President Obama today issued an executive order creating the “Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area” of 112,300 square miles.
The order aims to include local tribes in decision-making about shipping through the Bering Strait, among other activities in the area.
He also announced $30 million pledges from philanthropic groups for projects “related to shipping, ecosystem science, community and ecological resilience, and tribal engagement.”
The order withdraws 40,300 square miles from oil and gas leasing. For fishing, the order reaffirms an existing ban on bottom trawling. It is not, though, a “monument” designation, which some Alaskans feared would permanently lock up resources to development.
According to the White House:
The Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area is delineated for the purpose of focusing a locally-tailored collection of protections related to oil and gas, shipping, and fishing. The order also establishes a Task Force charged with coordinating Federal activities in this area to enhance ecosystem and community resilience, conserve natural resources, and protect the cultural and subsistence values this ecosystem provides for Alaskan native communities. Further, agencies are directed to consider traditional knowledge in decision making and establish a formal consultative mechanism for engaging with regional tribal governments to seek their input on Federal activities.
This is a developing story.
