ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The top job at the federal agency tasked with coordinating the relocation of Alaska villages threatened by climate change will soon be vacant.
Alaska’s Energy Desk reports that Joel Neimeyer will step down as federal co-chair of the Denali Commission when his term expires Friday. President Donald Trump’s administration has not named a replacement.
The vacancy comes at a crucial moment for the agency. In March, Congress doubled the commission’s budget to $30 million, directing it to work with villages facing coastal erosion, flooding and degrading permafrost.
The commission was established by Congress in 1998 to fund economic development and infrastructure in rural Alaska. But in 2015, then-President Barack Obama added another mission - assisting Alaska communities threatened by climate change, like Newtok, Shishmaref and Kivalina.
Neimeyer worked to unlock federal funding for climate-related erosion; work that paid off when Congress added $15 million to the commission’s budget as part of this year’s budget deal. Most of that money will go to relocate Newtok, the Western Alaska village most at risk.
But now that the funding has finally arrived, Neimeyer’s term is ending. His exit leaves a big hole at the agency - as only the federal co-chair can sign off on spending.
The Trump Administration has twice proposed eliminating the Denali Commission entirely. Neimeyer, who was appointed under Obama, is a Democrat. He said the agency needs a Republican to make the case for it within a Republican administration.
“There may be some things that are bittersweet, but I know that my continuance as the federal co-chair won’t help the agency in the long run,” Neimeyer said. “What actually will help is new blood.”
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