BLM Alaska News Release Feed

BLM Presents 2013 "Making a Difference" National Volunteer Awards (5/24/2013)

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:20 -0600

The Bureau of Land Management presented its prestigious "Making a Difference" National Volunteer Awards to four individuals, one couple, one group, and one BLM employee for outstanding volunteer service or volunteer leadership on BLM-managed lands.

The Making a Difference Award is an annual award presented by the BLM that recognizes its most exceptional volunteers, whose efforts include trail repair, visitor services, habitat restoration, and many other duties. The award was presented to recipients at a recognition event via live video conference hosted at the BLM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event included remarks from Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior; Neil Kornze, Principal Deputy Director of the BLM; and Carl Rountree, Assistant Director for the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System and Community Partnerships.

Principal Deputy Director Kornze expressed his appreciation for the volunteers’ hard work in helping the BLM fulfill its multiple-use mission. "Volunteer efforts – the seeing, the doing, and the leading – have helped us to fulfill that responsibility on the public lands," Kornze said. "Your labors have made a lasting imprint, and you have left a legacy for others to follow.”

The volunteers selected for this year’s awards were: Ray and Linda Panter, Central Yukon Field Office, Alaska; Annette Froehlich (Lifetime Achievement), Las Cruces District Office, New Mexico; Joshua Barlow, Price Field Office, Utah; Upper Ridge Wilderness Association (Lifetime Achievement), Redding Field Office, California; Illa Willmore (Lifetime Achievement), Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana; and Pat Williams (Milestone Award), Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada. Warren J. Trogden, Sr. Challis Field Office, Idaho, is the winning BLM employee.

A national panel of BLM specialists and partner representatives selected the award winners from a record number of nominees submitted by BLM state offices. The winners were selected for their exceptional contributions to the conservation and management of public lands.

In Fiscal Year 2012, more than 30,000 volunteers contributed more than 1.1 million hours of their time in assisting the BLM. That is the equivalent of 637 "work years." The value of volunteer contributions as compared to project-related dollars expended by the BLM was 26 to 1

Alaska volunteers Linda and Ray Panter received their awards at a ceremony at the BLM-Alaska State Office in Anchorage.

ALASKA Volunteer Winners

Linda and Ray Panter, Central Yukon Field Office, AK: Over the past two years, Linda and Ray Panter have greeted nearly 10,000 summer visitors annually at the BLM’s Yukon Crossing Contact Station, located beside the Yukon River along Alaska’s remote 414-mile Dalton Highway. This important BLM visitor station provides valuable services to travelers from around the world as they venture north to the Arctic Circle and beyond. Linda and Ray answer thousands of questions, distribute brochures, track visitation, provide critical safety and travel information, maintain the contact station itself, and monitor the nearby rustic campground. Their record sales of books and merchandise have strengthened BLM’s partnership with the Alaska Geographic Association, the local non-profit cooperating association. Linda and Ray have also initiated projects and programs to enhance visitor experiences, including short programs on Arctic tree growth, during which they compare tree rings from Alaskan species to those of trees from their native Oregon. They lead walking tours for visitors interested in the local fauna and flora, have produced a stunning photo program based on their discoveries, and planted a small garden to demonstrate the speed with which plants must develop during the short Arctic growing season. Ray even hauls in local spring water each day so that visitors can literally "get a taste of the Arctic." Linda and Ray staff the contact station every day of the week, working long hours amidst such luxuries as a satellite phone and an outhouse. These special hosts obviously love what they do, happy to welcome Yukon Crossing visitors with warmth and hospitality.

Interior to Hire Nearly 17,000 Young People (5/24/2013)

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:55:10 -0600

BLM-Alaska Announces Recreation Facility Status for Memorial Day Weekend (5/22/2013)

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:35:30 -0600

As a result of unseasonably cold weather and spring snowstorms, the opening of many BLM visitor facilities will be delayed this year. Following is a list of closures and expected conditions for the Memorial Day Weekend and contact information for updates in the days ahead.

Denali Highway

Tangle Lakes Campground – entrance blocked by snow.

Brushkana Creek Campground - open with limited services. No drinking water. Campsites very wet.

(Contact: Glennallen Field Office, 907-822-3217)

Richardson Highway

Paxson Lake Campground - entrance blocked by snow.

Sourdough Creek Campground - open with limited services. No drinking water. Campsites very wet.

Gulkana River at Sourdough - still frozen. Visitors should stay clear of the boat launch area as flooding is expected during break-up.

(Contact: Glennallen Field Office, 907-822-3217)

White Mountains National Recreation Area and Steese Highway

Nome Creek Bridge – blocked by ice. Visitor facilities along Nome Creek, including the Mt. Prindle and Ophir Creek campgrounds and the Quartz Creek Trail, are inaccessible as a result. U.S. Creek Road is open as far as the bridge.

Cripple Creek Campground – open, but access road may be washed out in places due to recent flooding. Snow covers most of the campsites, and the outhouses and day use area remain out of commission due to remaining floodwater.
Upper Birch Creek Wild and Scenic River remains frozen as of late last week.
(Contact: Fairbanks District Office, 907-474-2251)

Fortymile region and Taylor Highway

West Fork Campground – open with limited services. No drinking water. Many access roads and campsites remain covered with snow.

Walker Fork Campground - open with limited services. No drinking water. Many access roads and campsites remain covered with snow.

