In a letter this week from Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich and the state’s at-large congressman, Don Young, to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the delegation writes:

We write in support of Shell Oil’s application for the 2010 Chukchi Sea plan of exploration (POE). As you are well aware, the Chukchi represents what is certainly among the largest conventional, unexplored oil and natural gas fields in the U.S. Shell has spent years of work and billions of dollars to satisfy the complex logistics, planning, and permitting process required by law. We have previously communicated to you this significance of this energy resources to Alaska’s economy, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and domestic energy security.

So how much has Shell spent? Well, according to the delegations release:

Shell Oil, which early last year spent $2.1 billion for exploration rights in the Chukchi, has been unable to proceed with plans to drill up to two exploratory wells on its leases in 2010 because Interior officials have failed to complete a court-ordered environmental assessment in a timely manner.

The delegation didn’t mince words and was straightforward in their release.

Sen. Murkowski

“This delay has gone on long enough. It’s time to get development of Alaska’s resources back on track.”

Congressman Young

“Natural resources are the lifeblood of any developed country and the Chukchi Sea has some of the largest potential in the U.S.”

And in a separate release, under the headline “Begich Pushes Alaska Oil and Gas Development with Top Obama Officials; Calls for Aggressive OCS Development, Gasline Construction,” Alaska’s junior senator says:

“Alaska has long served as this nation’s energy storehouse and with responsible oil and gas development off our coast and a gasline, we can create thousands of good-paying American jobs, supply American homes and factories with clean-burning energy and improve our energy security.”

Sen. Begich’s release also noted that he’s not afraid to buck the party line and full-court press the administration on responsible, job-creating Alaskan energy development:

Begich urged approval of outer continental shelf (OCS) leasing in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea and said construction of an Alaska gasline project can create more American jobs than any single project on the horizon, at a meeting in his office with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, special assistant to the president at the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell knows the polar bear, loves the polar bear,  but “doesn’t intend to let the federal government’s expanded protection for bears get in the way of the state’s continued prosperity.”

Parnell, just months into the helm as the state’s chief executive, continues to fight tirelessly for increased access to homegrown, job-creating Alaskan energy. On the heels of recent column on the subject in the Wall Street Journal and following a host of meetings with key officials with Washington, urging the federal government to unlock Alaska’s enormous amounts of job-creating energy reserves, Gov. Parnell is not relenting in his fight for prosperity, economic growth and energy security.

And don’t think for a minute that a frivolous environmentalist lawsuit will throw him of course.

The article – written by the AP’s Anchorage correspondent, Dan Joling – quotes Parnell:

“Currently some are attempting to improperly use the Endangered Species Act to shut down resource development,” Parnell says. “I’m not going to let this happen on my watch.”

As Alaska North Slope wells dry up, the state is turning to potential offshore discoveries to refill the trans-Alaska pipeline and ensure the long-term prospects of a $26 billion proposed natural gas pipeline. Protections for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act could thwart that, Parnell says, adding that they’re not needed.

“Alaskans have an excellent track record of both developing our natural resources and protecting our wildlife,” says Parnell, who replaced Palin when she resigned in late July.

Joling’s pieces notes that “The stakes are high for Alaska”:

The stakes are high for Alaska. About 90 percent of Alaska’s general fund revenue budget is fueled by the petroleum industry. The trans-Alaska pipeline is running at less than one-third capacity and only high oil prices and a new method of taxing oil production have kept Alaska from slashing government services or looking for other revenue sources, such as a state income tax.

In a decade or so, offshore gas production could be crucial for a new large-diameter pipeline, a project for which Parnell’s revenue commissioner says there is no future alternative.

Questioned about the cost of fighting the federal government over the listing, Parnell says the cost of doing nothing was far greater.

“We’re going to take every step we can to fight for Alaskan jobs and our economy,” he says.

With unemployment at a 26 year high, and our deep and dangerous dependence on foreign energy supplies compounding by the day, leaders like Gov. Parnell are committed to increasing access to homegrown energy that will help stabilize energy costs across the board. Expanded, 21^st century offshore energy production will create good-paying jobs and much needed economic activity. Why, again, is Secretary Salazar slow-walking the offshore development process?