Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and First Lady Jill Biden are preparing for a Wednesday visit to Bethel with Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, part of a publicity and campaign tour to highlight the Biden Administration’s broadband investments in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one outcome of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Haaland is poorly regarded among many Alaskans, although Alaska Natives may hold a different opinion.
The trip marks Haaland’s second official visit to the energy-producing state as Interior Secretary, yet her track record on Alaska interests remains spotty at best.
In April 2022, Haaland visited King Cove in the company of Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
During that visit, local residents beseeched that Haaland move forward on a vital one-lane road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, which would dramatically enhance access to emergency medical flights.
Despite this, in an about-face, Haaland revoked a Trump-era land exchange agreement between the Interior Department and King Cove Corp. The reversal came just a day after the Interior Department was forced by the White House to give the green light to Willow, a significant ConocoPhillips oil project on the North Slope. Although Haaland offered vague assurances of future support for the road, her action was seen by advocates as a significant setback in a decades-long battle for local development and safety.
The official party is expected in Bethel on Wednesday evening, where they will extol the virtues of the ongoing broadband expansions in the region and throughout the state as part of the administration’s “Investing in America” tour. Neither Sen. Lisa Murkowski nor Sen. Dan Sullivan will attend and Gov. Mike Dunleavy will also stay away from what is a politically toxic tour. The Dunleavy Administration has filed lawsuits against Haaland and the Department of Interior over land access, hunting and fishing rights of Alaskans, and more.
Sen. Dan Sullivan has criticized Haaland as hypocritical, since New Mexico, her home state, has been awarded multiple oil and gas leases, while Alaska has fought to get just one in many years.
