Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Alaska Resource Advisory Council (RAC) Meeting

Inupiat Heritage Center - Barrow, AK

February 7-8, 2007

**DAY 1-Wednesday, February 7, 2007**

**Council Members Present:** Sandra Key, Phil Driver, Suzanne McCarthy,
Greg Beischer, June McAtee, Keith Tryck, Susan Olsen, Tom Crafford,
Denise Michels, Jim Posey, Barbara Fullmer, and Teresa Imm. **Council
Members Absent:** Charlie Boddy, David van den Berg, and Scott Hala.

**BLM Representatives Present:** Tom Lonnie (DFO), Ramone McCoy, Gary
Reimer, Danielle Allen, Leah Dailey, Sharon Wilson, Bob Schneider,
Ramona Chinn, Ben Nageak, John Sroufe, Beth Maclean, David Yokel, and
Jim Ducker.

**Other:** Noah Ashley \[North Slope Borough (NSB)\]. See sign-in sheets
for the 30 names of the public present.

Meeting **CALLED TO ORDER** at 12:25 p.m.by Chair, Sandra Key. *Ben
Nageak, the new BLM-Alaska Barrow representative, served as Inupiat
translator for the public proceedings.*

**WELCOME:** Key welcomed everyone and said it was great to be in
Barrow. Key described the organization and purpose of the RAC to the
public. RAC members introduced themselves and housekeeping issues were
addressed.

**INTRODUCTION OF MAYORS:** Lonnie welcomed and introduced both mayors.
**A. Mayor Itta, North Slope Borough:** Mayor Itta welcomed and led
everyone in an invocation. He said that the issues on the RAC agenda are
the same issues Barrow residents are interested in. Itta said this RAC
meeting in Barrow was significant as the BLM controls 25 million acres
in the area; he said he was glad to see the landlord show up. He said he
appreciated any chance to exchange ideas or information and that it is
good for Barrow residents to hear other resource management issues
relevant to other regions in Alaska. He said Barrow has a 35+ year
history of resource management and that the BLM has shown it values
North Slope communications with the hiring of BLM representative, Ben
Nageak. He explained that having a permanent presence in Barrow is
important to the people and that the BLM's investment shows a commitment
to the cooperative approach that drives the North Slope Science
Initiative (NSSI). He also stated a common aim should be for all
companies and agencies operating on the Slope to leave the smallest
development footprint; he said it takes a huge effort to not lose sight
of the other resources while racing forward to develop oil and gas. He
noted that the RAC is based on goals similar to the NSSI with
collaboration being an important element. He

explained that everyone involved must represent different perspectives,
listen, and search for the wisdom that sometimes is obscured by facts.
He challenged the RAC and the BLM to not overlook a key source of North
Slope information, the elders; they have spent their lives studying the
natural phenomena around them, have watched the habits of the caribou
and birds for centuries, and have experienced in all seasons, over many
decades, ice and weather patterns as well as tundra changes. He said
these elders have no academic standing, but they are still the experts
and it takes extra work from outsiders to appreciate this resource. He
called for all parties to combine talents and use the sources at hand.

**B. Mayor Olemaun, City of Barrow:** Mayor Olemaun explained his
background, his tribal affiliations, and previously held offices. He
stated that the BLM and Barrow residents have similar interests and
issues to address, for example, hunting in Prudhoe Bay and Native
allotments. He presented a detailed history of his family's situation
regarding Native allotments. He expressed residents' concerns regarding
the backlog of Native allotments and the development of Prudhoe Bay. He
said he hoped the RAC would address some of these issues in this
meeting.

**STATE DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE:** Lonnie introduced himself and thanked
Barrow for hosting the RAC. Lonnie said even though he has only been in
Alaska for a couple of months, he was excited to be in the state. He
said some of his BLM-Alaska State Director priorities (conveyances and
the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

(NPR-A) are in line with issues important to Barrow and North Slope
residents. He said he has been told things are different in Alaska and
agrees as he has found differences in statutes, regulations, and
subsistence issues.

