Alaska's Arctic position brings opportunity, challenges.

• Author: Miller, Amy
• Position: ALASKA TRENDS

Several developments in recent months are bringing more attention to the potential and infrastructure needs of Alaska's Arctic. In January 2015, President Obama issued an executive order for enhancing coordination of national efforts with respect to the Arctic. In late April, the United States began its two-year term as chair of the eight-nation Arctic Council. These events and others bring a renewed focus in this country on the Arctic and its importance to global trade, resource development, the environment, and indigenous cultures.

In June of this year, the Congressional Research Service published a report called "Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress" that includes a comprehensive cataloging of the infrastructure and other assets in the region as well as the needs to support future development. The report highlights a number of issues relevant to Alaska.

The report defines the Arctic as the region bordered by the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark, of which Greenland is a territory. One of the most striking notes in the report is that the US Geological Survey estimates that 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil maybe found north of the Arctic Circle. Specifically, the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates Alaska portions of the Outer Continental Shelf contain undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of roughly 27 billion barrels of oil and 131 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Beyond resources, another great promise in the Arctic is that of transcontinental shipping. With climate change rapidly impacting...