sion on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Oil Drilling. The appointment was in keeping with Ulmer’s role in shaping both public and environmental policy throughout her years in Alaska. Although Ulmer left UAA as planned in May 2011, she didn’t actually retire. A few months before her departure, the president appointed her to another national position—chair of the US Arctic Research Commission. The Arctic research appointment came at a good time. State and national leaders are increasingly concerned about climate change. While global, such changes are more pronounced in the Arctic, where coastal villages are in danger of sliding into the oceans, roads are buckling, and glaciers are melting. “Her work on the commission is a culmination of her forty years of experience in Alaska,” Jane Angvik says. Besides chairing the Arctic Research Commission, Ulmer will also serve as the US Arctic science and policy advisor and will be involved with the Arctic Council, the group of eight Arctic nations formed in 1996 to work on issues of mutual interest. The council chairmanship rotates among the eight nations every two years and the United States became the chair in April 2015. Jimmy Stotts, an Inupiaq from Barrow and president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska, has long worked on Arctic issues. The Inuit Circumpolar Council is one of the six permanent participants of the Arctic Council, and Stotts regularly attends its meetings. Stotts notes the disconnect between the state’s position, geared toward Arctic development, and that of the federal government, focused on environmental issues such as carbon dioxide reduction. Stotts says he was glad that Ulmer was chosen as the science adviser. “Fran is an Alaskan; she understands both the federal and the state’s position, and she will be a good conduit between the two.” That Ulmer is also a member of the Nature Conservancy’s global board will help in that because it gives her credibility with environmental organizations. The next two years will be busy and challenging for Ulmer. They will also give her a chance to contribute to the important debate on Arctic issues and www.akbizmag.com
climate change and to focus attention on Alaska. Hard times are ahead for Alaska because of the budget crisis due to falling oil prices. But Ulmer remains optimistic. “We have abundant resources— natural, human, and financial—that can be managed for our small population to do well for a long time,” she says. She offered this assessment: “The bad news is our dependence on our state government providing things for free: free roads, schools, troopers, resource management—all of which cost money. But
the good news is our resilient population, which must now accept that taxes are necessary to assure a high quality of education, safety, and other public services. “We must stop pretending that oil can pay for everything. We need much more engagement by citizens in problem solving. Elected officials cannot take care of all the thorny issues without our help and support.” R Writer Shehla Anjum is based in Anchorage.
June 2015 | Alaska Business Monthly
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