"President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order establishing a new panel that will advise the federal government on preserving the Alaskan Arctic.

Obama said he was establishing the Arctic Executive Steering Committee to help juggle the variety of tribal, scientific, corporate, and federal interests at play in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen at twice the rate as the rest of the United States.

'As the Arctic has changed, the number of Federal working groups created to address the growing strategic importance and accessibility of this critical region has increased,' Obama said.

'Although these groups have made significant progress and achieved important milestones, managing the broad range of interagency activity in the Arctic requires coordinated planning by the Federal Government.'"

Justin Sink reports for The Hill January 21, 2015. [2]