LOOKING BACK: RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL FOR ALASKA THROUGH THE PAST 50 YEARS
VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 3 | SUMMER 2025
RDC’S EARLY PIONEERS SET US UP FOR SUCCESS
'As I look back at my career at RDC spanning four decades, I am filled with gratitude' BY CARL PORTMAN REFLECTING ON MY NEARLY 40 YEARS WITH THE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (RDC), THIS STORY IS PARTLY ABOUT THE ALASKANS WHO BUILT RDC INTO THE ORGANIZATION IT IS TODAY — PIONEERS DETERMINED TO BUILD A HEALTHY ECONOMY BASED ON THE RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. AF- TER ALL, STATEHOOD WAS LARGELY PREDICATED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA’S RESOURCES. Yet it wasn’t easy. We faced one battle af- ter another as there were powerful interests committed to keeping Alaska’s oil, gas and mineral resources in the ground and our vast timber lands off limits to sustainable harvest. I was excited to join as community rela- tions director in 1981, just months after the Alaska National Interest Lands Conserva- tion Act (ANILCA) had been signed into law. While I have a deep appreciation for our wild lands, ANILCA greatly complicated and in numerous cases has blocked access to our resources. Case in point — the proposed road to the Ambler Mining District, which sits outside federal lands. As a young man in his 20s, the issues I worked on during the early years of my ca- reer were not only ANILCA related, but big projects which included the proposed Susitna Dam, the Knik Arm Crossing and the Quartz Hill molybdenum prospect near Ketchikan. The biggest issue that I served “lead” on was our efforts to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. RDC has worked on this issue for decades. I was part of a team, in partnership with the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and Arctic Power, that traveled across the nation to inform decision makers
Carl Portman (back left) started his journey with the RDC in April 1981.
The Organization for the Management of Alaska's Resources (OMAR) was formed in 1975. OMAR soon became known as the Resource Development Council and quickly grew and evolved from a single-issue group into a well-respected organization known for its effectiveness and influence on a wide range of public policy and resource development issues across Alaska.
in key congressional districts on the benefits to their states on opening the coastal plain. In the 1990s, we were so close only for President Bill Clinton to veto the bill. Then again during the first term of President George W. Bush, when we fell two votes short of cloture in the Senate. This was the low point of my career when staff sat in the RDC conference room watching the vote live on C-SPAN. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens felt he had the required 60 votes, but two sena- tors turned at the last moment, leading to a bitter defeat that I felt deeply. Several large projects that RDC support- ed did not proceed, but there were big wins too such as the Red Dog Mine, which re- quired a contentious federal land exchange for the project to move forward. RDC was also successful in its advocacy efforts for ex- panded North Slope oil production and the development of five new large mines in the
state. A key to RDC’s success over the years has been its ability to bring all of the state’s resource industries and their support sectors under its umbrella to advocate as a collec- tive for each other. This approach has been especially helpful in public hearings before the legislature and federal agencies on not only new projects, but policy and regulatory issues with the potential to impact multiple industries and local communities. My first day at RDC was April Fool’s Day 1981. Our office was in a little green- house in downtown Anchorage. There were no computers, just electric typewriters. No fax. No email. We sent out Action Alerts via mail. Paula Easley was the executive director. She was my first mentor. Paula worked long
The late Don Young (above) and the late Gail Phillips (right) were strong allies of the RDC and responsible resource development in Alaska.
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW SUMMER 2025
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