Areas of Expertise

• Arctic issues
• Alaska
• Shipping and vessel traffic
• Offshore oil and gas
• Climate change

Andrew Hartsig started working on conservation issues in the desert and canyon country of Utah. But after a summer legal internship in Juneau, his course was set for Alaska. He spent the summer after law school kayaking the Inside Passage from Bellingham to Juneau, a trip that forged an enduring bond with the ocean and cemented an affinity for all sorts of marine wildlife—from barnacles to humpbacks. So when Ocean Conservancy needed to reestablish our Alaska office, we could not have found a more eager candidate than Andrew. Since moving to Anchorage in 2008, Andrew has collaborated with a range of partners to work toward lasting solutions to the challenges that threaten the Arctic Ocean.

Andrew’s work focuses on maintaining the resilience of Arctic marine ecosystems at a time when the region is undergoing rapid and profound environmental changes. An attorney by training, he is an expert in the laws and policies that govern offshore oil and gas activities and vessel traffic in the U.S. Arctic. More broadly, he works to ensure that decision-makers recognize and take into account the ways that climate change and industrial impacts in the Arctic region can intersect and accumulate. Andrew also provides general legal counsel for Ocean Conservancy.

Education

• J.D., University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
• A.B., Bowdoin College

Favorite Thing About the Ocean

I am a sucker for Alaska’s big tides. Whether they are pushing chunks of ice up and down Cook Inlet in the winter, trickling water into tide pools in Prince William Sound, or surging through narrow channels in Southeast, Alaska’s tides never fail to inspire awe.

Recent Publications

• Michael LeVine, Andrew Hartsig. Modernizing Management of Offshore Oil and Gas in Federal Waters. Environmental Law Reporter. [PDF]
• Michael LeVine, Andrew Hartsig, and Maggie Clements, What About BOEM?  The Need to Reform the Regulations Governing Offshore Oil and Gas Planning and Leasing, 31 Alaska L. Rev. 231 (2014).
• Michael LeVine and Andrew Hartsig, Management and oversight of offshore oil and gas—the need for change, 42 Trends 1 (2010).
• Janis S. Jones, Andrew Hartsig & Becca R. Gisclair, Advancing a Network of Safety Measures in the Bering Strait Region: Now is the Time, 25 Ocean & Coastal L.J. 64 (2020). [PDF]