Battleground Alaska

Stephen Haycox's new volume of Alaskan history documents a series of battles over wilderness and natural resource management, seen through the lens of the state's resistance to federal oversight. Haycox focuses on four specific environmental debates—the 1960 establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Range by executive order; the 1973 Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act; passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, setting aside 104 million acres for environmental protection; and the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990—in the context of “an exploration of Alaskans' persistent resistance to federal environmental constraints in the name of necessary economic development and states' rights” (p. 9). While the discussions of these specific standoffs between state interests and national environmental groups are fascinating, Haycox's larger argument does not quite fit seamlessly together. The assertion that Alaska is uniquely situated, compared to other U.S. states, by its remote, isolated geography and northern location—making agriculture impractical and many forms of manufacturing economically infeasible—seems straightforward enough; perhaps this alone could account for Alaska's exceptionally strong, Haycox frequently calls it “virulent,” sentiment of antistatism. Particularly problematic was the delayed awarding of state land grants after statehood in 1959, intended to be used for resource development that could help support the state's economy, until after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971 and ANILCA in 1980. This long delay generated frustration and resentment among Alaskans that exacerbates their antistate stance

Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Geography · Political science · Resistance (ecology · State (computer science · Wilderness · American Environmental and Regional History · American History and Culture · Archaeology and Natural History · Ecology · Law · Public Administration