Exclusive: Ordinary citizens — even the governor himself — are ready to be part of a new Alaska initiative aimed at strengthening policies that were effective in Juneau at the national level as the new administration signals its willingness to listen and adapt to new strategies.
Just as Florida's education policy under Gov. Jeb Bush served as a blueprint for national education reform, the nonprofit Future 49 aims to position Alaska as a model today, focusing primarily on national security and energy.
Its major funders are a group of Alaskans of all stripes as well as a few advocates based in Washington, D.C. It is nonpartisan and simply pro-Alaska, according to one of its supporters.
It also seeks to send what one source familiar with its founding described as an “out of sight, out of mind” feeling among some in the Lower 48 when it comes to how Remote Alaska She could translate her successes in the cold north into a federal government that could benefit from her advice.
One of the founders of Future 49 is a commercial airline pilot whose family has lived in Alaska for over 125 years. He said he wants to show Washington the issues Alaska deals with every day.
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Marsa Horizon (Getty)
Bob Griffin's family has lived in Alaska since 1899, he said, noting it is an example of the grassroots support behind showcasing Alaska's potential to be a driving force in key sectors for the rest of the country.
Griffin said that although there has not yet been any direct contact with the new administration, Governor Mike Dunleavy is one of the candidates. An ally of Trump In turn, he prepares to play a role in the group.
“We are focused not only on the Trump administration, but on other policymakers, to highlight and communicate that the successes we have achieved in Alaska on energy, natural resources and other policy priorities are appropriate and beneficial for all Americans.”
He pointed out that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge extends over an area West VirginiaBut the portion of the federal budget allocated to exploration in the last fiscal year was only half the size of Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, illustrating how Juneau should steer Washington.
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A source familiar with Future 49's founding told Fox News Digital how the group's launch comes at a key juncture as an administration that has shunned advice transitions to one that has signaled an openness to implementing recommendations from states and local groups.
“Resources our nation needs Dominant energy The source said: “We are in Alaska, not in unfriendly countries like Russia and Iran, which despise what we stand for and commit terrible environmental crimes on a daily basis.”
As the group prepares to articulate a pro-development approach to energy, it will remain nonpartisan and present to Washington successful strategies for developing both green and conventional energy based on work done in Alaska.
Dunleavy has offered a similar two-pronged approach, saying in a recent interview that opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible development could bring just as much economic growth to the nation as emerging green technology, such as a proposal to harness the second most powerful green technology. The world's tides are churning in Cook Inlet outside Anchorage.
A source told Fox News Digital that these similarities show why Future 49 is coming at the right time.
Future 49's plan to use Alaska's long-term goal of tapping into energy resources as a roadmap was a sentiment also expressed at another confirmation hearing Thursday. Interior candidate Doug Burgum stressed the need for domestic “energy dominance” for economic and security reasons.
Doug Burgum, former governor of North Dakota and nominee for U.S. Secretary of the Interior, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., January 16, 2025. (to Drago)
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dunleavy said most of the sensitive national defense assets are located in Alaska, so the state has a deep background in what is needed to deter malicious actors.
“We are very close to the bear,” he said.
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Lessons learned from managing a National Guard force closely tied to high-level national security concerns is another way the Future 49 group is likely to seek Washington's help.
Matt Larkin, an Alaska pollster, said the group plans to survey Lower 48 Americans about their view of the final frontier and how they view Alaska from thousands of miles away.
