ROW update

By Susan Smith
Chairperson, ROW

As reported in the last issue of WSEN, Governor Murkowski wrote to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton on April 15, asking her to launch an investigation into allegations that the National Park Service (NPS) has shown “...various patterns of misbehavior and abuse, including unreasonable right-of-way closures and restrictions; undue delays in the issuance of permits; and intimidation, harassment, and selective law enforcement...” in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (WRST). He calls for further direction to NPS personnel in administering the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) access provisions, stating, “If these reports of arbitrary and sometimes abusive behavior are accurate, they raise serious questions about the Park Service’s implementation of ANILCA...”

Armed NPS rangers frequently make unannounced visits to local residents and make low-level flights over private property which tends to harass and intimidate targeted inholders. Annual access fees are demanded on rights-of-way cleared and continually used since long before the park was established. Costly five-and six-figure NEPA EA’s and EIS’s are being performed on these access routes, with residents often responsible for all costs.

The governor has called for proper notification by NPS personnel before visits onto private property or low-level flyovers, and for minimal or no fees associated with the permits. He has also asked for the NPS to devise a new, standardized, more relaxed procedure for inholder access. With respect to NEPA compliance, the governor calls for DOI to specify cases where no environmental study is necessary, and to give a Categorical Exclusion to residents trying to reach their homes. These exclusions can be granted for activities having minimal impact to park resources. The Park Service often uses them to allow NPS personnel to conduct their duties without going through assessment procedures. They used a Categorical Exclusion to cut a swath of trees nearly two miles long around the Pilgrim property last summer.

Many inholders didn’t know they needed access permits. For over twenty years, residents used their traditional means and routes of travel without any NPS notification to let them know what was expected. Now, by submitting a permit application, residents open up a bureaucratic snarl of red tape. Once permits are granted, short terms, continual renewals, possible revocation, and sometimes impossible stipulations accompany them. The governor seeks to eliminate these problems by establishing an appeals process with an Alaskan oversight committee to make rulings on any ANILCA-related issues. He also calls for NPS selection of the applicant’s chosen route, and time limit restrictions for the permitting process.

We were disappointed to receive a letter from the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior in late April. He wrote to Residents of the Wrangells (ROW) saying his department would not review the allegations. Instead, he referred the matter back to NPS for “appropriate action” on their part. We didn’t exactly expect them to be readily willing to conduct an investigation, but we looked forward to their response to the governor’s letter. This failure of the Department of the Interior to “police their own house” opens the door to an investigation by Congress, a matter which ROW is pursuing.

The state Republican Convention was held on May 27 in Soldotna. ROW was delighted to see that a resolution was adopted to call upon our state representatives to come forward and help all Alaskans defend their ANILCA rights. Another impressive resolution was passed to urge our representatives to block passage of the Get Outdoors Act (HR 4100) which would provide billions of dollars annually for fifteen years, in unappropriated funding, to purchase inholdings in conservation units, sanction further condemnations of private property , and enhance the powers of the Endangered Species Act, all under the guise of curing obesity! For more information about this dangerous bill, go to the American Land Rights Association website at http://www.landrights.org. We encourage you to write or e-mail our Congressional delegation to voice your opposition to this legislation. Also, check out related issues in the McCarthy area at http://www.mccarthy-kennicott.com.

I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Lisa Murkowski on the Valdez public radio “Coffee Break” program at the end of May. She assured us that she stands behind every Alaskan’s right to access; her office has been in touch with ROW several times to keep abreast of recent developments. Senator Ted Stevens has asked his staff to contact NPS in an effort to resolve some of our problems in the park. An aide from Congressman Don Young’s office will be in the McCarthy area in August to hear our grievances.

Superintendent Gary Candelaria was transferred last month out of WRST; Hunter Sharp is Acting Superintendent until the position is filled. NPS Regional Director Marcia Blaszak invited ROW to meet with her at the Kennecott Rec Hall on July 2, from 10 a.m. until noon, to discuss what traits residents would like to see in a new superintendent. She was accompanied by NPS Deputy Regional Director Vic Knox and Tina Cunning from the Department of Fish and Game.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has issued a permit to the Pilgrim family to clear brush and do minimal maintenance of the 14-mile state road to their home. (See story below.) Now, NPS will have to decide whether they will honor the DNR permit and allow work to proceed on the controversial route.

In one year’s time, ROW has achieved many of its goals. We have established a substantial membership list and we have networked with many of you in the community. Our entire Congressional delegation and governor are aware of our situation and speaking on our behalf with the Department of the Interior. Many trail postings have been changed to more clearly allow for subsistence use. We have strong alliances with the American Land Rights Association, Alaska Land Rights Coalition, Pacific Legal Foundation, and Slana Alaskans Unite. The NPS has “promoted” Gary Candelaria from Superintendent of the Park to a Deputy Director position at Harpers Ferry Historical Park. Through the internet and press coverage, our stories in the WRST are being read across the country. Our collective voice is being heard!

Environmental groups are fighting even harder now to buy inholdings in our park and to force NPS to restrict or deny our access. The battle is far from over. Advocates of viewshed restrictions, light pollution regulations, noise pollution regulations, wilderness protection, national parks free of human habitation, and expansion of conservation units through unlimited purchases of private land are gaining momentum, backed by vast financial resources. However, no national special interest group should be allowed to have the power to deny Alaskans what Congress insisted on protecting by law in 1980; the preservation of a truly unique Alaskan bush community which delights and amazes visitors to our area just as much as the landscape, flora, and fauna.

If you live or own property in or near the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, we encourage you to join the Residents of the Wrangells. Dues are only $10 per year which is used to offset the cost of mailings. Contact Susan Smith, Chairperson, Residents of the Wrangells, McCarthy #63B, Box MXY, Glennallen AK 99588 or email residentsofwrangells@yahoo.com.