By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Kevin Duffy said Sept. 2 that changes made within state agencies 18 months ago have paid off in expediting the permitting process to facilitate resource development.

Duffy told the Resource Development Council at Anchorage that his staff and the State Department of Natural Resources now work cooperatively on projects ranging from the Kensington Mine near Juneau to development of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

"We are committed to developing our state's fishery resources, facilitating efficient permitting, providing access and preventing roadblocks to development," he said.

Under an executive order from Gov. Frank Murkowski, which went into effect March 15, 2003, statutory responsibilities for habitat management and permitting under the federal Anadromous Fish Act were transferred from Duffy's agency to DNR's Office of Habitat Management and Permitting.

The two agencies developed a memorandum of understanding to avoid duplicative work and to streamline permitting, with DNR serving as lead agency on a variety of state and federal land and water project reviews, he said.

"We are permitting responsible resource development in a timely manner, while protecting our important fish and wildlife resources and the economic benefits that they provide to the state," he said.

Duffy said that under Murkowski's leadership his department has gone to great lengths to remove impediments to development.

His department is working with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a conservation agreement for management of the yellow-billed loon, which is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act, he said. Of the 16,000 of these birds left in the world, 3,000 of them nest in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, he said.

The agreement under consideration includes a section on adaptive management so new information can be used to minimize any potential detrimental effects of oil field development in NPR-A, he said.

Stan Senner, executive director of Audubon Alaska, the National Audubon Society's Alaska office, said that Audubon is very concerned about the yellow-billed loon, a black and white diving bird, about 25 inches long, with a 60-inch wingspan. "We are not opposed to oil and gas leasing in the petroleum reserve, so long as there is permanent protection for the very most important of the fish and wildlife habitats," he said. "We do think the yellow-billed loon is a real species of focus for NPR-A and there ought to be areas where there is no oil and gas activity because of the need to protect the yellow-billed loon.

"They are just there in the summer, only for nesting," he said. "Our concern is that this is a small population and they are extremely sensitive to disturbance. The loons nest on the ground on the edge of deeper lakes that have fish populations, very much in the coastal plain in the northern part of the North Slope," he said. "Our real concern in a place like the NPR-A is if you have oil field activities in an area really important to the yellow-billed loons, can they co-exist?"

Access also on the agenda

Duffy also said his department was working to provide access to fish and wildlife resources. "Many people do not realize that roads and historic trails forged by industry to access timber or minerals also provide many Alaskans with much-needed access to fish and wildlife resources," he said. "Whether accessing coal, caribou or coho, access is incredibly important to all Alaskans.

"The department goes to great lengths to protect public access rights for fish and wildlife users," he said. "These efforts also benefit industry."

The commissioner said his department's tasks included everything from the research of the navigability of waterways to studying historic access routes and providing assistance to the public so that they know their rights. "As you can see, the department is linked arm-in-arm with industry to assert these state rights-of-way," he said.