Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday welcomed a series of executive orders President Donald Trump issued shortly after taking office.
“Happy days are here again, to be perfectly honest with you,” Dunleavy told reporters at a news conference in Anchorage. “This is like unwrapping a gigantic sled of Christmas presents for the state of Alaska.”
Trump’s Alaska order, titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” was one of dozens the president signed on his first day in office. Among other things, the order calls for new oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reinstates approval of the controversial Ambler Road in Northwest Alaska, and instructs federal officials to reinstate a 2020 decision removing protections for more than 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Dunleavy submitted a transition plan — something of a wish list — to the incoming administration requesting an “Alaska specific Executive Order” rolling back Biden-era decisions limiting resource development. Many, though not all, of those wishes were granted by Trump’s order.
The executive order did not directly address the Biden administration’s veto of the controversial Pebble Mine under the Clean Water Act. Dunleavy, a supporter of the copper and gold prospect whose administration has sued to overturn the veto, said he would continue to advocate for its approval.
“I see a path forward on discussions on Pebble, absolutely,” Dunleavy said. “We’re going to let the dust settle and really go through these (executive orders), but I think that conversation is going to happen.”
Whether those discussions will prove fruitful is unclear. The Trump administration denied a permit for Pebble in the waning days of his first term.
State lawmakers offered mixed reactions to Trump’s order.
Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said she thought the state should take a bigger role in managing Alaska’s land and waters, a priority Dunleavy communicated in the transition plan. But she said casting aside environmental protections could be unwise.
“We’re not a colony to be pillaged,” Giessel said. “By throwing open all of the regulations related to resource development, we could be jeopardizing our own land and waters.”
House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, said she was proud of what she said was Alaska’s record of responsible resource development and looked forward to the policy changes outlined in the order.
“We're very pleased to see that action taken,” she said. “It actually puts Alaska on the map where it should be, which is at the tip of the spear, as far as providing energy for our country.”
State lawmakers were less divided on another of Trump’s orders, one renaming the mountain known as Denali to Mount McKinley.
“We want it named Denali,” Costello said by text message.
Rep. Maxine Dibert, D-Fairbanks, invoked her own Koyukon Athabascan heritage, saying Denali is one of many place names across the state that “reflect the diverse cultures, traditions and languages of Alaska.”
“Alaskans from all backgrounds and political persuasions embrace Denali as a rightful name for the tallest peak in America,” she said. “Changing the name of Mount Denali to Mount McKinley would be costly, and if enacted, would be disrespectful to Alaskans.”
Dibert and Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, each introduced resolutions on Wednesday urging the federal government to retain the name Denali. The Obama administration officially renamed the peak to Denali in 2015.
Alaska’s U.S. senators, Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, have spoken out against renaming the mountain. Newly elected Republican Congressman Nick Begich III told Politico that “what people in the Lower 48 call Denali is none of my concern.”
Dunleavy, though, declined to share his thoughts on what the mountain should be called. He said he wanted to speak with Trump before offering up his own position.
“Until I have the conversation, I'm going to refrain from saying what it should be or shouldn't be,” Dunleavy said.
