Dan's Dispatch

By Representative

Dan Ortiz

Governor Walker once said Alaska is “a resource rich, but currently cash poor, state.” I have the honor of representing our district in the Alaska State Legislature. My fellow legislators and I will need to do heavy lifting in the upcoming session to address our state’s immediate fiscal challenges. However, Southeast Alaska’s economic climate will be bright if we are bullish about our long-term economic future. If we are poised and bold, we will not miss opportunities to benefit from our resources.

Population experts project an increase of over a billion people on the Asian continent in the next 20 years. This means there will be an ever-increasing global demand for our local seafood, timber and energy. The already-high demand for Alaskan seafood will continue to grow rapidly if we invest now in a Southeast shellfish farming industry. We should also continue to foster healthy salmon streams and reduce bycatch.

Demand will not only grow for seafood. Timber demand will also grow. We must fight for increased access to our timber resources and work to harvest sustainably.

While attending Southeast Conference in B.C. a few weeks back, I had the opportunity to meet with Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain. Mayor Brain spoke of his desire to create an economic free zone between southern Southeast and Prince Rupert. He envisions Prince Rupert as a central trading port—not just with Pacific nations, but also with northern European countries. Due to the continuing reduction of arctic sea ice, over-the-arctic routes are becoming accessible for longer periods of time. Shipbuilding and ship repair facilities are lacking in Prince Rupert, but many of these services are available at the Ketchikan Vigor Shipyard. One of our most promising prospects is to improve connections among the port towns of our district with the future trading port of Prince Rupert.

Recent extensive development in Prince Rupert’s port infrastructure also reflects BC’s expectation that they will develop a natural gas pipeline in the near future. This information makes Governor Walker’s call to get moving on the development of the AK-LNG pipeline particularly important.

Southern southeast can be in a strong economic position if we recognize opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

I have personally been blessed by living in a resource-rich region of the state. I worked for four summers at the Ketchikan Pulp mill and was able to earn my BA while remaining debt-free.

I have also worked for a number of summers in the tourism industry, made possible by our incredible beauty and abundant wildlife. I worked for brief periods earlier in my life as a deckhand and have enjoyed being a

sport fisherman throughout my 47-year residency.