Terrific Tech

In Bloom and In Demand

Shot by Madmen Studios, our cover subject is a man who embodies many of the same values and successes as the historic piece of legislation passed back in the early ‘70s: the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

“While each region is different, each region can point to their own localized successes. In a general sense, ANCSA stitched together the Alaska Native communities and created a shared identity that has afforded our peoples a mechanism to come together to utilize and protect our collective land and other assets for the benefit of future generations,” says ASRC’s President and CEO Rex A. Rock Sr.

In “50 Years of ANCSA,” Rock—along with a host of other influential Alaskan leaders—reflects on where the act succeeded, areas it may have fallen short, and what its evolution might mean for the state moving forward.

hen Samson Tug and Barge needed to modernize its computer network, GCI customized a full-scale solution. The Sitka-based, interstate shipping company had new networks installed in eighteen locations, made upgrades to eighty computers—and gained access to what Vice President Cory Baggen describes as a “legion” of IT people. Thanks to GCI’s team, Baggen was able to take a two-week vacation in Panama this spring—without needing to have her laptop or the internet available to troubleshoot work-related technical problems. “I knew the business support team would cover me, and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything,” says Baggen, who has an IT background and fills multiple roles at her company.

GCI has provided IT and technical support for Samson Tug and Barge’s users, servers, and network for more than ten years. “They’re perfect for us,” Baggen says. “The management of the company is stellar; they really look out for Alaska businesses.”

t would be almost impossible to live in Alaska without maritime vessels, and while there are different regulations for different types of boats, all of them must meet certain standards to be considered seaworthy and to ensure the safety of crew and passengers.

“Commercial vessels like fishing boats, crude oil-carrying tankships, tugboats, and cruise ships all fall under different sets of safety regulations, and it can get a little murky depending on the industry,” explains Mike LaBarge, assistant professor of maritime studies, UAS Ketchikan, whose background includes fifteen years in the maritime industry as a captain and dive instructor. “Private vessels, which are not considered ‘inspected passenger vessels’ by the US Coast Guard, don’t have to follow such stringent rules.”

ifty years ago, as the Watergate scandal swirled around then-President Richard Nixon, he signed into law the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). It was the largest land claims settlement in the nation’s history and a stark departure from agreements forced on Tribes in the Lower 48.

“While each region is different, each region can point to their own localized successes. In a general sense, ANCSA stitched together the Alaska Native communities and created a shared identity that has afforded our peoples a mechanism to come together to utilize and protect our collective land and other assets for the benefit of future generations,” says Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) President and CEO Rex A. Rock Sr.

hat it means to be a social media influencer in Alaska—with its modest population of about 730,000 spread out over more than 663,000 square miles—is a bit different than the Lower 48. That’s even more the case when your target audience is Alaska Natives.

Many Alaska Native influencers use the social media platforms TikTok and Instagram for a variety of reasons, often mixing creative entrepreneurship with social justice and environmental causes important to them.

“The most important thing to me is that it connects younger Native women to themselves,” says Jacquii Lambert (@jacquiiwithacue).

s Alaska Native regional, village, and urban corporations have grown and expanded since the early ‘70s, many have taken advantage of traditional knowledge of their lands to build a knowledge base that informs their endeavors across many industries. Particularly for construction projects, the ability of Alaska Native corporations to find local, quality workers and their long history with Alaska’s weather and terrain allows them to successfully complete projects that other companies may not know exactly how to begin.

Additionally, Alaska Native corporations can find efficiencies by leveraging their lands—through quarries or other natural resources—to help project owners get projects done on time and on budget.

Below, we highlight a few projects taken by Alaska Native corporations and/or their subsidiaries across the state that highlight their expertise and their dedication in making sure Alaskans have access to the infrastructure they need.

onocoPhillips is one of Alaska’s most established oil development companies and its largest producer. The oil giant owns approximately 1.3 million net undeveloped acres on the North Slope, holds major ownership interests in Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay, a 100 percent ownership interest in the Alpine field, and has an extensive inventory of development projects that include Eastern NEWS in the Kuparuk Field, Narwhal in the Western North Slope, and the Nuna discovery east of the Colville River.

Alongside that is what Nick Olds, senior vice president of global operations, called the company’s “bread-and-butter development work” at an investor presentation in June, including the recently discovered Coyote trend at Kuparuk and the company’s extended-reach drilling program in the Western North Slope.

laskans are both connected to, and disconnected from, oil and gas in a way that isn’t replicated anywhere else.

The development of oil and gas resources directly impacts every Alaskan resident through dividends paid out from the Alaska Permanent Fund. This was a deliberate choice made by Alaskans for the benefit of generations to come.

According to the History of the Alaska Permanent Fund by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, “In 1974, as construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline neared completion, Alaskans were looking towards the future and deliberating on how to best utilize the anticipated mineral royalties… Alaska’s Constitution does not allow for dedicated funds, so in order to direct these oil revenues into a permanent fund, the Constitution had to be amended.” In 1976, “by a margin of 75,588 to 38,518, a Constitutional Amendment establishing the Permanent Fund was approved.”

Pioneers of innovative, high-powered ship assist tugboats, Crowley Maritime Corporation will lead the next generation of industry sustainability by building and operating eWolf, the first all-electric powered harbor tugboat that can complete a job without expending a drop of fuel.

The 82-foot vessel with 70 tons of bollard pull advances Crowley and the maritime industry’s efforts toward sustainability and decarbonization. Over the first ten years of its use, the operation of the new eTug will reduce 178 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), 2.5 tons of diesel particulate matter, and 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) versus a conventional tug. The electric tug will replace one that consumes more than 30,000 gallons of diesel per year. The eTug will operate at the Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and will be operational by mid-2023. crowley.com

aniel Fenza stepped into the role of Chugach Alaska’s President and Chief Operating Officer in March, though this coming January marks twenty-two years that he’s been with the corporation: “Like many who have been with a company this long, I’ve worked my way up through different roles and responsibilities and worked at most all of the different levels within our organization.” With this relatively new role, he says he’s most excited to implement strategies that can have a positive impact for the entire company.