**INTRODUCTION OF BLM-ALASKA REPRESENTATIVE, BEN NAGEAK:** Nageak was
introduced to the RAC and the members of the public by Schneider. Nageak
said he has been working for the BLM since Dec. 23, 2006, and is
thankful to serve in this capacity with the federal government. Nageak
explained the BLM had planned this Barrow presence for quite some time
and was glad it has come to fruition. Nageak said he believes there is
work to do and he is glad that Lonnie is willing to tackle some of the
North Slope issues. After Nageak's introduction, one member of the
public commented to Nageak, that he would like access to the caribou
collar migration information so Barrow residents can find where they
should go to hunt the caribou.

**Arctic Field Office (afo) Manager Update (Powerpoint)**: Yokel
discussed the winter 2006-07 exploration in the NPR-A to include well
location, exploration companies, and spudding dates. Yokel showed a map
of collared caribou. Many people said that agencies should not judge
where the caribou are in regards to the collared few as this information
is not always accurate. Brian Person of the NSB said he thinks the
cooperative effort between his agency and the State is leading to better
herd monitoring with collar readings taken every 3-4 days. Yokel
discussed snow trails in the NPR-A. He said snow trails in the NPR-A
provide an opportunity for the people of Barrow to drive to Anchorage.
These snow trails concern the BLM in two ways: safety and tundra damage.
The AFO and the NSB are currently managing the use and safety of these
oil exploration trails through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Yokel said the MOU is currently in the development stage although trail
use has already begun by industry and residents.

**BREAK at** 2:30 p.m. **RECONVENED** at 3:00 p.m.

**NE NPR-A ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) SUPPLEMENT DISCUSSION:**
Ducker discussed 3 main points:

**A. Supplement to the Amendment for NE NPR-A:** The BLM asked for
comments in Dec. 2006 and received them from the NSB, the Western Arctic
Caribou Herd Working Group, and from many other entities. The
information suggested not only mitigation measures, but the BLM also
received new sources of information, specifically new scientific studies
completed since the 2005 Amendment. The BLM has forwarded this
information to the specialists. The comments were useful.

**B. MOU Making the NSB a Cooperating Agency for the NE NPR-A EIS:**
Ducker said the NSB has been very helpful in reviewing drafts and
pointing out information that the BLM might have missed. The BLM is now
incorporating/improving the document based on NSB input and getting
attorney input. The next step will be to analyze the impacts.

**C. Current schedule for the NE NPR-A Supplement:** Draft---Mid-June
2007, Final---Feb. 2008, Record of Decision (ROD)---30 days after Final
in 2008.

Discussion: One member of the public stated that he knew the BLM had
been sued and that the courts said that the EIS had not been adequately
completed; the member asked what the court decision meant. Another
member of the public said he heard the BLM was sued because the EIS
lacked impacts at the permitting level and alternatives in the EIS.
Ducker responded saying that the cumulative impact section of the
amendment was flawed but the BLM feels the range of alternatives are
satisfactory and the judge did not find otherwise. Ducker explained the
BLM will be able to entertain mitigation measures such as where the
pipelines might be placed or relocated. A public member said the
cumulative effects portion of the document should include NSB input.
Ducker explained that the BLM was currently looking at the entire
document and impacts pursuant to leasing would be re-evaluated. One
person asked Ducker if it was true that the court only addressed
questions brought to the court. Ducker said yes. Another public member
said he felt the North Slope's subsistence concerns were not addressed
by the court.

