Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ( ANILCA ) is a law in the United States, which was passed by Congress in 1980 and set on 2 December of the same year by President Jimmy Carter in force.

The ANILCA regulated the creation of new and expansion of existing protected areas in Alaska under the administration of the National Park Service. In addition, publicly owned land was placed under the administration of United States Forest Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service. A total of 321.9 thousand km ² of public land have been re- designated as protected areas, about a third of it as a Wilderness Area, the strictest class of natural protected areas of the United States.

History

The origins of ANILCA go back to the 1950s, when the Alaska territory by the Alaska Statehood Act of 1958 became the 49th state of the United States. The new State was entitled to use 420,000 km ² of the total of 1.5 million km ² for economic purposes.

1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed, which regulated the territorial claims of Alaska Natives. This law also authorized the Ministry of the Interior, until December 18, 1973 325,000 km ² as possible extensions of National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Wild and Scenic Rivers National Forests or select. After the Congress had five years to decide on the proposal of the Ministry of Interior.

Minister of the Interior Rogers Morton proposed in March 1972 by conservation groups such as the Sierra Club recommended areas that were until a decision is beyond the reach of the State of Alaska by Congress. At the recommendation were 325,000 km ² of protected areas and 180,000 km ² of scientific studies with the option to later convert this land into protected areas. In addition, Morton reserved 160,000 km ² around settlements and traditional places of the indigenous people who should be at their disposal, as well as another 12,000 km ² as compensation for land that would be lost to them through the creation of protected areas.

140,000 km ² were asked in the proposal to the State of Alaska are available. Other land use had to wait until the decision of the Congress. Alaska felt thus skipped and spun off from the process and complained against the proposal. 1973 moved the state of the action in exchange for the right to use some areas of the reserved regions back. In December 1973, the Home Secretary finally handed over the final recommendation with a land area of 335,000 square kilometers - approximately the area of Norway - to Congress.

1977 gave the Mo Udall, a deputy in Arizona's House of Representatives, a bill one that went with 465,000 km ² stellendem under protection in Alaska far on the proposal of Morton and under the name "HR 39 " was known. On the federal level, a large majority was present for the draft, politicians in Alaska felt their state but by the law slowed down and restricted in its development, particularly because of the extraction of mineral resources can not take place in full. The Senate hesitated despite affirmative majority with the adoption of the bill, because the senators of Alaska, Ted Stevens and Mike Gravel, were against it. Stevens and Gravel tried to delay the adoption until after the closing date in December 1978 and thereby bring down. In particular, Gravel threatened to block the law single-handedly by filibuster.

Shortly before the expiration of the period of five years, the Congress had enacted no such law. To prevent the proposal of the Ministry on December 17, 1978 will expire and the land is released for other use, reserved Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act on November 16, 1978 425,000 km ² for a further three years until 19 November 1981. too, the Minister of Agriculture put 45,000 km ² for two years back in order to allow a decision of the Congress.

On 1 December 1978 Jimmy Carter proclaimed on the basis of the Antiquities Act, which grants the right of the President to restrict the use of public lands of historic or scientific significance, unilaterally and without the consent of Congress, 222.5 thousand km ² as National Monuments and placed it under the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Forest Service.

In Alaska risen angry protests against the ruling of the President. Many residents of the state felt as an outsider and pioneers, saying the policy from the Lower 48, to understand their needs. In Eagle angry citizens burned a straw doll with the trains Carter and Andrus compared with Hitler.

In May 1979, the House of Representatives voted on the bill again from Udall, reaching an even larger majority than the first attempt, the Senate delayed further. On February 12, 1980, the Minister of the Interior extended the reservation 160,000 km ² land around another 20 years to prevent the expiration of three years expires in November 1981. In compromise talks between the House and Senate, the draft was reduced to tens of thousands of square kilometers were completely taken out of the protection, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge got a special clause, would be required to decide at a later date about oil and gas drilling and large parts of planned national parks have been converted to the lower protection status of a National Preserve, where hunting is still permitted, in particular. On December 2, 1980 Finally, in the last days of the 96th Congress, signed Jimmy Carter, already deselected and one month before the end of his term, after a long debate, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Newly created protected areas

National Parks, National Monuments, and Wildlife Refuges

The following table includes both on 1 December 1978, proclaimed by Jimmy Carter and the resulting on December 2, 1980 with the adoption of ANILCA protected areas.

  • Aniakchak National Monument
  • Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
  • Cape Krusenstern National Monument
  • Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park
  • Kobuk Valley National Park
  • Lake Clark National Park
  • Noatak National Preserve
  • Wrangell-St Elias National Park
  • Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

In addition, the United States Forest Service under their National Forests Chugach and Tongass have been expanded and the National Monuments Misty Fjords and Admiralty Iceland newly created in the Tongass National Forest.

Wild and Scenic Rivers

25 rivers which 13 are within the National Park system, have been restated as a Wild and Scenic River in whole or in sections.

