Buzzy Peltola Explained

Buzzy Peltola
Office:Regional Director for Alaska for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Term Start:July 9, 2018
Term End:July 29, 2022
Office2:Member of the Bethel City Council
Term Start2:October 2011
Term End2:October 2013
Birth Name:Eugene R. Peltola Jr.
Birth Date:7 February 1966
Birth Place:Bethel, Alaska, U.S.
Death Cause:Aviation accident
Death Place:Alaska, U.S.
Spouse:Mary Peltola
Children:7[1]
Citizenship:United States
Orutsararmiut Native Council
Education:University of Alaska Fairbanks

Eugene R. "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. (February 7, 1966 – September 12, 2023) was an American public servant and naturalist who served as Alaska director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and manager of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. He was the husband of Congresswoman Mary Peltola. Peltola died as the result of a plane crash in September 2023.

Biography

Peltola was born and raised in Bethel, Alaska.[2] He was Yup'ik and Tlingit.[3] From an early age, he was an accomplished outdoorsman and hunter. He was a 1984 graduate of Bethel Regional High School, and later graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a degree in wildlife management.

He was a tribal member of the Orutsararmiut Native Council.[4] Peltola's father, Gene Peltola Sr., was a prominent tribal leader.[5]

Career

In the 1980s, Peltola began working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and led subsistence management programs on all federal lands in Alaska. He also served as the lead staffperson for the U.S. Federal Subsistence Board.[6] [7] [8] [9] In 2004, he earned his commercial pilots license.[10] He also worked for several years as a zone supervisor for Refuge Law Enforcement and later as the manager of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge,[11] [12] [13] assuming the role in 2008.[14] [15] In 2009, Peltola was a delegate to the federal Whitefish Strategic Planning Group.[16]

Elected in October 2011 with 63% of the vote, Peltola served a term as a council member for the City of Bethel, and was unanimously elected by his council peers as vice-mayor of the city in 2012.[17] [18] In addition to his public service, Peltola served on the corporate boards of the Bethel Native Corporation (a tribal-owned business) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Bethel Solutions LLC and Bethel Services, Inc.

In 2013, Peltola testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in a hearing regarding the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.[19]

Peltola worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service until 2018, when he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke as the new Regional Director for Alaska in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, overseeing services provided to 227 Alaska Native tribes.[20] [21] [22] In 2019, he was appointed to the Department of the Interior Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board by Secretary Ryan Zinke.[23] [24]

Peltola retired from government service in the summer of 2022, as his wife Mary was running for the U.S. House of Representatives. In the same year, he became the co-founder and CEO of a new company called Alaska Carbon Solutions.[25] [26]

Death

Buzzy Peltola died in a plane crash on September 12, 2023. He was 57.[27] [28] [29]

Various organizations and officials paid tribute after Peltola's death, including the Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Federation of Natives, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Dan Sullivan, Governor Mike Dunleavy, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and various other members of the House of Representatives.[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

In a statement released on Whitehouse.gov, President Joe Biden wrote, "Buzzy was a devoted public servant and in the tributes coming from all over the state today, he is being remembered as a friend to all."[37]

Peltola's memorial service was held at Bethel Regional High School on September 16 and attended by over 500 people.[38] Peltola was buried at Bethel Memorial Cemetery with Alaska bush aircraft conducting a ceremonial flyover.

Electoral history

Note: The 2011 election was to fill four seats with 2-year terms and two seats with 1-year terms. Candidates were given the choice of which to fill on the basis of their vote-count, with the highest vote-getters being given first-preference to decide which length of a term they wanted to fill. Mary Sattler (Mary Peltola), Richard D. Robb, Gene Peltola Jr., and Mark Springer filled two-year terms while Joseph A. Klejka and Kent Harding filled one-year terms.