**NORTH SLOPE COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING UPDATE (Handout):** Ashley said
he was responsible for representing the NSB in the NPR-A South planning
effort. Ashley summarized the actions completed to date. Most recently,
the NSB submitted a report to the BLM that included information gathered
from public meetings and mapping sessions. The NSB is currently in Phase
3 and is developing an alternative template. Once the NSB has developed
an alternative template, the plan is to go back into the communities to
finalize the alternative before submission to the BLM. The goal is to
submit a final alternative by the end of March 2007. Ashley showed an
example of what the alternative could include in his handout. Lonnie
asked Ashley to clarify the opposition of transportation corridors in
the template. Ashley said residents felt the opposition to
transportation corridors was related to the possibility of hard rock
and/or coal mining being allowed within the planning area because roads
are needed to transport minerals to market instead of pipelines.
Beischer asked if residents felt mining and transportation should not be
in the plan. Ashley said that residents were concerned about
mining/transportation corridors because mining is currently prohibited
by law and roads and it is unknown what impacts mining will have on
North Slope resources, and according to the Stebbins report roads are
uneconomic to build and could bring more outsiders into the planning
area, which would increase hunting pressures. Crafford asked who would
make the final decision on the preferred alternative submitted to the
BLM. Ashley said the NSB will approve the template but is planning to
ask the residents of each community to approve the final submitted
alternative. Ashley said the NSB has not formally determined the process
for community acceptance of the final alternative. Lonnie asked Ashley
why residents preferred prescriptive vs. performance measures. Ashley
said that residents were familiar with prescriptive-based measures from
the NE NPRA 1998 IAP/EIS and ROD. Posey asked what a realistic timeframe
(not March 2007) for a community-accepted alternative would be. Ashley
said the NSB is waiting for word from the BLM as to whether the South
NPR-A Plan is actually going to happen before the NSB spends more time
and energy completing the community-based planning effort. Posey again
asked for a timeframe under the best of circumstances. Ashley said it
was tough to set a date, but that Dec. 2007 might be workable. One
person testified that he would like industry and the BLM to consider no
activity (helicopters, road travel, etc) in June as the Inupiat want the
animals protected during their June calving season because the noise
from transportation is disruptive to the young. Beischer stated that he
understands that the BLM usually has four alternatives in its plans.
Beischer asked Lonnie if the BLM would have a 5^th^ alternative or if
the NSB alternative would replace one of the usual four. Additionally,
Beischer asked what the risk would be if the BLM chose not to select the
NSB alternative as the preferred one. Lonnie said the BLM needed to
first see and evaluate where the NSB alternative would fit. Lonnie said
the risk for the BLM in not selecting the NSB alternative would be if
the alternative was not within range and also if the BLM had to go
before a judge and explain why it should have considered the NSB
alternative.

**RURAL ENERGY PROGRAM PRESENTATION (POWERPOINT):** Maclean said the
program was started by the State and the BLM become involved due to the
potential to learn about resources, technology, and environmental
concerns. Maclean said the BLM is working the program alone right now
and waiting/hoping the State will get involved again. Maclean said she
is not certain of the future of this program beyond this summer's (2007)
upcoming drilling in Wainwright. Imm said the Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation (ASRC) has been into Wainwright and the village is very
receptive. Maclean discussed the history of coal bed methane gas and
coal deposits within Alaska and the drilling history in the communities
of Chignik, Fort Yukon, and Franklin Bluffs. One person asked who would
act on the project if the exploration of Wainwright yields favorable
results. Maclean said it would have to be a consortium project since the
BLM could not fund the program. Olsen asked if this program was part of
the BLM's involvement in the Energy Program. Maclean said yes, and that
Jeannie Cole is also involved in biomass projects. After the
presentation, Posey said he hoped this presentation would have
encompassed more. Posey asked if the Department of Energy was going to
be included with the BLM to consider energy issues. No response was
given. Posey suggested wind and solar energy. Maclean agreed. Imm stated
ASRC is having discussions about other alternative energy sources for
rural Alaska and trying to decide if/when larger entities need to pool
resources to advance rural energy options. Key said the Rural Energy
Program is part of the 2007 Work Plan. Imm was assigned as lead to
determine if this is an action or information item for the RAC Work
Plan.

**Break** at 4:30 p.m. **[RECONVENED]{.smallcaps}** at 4:35 p.m.

Housekeeping issues were addressed. Motion to adjourn by Key. Posey
seconded. Meeting **ADJOURNED** for the day at 5: 07 p.m.

