Secretary of Interior appoints members to BLM advisory council

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Thirteen members have been appointed to the Resource Advisory Council which advises the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management on Alaska land management issues, the agency said Sept. 21.

Members include: Tom Crafford, Tom Hawkins, Larry Houle, Gary Gustafson, Susan Olsen, John Stroud and Paul Roehl of Anchorage; Brett Carlson, Rick Solie Jr. and David van den Berg of Fairbanks; Larry Taylor of Eagle; Elizabeth Whealy of Sitka; and Karen Burnell of Barrow.

Interior said council members come from different backgrounds and represent diverse interests, “but all are dedicated to finding and building consensus on public land issues.”

The council was chartered in 1995 under Interior’s nationwide healthy rangelands initiative. Similar councils in other states craft standards and guidelines for livestock grazing.

The Alaska council looks at resource issues such as mining, wild and scenic rivers management and public easements.

All council meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period. Information about the council and announcements of future meetings are available on the Internet at www.ak.blm.gov/advisory.html