(SitNews) - Governor Sean Parnell announced Friday the State is seeking priority conveyance of nearly 20,000 acres of land at the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). He made the announcement to the Alaska Support Industry Alliance conference in Fairbanks.

“The federal government, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been improperly drawing the western boundary of ANWR for some time. We will not sit back while they do this,” said Gov. Parnell.

“The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has confirmed the State’s position with a detailed on-the-ground analysis. Priority conveyance of this land that is rightfully ours will bring 20,000 acres under State control on the eastern North Slope for oil and gas exploration. A few miles away from this area, we are seeing billions of dollars of investment at the Point Thomson Field.”

Alaska selected these lands, but the federal government later claimed them as part of ANWR. The State’s previously requested lands, as part of the Alaska Statehood Act and Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, are located between the Staines and Canning rivers.

Lands within the refuge are not available for state ownership, but, for many years, the western boundary of ANWR has been improperly mapped by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The State contends the federal agency’s map includes land that is not within ANWR.

“Our position is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s definition of the refuge’s coastal boundary,” the governor told conference attendees this morning in Fairbanks. “So I say it’s now long past time for the federal government to convey these lands to Alaska so we can put them to use for Alaskans.”

State ownership of these lands has implications for the future of oil and gas activity on the eastern North Slope. “Just a few miles away, we are seeing billions of dollars of investment at the Point Thomson field,” Parnell said.

“Alaskans have suffered from many roadblocks to resource development on federal lands,” said Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash. “Our hope is that the BLM will move quickly to convey lands that we can offer for oil and gas leasing and development,” Balash said.

DNR filed the State’s request for priority conveyance for uplands along the western boundary of ANWR with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency charged with conveying lands to the State to fulfill its land entitlement.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

On the Web:

Briefing Packet: Request for Priority Conveyance of State Land Selections at ANWR Boundary
http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/priorities/ANWR_boundary.pdf

Source of News: 

Office of Governor Sean Parnell
www.gov.state.ak.us

Alaska Department of Natural Resources
www.dnr.alaska.gov.

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