Works

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Liz . Ruskin . June 30, 2022 . Peltola's superpower: US House nominee disarms with unexpected niceness . September 26, 2023 . Alaska Public Media . en-US.
  2. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Rep. Mary Peltola's husband dies after Alaska plane crash . September 14, 2023 . Alaska Public Media . en-US.
  3. Web site: September 14, 2023 . Remembering Buzzy Peltola: A Native leader and a trailblazer . September 14, 2023 . KNBA . en.
  4. News: MacArthur . Anna Rose . July 10, 2018 . Gene Peltola Jr. Of Bethel Named To Alaska's Top BIA Position . . live . August 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220901010042/https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2018-07-10/gene-peltola-jr-of-bethel-named-to-alaskas-top-bia-position . September 1, 2022.
  5. Web site: Remembering Buzzy Peltola: A Native leader and a trailblazer . KNBA . September 21, 2023. en . September 14, 2023.
  6. Web site: Denning . Angela . July 27, 2013 . Peltola To Run Federal Subsistence Program . September 14, 2023 . Alaska Public Media . en-US.
  7. Book: Lambert, Valerie . Native Agency: Indians in the Bureau of Indian Affairs . January 3, 2023 . U of Minnesota Press . 978-1-4529-6822-3 . en.
  8. Web site: November 4, 2015 . Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska; Rural Determinations, Nonrural List . September 26, 2023 . FWS.gov . en.
  9. Web site: Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska; Rural Determinations, Nonrural List . September 26, 2023. unblock.federalregister.gov.
  10. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Husband of US Rep. Mary Peltola dies in an airplane crash in Alaska. September 14, 2023 . AP News . en.
  11. Web site: Secretary Zinke Fulfills Promise to Alaska: New Bureau of Indian Affairs Alaska Region Director Announced Indian Affairs . September 14, 2023 . www.bia.gov . en.
  12. Book: American Birds . 1989 . National Audubon Society . en.
  13. Web site: November 1, 2019 . Selawik River Inconnu Age Structure Evaluation and Spawning Population Abundance, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge.pdf . September 26, 2023 . FWS.gov . en.
  14. Web site: Hundreds gather in Bethel to pay their respects to the Peltola family . KYUK . September 21, 2023 . en . September 18, 2023.
  15. Web site: Martínezcuello. Francisco. September 19, 2023 . Hundreds of mourners gather in Bethel for funeral of Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr. . September 26, 2023 . Anchorage Daily News . en.
  16. Web site: May 1, 2012 . Whitefish Biology, Distribution, and Fisheries in the Yukon and Kuskokwim River Drainages in Alaska: a Synthesis of Available Information Alaska Fisheries Data Series Number 2012-4. September 26, 2023 . FWS.gov . en.
  17. Web site: Resolution 11-31 - Certifying the Results of the October 4, 2011 Regular City Election . September 14, 2023 . Bethel Municipal Code . en.
  18. Web site: 2012. 10-15-2012 Special Meeting Minutes . City of Bethel, Alaska.
  19. Book: Subsistence: Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, to Examine Wildlife Management Authority Within the State of Alaska Under the Alaska National Interest Lands Act and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, September 19, 2013. 2013. U.S. Government Printing Office . en.
  20. Book: Kelly, Elias . My Side of the River: An Alaska Native Story . 2023 . U of Nebraska Press . 978-1-4962-3635-7 . en.
  21. Web site: Eugene Peltola, husband of Rep. Mary Peltola, died after a plane accident in Alaska.. September 26, 2023 . POLITICO . September 13, 2023 . en.
  22. Web site: 'Shake it up': Bureau of Indian Affairs undergoes change in the Trump era . September 26, 2023 . Indianz.
  23. Web site: Notice of Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board Appointments. September 26, 2023 . unblock.federalregister.gov.
  24. Web site: November 29, 2019 . Notice of Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board Appointments . September 26, 2023 . FWS.gov . en.
  25. Web site: Sabbatini . Mark . September 12, 2023 . U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola's husband dies in plane crash . September 14, 2023 . Juneau Empire . en-US.
  26. Web site: About Us Alaska Carbon Solutions . September 14, 2023 . Alaska Carbon Solutions LLC . en-US.
  27. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Rep. Mary Peltola's husband killed in plane crash in Alaska . September 13, 2023 . Anchorage Daily News.
  28. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola, husband of Rep. Mary Peltola, has died in a plane crash . September 14, 2023 . KTOO . en-US.
  29. Web site: ANC23LA075.aspx . September 26, 2023 . www.ntsb.gov.
  30. Web site: Downing . Suzanne . September 13, 2023 . Breaking: Gene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr. dies in plane crash . September 14, 2023 . Must Read Alaska . en-US.
  31. Web site: Kitchenman . Andrew . September 13, 2023 . Eugene Peltola Jr., retired BIA official and husband of U.S. Rep. Peltola, dies after plane crash . September 14, 2023 . Alaska Beacon . en-US.
  32. Web site: Verge . Beth . September 14, 2023 . Friends, family reflect on death of Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola, Jr. . September 14, 2023 . en.
  33. Web site: Tweet from @SarahPalinUSA . September 14, 2023 . X (formerly Twitter) . en . Please pray for Mary & her family. So very, very sorry for their loss; the state of Alaska mourns the passing of Rep. Peltola’s husband in tragic plane crash..
  34. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Eugene, Representative Peltola's Husband Dies in Plane Crash near Saint Marys Tuesday . September 14, 2023 . Alaska Native News . en-US.
  35. Web site: September 13, 2023 . Leader Jeffries Statement on Eugene Peltola, Jr.. September 26, 2023 . democraticleader.house.gov . en.
  36. Web site: Schroeder. Kollette . September 13, 2023 . Governor and First Lady Rose Dunleavy Mourn the Death of Gene Peltola . September 26, 2023 . Mike Dunleavy . en-US.
  37. Web site: September 14, 2023 . Statement of President Joe Biden On the Passing of Eugene Peltola, Jr. . September 14, 2023 . The White House . en-US.
  38. Web site: September 18, 2023 . Listen: Eugene 'Buzzy' Peltola Jr. funeral and community reflection . September 26, 2023 . KDLG . en.
  39. Book: Peltola Jr., Eugene. The Status of the Bristle Thighed Curlew on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Alaska . Wader Study Group Bulletin. 1986. en.
  40. Book: Wildlife Review . 1981 . U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service . en.

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