OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 1997

Stephanie Hanna (O) 202/208-6416 Dan Sakura (O) 202/208-4678

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt today announced the successful implementation of bipartisan legislation to benefit the Kenai Natives Association, Inc., an Alaska Native urban corporation, and to protect the Kenai River through the use of settlement funds from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Upon signing an agreement with the Kenai Natives Association (KNA) to implement the legislation, Secretary Babbitt said, “This agreement will both protect fish and wildlife habitat on the Kenai River and provide Alaska Natives with significant new opportunities for economic development on the Kenai Peninsula.”

“This is a great day for Alaska Natives, wildlife, the Kenai River and the Bureau of Land Management. I commend Chairman Don Young and Congressman George Miller for their successful work to pass this important bipartisan legislation,” he continued.

As part of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, Congress passed the ‘Kenai Natives Association Equity Act Amendments of 1996,’ which authorized the KNA land exchange. KNA is an Alaska Native urban corporation based in Kenai, Alaska, established in accordance with the Alaska Natives Claim Settlement Act of 1971.

In addition to resolving a long-standing land management issue involving the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the legislation authorizes the creation of the Lake Todatonten Special Management Area to protect fish and wildlife habitat and subsistence activities on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In accordance with the legislation, Secretary Babbitt today directed the BLM to begin planning to establish the 37,000 acre Special Management Area, immediately adjacent to the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge, in the interior of Alaska, northwest of Fairbanks.

In 1980, Congress established the 1.4 million acre Kanuti Refuge to conserve fish and wildlife populations and to provide habitat for white-fronted geese, other waterfowl, migratory birds, moose, caribou and other species.

According to Diana Zirul, President of KNA, “the legislation will allow KNA greater flexibility to use our lands and will provide additional lands, including the Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters site in old town Kenai, important subsurface interests, and the necessary funding topromote the economic development of KNA’s resources, while still respecting and preserving our heritage.”

The agreement was reached in full partnership with the State of Alaska, with the support of Governor Tony Knowles. “Protecting the Kenai River is important to all Alaskans,” Knowles said. “This is one of a series of gains to protect the Kenai River. A partnership of federal, state and local governments, along with the Kenai Natives Association, sport fishing groups, commercial fishing groups, businesses and private landowners has come together and, by putting the river first, we all benefit.”

The agreement marks the conclusion of almost twenty years of discussions and negotiations between KNA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the federal agency responsible for managing the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set aside 1.7 million acres of land on the Kenai Peninsula to establish the Kenai National Moose Range in 1941. In 1980, Congress expanded the Moose Range to nearly 2 million acres and renamed it the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

In Alaska, the BLM manages 89 million acres of federal public land, including the White Mountains National Recreation Area and the Steese National Conservation Area, as well as 952 river miles protected under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Congress passed bi-partisan legislation in 1992 directing Secretary of the Interior to enter into expedited negotiations with KNA to reach an agreement to provide for the exchange or acquisition of lands. Negotiations conducted in accordance with the 1992 legislation led to the agreement that was codified in the 1996 legislation.

Under the terms of the 1996 legislation:

oThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would acquire 3,254 acres of land on the Kenai River and the Moose River, for inclusion in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, for $4.4 million. As part of the EVOS small parcel habitat protection process, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council has agreed to provide $4.0 million from the civil settlement fund. The three federal trustee agencies provided the balance of funding from the federal restitution fund.

oThe land acquisition package includes the Stephanka Tract, an 803 acre tract which was ranked among the highest value small parcels for the benefit of species injured by the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. To protect the important archeological and cultural values of the Stephanka Tract, the legislation directs the Interior Department to nominate the tract to the National Register of Historic Places.

oTo provide KNA with additional opportunities for economic development, Congress authorized the federal government to convey to KNA a five acre refuge headquarters site from the FWS in old town Kenai as well as important subsurface rights, with the exception of coal, oil and gas rights, beneath KNA’s retained lands. The legislation also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to amend the Kenai Refuge boundary to exclude privately-owned KNA lands from the Refuge and to lift development restrictions, whichwere imposed by the Alaska Natives Claims Settlement Act, from KNA’s lands. KNA will retain a significant land base of approximately 20,000 acres following the implementation of the agreement.

oTo compensate for the removal of restrictions on the private land currently in the refuge, Secretary Babbitt today directed the BLM to begin the initial planning for the new Lake Todatonten Special Management area and to establish an eleven-member committee. The committee will include individuals from the villages of Alatna, Allakaket, Hughes and Tanana, as well as representatives from the Doyon Corporation, the Tanana Chiefs Conference and the State of Alaska.

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