July 9, 2021 (Anchorage, AK) – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy today announced his choice to lead his administration’s priority Statehood Defense initiative. Brett Huber is the Governor’s Senior Policy Advisor for Statehood Defense, responsible for overseeing and coordinating the State of Alaska’s ongoing efforts to reassert control of lands and waters and pushing back on attempts from President Joe Biden’s federal agencies to overregulate Alaskans.
“Over decades, federal law passed by Congress is clear, and even the Supreme Court has been clear, that Alaska’s lands and waters are fundamentally different than the rest of the United States,” said Governor Dunleavy. “Unfortunately, those in power in Washington D.C. see our state as another parcel to be managed like a park. To fight those attempts to rollback our Alaskan way of life, we need a high-level, focused effort, and Brett brings that to my administration.”
The arrival of Mr. Huber comes after Governor Dunleavy emphasized the importance of defending the state’s role over lands and waters in his state of the state address this year to the Alaska Legislature. Governor Dunleavy wrote President Biden a formal letter on March 26, expressing the State of Alaska’s intent to manage the more than 800,000 miles of navigable rivers and 30 million acres of navigable lakes that is within the state’s authority, which was affirmed in the 2019 Supreme Court decision Sturgeon v Frost. On Wednesday, Governor Dunleavy also announced the State of Alaska is suing the U.S. Department of Interior for its unilateral extension of land restrictions to 28 million acres of federal land within the state.
“I look forward to supporting Governor Dunleavy in Alaska’s defense against an encroaching and overreaching federal government, and further assisting as he ensures the Last Frontier has a robust future for generations to come,” said Brett Huber.
Mr. Huber has three decades’ worth of experience in public policy with a focus on state and federal issues. He has served as Chief of Staff to a number Alaska State Senate leaders and as a key advisor to leaders in the Alaska Legislature on land, fish, and wildlife issues.
The Alaska Legislature in its operating budget agreed with Governor Dunleavy’s proposal to allocate $4 million for the Statehood Defense Initiative, which would involve the Departments of Natural Resources, Law, and Fish & Game among others.
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