# Presentation: 586873

## NDOP/NDEP MeetingAnchorage, Alaska

**NDOP/NDEP Meeting****Anchorage, Alaska**

**August 19-21, 2008**
**Janet Hall, Program Manager**
**Gene Kane, Program Manager**

## Slide 2

**Notes:**
Discuss our road system, or lack there of.

Also – side bar, note the box with Alaska again.

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Comparison of Alaska to Lowers 48 in land size

Since 1867 Alaska has been part of the United States, and since 1959, it has been a state within the United States. Alaska accounts for 17 percent of the total U.S. area and 64 percent of the U.S. coastline. 

Taken form akhistorycourse.org
Imagine you are a high school student from the lower 48, say Oregon, attending a meeting or a sporting event with students from other areas of the western states. You happen to meet with students from Barrow, Bethel, and Sitka. You ask the question, “What’s it like in Alaska?” 
Think of the different responses you would get! You would think the students were from three different states. (www.akhistorycourse.org)
Alaska has a large number of communities with 300 or less people. This situation is in contrast, Canada, the former Soviet Union, and Greenland which had policies that encouraged people to move from small settlements to larger communities. Consequently, small communities in these areas have dropped significantly in number. Policy issues thus arise: Can and should the State help to maintain these communities? If so, what would be the best investments? Examples would include roads connecting communities in a sub region and enhanced telecommunications programs such as telemedicine and tele-education. If sufficient support does not occur, what will happen to declining small communities? What are the implications for regional development? Should Alaska’s population be more concentrated in just a few urban centers? What does this mean for maintaining cultural traditions? (www.akhistorycourse.org)

## Slide 4

**Notes:**
Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is the Malaspina Glacier (shown here) at 850 square miles. Five percent of the state or 29,000 square miles is covered by glaciers.

The Malaspina Glacier is so large that it can only seen in its entirety from space; this 1994 photo from STS-66, on a rare clear day, is of an area about (60 miles) across 

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Secretary of State William H. Seward arranged for the United States to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million dollars, or 2 cents per acre.
Alaska has 586,000 square miles, with 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,905 miles of shoreline. 
The Yukon River is 2,000 miles long and is the third longest river in the U.S. There are over 3,000 rivers and over 3 million lakes. 
Alaska is more twice as large as the state of Texas. (the Alaska joke “cut Alaska in half and make Texas the 3rd Largest state”)
There are more than 70 potentially active volcanoes in Alaska. Several have erupted in recent times. The most violent volcanic eruption of the century took place in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes which is now part of Katmai National Park.
State Motto: “North to the Future” – Alaska represents a land of promise (motto created by Richard Peter in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial.

(This text taken from: www.akhistorycourse.org)
The toughest challenge for members of the first Alaska Legislature was to get to Juneau. In 1913, when no one had even dreamed of a town called Anchorage, lawmakers came from places like Nome, Ruby, Candle, Iditarod, Seward, Juneau, Valdez and Fairbanks. 
There were no airplanes in Alaska , (the first flight took place in the summer of 1913 in a Fourth of July exhibition in Fairbanks) and dog teams were the fastest means of winter travel. 
The new legislature was permitted to meet only in odd-numbered years and only for 60 days. Three of the legislators-to-be left Nome by dog team in early January. They crossed Norton Sound to Unalakleet and traveled the Yukon River and then the Tanana River to Fairbanks. They covered 700 to 900 miles just to reach Fairbanks. One senator walked from roadhouse to roadhouse along the winter trail to Fairbanks. From there they went 360 miles by horse-drawn sleigh to Valdez, a journey that took a week, and caught a steamer to Juneau. They arrived the day before the Legislature began. 

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Alaska became a state in 1959. 

Think about that, we are not even 50 years old yet.

Much of our basic infrastructure and economic development throughout our state is still in an infancy stage when you compare us to the lower 48.

(For Texas audience)
Texas became a state in 1845 – 162 years ago.

Our government, infrastructure, economy, all very, very young.

(Side bar – mention at the close of this slide – the discussion on Alaska in the box on the bottom.)

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
There are 20 different Alaska Native languages: 

Aleut, 
Alutiiq (also called Aleut or Sugpiaq), 
Central Yup'ik Eskimo, 
St. Lawrence Island Eskimo, 
Inupiaq Eskimo, 
Tsimshian, 
Haida, 
Tlingit 
Eyak and 
11 Athabascan languages. 

