Aleutian Islands Wilderness Alaska
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93d Congress, 2d Session House Document No. 93-403 PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TRANSMITTING PROPOSALS FOR THIRTY-SEVEN ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM AND DEFERRAL OF ACTION ON FIVE AREAS SUITABLE FOR INCLUSION IN THE SYSTEM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS AGAINST THE INCLUSION OF FOUR OTHER AREAS STUDIED, PURSUANT TO SECTION 3 OF THE WILDER- NESS ACT OF 1964 [16 USC 1132] PART 13 ALEUTIAN ISLANDS WILDERNESS ALASKA DECEMBER 4, 1974. —Referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and ordered to be printed with illustrations. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1974 42 7117 O THE WHITE HOUSE WAS HINGTO N December 4, 1974 Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, I am pleased to transmit herewith proposals for thirty-seven additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System. As described in the Wilderness Message that I am con- currently sending to the Congress today, the proposed new wilderness areas cover a total of over nine million primeval acres. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior has recommended that Congressional action on five other areas which include surface lands suitable for wilderness be deferred for the reasons set forth below: A. Three areas which are open to mining might be needed in the future to provide vital minerals for the Nation, but these areas have not been adequately surveyed for mineral deposits. The areas are the Kofa Game Range, Arizona; Charles Sheldon Antelope Range, Nevada and Oregon; and, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Range, Montana. B. One area is subject to withdrawals for power purposes and additional study is needed of the West's potential energy needs before a wilderness decision can be made. This is Lake Mead National Recreation Area, located in Arizona and Nevada. C. Certain parts of one area are subject to selection by the village of Mekoryuk under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and a wilderness recommenda- tion should be made only after the completion of the Native selection process. The area in question is the Nunivak National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Four other possibilities considered by the Secretary of the Interior in his review of roadless areas of 5,000 acres or more were found to be unsuitable for inclusion in the Wilderness System: Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon and Idaho; Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland; Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky; and, Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. I concur in this finding and in the other recommendations of the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, all of which are transmitted herewith. Wilderness designation of both of these new wilderness areas and those already submitted that are pending be- fore the Congress would dramatically demonstrate our commitment to preserve America's irreplaceable heritage, and I urge the Congress to act promptly in this regard. Sincerely, The Honorable Carl Albert Speaker of the House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 I United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 AUG 7 1974 Dear Mr. President: It is with pleasure that I recommend the establishment of areas totaling approximately 1,395,357 acres in Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The recommendation stems from this Department's responsibility under the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890) to recommend to the President areas within its jurisdiction suitable for designation as wilderness. Having reviewed potential areas in Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, we conclude that 1,395,357 of the study area's 1,720,719 acres should be designated wilderness. The Aleutian Islands Refuge consists of all but seven of the islands that reach out from the Alaska mainland along a thousand-mile chain toward the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Soviet Union. The refuge was established in 1913 by Executive Order. Its nearly 70 main islands aggregate to 2,720,235 acres, making it one of the largest units in the National Wildlife Refuge System. (This Department has already studied separately and made wilderness recommendations with regard to two areas within the refuge, Unimak Island and a portion of the refuge that also lies within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.) Most of the islands in the refuge are the emergent peaks of a submarine mountain range, and many of these are active volcanoes. The larger islands are less mountainous and, though treeless, are dotted with lakes. The sky above the refuge is almost always overcast, and precipitation occurs on an average of 200 days a year. No mineral survey of the area has been conducted; the area has no known mineral potential but does have potential for geothermal development. The Aleutian Islands are rich in wildlife. The sea otter, which bears the world's most valued fur, makes its principal home in waters off the central islands in the chain. The northern sea lion also inhabits refuge waters. Among the refuge's terrestrial mammals are the caribou, reindeer, and blue fox. The refuge is a habitat for large numbers of pelagic birds. Fulmars, petrels, cormorants, gulls, kittwakes, murres, anklets, and puffins numbering in the millions congregate in the islands' vast rookeries. The Aleutian Canada goose—one of the world's rarest birds—the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, and gyr falcon are also found in the refuge. The great bulk of the study area is recommended for wilderness designation. The areas found to be unsuitable for such designation fall into the following general categories: (l) lands withdrawn or otherwise needed for military purposes; (2) lands eligible for selection under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688); and (3) lands covered with substantial amounts of World War II refuse. Though the possibility of additional Alaska Native selection being made in the proposed wilderness area is remote, we have provided that wilderness designation shall be subject to such selection rights. It should also be pointed out that the State of Alaska is presently engaged in land use planning efforts. We recommend that the Congress give appropriate weight to the results of those efforts and to the views of the State government in considering this proposal. In accordance with the requirements of the Wilderness Act, a public hearing on the recommendation was held at Adak, Alaska, on April 9, 197^« The hearing was continued at Atka and Unalaska, Alaska, on April 10 and concluded at Anchorage, Alaska, on April 17. Analyses of the hearing records and written expressions received, together with the letters received from other Federal agencies, are contained in the enclosed synopsis. Complete records have been compiled and are available for inspection by the public. Enclosed is a draft bill which, if enacted, would incorporate the recommended area of Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge into the National Wilderness Preservation System. Sincerely yours, Nathaniel P. Reed Assistant Secretary of the Interior The President The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Enclosure A B_ !_ L. L, To designate certain lands in the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Third Judicial Division, Alaska, as wilderness. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in accordance with section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act of September 3, 196h (78 Stat. 890, 892; 16 U.S.C. H32(c)), certain lands in the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, which comprise about 1,395»357 acres and which are depicted on a map entitled "Aleutian Islands Wilderness Proposal" dated June 197^» except as provided in section 2 of this Act, are hereby designated as wilderness. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Offices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. SEC. 2. As soon as practicable after this Act takes effect, a map of the wilderness area and a description of its boundaries shall be filed with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and such map and description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided, however, That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such description and map may be made, and adjustments therein shall be made to reflect changes which may be occasioned by land selections made pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 85 Stat. 688. SEC. 3. The area designated "by this Act as wilderness shall "be known as the "Aleutian Islands Wilderness" and shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, and where appropriate any reference in that Act to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. it. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Coast Guard, pursuant to Ik U.S.C. 2 and 8l and title 1 of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1221), the Department of Defense, pursuant to Executive Order 1733 which established the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and the Federal Aviation Administration to use the area designated wilderness by this Act for navigational, military, and maritime and aviation safety purposes. In the case of such use involving Coast Guard unmanned devices, the consent of the Secretary of the Interior to the use shall not be required. In recognition of the unique requirements for travel in the area, the landing and taking off of aircraft, on lakes and waters to be designated by the Secretary of the Interior within the area, are hereby permitted.