ESA bids pending

The state's still shopping around for a consultant to spend about $1.5 million representing its interests when it comes to the Endangered Species Act and global warming.

It's pretty unclear just what the state wants to accomplish with this, but among the members of the Joint Legislative Council, it seems folks want to fight ESA listings that adversely impact local communities; for example, the polar bear listing and the beluga whale listing in Cook Inlet. There's talk of a conference and contracting with a public relations firm.

The money was approved in last year's budget and sent to the Legislative Council to deal with. This drew interest from some intriguing groups, including Rudy Giuliani's East Coast law firm and Alaska House, a New York City showcase of Alaska art founded by Alice Rogoff (full disclosure: Rogoff is also a majority owner of Alaska Dispatch).

State procurement folks weren't saying how many bids had come in.

Council chairman Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, appointed a subcommittee to review bids and bring back to the table those that met the request's criteria.

Speaking during the committee hearing, Harris said Alaska has to defend itself against impacts of ESA listings on communities' economic viability.

Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, has reservations, especially without clear direction on how the money will be spent.

"We don't want a black eye on Alaska," Harris responded.

"Scientists doing science would be fine to me," Ellis said. "Politicians doing science would give us a black eye."

Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, said he was impressed with the "fire-breathing" attorney general, Dan Sullivan, who at Gov. Sean Parnell's direction has launched a number of suits intervening in ESA and similar issues.