  • Alagnak River ( section in Katmai National Park with inflow Nonvianuk River)
  • Alatna River ( section of the Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park )
  • Aniakchak River ( section in Aniakchak National Monument with the four largest tributaries )
  • Charley River (entire river with the seven major tributaries )
  • Chilikadrotna River ( section in Lake Clark National Park )
  • John River ( section of the Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park )
  • Kobuk River ( section of the Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park )
  • Mulchatna River ( section in Lake Clark National Park )
  • Noatak River ( from the source to the Kelly River in the Noatak National Preserve )
  • Koyukuk River ( the North Fork in the Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park )
  • Salmon River ( section in Kobuk Valley National Park )
  • Tinayguk River ( section of the Gates -of -the- Arctic National Park )
  • Tlikakila River ( section in Lake Clark National Park )

In addition, the rivers Andreafsky, Ivishak, Nowitna, Selawik, Sheenjek and wind under the administration of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Birch Creek, Delta, Fortymile, Gulkana, and Unalakleet under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management in whole or in sections of the state was a Wild and Scenic River awarded. The Beaver Creek is managed in two sections from each of the two authorities.

Wilderness Areas

110,000 km ², divided into 35 areas were as Wilderness Areas, the strictest class of protected natural areas in the United States, been restated. While nature is to be preserved without human influence in the Wilderness Areas of the Lower 48, led the ANILCA Alaska for a new definition of these areas. Many residents of rural Alaska are closely connected with the surrounding nature and are dependent for their livelihood from it. This is reflected by not only nature has been put under protection in wilderness areas of newly created, but also the lifestyle of the people living in and from her and their attachment to their invoice. The ANILCA allows therefore in Alaska's Wilderness Areas, the continued use and maintenance of existing cabins and the construction of a limited number of new houses that need to be built from natural materials and landscape in bound form.

  • Denali Wilderness
  • Gates of the Arctic Wilderness
  • Glacier Bay Wilderness
  • Katmai Wilderness
  • Kobuk Valley Wilderness
  • Lake Clark Wilderness
  • Noatak Wilderness
  • Wrangell- St Elias National Park
  • Aleutian Islands Wilderness
  • Andreafsky Wilderness
  • Arctic Wildlife Refuge Wilderness
  • Becharof Wilderness
  • Innoko Wilderness
  • Izembek Wilderness
  • Kenai Wilderness
  • Koyukuk Wilderness
  • Nunivak Wilderness
  • Togiak Wilderness
  • Semidi Wilderness
  • Selawik Wilderness
  • Unimak Wilderness
  • Iceland Admiralty National Monument Wilderness
  • Coronation Iceland Wilderness
  • Endicott River Wilderness
  • Maurille Islands Wilderness
  • Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness
  • Petersburg Creek - Duncan Salt Chuck Wilderness
  • Russell Fjord Wilderness
  • South Baranof Wilderness
  • South Prince of Wales Wilderness
  • Tebenkof Bay Wilderness
  • Tracy Arm - Fords Terror Wilderness
  • Warren Iceland Wilderness
  • West Chichagof - Yakobi Wilderness

Expansion of existing protected areas

The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge was created from Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range, Hazen Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Nunivak National Wildlife Refuge as well as additional 54,000 km ² of land. The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge emerged from the Izembek National Wildlife Range. The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge has been added to the islands of Afognak and Ban. The Togiak National Wildlife Refuge was created from the Cape Newenham National Wildlife Refuge with an additional 15.5 thousand km ² of land.

  • Glacier Bay National Park ( 2100 km ²)
  • Katmai National Park ( 4200 km ²)
  • Denali National Park ( 9800 km ²)
  • Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ( 2300 km ²)
  • Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ( 37,000 km ²)
  • Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
  • Kenai National Wildlife Refuge ( 1000 km ²)
  • Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge ( 200 km ²)
  • Togiak National Wildlife Refuge ( 15.5 thousand km ²)
  • Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge ( 54,000 km ²)

Subsistence use

The subsistence use of resources of the country in the form of hunting, fishing and accommodation was in Alaska - regulated for the first time in the 1959 Constitution came into force in the State law - after thousands of years was the livelihood of the indigenous people. Fish and game were released in the unrestricted general use by the population.

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 limited this use into parts in favor of the natives. This law was the first engagement of the federal government in the affairs of Alaska in terms of subsistence use ( Subsistence Management). The ANILCA obliged the State finally, to limit the usage rights in the areas that are owned by the Federal Government to the rural population. Otherwise Alaska would lose his right to the management of the local regulations for use.

The state had in 1978 a law regulating the subsistence use enacted which did not coincide with the ANILCA, as it provided for unrestricted use. An amendment of 1986 was like the law of the ANILCA. In 1989, the Supreme Court, however, ruled that the amended law was not in line with the Constitution of Alaska. After failed attempts to amend the Constitution in this respect, took over on July 1, 1990, the federal government, the management of subsistence use on federally owned areas.

National Wilderness Preservation System Territory of Alaska National Wild and Scenic Rivers System Eagle (Alaska) Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Kobuk-Valley-Nationalpark Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve United States National Forest Misty Fiords National Monument Admiralty Island John River (Alaska) Andreafsky River Ivishak River Nowitna River Selawik River Sheenjek River Wind River (Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska) Birch Creek (Alaska) Delta River Fortymile River Gulkana River Unalakleet River Beaver Creek (Alaska) Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve
40991
de