LOOKING BACK: RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL FOR ALASKA THROUGH THE PAST 50 YEARS
VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 4 | FALL 2025
REFLECTING ON THE EARLY YEARS OF OMAR/RDC
Longtime executive director looks back at how far we've come BY PAULA EASLEY WITHOUT THE FORESIGHT OF ALASKA LAND DEVELOPER BOB PENNEY AND BROADCASTER BOB FLEMING, THERE WOULD BE NO OMAR/RDC. In March 1975, the two Bobs, serving as co-chairs, hired veteran political consultant Bev Isenson to develop and coordinate a national campaign for a Trans-Alaska gas pipeline and its associated LNG component. Bev hired me primarily to fundraise, along
with a small staff, and we got to work. Our mission: Simple — convince a few states, some federal agencies, the president and Congress that an all-Alaska route was in the nation’s best interest. The timing couldn’t have been better. TAPS construction was winding down, Alaska unemployment hovered around 10% and the Arab oil embargo had driven up energy costs nationwide. Americans were tired of being dependent on foreign oil. Thanks to widespread publicity about the Prudhoe Bay oil discovery and pipeline construction, people all across the country saw Alaska as an energy powerhouse — they relished the opportunity to lobby their own members of Congress to help decide
the route of such an important project. We had the gas and they wanted it. Grassroots support for an all-Alaska line was immedi- ate and overwhelming. Granted there was the small obstacle of a well-funded competing campaign to turn much of Alaska into “America’s national park.” To build the movement we needed members, money and a mailing list. To get them, our cadre of in-state volunteers sold $10 memberships at every possible fair, festival and community event. Forty-nine founding members made generous contri- butions and leveraged their networks.
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Carl Portman, Paula Easley and Jason Brune enjoy a moment together at the RDC Conference in Anchorage.
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ADVANCED STAGE EXPLORATION (RESOURCES / RESERVES) EARLY STAGE EXPLORATION
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www.AKRDC.org
ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW FALL 2025
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