Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

“How is anybody supposed to comment on it if it hasn't been located?”
---Will Forsberg, director of the Panguingue Creek Homeowners' Association, speaking on the lack of foresight in planning and laying out Murkowski's ill-planned Stampede Road extension. ("Most Oppose Extension of Stampede Road," Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

• Stampede Road Bill
• Renewable Energy

In Every Issue

• New Legislation
• Hot Bills
• Hearings this Week

Despite opposition from groups such as residents, landowners, the National Park Service, local government and recreational users alike, the Murkowski administration has continued to push building an alleged northern access route into Denali via the Stampede Road corridor just north of Healy. As part of the Governor’s $102 million “Roads to Resources” initiative proposed this year, $9 million has been allocated for the Stampede Road Project in addition to the $5 million already approved by the Legislature last August. Murkowski, a long-time proponent of a northern Denali access route, has pushed for the development of the route with the possible goal of extending the road through Denali National Park and Preserve to connect with the existing 91-mile road to Kantishna. (To view map, go here.)

Though proponents of northern access support the development of a route to alleviate congestion difficulties at the main park entrance and to expand tourism opportunities, there are countless problems with relying on the proposed road through the Stampede Corridor and Wolf Townships as a solution. Contrary to an erroneous popular belief, the project as set forth by Murkowski’s initiative is highly unlikely to create a northern access road that will extend to Kantishna. Though Murkowski can build on the state land encompassed by the Wolf Townships, the relatively small area (6 miles wide, 18 miles long) is surrounded by national park lands that cannot be developed by the state. The National Park Service has consistently opposed extending the Stampede Road onto park lands and has fought for the strong habitat and preservation value of the area as a whole. Without lengthy amounts of environmental analysis and changes to national park policy and stances, the proposed pioneer road is likely to dead end at the border of Denali National Park, just 18 miles past 8-mile Lake where the existing road ends.

The process by which the plans have been drawn up has also been enormously controversial and devoid of any degree of public or agency involvement. In the haste to push through the building project, numerous construction, planning, and safety standards have been compromised. The North Denali Access Reconnaissance Study (NARS)- an ongoing study funded by Governor Murkowski himself during his time as Senator- has likewise been bipassed despite the fact that it could provide vital information on whether or not to proceed with a northern access route.

Rep. Guttenberg (D-Fairbanks) has voiced his opposition to the road and will be working with Denali Borough residents to stop construction of the road and possibly redirect the funding to alternative projects in the area. Guttenberg held a town meeting on Friday, February 3 to discuss the issue with residents in Healy. Sen. Seekins (R-Fairbanks) has also voiced his support for the opponents of the Stampede Road project and hopes to examine alternative routes with Murkowski in the weeks to come.

The overall lack of planning and foresight into the usefulness of the Stampede Road extension should be reason enough to stop the project and is certainly reason enough to delay until the completion of the NARS report. Without further action to stop this project, the Wolf Townships and the residents of the Denali borough are likely to be left with a lasting scar running through their beautiful community.

Act Quick! The public comment periods for the Stampede Road Material Sale and Proposed Easement end at 5:00 on February 17. For more information on how to submit your comments, visit the Department of Natural Resources.

For more information check out:

Anchorage Daily News Article on the Stampede Road

The Department of Natural Resources

The Denali Citizens Council

The Denali Borough Government

Renewed Interest in Renewable Energy

At long last, renewable energy seems to be getting some traction in Juneau. There are a variety of bills in the mix that would advance the cause and start moving us into the 21st century by providing funding and focus.  

For example, Republican Rep. Jay Ramras has introduced two bills on the topic. One would set up an Alternative Energy Project Loan Fund (HB 196). The other, HCR 3, which is now in House Rules, encourages the Administration to work “to increase the production of renewable energy in Alaska and bring the benefits of renewable energy to all of its citizens”. This would implement the Alaska Energy Task Force conclusion that there is a need to “identify and evaluate long term fuel resources” and their recommendation that the state should “increase the proportion of renewables in long term fuel sources.”

