 By Sen. Frank Murkowski July 29, 2002
There should be no question that my legislation is in the best interests of residents of Southeast, especially people living in Juneau and Ketchikan. Juneau residents will benefit because the bill will allow for new economic development fueled by mining opportunities while citizens in the Ketchikan area will see new recreation improvements as a result of the land transfer. Most importantly, this bill does not lessen any environmental protections for Berners Bay. All it does is satisfy the public's need for efficient and effective land management from government agencies charged with that responsibility. My legislation responds to a problem inherent in the complex land selection process in the original Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). Because of the ANCSA process, there are several thousand acres in Southeast where the surface is owned by the federal government and the underground interests are held by Native corporations. This split estate often inhibits proper land management. It especially complicates U.S. Forest Service management efforts, while reducing the ability of the Native corporations to make economic use of their subsurface land claims. There are also outstanding land "allocation" issues facing a number of village corporations throughout Alaska, including the Cape Fox Corp. of Saxman. While ANCSA envisioned a process whereby these kinds of issues would be addressed, often times Congress has had to step in to resolve them. My legislation corrects the problems of a split estate by allowing the Forest Service to acquire more than 9,000 acres of subsurface owned by Sealaska in exchange for land which is already heavily encumbered with more than 12,700 acres of valid mining claims near Berners Bay. It also allows the Forest Service to obtain land from Cape Fox on an equal value basis to consolidate Tongass land into more contiguous blocks. Although some of the land already has been logged by the Native corporation, moving it back into public ownership will result in habitat management by the government and positive implications for wildlife and recreation use. The bill also conveys to the Forest Service a trail right-of-way that is very important for recreation access in the Ketchikan area. Concern has been expressed that the bill will result in massive clearcuts near Berners Bay. That concern is totally unfounded. The timber on the land that will be conveyed to Sealaska and Cape Fox is mostly non-commercial and thus logging is extremely unlikely to occur. In fact, Cape Fox has stated in writing that it has no intention of harvesting the timber! Rather the corporation intends to derive revenue from partnerships associated with mining. This is in keeping with the historic use of an area where mining activity has been conducted for more than 100 years. Concerns that salmon spawning could be harmed by the mining are unfounded. I strongly believe in the need to keep Alaska's fisheries healthy and thus will not support activities that degrade salmon habitat. The environmental impact statement and the resulting permitting process associated with mine development at the Kensington project will examine any potential impacts on salmon. I am confident the proposed mining plan, including any restrictions that result from gaining the required permits, will fully protect fish runs. More importantly, nothing in my bill will change the mining environmental reviews required under the Clean Water Act. They will proceed regardless of land ownership. For all these reasons, I believe this land exchange is a win-win situation for all of the people in Southeast.
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