Eagle Campground - open but no drinking water.

(Contact: Fairbanks District Office, 907-474-2251)

Dalton Highway- UPDATED INFO
The Arctic Interagency Visitor Center will open as scheduled tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Please note our 2013 hours are 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, seven days a week.
Marion Creek Campground is currently snow-covered and inaccessible.
Road conditions from Fairbanks to Atigun Pass are good to excellent. Blowing snow, ice and avalanche conditions are still present over the Pass. Please check road conditions prior to any planned trips north.
Galbraith Lake Campground – inaccessible due to lingering snow.
(Contact: Arctic Interagency Visitor Center, 907-678-5209)

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Secretaries Highlight Fed. Preparedness for 2013 Western Wildfire Season (05/13/2013)

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:15:20 -0600

To read this news release, please click here. http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/secretaries-vilsack-and-jewell-highlight-federal-preparedness-for-2013-western-wildfire-season.cfm

BLM Plan Outlines Legacy Well Clean Up Priorities, Actions (5/8/2013)

Wed, 8 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

ANCHORAGE — As part of its continuing commitment to protect public safety and Alaska’s environment, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Anchorage today released a draft plan outlining priorities and actions it will take in the near-term to plug and clean up legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The BLM is releasing the draft plan to cooperators for review and has posted it online at http://www.blm.gov/ak.

“We recognize the importance of cleaning up these well sites. This plan lays out an aggressive strategy to address some of the highest priority wells,” said BLM Alaska State Director Bud Cribley. “Full remediation of the wells that the BLM has inherited will require tremendous resources over the coming years, but the BLM is committed to working with the state and villages to get the job done. I want to thank Senators Murkowski and Begich for their leadership in continuing to draw attention to this important issue.”

The plan, titled the 2013 Legacy Wells Strategic Plan, is based on a thorough site-by-site assessment of each well site. Of the 136 wells drilled between 1944 and 1982 by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), more than half require no further action because they have been remediated or pose no threat to the public or environment. An additional 18 wells are in use by the USGS as part of climate change monitoring in the Arctic. The remaining 50 wells will, according to assessments conducted by the BLM, require various levels of additional cleanup work.

The strategic plan also identifies 16 priority wells for clean-up, including some that pose high risks to the surface. For example, three well sites on the Simpson Peninsula where solid waste was left behind by the U.S. Navy, including half barrels and other drums submerged in oil seeps, are identified as priority sites for clean-up.

Since 2002, the federal government has spent nearly $86 million plugging 18 legacy wells and cleaning the surface at priority sites.

The exploratory wells were initially drilled by the U.S. Navy and the USGS to gather geologic data or to identify petroleum reserves. In 1982, the BLM inherited the responsibility to assess, and if necessary, plug and clean up wells and surface sites.

In addition to the 2013 Legacy Wells Strategic Plan, the BLM will release its final Legacy Wells Summary Report 2013 update containing the comprehensive site-by-site inventory and risk assessment of 116 wells and core tests that remain under BLM jurisdiction.

-BLM-

BLM Holds Public Forums to Kick Off Updates to Onshore Oil and Gas Orders (4/30/2013)

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:05:30 -0600

Read the BLM news release at: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/april/nr_04_30_2013.html

2013 Alaska Interagency Fire Crew Boss Academy (4/29/2013)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:50:30 -0600

Fairbanks, Alaska — The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service and Alaska Division of Forestry will host the 2013 Alaska Interagency Crew Boss Academy at the Alaska Fire Service training campus on Fort Wainwright, Alaska from May 6 to May 20.
The Academy has served as the primary clearinghouse for Emergency Firefighter (EFF) Crew Bosses throughout the state of Alaska for over 25 years. Taking place bi-annually, the Academy hosts 24 Crew Boss "candidates" from rural and urban Alaska. A goal of the Academy is to foster interagency training relationships, educational partnerships with the University of Alaska, and facilitate fire crew program development state-wide.
Villages represented in the 2013 Academy include:

Land Management Rule will Facilitate Renewable Energy Development (4/29/2013)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:30:30 -0600

Read the BLM news release at: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/april/nr_04_29_2013.html

BLM-AK Announces the Delta River SRMA Approved Plan (4/17/2013)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:10:40 -0600

Glennallen, AK – The Bureau of Land Management in Alaska today released its approved Delta River Special Recreation Management Area Plan. The plan will guide recreation management on the Delta River for the next 15-20 years.

The Finding of No Significant Impact, Decision Record and Approved Plan for the Delta River Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) and East Alaska Resource Management Plan Amendment (Approved Plan) is available on the web at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/planning.html.

The Approved Plan provides for a mix of river recreation uses and user groups while managing to protect the Delta River environment and the identified Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORV). It maintains a setting that supports diverse recreational opportunities, integrates resource protection with an appropriate range of visitor uses and is aimed at minimizing social conflicts and protecting river resources with an emphasis on education and interpretive outreach.

Hard copies of the plan are available upon request by contacting the BLM Glennallen Field Office, P.O. Box 147, Glennallen, AK 99588 or by calling the office at (907) 822-3217 or by emailing a request to blm_ak_gfo_general_delivery@blm.gov.

President Proposes $1.2 Billion for BLM in Fiscal Year 2014 (4/10/2013)

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:10:50 -0600

Read the BLM news release at: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/april/04_10_2013.html