[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ALASKANS ARE THE BEST STEWARDS OF ALASKA LANDS AND RESOURCES

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 1996

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring the attention of my 
colleagues to a guest opinion that appeared in the June issue of 
Resource Review. It is by Jake Adams, an Inupiat Eskimo who is both a 
whaling captain and president of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. He 
makes the important point that Alaskans are the best stewards of Alaska 
lands and resources, not the political leaders and activists who live 
here in Washington, DC. The text of his opinion follows my remarks.
  Just as Eskimo self-regulation under the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 
Commission has succeeded in protecting both the Bowhead Whale and the 
communities that depend on the whale for subsistence, I believe that 
the resources of the Tongass National Forest will be best managed by 
the State of Alaska, as I propose in H.R. 2413. Time and time again 
Alaskans have proven their ability to manage their resources 
responsibly, an accomplishment, as Mr. Adams points out, that 
Washington, DC, cannot claim.
  I hope that my colleagues will read the wise words of Mr. Adams.

                 [From the Resource Review, June 1996]

                       Alaska--A Place That Works

                            (By Jacob Adams)

       Compared to the rest of the nation, Alaskans enjoy a 
     relatively untouched, pristine environment. This fact has led 
     some people who have mismanaged their own environment and 
     communities to view Alaska as a public museum; a place they 
     want to control and preserve, untouched and suspended in 
     time.
       This, of course, does not work well for those of us who 
     live in Alaska, have families to support, communities to 
     nurture and shareholders' economic interests to protect and 
     advance. Yet, many Alaskans often find that they are forced 
     to be major actors in contentious national debates over the 
     use of public lands and resources and, in some cases, even 
     their own private lands and resources.
       It is a shame that many political leaders and activists who 
     live and work in the middle of the poverty, crime and 
     hopelessness of Washington, D.C.,--a city that does not 
     work--are determined to second-guess so much of what we 
     Alaskans do and aspire for.
       Alaska, after all, is a place that works. We educate our 
     children. We meet our people's needs. We protect our fish and 
     wildlife. We believe in the work ethic. And we take care of 
     our poor and disadvantaged.
       Profit is not a dirty word in Alaska. Free enterprise works 
     here. It is part of a proud American tradition that produces 
     income, jobs and tax revenue. It improves the quality of 
     people's lives. But, it can also be a hard task master.
       Those of us who live on the North Slope have seen some 
     successes and a fair share of failures. One success story 
     that continues today is the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 
     (AEWC). In the late 1970s, the International Whaling 
     Commission, elements of the federal government and animal 
     rights activists pushed hard to terminate my people's 
     traditional subsistence hunts for the Bowhead Whale. We 
     fought those efforts. We proposed a system of Eskimo ``self-
     regulation'' through AEWC. Who better to protect the species 
     and regulate the hunt than the people whose subsistence and 
     culture is at stake?
       We were successful. Today, the whales, our people and our 
     culture are thriving. And we did it by ourselves. Self-
     regulation by the parties who stand to lose or gain is a 
     concept which should be used more by the state and federal 
     governments.
       But, we have also seen some failures. ASRC and its 
     shareholders--working with the State, RDC, Arctic Power and 
     our Congressional Delegation, have tried very hard since 1987 
     to open the small, oil rich Coastal Plain area of ANWR to oil 
     and gas leasing. We own 92,160 acres of Coastal Plain land in 
     the huge 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But 
     we are denied the benefits of our resources. We are 
     prohibited by federal law from producing and using oil or 
     natural gas on our privately-owned lands in ANWR at the 
     village of Kaktovik. Instead, the federal government's action 
     means that we must import fuel oil to heat village homes and 
     generate electricity. Yet, Kaktovik sits on the nation's best 
     prospect for major new oil and gas reserves.
       We have been fighting this issue for nine years. We may 
     have to fight for nine or ten more. Lifting the Alaska oil 
     export ban took 22 years.
       We will continue to push to open the Coastal Plain because 
     it is the right thing to do. Alaskans are the best stewards 
     of our land, our environment and our fish and wildlife 
     resources. We should be major participants in discussions 
     about our future. We do not need the failed landlords of 
     Washington to dictate their policies of failure to us and our 
     children.
       My people have seen ups and we have seen downs. But we do 
     not dwell on short-term reverses or disappointments. In the 
     long run, rational thought and the laws of economics will 
     prevail. The fundamental changes taking place in Russia, our 
     neighbors to the west, were not conceivable ten years ago.
       Alaskans need to have staying power. We are in this for the 
     long run. Jacob Adams is the President of the Arctic Slope 
     Regional Corporation, a member of the North Slope Borough 
     Assembly and a whaling captain in Barrow. Jake also serves on 
     the Board of Directors for RDC.

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