These languages are becoming recognized as the priceless heritage they truly are. 

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Introduction: The Alaska Land Question
When Alaska became part of the United States in 1867, there was no provision in the law for private ownership in the new territory, except for the private individual property holders who had obtained written title to the land under the Russians. "Uncivilized" tribes were to be treated like Indians in the lower United States, which meant they had claim to their ancestral lands but no citizenship rights. In practice, the United States government and new residents to the territory treated all Alaska Natives as "uncivilized" tribes.
The Organic Act of 1884 allowed non-Natives to own mining sites, as long as they were not in areas of use or occupation by Natives. Subsequent laws (after the turn of the century) allowed for Alaska Natives to obtain restricted title to some ancestral lands. (One example of the restrictions placed on the title was that the Native owners did not have the right to sell the land without permission of the federal government.) Various other laws allowed non-Natives to homestead large areas of land, provided they surveyed and worked it.
By the time of statehood (1959) most of the land in Alaska was claimed by the federal government, with a small amount centered around the cities being owned by individuals, almost all of whom were non-Natives. Yet, the rights of Alaska Natives to their ancestral lands had been acknowledged in a number of legal documents from the time of the purchase. The message in all the documents was that Alaska Natives own their own land, but that it is up to future generations to decide how they would get title to it. Exactly which lands were the ancestral lands had not been addressed until the 1900’s when, bit by bit, Natives began to lay claim to portions of the land in the state.
Then, because of a growing non-Native population in Alaska, the discovery of a vast oil field on the North Slope, and increasing demands for that oil in the lower 48, the question of "who owns Alaska" became a national issue.
Congress responded by passing the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971, and President Richard Nixon signed the bill into law on December 18 of that same year. 
This legislation gave Natives title to a portion of their land (44 million acres of land). The act also set up 13 Native regional corporations and more than 200 village corporations, capitalizing (or settling) with them with $962.5 million. The cash payments provided compensation to Natives for lands they had used for centuries but had lost in the settlement.

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Alaska’s land consists of approximately 375 million acres (excludes tidelands and inland navigable bodies of water). Of that 151 million acres are: National Parks, Refuges, and Forests and 70 million acres are other federal lands (More than half of the state is federal land - 60% of the state is federal).1 

This map shows Federal Lands...

Native corporations are the largest private land owner with 44 million acres. Private ownership outside of Native corporations is only 3 million acres. (Only 12.5% of the state is private).1

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Texas has 268,601 square miles.

This map shows the Federal Lands in the state of Texas....

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Of the 20 highest peaks in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mt. McKinley, AKA Denali, the highest peak in North America, is 20,320 ft. above sea level. Denali, the Athabaskan Indian name for the peak, means “the Great One” and is the namesake of the Commission named by Senator Stevens. 

The name Denali for the Commission acknowledges the massive scope of work the Commission is faced with in addressing the extraordinary challenges faced in Alaska.

## Typical Communities

**Typical Communities**

**Anaktuvuk Pass**

**Bethel**

**Pop. 308**

**Pop. 5,960**

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
(Drying Salmon in Toksook Bay. Greeting the plane in rural villages.)

Rural Alaska is characterized by over 280 isolated villages scattered across the state.

Alaska has the highest share of indigenous Americans of any state; one in five residents is Alaska Native. Alaska’s Native population more than doubled between 1970 and 2000.1

Alaska has the largest number of federally recognized tribes with 229 of the 563 federally recognized tribes.?? 

Most rural residents practice a blended subsistence lifestyle and depend heavily on moose, caribou, walrus, whale, seal and fish for their food supply. 

Unemployment rates frequently exceed 50% in rural Alaska. 

Air travel is primarily the only way in and out of most Alaska rural villages.