**DAY 2-Thursday, February 8, 2007**

**Council Members Present:** Same as Day 1. \[Posey left from 11:30-1:00
p.m.\]

**BLM Representatives Present:** Tom Lonnie (DFO), Ramone McCoy, Gary
Reimer, Danielle Allen, Leah Dailey, Sharon Wilson, Bob Schneider,
Ramona Chinn, Ben Nageak, John Sroufe, and Dave Yokel. \[Lonnie left
from 11:30-1:00 p.m.\]

**Other:** Noah Ashley.\[North Slope Borough (NSB)\], Sharon Warren
\[Department of the Interior (DOI)\]. See sign-in-sheets for the 12
names of the public present.

Meeting **CALLED TO ORDER** at 8:20 a.m.

**DECEMBER 2006 RAC MINUTES:** Approved. Minutes signed by RAC Chair.

**ANCHORAGE FIELD MANAGER UPDATE (Handout):** Reimer discussed the Bay
Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS).
Reimer said some of this land is currently being conveyed, so his best
guess is the BLM will manage 1.5-1.6 million acres after conveyance. A
mailing was made per public comment from the Dec. 2006 meeting. Next is
comment analysis and EIS clean-up. The BLM will be developing more
areas, especially hydrology. The EIS needs to be done by Sept. 30, 2007.
At that time, the BLM will work on protections and the Record of
Decision (ROD). Key and Biescher appreciated the focused discussion
Reimer has brought to the RAC. Biescher supports the BLM's selection of
Alternative D as the preferred alternative.

**FAIRBANKS DISTRICT OFFICE UPDATE** **(Powerpoint):** Schneider
discussed the Kobuk Seward RMP. Schneider's team will brief the
BLM-Alaska State Director on the plan next week. The State, the NSB, and
the Northwest Arctic Borough will get early access to the draft plan.
The current date for the ROD is Sept. 2007. Schneider discussed issues
relevant to the plan, specifically those in Unit 23 and the Squirrel
River Area. Schneider said a Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) is
planned to develop specific management guidelines to address the user
conflict issues. Another issue for the plan is the management of
locatable minerals. Schneider said the BLM is looking at several
alternatives. RAC members asked for clarification on waterway management
and right-of-way issues. Beischer asked if the responsibility would be
put on mining companies to address hydrology issues and to recommend
setbacks. Schneider said yes; the companies would provide the BLM with a
plan recommending flood zones, minerals, operations plans, etc. Beischer
said this approach by the BLM was a good solution.

**UNFINISHED BUSINESS:**

**A. RAC Resolution Process (Handout):** Key said the handout is the
product of a meeting between Wilson and Olsen to formulate operational
procedures. Crawford said he felt that the policy that only unanimous
resolutions would go forward to the Secretary was correct based on his
attendance at the 2004 RAC Chair's National Conference in Phoenix where
he remembers hearing that a "unanimous agreement is necessary to make a
resolution go to the Secretary." Olsen said she did not realize how the
BLM handled the process of forwarding resolutions until now. Lonnie said
that as a compromise, he could agree to forward all resolutions to the
BLM Director. Additionally, Lonnie said that if the RAC felt a forwarded
resolution was of a nature that the RAC felt the Secretary should see
it, the RAC could recommend within the resolution's text that the
resolution be forwarded via the BLM Director to the Secretary of the
Interior. Lonnie explained that the RAC as a whole could forward a
resolution to the Secretary if they felt RAC advice was being
disregarded by the State Director. The RAC said it would like copies of
the briefing papers and transmittal documents sent forward to the
Director. Beischer said he would like to see a process defined that
includes a delivery timeline for documents to reach the Director. Key
suggested that Wilson and Olsen recast the handout to reflect the new
input received and sent through the Chair and Vice Chair of the RAC for
consideration.

