WASHINGTON -- Gov. Bill Walker hopes he'll get to see President Barack Obama in front of one of Alaska's glaciers next month, he said in an interview Sunday.
Walker met with Obama administration officials here last week to make suggestions for the president's impending visit to Alaska. The governor's trip to Washington was part of a swing through the nation's capital on the way to the National Governor's Association summer meeting in the West Virginia resort town of White Sulphur Springs.
Last week, Walker met with top Obama advisers Jerry Abramson and Brian Deese. Deese is the president's main adviser on climate and energy issues, and Abramson focuses on intergovernmental affairs.
Walker, Deese and Abramson discussed the president's upcoming trip to Alaska -- beginning Aug. 31 in Anchorage -- though the details are still in flux, Walker said.
But one thing's settled: Obama will be traveling somewhere in the state in addition to Anchorage, Walker said. The Obama administration has been reluctant to confirm details about the trip -- where Obama will stop, how long he'll stay, and who will be with him.
"Things are subject to change at the very end, so we'll see," Walker said. But, he added, "this will be probably the most significant presidential visit to our state in some time."
"I think that wherever he goes he'll get a good feel for the beauty of Alaska as well as the vastness of Alaska," Walker said. Walker has had some input on the schedule, but is "not trying to push too hard on what they do" when the president is here.
"He'd love to go into a rural village, and the logistics of doing that are a bit challenging," Walker said. "I believe there's a plan to go to Kotzebue, that's one of the locations."
The trip will be centered on a gathering of foreign ministers from Arctic nations. The so-called "GLACIER" conference will be led by the State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry.
Obama is likely to give the closing remarks there, and then head elsewhere, Walker said.
Obama will likely arrive at JBER on Air Force One, "but they'll bring other aircraft as well. You're not going to move around the state of Alaska in Air Force One too easily," the governor said.
Walker has his own hopes for the trip.
He'd like Obama "to realize our presence from a military standpoint … That's one of the things I'd like him to understand."
And administration officials often show interest in the natural gas pipeline project, so Walker is hoping that will be an opportunity to discuss resource development.
He said he wants the president to understand that "75 percent of our revenue comes from oil and gas development" and Alaska's role as an "owner-state."
While there may be a climate change focus from the White House, Walker is more interested in talking about what he called the "economic climate change" resulting from dropping oil prices.
Walker hopes that Alaska's existing oil pipeline can be part of the story of Alaska -- "the vastness of Alaska" -- that he can tell during the president's visit.
"I recall that President (Jimmy) Carter came up during the presidency and went fishing," and President Ronald Reagan met with the pope in Fairbanks, he said. It's not clear whether Obama will have time for much recreation.
"I hate to see anybody come to Alaska and not have a chance to go out and experience the great outdoors, so we'll see what's within the limits of time and process that's available … I'd obviously like to see him up close with a glacier, and some of our incredible hiking opportunities," Walker said.