## Program Funding

- Denali Commission Act of 1998

**Notes:**
The Denali Commission was created by an Act of Congress in 1998.  Senator Ted Stevens, the gentleman in the red tie, recognized that something new was needed in government to really accomplish meaningful rural development.  He saw several bureaucratic problems,

 Federal agencies were too “stove piped”; they were not talking with one another, and hence opportunities were missed and many projects were not coordinated well with each other;
 As federal appropriations passed from one agency to another, everyone took their portion off the top.  In one instance. 70% of the money was spent before anything happened at the local level; and
 Agencies headquartered in Washington DC had little understanding nor appreciation for conditions and cultures in remote Alaska.  
BUSINESS MODEL – SMALL STAFF, RELIANCE ON PROGRAM PARTNERS

## Slide 15

## Program Funding

***Energy Advisory ***
***Committee ******(New)***

***Training ***
***Advisory ***
***Committee******(New)***

***Economic Development  ******Advisory Committee******(New)***

***Transportation ***
***Advisory***
***Committee***

_**Denali Commission FY07 Work Plan Program Priorities**_

***Energy Program***

***Health Facilities ***
***Program***

***Training***
***Program***

***Solid Waste ***
***Program***

***Transportation ***
***Program***

***Teacher ***
***Housing ***
***Program***

***Economic ***
***Development Program***

***Government ***
***Coordination***

***Health Steering ***
***Committee***

**Notes:**
Work Plan Priorities

This slide shows the areas DC will be working this Fiscal Year.

**Describe existing Advisory Committees (Health and Transportation) and the new Committees (Energy, Training and Economic Development).

In summary, the FY07 Work Plan will fund: • Energy (Bulk Fuel, Rural Power System Upgrades, etc.) $45,440,895 • Energy (Renewable and Alternative Energy Projects) $5,000,000 • Health Facilities Planning, Design and Construction) $45,319,040 • Transportation (Roads, Docks and Harbors) $24,000,000 • Training (Construction, Operations and Maintenance, Youth Initiatives, and Commission Project Training) $6,530,832 • Teacher Housing (Design and Construction) $5,000,000 • Economic Development $2,000,000 • Solid Waste (Planning, Design and Construction) $705,375 • Total Program Funding: $133,996,142 

##          Federal Funding Sources 

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Since 1998, the Denali Commission has funded 1,600 projects in more than 200 communities throughout Alaska with more than half a billion dollars in total funding. 
Denali Commission programs include:  
Energy – Health – Training - Multi-use Facilities – Washeterias - Solid Waste - Elder Housing - Teacher Housing - Domestic Violence - Economic Development – Transportation - Government Coordination 

The Denali Commission has been effective at establishing a substantial quantity of badly needed infrastructure in rural Alaska and is widely regarded as essential for that purpose.  
For example, Commission-funded projects include: 
• 160 completed energy projects 
• 100 completed health projects 
• 100 other completed infrastructure projects 
• Training for more than 2,000 Alaskans  

The work of the Denali Commission has resulted in improved access to healthcare for rural Alaskans, greater environmental safeguards around fuel storage, more efficient power generation, and a better-trained workforce than would have been the case in the absence of the Commission. 

- False Pass Bulk Fuel -- before & after

- Tuntutuliak Power Plant

** ****Energy Projects**

**Notes:**
Oil Pollution Act of 1990

Implemented strict new standards for Bulk Fuel storage facilities
Coast Guard declared it would no longer allow fuel deliveries to non code-compliant  tank facilities to 70 or more communities
No single agency had responsibility to address these challenges

## Slide 20

**Notes:**
(Shown here, the fuel farm in Buckland.)

Projects are generally selected from the statewide deficiency lists. The Commission occasionally issues an RFP for energy cost reduction projects as funding is available, but otherwise does not solicit project proposals. 

Match funding and in-kind contributions have been provided by many of the Commission’s energy project recipients, but a cash match is not currently required (except a 10% match for wind projects).  AVEC contributes 10% of the cost of all AVEC infrastructure. Business Operating Plans are required for virtually all construction projects. 

## Slide 21

**Notes:**
Alternative Energy – how we must change the future...

(Chena Hot Springs Resort, Geothermal Power Plant)

(Toksook wind tower, bulk fuel and power plant from AVEC.JPG)

Discuss LOI currently out.

** ****Primary Health Care – Subregional Clinic **

**Notes:**
Health Care Amendment, Nov 1999
Allows for planning, construction & equipping of health facilities
Requires cost share match
Funding for primary care facilities predominately – 7yr plan
Emphasis - serving high need communities; construction ready; sustainability
Competitive process within 3-phase process (planning, design, construction)
Technical assistance provided

## Slide 23

**Notes:**
The Sand Point Clinic was funded by the Denali Commission – opened Summer 2006. SP Mayor Glen Gardner said the clinic would not have been possible without the $3.3 Million from DC. Total project cost was $6.6 million (importance of match). 

