Extremist Alaska Center Goes All-In to Cripple Alaska

October 6, 2020

When it comes to Alaska-based (but Outside-funded) environmental groups, The Alaska Center is the alpha organization in the Great Land.

(A quick side-bar: This group was formerly known as the “Alaska Center for the Environment”, before their board re-named them in 2016, when they realized they couldn’t keep that name and still have any credibility with the majority of Alaskans.)

The Center has spent the last four years since its “rebranding” establishing itself as the voice of opposition to each and every resource development project in the state.  Open ANWR?  Not on the Center’s watch.  Pebble?  The most evil mine ever conceived, according to the Center.  Donlin? Nope, not even with the project existing on tribal land, where it can provide jobs to hundreds of indigenous Alaskans.  Drilling in Cook Inlet?  What, and threaten the Beluga whale population?  They even went so far as to try to make all waters across the state – regardless of historical precedent – yes, even the puddles that form in your driveway after a rainstorm! – nearly off-limits for purposes of development, when they led the fight for the 2018 “Stand for Salmon” initiative.  Thankfully, voters saw through that charade, and defeated it by over 25 percentage points at the polls.

But this year, their PAC has decided that supporting increased oil tax legislation isn’t enough.  They’ve begun running attack ads against sitting state legislators, accusing them of being bought and paid for by oil and gas industry and Pebbly execs and selling out their constituencies as pro-development shills.  An example of one such ad can be found here.  It should be noted that the two legislators attacked are running against the wife of a Center partner’s Alaska executive (Sam Snyder of the radical Wild Salmon Center), and against a solar and renewable energy business owner. 

The good news?  Based on their history with voters, their ideas and candidates will be soundly rejected.  The bad news?  The Center’s willingness to attack won’t go away with their 2020 defeats, as long as their Outside funders continue to demand they stifle responsible development whenever possible.