**B. 2007 RAC Work Plan:** RAC members discussed the 2007 work plan,
assigned rewriting responsibilities, and added members to work group
committees. Imm/Posey/Michels assigned to the Rural Energy Program. Hala
was added to the East Alaska RMP committee. Michels was added to the
Kobuk-Seward committee. Van den Berg/Olsen/Imm will be on the NE
Supplement committee. Driver/McCarthy/van den Berg/Imm/Posey will be on
the Colville River committee. Tryck will continue working on wildland
fire issues. Key said Item C, on page seven, a statement needed to be
included about the NSB Community Based Planning. The RAC also wants to
be kept up-to-date on the Minerals Assessment program and the John
Rishel Mineral Information Center. The RAC moved the NSSI to an
information item, removed the RS2477 program, and made wildland fire
management an information item. The RAC asked to have fire reports at
two meetings: a budget presentation at the spring meeting and a

fire season wrap-up at the fall meeting. Beischer will finalize the work
plan with these changes. Additionally the RAC discussed upcoming meeting
dates: May 16-17, 2007 in Glennallen; July 18-20, 2007 in Nome; November
13-14, 2007 in Fairbanks; and February 6-7, 2008 in Anchorage.

**C. Nominations for RAC Chair:** Key nominated Beischer for Chair.
Seconded by Posey. Beischer stated that he was not sure if he should
accept the nomination right now as he does not have the motivation to
redouble the amount of time towards RAC duties as required by the Chair.
Olsen motioned to make Beischer the acting chair until the next meeting
in May 2007. Posey seconded. Key asked Beischer if he wanted an
assistant and Beischer said no.

**D. 2007 RAC Field Trip Discussion:** New RAC member and Mayor of Nome,
Denise Michels, will take the planning lead in coordination with several
BLM managers (Schneider, Reimer, and Jacobson).

**BREAK** at 10:06 a.m. **RECONVENED** at 10:22 a.m. by Acting Chair,
Beischer.

**NPR-A SOUTH PLAN DISCUSSION:** Discussion focused on possibility of
setting the South NPR-A Plan aside for now. Lonnie explained that he had
gotten feedback from the DOI and the BLM needs to help lessen the North
Slope's workload by requesting less document reviews. Since the South
NPR-A plan was originally scheduled, Lonnie said, there have been new
developments with the NE NPR-A Plan. Lonnie said the BLM has no legal
authority in NPR-A to make minerals available and that there is more
interest in the Colville River Special Area as leasing was deferred
until a plan was completed. Lonnie said that if the BLM completes the
Colville River Activity Plan, it would not be an oil and gas leasing
document, but it would be confined in scope to the river and its
corridor; the BLM could accomplish this with an EA and complete it prior
to June 2008 in time for the next lease sale. The NE NPR-A Supplement
would be completed as scheduled and the NW NPR-A Plan already exists.
Beischer asked if the BLM had made a firm decision to proceed in this
direction. Lonnie said no and that he is currently consulting with the
acting BLM Director about setting aside the South NPR-A Plan since it
involves some priority changes. Lonnie said the plans in the NPR-A are
associated with oil and gas leasing and the money for these plans is
budgeted differently. Beischer called for RAC discussion about setting
the plan aside. Imm said deferring action on the South NPR-A Plan would
be a good idea and it would satisfy many issues and concerns. Posey said
based on oil and gas percentages, if AK decides on a pipeline, the BLM
would still have time to do the plan. Olsen said her concern is whether
the BLM can adequately make a plan for the Colville River without
considering other resources in South NPR-A. She wondered if the BLM was
limiting the plan for the Colville River because it does not have a plan
for the other resources. Olsen further wondered if the BLM could do a
good job on the Colville River Plan if the Bureau had not done an
analysis for the full area. Key asked why the BLM felt the need to do a
plan on the Colville River if it was not going to do a South NPR-A plan.
Lonnie said that the NE and NW plans contain leasing decisions and that
if there are no leasing decisions made via a South NPR-A RMP/EIS then
the Secretary made a determination that he would defer leasing of the
Colville River area until a river management plan was completed. Key
agreed with delaying the South NPR-A Plan as long as the NSB Community
Based Planning efforts would not be thwarted. Key felt the NSB should
finish its Community Based Planning efforts. Driver agreed. Ashley
explained that the NSB would not be disappointed if the BLM's decision
was to set aside the South NPR-A Plan for a time as the NSB is currently
bombarded with the NE Plan and other offshore issues. ***(Ramona Chinn
appointed to act as Delegated Federal Officer (DFO) in the absence of
Tom Lonnie.)*** Crafford said he had stayed on the RAC because he knew
the South NPR-A plan was on the horizon and he represents mineral entry.
He said he is concerned with leaving the South NPR-A area without a
management plan and he worries that the area could be designated as
"wilderness." Crafford said he does not want to see NPR-A areas
designated as "wilderness" and suggested that Lonnie and the RAC hear
what absent RAC member van den Berg had to say on this issue since this
is his area of expertise.

