ABSTRACT
"Man's turbid torrent" is a comparatively recent encroachment upon Alaska. The major attraction in this period has been the "mighty treasure" of Alaska's natural resources. This chapter begins by setting the scene for the study with a brief history of resource development and an inventory of the resources at stake, together with some projections for their future development. It outlines the existing management regime for Alaska's coastal and offshore region. Resource management outcomes are determined in the context of a set of institutional arrangements which together constitute a "regime." Alaska's renewable resources have been subject to human use since time immemorial by the Native people of the North. Aside from the land classification issue, the major Alaskan resource development issues of the present and near future concern the coastal and offshore region. Aside from oil, the Alaskan continental shelf South of the Bering Strait contains some of the world's richest fisheries, including salmon, pollock, halibut, king crab, and shrimp.
