Drue Pearce

Drue Pearce, of Alaska, was nominated June 9, 2006, by President George W. Bush to be Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects (New Position) for a term of one year following the completion of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Project. "The job was created by legislation U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens advanced in 2004." 

At the time of her nomination, Pearce was serving as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Alaska Affairs at the Department of the Interior.

Pearce's nomination was sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation on June 12, 2006.

Controversy: Oil Industry Insider
Pearce, who "promoted oil development as consultant to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (which owns mining rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and the Energy Council, an international oil lobby", is a "staunch supporter of drilling" in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). 

On June 16, 2001, Pearce was appointed Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Alaska Affairs by then Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

In the July 23, 2001, In These Times, Jeffrey St. Clair wrote regarding Pearce's appointment:


 * "A payback may be involved here. Pearce played a key role in convincing the Alaska legislature to pay Norton $60,000 last year to write a legal brief for the state's appeal of the precedent-setting Katie John ruling, which was a victory for tribal rights. Norton's brief asserted that the Interior Department cannot ensure subsistence hunting and fishing rights of native Alaskans by designating navigable waterways as public lands. The Ninth Circuit Court rejected Norton's far-flung argument."

On November 1, 2001, Norton and Pearce announced that "the first oil from federal waters off Alaska" had been produced "at the BP Exploration Northstar project," which "became the first outer continental shelf development project since federal offshore leasing began in 1976 off Alaska."

Profiles
Pearce (R-District F-Anchorage) was first elected to the Alaska Senate in 1988 and served twice as Senate President. "Pearce has chaired the Senate Rules Committee, and twice co-chaired the Senate Finance Committee. Prior to the Senate, she served two terms in the Alaska House of Representatives." 

Pearce "led Alaska's delegation to the Energy Council, a legislative organization of ten states, the province of Alberta and Venezuela. The organization develops policy on environmental and energy issues." In 2001, Pearce "led U.S. Representatives on the Russian Far East Business Commission" and took "a long-term leadership role in the development of the Russian Far Eastern oil industry infrastructure." 

In January 2001, Pearce was appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. 

According to her Alaska Republicans' biography, Pearce was born April 2, 1951, in Fairfield, IL. In 1973, Pearce earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Indiana University. Pearce relocated to Alaska in 1977.

In 1984, she earned an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and in 1989 she participated in the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, Executive Program. 

Pearce was a Partner in the Cloverland North and 4150 Company. She was an investor/board member of Wave Energy and an officer of Bank of the North. Pearce had been a Chemistry/Biology Teacher in Indiana. Additionally, Pearce had been a member of the Exxon Valdez Advisory Committee and Arctic Power, a self-described, alleged "grassroots" organization that supports drilling. 

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Alaska's oil industry
 * Bush administration
 * oil industry