**GLENALLEN FIELD MANAGER UPDATE (Handout):** McCoy said her office has
been working on a response to the Governor's consistency review for the
East Alaska Plan; it should be completed in two weeks. If there are no
protests from the new Palin administration, the ROD should be signed by
the next RAC meeting and the plan can be finalized. McCoy asked the RAC
if they would like an overview of the East Alaska Plan at the next
meeting in Glennallen. Beischer said yes. McCoy explained a couple of
step-down plans in the works. McCoy also said her office is continuing
its user-education outreach efforts, especially in the area of human
waste disposal. McCoy said this summer marks the 50^th^ anniversary of
the Denali Hwy construction and is the theme at the BLM booth at the
Anchorage Sportsman Show in March 2007. She also said her office was
working on a Public Lands Day event to clean up the highway in the
McClerin River area. Additionally, her office is working on a
cooperative management agreement for the research camp at Bering Glacier
with UAA.

**ANCHORAGE FIELD MANAGER UPDATE (Handout):** Reimer discussed planning
and conveyance issues. He said land patterns are firming up, especially
in the Haines area. He said local hires in villages are valuable to his
office and they support the conveyance program. He discussed the
upcoming Winter Trails Day and a lecture event, "Making Your Voice
Heard", that he would be holding with the assistance of Key.

**BREAK** for lunch at 12:25 p.m. **RECONVENED** at 12:35 p.m.

**CADASTRAL SURVEY (Powerpoint & Handout):** Sroufe explained the
history of the cadastral survey program and what the work involves. He
explained the role of the BLM-Alaska Cadastral Survey Program and how it
related to Alaska land conveyances.

***Tom Lonnie returned from meeting and resumed DFO duties from
Chinn.***

**PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD:**

**I. Geoff Carroll, resident of the North Slope:** Carroll commented
that he wanted the BLM to reassess its planning in the NE NPR-A
supplemental document. He said he did not want the Teshepuk Lake area
opened because of its importance to subsistence hunters and its value as
caribou/bird habitat. Carroll said although the court declared the range
of alternatives adequate, he felt the BLM suggested a unique alternative
that was never discussed with the involved communities. Carroll also
said it is not just the conservation groups that are against leasing
this area but other entities have also vocalized dissatisfaction.
*Carroll provided a typed copy of his comments for the public record
which will be maintained as an attachment to these minutes.*

**II. Thomas Olemaun, Executive Director and President of the Native
Village of Barrow:** Olemaun said the tribal governments are sometimes
left out, especially with funding. He said the tribal governments do a
lot of work, especially with establishing heirs for Native allotments.
Olemaun's major concern is government-to-government relationships. He
said his main goal is communication. He said although everyone serves on
different organizations, everyone has the same issues to solve.

