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The State of Alaska and the National Park Service have had a tempestuous relationship since 1980. If current events in Wrangell-St. Elias (WRST) are any indicator, a new storm is brewing. Ill winds threaten to blow inholders right out of the park. |
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In 1978, then President Jimmy Carter declared this area to be a National Monument. Two years of tense debate in the halls of Congress followed. Alaska’s delegation was not willing to have immense areas of the state turned into lower-48 type parks where hunting, mining and other traditional Alaskan activities would not be allowed. |
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The result was the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which became law on December 2, and became known as ANILCA. It spelled out the terms that Wrangell-St. Elias National Park would be managed. |
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Among other things, ANILCA guaranteed Alaskans the right to hunt, fish, recreate and even operate mines in the park. Although the ability to create new roads or trails in the park was eliminated or severely curtailed, the right to use valid existing routes was pledged. RS2477 routes were specifically singled out for protection. |
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Unfortunately for Alaskans, the National Park Service lost little time before attempting to erode the provisions of ANILCA. For the most part they were able to eliminate or severely curtail mining and hunting through the use of restrictive regulations, ostensibly to “protect the resource.” |
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Now the National Park Service has sunk to a new low. The administration at WRST are using discretionary powers to single out an individual and his family for punishment. The crime? Superintendent Candela¬ria says there may be no crime. Nevertheless the family has been targeted for punitive action. |
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As I type these words, the Pilgrim family are trying to decide how to get home over the 14 mile road that connects their home to the town of McCarthy. Park Rangers posted a Public Notice saying that the route was suddenly an “illegal road created by the bulldozer.” |
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The McCarthy-Green Butte road, which leads to the Pilgrims house, has been in use by Alaskans for over one hundred years. It was at various times maintained by miners, the Alaska Road Commission, and sundry local residents. The bulldozer that created the road has long since been retired. Many bulldozers have come down that trail in the 23 years since the creation of the park. But suddenly, the Pilgrim’s bulldozer is singled out. Why? |
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By my count, Candelaria and crew have had to violate one Alaska State Statute, at least two specific sections of ANILCA, former 43 U.S.C. 932 and their own General Management Plan in order to harass an innocent family. |
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Consider the following exchange that occurred on Friday, April 18 at a public meeting in McCarthy: |
