Obama creates 'resilience area' off Alaska, to protect Bering ecosystem

U.S. President Barack Obama took action Friday to give Alaska Native villages more of a say in the federal management of marine resources in the Bering Sea.

The White House announced Friday that Obama had used an executive order to create a Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area that will focus "locally tailored" protections on marine resources.

The order permanently bars oil exploration in 104,370square kilometres of Norton Basin and St. Matthew Island, two areas already recognized as important hunting areas. It also will boost federal consultation with Alaska tribes and 39 communities that line the west coast of Alaska.

The area within the newly created resilience area covers 290,855 square kilometres. It supports what may be the world's largest annual marine mammal migration of bowhead and beluga whales, Pacific walrus, ice seals and migratory birds.

Residents of coastal villages dependent on marine resources have urged that that their views be heard as the Arctic is affected by climate warming, expanding ship traffic and possible offshore petroleum drilling.

Elders Group thanksObama

The White House executive order establishes a task force with village representation that will consult on federal management activities in the area and work to protect cultural and subsistence activities.

The order elevates Alaska Native comment on projects such as a port access route study nearing completion by the Coast Guard. With increased shipping, the agency is working on vessel traffic control measures through the Bering Strait, the choke point between North America and Asia.

The executive order directs the Coast Guard to give consideration to community recommendations regarding sensitive areas to be avoided because of their importance for hunting or other subsistence activities.

Harry Lincoln, a Yupik elder from Tununak, and the chairman of the Bering Sea Elders Group, thanked Obama in a release.

"It is the Native elders' vision that the northern Bering Sea and the resources that our people rely on be protected because they are the foundation of our culture and way of life," he said. "We have been here since time immemorial and it is our responsibility to pass our rich heritage on to future generations."