**III. Pat Neakok, Environmental Resources Director of ICAS:** He said
the board of this federally recognized tribe has always been opposed to
development due to subsistence threats, etc. He said he objects to
industry and federal government coming up with baseline studies; studies
have been done in the past and new studies should not be used as the
baseline. He said the World Health Organization defines health as other
than the absence of disease. He said that if the subsistence way of life
is taken away, then other areas of Native life suffer and the Native
lifestyle is no longer "healthy." He also said the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process does not address the health
impacts on the Native communities. He said the BLM should not approve
multiple resource development in any one area at any given time; the BLM
should go slow and evaluate what is happening.

**IV. Robert Suydam, wildlife biologist:** Suydam said the NS area is
busy right now with on and off-shore resource development issues and is
reviewing many environmental impact statements simultaneously. He
supports putting the South NPR-A plan aside for a time since when too
much happens too quickly, the resources suffer. He suggested that the
BLM got it right with the NE NPR-A Plan as the 1998 ROD was about
right---it allowed leasing but it also set aside areas with important
resources. He said the balance was good. Furthermore, he said when the
BLM was considering changes to Teshepuk Lake, the BLM said it had
learned a lot, when in fact not much new had been learned about that
area. In fact, he said, if anything what we have learned causes even
greater concern in about opening up the area. He urged the BLM to leave
the NE NPR-A the way it was decided in 1998 ROD until there is more
information and then the BLM can go forward reasonably and responsibly.
He suggested that if this was not possible, then the seven tracts around
Teshepuk Lake should not be leased all at once; the BLM should lease one
tract at a time and evaluate the environmental impacts as they happen!
GO SLOW!

**V. Gordon Brower, resident:** He explained his status as a whaling
captain and a planner. He said he sees a few issues as lacking in the
EIS. First, he would like to see the leases subsidize fuel for the
residents of the North Slope and that industry needs to give something
back to the Natives. He said he would like the animal
resources/subsistence activities protected. He believes issues need to
be evaluated at the EIS level rather than at the permitting level. He
feels some laws need to be enacted to protect the minority as industry
usually prevails with the way things are currently.

**VI. Lloyd Leavitt:** He said tribal government has been around since
1940 and is recognized by the federal government. He wants the BLM to
work closer with the tribal government. He suggested he would also like
to have access to information regarding conveyance of Native allotments
and State selection.

***Members of the public that wanted to supply additional public comment
were given BLM business cards and encouraged to supply testimony via
email or United States Postal Service.** (Note: as of 1 March 2007, one
additional comments has been received and is attached to the minute
record.)*

**CONVEYANCES UPDATE (HANDOUTS):** Ramona Chinn discussed FY07 targets
and Native allotments.

Motion to **ADJOURN** by Beischer. Seconded by Olsen. **ADJOURNED** at
2:30 p.m.

**Handouts and Presentations (source in parenthesis)**

**Handouts:**

RAC Agenda, Feb. 7-8 (AK912)

GFO Highlights, Winter 2007 (Ramone McCoy)

BLM Anchorage Field Office RAC Update, Feb. 2007 (Gary Reimer)

Resource Advisory Council Minutes, Dec. 2006 (AK912)

RAC Unanimous Resolutions Packet (AK912)

2007 RAC Work Program (AK912)

Update on Community-Based Planning for South NPR-A, Feb. 2007 (Noah
Ashley)

Alaska Major Issues, January-February 2007 (AK912)

Process for RAC Recommendations/Resolutions (Sharon Wilson, AK912)

DRAFT Minerals Memo to BLM-Alaska State Director (Greg Beischer)

Status of Kobuk-Seward RMP and Key Issues (Bob Schneider)

The Whole Point of Benefits-Based Management (Ramone McCoy)

Sign In Sheets

**Powerpoint Presentations:**

Kobuk Seward RMP (Bob Schneider)

Winter Exploration in NPR-A (Dave Yokel)

Rural Energy Program (Beth McClean)

Cadastral Survey (John Sroufe) (Print copy and CD in meeting file)

**Items from Public Comment:**

BLM Public Meeting Talk, Geoff Carroll

Public Comment on Federal Register of 1/10/07 Vol 72 #5 PG 1235, B.
Sachau