And then there’s HB 335 by Rep. Berkowitz. The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Ramras, Cissna, Crawford, Kerttula, Kapsner and Gara. The bill directs the authority to conduct a program of renewable or alternative energy research, development, demonstration and application. It also:

• Requires statewide community and regional surveys of viable renewable energy options and community meetings to discuss these findings;
• Requires State assistance to communities or regions who invest in local wind powered energy.
• Sets up an Energy Loan Fund for qualified projects, including energy production and incentive credits.
• Establishes an energy portfolio standard that would require energy providers to derive a portion of produced energy through alternative sources.
• Creates a 9 member Committee on Alaska Energy Research and Development to provide oversight and make recommendations on “appropriate policies and actions to enhance the development of alternative energy projects”.

As parts of this bill are more popular than others, it has yet to be seen how things will progress as the legislative session continues. The hearing for HB335 on February 3 was cancelled, but the bill will come up as unfinished business during the House Labor & Commerce Committee meeting on Monday, February 6 at 3:15 p.m. Other ideas and approaches are also circulating including HB 9 by Rep Crawford, which would encourage efforts to develop hydrogen as an alternative fuel source and HB 164 by Rep. Crawford to provide funding for the Fire Island wind project.

How to get there is negotiable, but it is high time to begin a serious discussion about this very important issue. We are pleased to see some progress but will need to keep pushing hard for more.

Energy Bill Rundown

For more information check out:

Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP)

Wind Power Success in Kotzebue, Anchorage Daily News

New Legislation

These bills popped up since our last issue of Conservation Watch . If the bills fail to pass during this session, they will die.

HB420/SB262 Riparian Protection Standards for Forest Resources & Practices- Introduced by request of Gov. Murkowski
This bill looks to amend the Alaska Forest Resources and Practices Act (FRPA) for southcentral Alaska's (Region II) riparian areas. The bill is primarily intended to lay out standards for tree "buffer zones" for rivers and streams containing anadromous or high-value fish. The provisions will help to prevent sediment and woody debris from harming fish in areas where tree harvesting is likely to occur. For more information visit the DNR Division of Forestry webpage.

HCR29 Pebble Copper Deposit Management Plan- Rep. Hawker (R-Anchorage)
As part of a reaction to statewide opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine, Rep. Hawker along with House Speaker Harris, Minority Leader Berkowitz, Rep. Gara and Rep. Kerttula have introduced HCR 29. The bill asks DNR to revisit the Bristol Bay area plan with a focus on the area encompassing the Pebble copper deposits. The resolution represents a big step towards examining (and acknowledging!) the potential threats to the renewable resources in the Bristol Bay watershed. The Resolution has been referred to the House Resources Committee and will have its first hearing on Friday, February 10.

ACT NOW! Letters voicing support for HCR 29 should emailed or faxed to Rep. Jay Ramras (House Resources Committee) no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 9 for consideration at the February 10 hearing. For more information on the bill visit the Renewable Resources Coalition.

HJR29/SJR17 Urge Dept. of Justice & Alaska Department of Law to collect more Exxon Valdez spill damages- Rep. Croft (D-Anchorage)/Sen. French (D-Anchorage)
HJR29 and SJR17 are intended to urge the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Law to assess the damages from the Exxon Valdez spill that were unanticipated at the time of the 1991 settlement and to request the full $100,000,000 in damages that are available via the "Reopener for Unknown Injury" clause that was part of the civil settlement.

Hot Bills

Bills move at a rapid pace this time of year. You can obtain up-to-date legislative information on the BASIS website. The following chart notes the status of a few bills of importance to the conservation community.

Hearings this Week

Click on the date in the table below to get the most current schedule information for that day, or check the BASIS hearing schedule. Once a bill has been heard in a particular committee it may be brought up again without public notice or listing on the weekly committee schedule. You can click on a committee name to see a list of its members.