H.R. 39

As the Watergate drama of 1973-74, which led to Richard Nixon becoming the first U.S. president to resign, captured the nation's focus, the Alaska lands bill slipped from Congressional attention. However, in 1976, Jimmy Carter made conservation in Alaska a major issue in his presidential campaign. When he was elected president later that year, he expected Congress to act on the d-2 provision before the deadline expired in 1978.

On the first day of the new Congress in 1977, Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona introduced a bill calling for 115 million acres of Alaska conservation reserves, much more than provided in ANCSA. The bill was named H.R. 39 and would become famous in Alaska by that name. Udall said that H.R. 39 would protect the environmental "crown jewels of Alaska," a phrase often heard in the d-2 debate. The crown jewels were Alaska's "most spectacular natural environments, recreation areas, and wildlife habitats." The proposed bill would create ten new national parks, 14 new wildlife refuges, and 23 wild and scenic rivers and enlarged existing national parks and forests. The amount of national wilderness would be doubled. The bill was truly monumental.

Next Page

To navigate through the textbook, click on the next page button or go to the navigation menu on the top left.