Arctic Focused Oil Spill Response Research. March 21, 2016

This past February, I was invited to represent the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) at the 18th Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) in Anchorage. My response? “Y·a yeed·t, xat tsu, Ax tuw·a sigÛo xíAx w dataanÌ” (listen) which is the Tliglit, one of the many Inuit languages, way of saying “I would be happy to give a talk.” The AFE is a statewide gathering of environmental professions from government agencies, non-profit and for-profit businesses as well as community leaders, youth, conservations, biologists and community elders. The event was well attended and 182 of the 220 native Alaskan tribal governments were represented by elders and members, and a remarkable number of youths. I had the pleasure of sharing breakfast and listening to the keynote speakers with a tribal representative and her teenaged granddaughter. Speaker introductions were made in both English as well as many local languages.