Alaskan Living

Baranof Suite 604: The Room That Changed Alaska History

Like most Alaskans, I was thunderstruck by news earlier this year that the FBI had secretly videotaped the Veco hospitality suite at the Baranof Hotel in Juneau as a part of their 3-year undercover investigation into political corruption in Alaska.

Ever since then, I’ve wondered: How was a federal agency 5000 miles away able to get a hidden camera installed in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel without someone local tipping off the most connected and powerful men in Alaska politics? Who knew about the planted camera and installed it? How did they keep it a secret? And how did it go undetected for many months under the nose of these men as they exchanged conversation that would ultimately shatter their lives?

This week, I had other business in Juneau and was dying to find out.

Bear "Hunting" In Katmai National Preserve?

For the third year in a row, the National Park Service has permitted bear hunting near some of the world's most famous bear viewing areas in Katmai National Preserve. Their view is that the bear populations are healthy enough to sustain a hunt and that we shouldn't humanize or personify the bears--they're just animals, just numbers in the "science" of game management.

Ari Meets Congressman Don Young

We took Ari in today to meet our Congressman Don Young, Alaska’s sole house representative. Congressman Young’s public reputation is as the powerful chairman of the house transportation committee that just passed a whopping federal highway bill which includes lots of large Alaska projects. (We congratulated him on his success; he said the key was just persistence.) But as a person, Congressman Young is warm, approachable, and real—not a calculated politician. It’s so refreshing.

Goodbye Governor Hammond

Today, we lost one of Alaska's greatest men, Governor Jay Hammond. He was the finest leader Alaska ever produced that I personally met. He was a man who loved the land and the Alaskan way of life yet recognized the need for development and jobs. Unlike some strident ideologues in power today, Hammond could empathize with both sides of an issue. He was a Republican and a conservationist, someone who always put Alaska's interests first. 

Ari Meets Robert Kennedy Jr., Fellow Conservation Advocate

Robert Kennedy Jr. came to Alaska to support Alaska's waterkeeper organizations. Yael and I were on the host committee for one of the events. I'd never heard him speak before, and I have to say I was blown away by the passion and quality of his conservation arguments. No other Democrat I've heard in years has done the intellectual homework that Kennedy has in arguing how a strong conservation ethic fits with democracy, free markets, and economic prosperity. I thought he went a little overboard generalizing about big business and Republicans, but I'd still like to read his book, Crimes Against Nature. Ari was so inspired by Kennedy's logic that he leapt into his arms and trimphantly raised his fist in a show of solidarity. Having won Ari's support, Kennedy should go far.

President Jimmy Carter In Alaska

I was invited to a luncheon today in Anchorage with President Jimmy Carter to honor the 25th anniversary of the passage of ANILCA, the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act. It was the last piece of legislation President Carter signed before leaving office, and he considers it his greatest legacy to America. (The photo at the left is me shaking Carter's hand--not exactly shot at what they call "the decisive moment".)

At that time, the Alaskan senators were blocking its passage. Carter’s Secretary of State, Cecil Andrus showed up in Carter’s office one day and said, “I’ve found a way around the impasse. There’s an obscure 1906 law called the Antiquities Act that allows the President to designate any area a national monument.” Carter was determined to get this legislation through. So he threatened to designate 56 million acres of Alaska as national monuments—at which point Alaska’s senators agreed to negotiate.

Nick Jans' "Alaska Thanks You"

Nick Jans may be my favorite Alaskan writer. His books about his experiences in the Alaskan Bush inspire me to load up my raft and float through wilderness for a week. Every few years, he publishes a bombshell opinion piece in some national publication. Wednesday, it was a story in USA Today about massive road building projects in Alaska, courtesy of the US taxpayer.

If you didn’t read the article, you may want to. Jans excoriated Senator Stevens and Congressman Young for Alaskan road-building boondoggles. I'm sure it angered

My Heartfelt Thoughts on Oil Drilling in the Arctic Refuge

The Political Context
Most of my friends Outside are shocked when I tell them two-thirds of Alaskans favor oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They’re even more shocked when I tell them Alaska may be the most pro-development state in the country.

Years ago, I started a public opinion research business in Alaska. Over the course of five years, we conducted over 150,000 interviews with Alaskans. It gave me real insight into the concerns and beliefs of Alaskans.

Sometimes, I would ask Alaskans the same questions other pollsters would ask of Lower 48 voters. One of those questions was: “What worries you more—protecting the environment or creating good jobs and economic growth?”