Clinic includes dedicated dental and behavioral health space. The new facility is linked directly to computers at Alaska Native Medical Center via telemedicine technology.

In its first few months of operation, Gardner said the clinic already has saved a couple of residents from emergency medical flights to Anchorage. “Using telemedicine we were able to treat the illnesses in the building.” Gardner said eliminating the need for just these two emergency flights saved the community about $30,000.

Overall Alaska medical costs are in the range of 25% above national averages. Per person spending for health care in Alaska increased 176% in just 15 years.1

## Program Funding

**Notes:**
Hooper Bay: 
On August 3, 2006 the community of Hooper Bay suffered a devastating fire.  Hooper Bay is a Yup’ik Eskimo sub regional community of approximately 1,100 people located approximately, 535 miles west of Anchorage on the coast of western Alaska.  The fire burned approximately 15 acres, consuming 35 structures and coming within 300 feet of the community’s bulk fuel storage tanks.  The fire destroyed or severely damaged critical community facilities such as the existing school elementary and high school, existing teacher housing units, the local store, and 12 homes, leaving some 65 individuals homeless and hundreds of community residents displaced.
Hooper Bay residents immediately joined with local, regional, state, federal and philanthropic organizations to begin to rebuild and relocate and house families who lost everything in the fire.   The Denali Commission was one of many organizations with projects planned or underway in Hooper Bay when the fire occurred.  Projects completed or under development included the following: new teacher housing units, new sub regional clinic, and bulk fuel storage tanks.
While the fire was devastating it presented an incredible opportunity for the Commission and its partners to respond and escalate the time line of project completions.  
For example, in the cast of teacher housing, the local school district had identified a long-term need for 34 teacher housing units.  18 units were available in Hooper Bay, and the Commission had approved construction funding for another 16 units.  8 units were destroyed in the August fire.  
Materials the Commission-funded units were already on site in the community and the school district and contractor worked together to accelerate the construction schedule so the new units were completed by the end of November 2006.  This acceleration was important as it coincided with the opening of the new school, completion of installation and construction of pre-fabricated homes, and return of teachers and displaced residents to Hooper Bay.  
Additionally, Village Safe Water (VSW), the agency which installs water and sewer systems across Alaska, was also able to accelerate their schedule for installation of water and sewer in Hooper Bay.  The school district conducted weekly community meetings to keep residents informed of the progress on both the school and teacher housing units.

## Slide 25

**Notes:**
In one of the Roundtables we will be discussing our Allied Health Alliance Program at the Denali Commission. (NADO Innovative Award Recipient)

Based on Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development data, Commission training grants correlate with increases in employment and income for trainees, and those increases persist in subsequent years.  

Denali Commission-funded training programs have increased the employability of trainees. More than 2,000 people had received Denali Commission-funded training by the end of 2005. Based on the results of a random-sample survey by the McDowell Group, 70 percent of trainees who were not employed at the time of the training found work immediately after the training. Two-thirds (64 percent) of those trainees said they would not have been able to get that job without the training.  

Trainees report greater confidence in themselves, as well as stronger communities, as a result of Commission funded training.

## Slide 26

**Notes:**
George Cannelos on travel to Bethel - even on paved highways in Bethel, the summer windblown dust is a serious respiratory and safety hazard. This shot was taken during the middle of the day, although it looks like the scene of a severe storm. 

## Slide 27

**Notes:**
Typical village on the tundra

## Slide 28

**Notes:**
(Kids on Boardwalk in Newtok. Tour of Newtok with Whitehouse fellows.)

What is a typical village?

## Climate change is affecting us now

**Notes:**
Climate change and the need to Relocate Villages

## Alaska is a precious and special place, and the future is uncertain

## It’s about our children and grandchildren

## We’re optimistic and making a huge difference!

- The Denali Commission model works
- Significant progress in basic infrastructure
- Unprecedented access to basic healthcare
- Thousands of Alaskans trained and working
- More skills and capacity at the local level
- Decision-making is open and public
- Leading in government coordination
- Leading in push for affordable, reliable energy
- Accountable for our actions