[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 21 (Thursday, February 10, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S643-S644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. Begich):
  S. 313. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue 
permits for a microhydro project in nonwilderness areas within the 
boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve, to acquire land for 
Denali National Park and Preserve from Doyon Tourism, Inc., and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce 
legislation, cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, that 
represents an important step in the conversion to renewable energy 
sources in rural Alaska.
  Today I introduce the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011.
  The Kantishna Roadhouse, owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., is located 100 
miles inside Denali National Park and Preserve. The settlement of 
Kantishna was founded in 1905 as a mining camp near the juncture of 
Eureka and Moose Creeks. Gold in the region brought a flurry of 
prospectors in the early days, but as the gold began to run out, so did 
interest in mining the Kantishna Hills. The original roadhouse at 
Kantishna was built in the early 1900s, serving as a private residence, 
a community center, post office, and informal hotel accommodations for 
those who visited Kantishna in Denali Park.
  The Roadhouse, like many structures within Denali National Park, is 
entirely off the grid and generates all of its electricity needs with a 
diesel generator. As a result, all guests and supplies, including 
diesel, are trucked through the Park to the Roadhouse over National 
Park roads. The construction of the micro hydro project would allow the 
Roadhouse to cut down their diesel usage by approximately 50%, which 
would result in a decrease in diesel truck traffic on the Park Road, 
improved local air quality, and less sound pollution in this remote 
area, as well as reduce disturbance and vehicle impacts on park 
wildlife, allowing for an enhanced visitor experience for tourists 
within the National Park.

[[Page S644]]

  My bill will authorize the National Park Service to exchange roughly 
10 acres of National Park land for an equivalent amount of land 
currently owned by Doyon Tourism, and would allow the National Park 
Service to obtain the highly desired Galena tract of land, located just 
off the Park Road in the Kantishna region. Doyon Tourism would obtain 
land over which the hydro project would be implemented. In the interim 
period, prior to completion of the land exchange, the National Park 
Service will issue a permit to allow Doyon Tourism, Inc., to construct 
the micro hydro unit.
  I want to emphasize how important I believe that this bill is. The 
benefit to the citizens of Alaska, especially rural Alaska, of reducing 
their dependence on expensive diesel generation through access to 
renewable and clean sources of energy is enormous. This type of Micro-
Hydro project within Denali provides an excellent blueprint for others 
around the State to follow suit.
  I would like to thank Senator Begich, an original co-sponsor of this 
bill, for his and his staff's hard work in moving this bill forward. It 
is our hope that this bill will receive quick but careful consideration 
as the very short construction season in Alaska lasts only from May 
through September.
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