Your Honorable Senator Seekins, Representative Guttenberg, Chairman Wagoner and Members of the Senate Resources Committee, I write to express my personal concern about the harmful repercussions of SB 85, repealing the ban on certain off-road vehicle use along the Dalton Highway corridor. Please make these comments part of the official record for SB 85 and for the Senate Resources Committee. 1) The wildfires of 2004 in Alaska cost $55 million. Around 60% of wildfires in Alaska occur along the transportation corridors and are ignited by humans. Opening this corridor and other corridors for public access would greatly increase the probability of fire starts in this region, which in turn increases the potential for costly fire suppression. 2) Increasing motorized public access raises security concerns for the Alyeska pipeline, providing more opportunity and potential for vandalism or terrorist acts and requiring costly increased surveillance and law enforcement. 3) The long-term ecological Toolik Lake research station is located within this 5 mile corridor. This research station has a considerable investment in time and federal money and the work there relies on undisturbed tundra for scientific experiments that provide important information about tundra vegetation. Allowing unlimited public access has the potential to irrevocably destroy these long-term experiments through both direct ecosystem damage as well as by increasing the source for invasive non-native species. 4) Rural villages rely on this area for food supply and livelihood. Allowing public motorized access would place unnecessary and unfair pressure on and competition for resources upon which these villages rely. I therefore emphatically oppose SB 85. Thank you for your attention. Respectfully Yours, Sarah F.Trainor 2710 Monteverde Rd., P.O. Box 84067 Fairbanks, AK 99708 Back to Alaska Conservation Voters legislation page