fortunately, the change may not be permanent. During a legislative oversight hearing last week in Juneau, lawmakers questioned whether the administration could unilaterally change a department’s mission, given a state law that charges the legislature to set such direction. We hope that any revisiting of the new mission statement includes a public process, where Alaskans can weigh in on any change of direction.
If the current administration were committed to getting us the maximum value for resource extraction in our state, it would keep the word “conserve” and the phrase “for present and future Alaskans” in the DNR mission statement. It would take steps daily to manifest its obligation to more than just those of us who are lucky to be right here in this great state, right now. A path towards a sustainable future, where development and conservation provide long term stability in our economy, requires nothing less than that approach.
• Ketchel is executive director of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Kelly is executive director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Rolfe is executive director of Trustees for Alaska and Moderow is executive director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance.
Conservation News Round Up 1-27-2012
Happy Friday Alaska! As is tradition on Friday morning, check out these links to articles you might have missed during the week.
DNR Proposes Changes to Mission; Legislature to Review
AK Senate President kills Governor backed oil tax bill
Letter to the Editor: Broken Board
Oil industry giants collaborate on arctic oil spill clean up and prevention
Energy challenges in Southeast lead to interest in biomass
Energy Update 1-25-2012
By Kate McKeown
Last week, long awaited energy reports were released, updates were given on the progress of the Susitna-Watana hydroelectric dam project, energy events were scheduled or took place, and on top of it all it was the start of the 2012 Legislative Session!
Two Alaska energy reports were released recently, both of which deserve a read-through. The first, titled Recommendations for Alaska Energy Efficiency and Conservation Public Education and Outreach, was prepared for the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) by Information Insights, Milepost Consulting and additional project advisors. The report provides research-based recommendations for the creating of an education and outreach plan to promote successful energy efficiency and conservation behavior in both urban and rural areas in Alaska. Recommendations include; localizing the message, framing the message and providing a clear direct energy measure.
The second was the Southeast Integrated Resource Plan (SEIRP) Technical Draft Report prepared for AEA by Black & Veatch and HDR Alaska. The SEIRP is a directional plan that identifies the types of resources, including alternative resources that should be developed in the future in the Southeast Alaska region. The report addresses demand-side management/energy efficiency and emerging technologies, such as tidal. AEA will be accepting comments on the draft until March 19,2012.
Turning from reading to listening, did you catch the story on the Susitna-Watana dam on Alaska Public Radio? As we 
know the project is moving at full speed ahead with AEA in the driver’s seat. However, there have been a few road blocks. A number of Alaska Native village corporations in the Cook Inlet area have land holdings near the dam site, and have recently shared their concerns with the public that they believe AEA is not addressing their land claims as they continue to push forward in project development. To find out more, listen to this five minute clip.
Lastly, make sure to have your calendar at hand, there were a number of energy events that happened this week and there will be more to come in the following weeks. Last Thursday, the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discussed the one key barrier in developing renewable energy in Alaska – the fact that resources are located far away from population centers and transportation corridors. The event was held at the Blue Loon in Fairbanks for the ACEP Community Energy Lecture series. If you missed the discussion, don’t worry it should be posted here shortly.
If you’re interested in the Susitna-Watana Project, make sure to swing by the Terrestrial Resource Study Planning Meeting at the project office in downtown Anchorage. This meeting follows two full day meetings covering issues from the PAD Document to project specifics, such as Aquatic and Water Resources. For more information, check out the project website.
Don’t put your calendar away just yet; make sure to note the Alaska Forum on the Environment, it takes place from February 6-10, 2012. The Forum will include numerous sessions on renewable energy, including the economics of energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives for rural Alaska. For a detailed schedule, click here.
Conservation News Round Up 1-20-12
Happy Friday Alaska! This week has been a big one for the Board of Game and predator control across the state. So in case you missed the action throughout the week, catch up with these articles.
Alaska Board of Game’s infatuation with predator control
Judge rules largely in favor of fishing limits for sea lions
Officials report on health affects of sulfolane in North Pole wells
Letter to the Editor: A warning about mining- It could happen here too- If you only read one link from our round up today, read this one.
And Alaska made the LA Times with Alaska expands aerial shooting of bears
