Alaska Subsistence: A year after Senator Murkowski pushed back against the administration’s attempt to cut the Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget for the Alaska Subsistence Program, its funding level this year remained constant at $12.4 million.  The program promotes and regulates subsistence use on federal lands by overseeing harvest assessments and resource monitoring, conducting population assessments, and participating in Native outreach and education.  In addition, the Forest Service’s proposal to eliminate $2.5 million for the subsistence program was rejected and these funds were restored in the bill.

Fighting Federal Overreach

Prohibiting New Wild Lands: Senator Murkowski was instrumental in making sure that the administration was not able to implement a controversial Department of Interior Secretarial Order that would designate new special conservation protection areas.

Avoiding EPA Interference With Hunting and Fishing: The bill contains a provision to prohibit the use of Environmental Protection Agency funds from regulating lead content of ammunition, ammunition components, and fishing tackle.

Blocking Coastal Marine Special Planning (CMSP) in Alaska: Alaskans are against CMSP in our waters – with officials on record calling it a “new layer of bureaucracy” on top of what Alaska policies already cover.  Earlier this Congressional session, Senator Murkowski was told by then-acting Commerce Secretary Blank earlier this Congressional session that “states that do not want to participate [in the program] will not have to.” To make certain that this is the case, Murkowski supported language in the budget prohibiting Interior Department funds from being used for CMSP in and around Alaska.

Lands and Forests

Resources and Accountability on Contaminated ANCSA lands: In 1998, the Department of the Interior submitted a report to Congress acknowledging that it conveyed approximately 650 contaminated sites through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).  No significant efforts have been made by the Department to clean up these sites since this report was issued.  The bill requires the Department to provide an updated report which includes not only an inventory of these sites but a detailed plan for how the Department intends to remediate them.

Land Conveyance Funding Restored:  The federal government’s conveyance program of land owed to Alaska and Alaska Natives is mandated under the 43-year-old Alaska Native Settlement Claims Act (ANCSA).  In order to speed up this process, Senator Murkowski passed the Alaska Lands Transfer Acceleration Act in 2004.  However, the President’s budget slashed the funding for Alaska land conveyance work.  Murkowski was able to restore the funding to $22 million to further provide Alaskans and Native Corporations final title to lands selected under the Alaska Statehood Act and ANCSA.

Fighting for True Timber Balance:  Over the last ten years, the United States Forest Service’s Region 10 has limited the allowable timber sales to less than ten percent of the actual land management plan – damaging the timber industry and shutting down numerous mills.  Today’s Interior bill contains a provision forcing the government to alter its course to restore proper balance by offering timber sales plans within two years that will offer economic opportunity and confidence.

Alaska Red Cedar: Murkowski included language in the bill requiring that timber sales in Alaska be economic and for the U.S. Forest Service to use an appraisal system best suited to the unique needs of Alaska.  The provision reads, in part:

No timber sale in Alaska’s Region 10 shall be advertised if the indicated rate is deficit (defined as the value of the timber is not sufficient to cover all logging and stumpage costs and provide a normal profit and risk allowance under the Forest Service’s appraisal process) when appraised using a residual value appraisal. The western red cedar timber from those sales which is surplus to the needs of the domestic processors in Alaska, shall be made available to domestic processors in the contiguous 48 United States at prevailing domestic prices…

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