ADN Editorial Calls Out Rep. Begich Over Comments On Alaska’s Vast Wilderness Lands

In mid-August, Alaska’s lone member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Nick Begich (R), teamed with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy combined on an Anchorage Daily News editorial focusing on overhauling Alaska infrastructure via President Donald Trump’s agenda to “drill baby, drill” on many of the state’s public lands.

Here’s some of the piece:

No one denies the inspiring beauty that defines Alaska’s rugged landscapes and pristine peaks. The majestic mountains capture the American imagination of a last frontier ripe for tourism, exploration and recreation. But a critical element of Arctic governance was lost on the last administration’s D.C. monarchy: Alaska is a state about a fifth the size of the Lower 48, not a national park for the East Coast elite.

That last comment really triggered one Alaskan, Anchorage businessman Carl Johnson, who wrote his own op-ed in the ADN calling out Begich for essentially downplaying Alaska’s vast natural resources on public land and how Alaskans’ and out-of-state tourists’ joy of fishing, hunting and engaging in other outdoor activities. Here’s Johnson’s take:

In a recent op-ed written with Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (“Alaska is building again”), U.S. Rep. Nick Begich ridiculed Alaska’s public lands as a “playground for East Coast elite.” As a Florida millionaire who made his money employing foreigners, Begich apparently feels comfortable identifying East Coast elitists. I guess it takes one to know one. If Begich were more acquainted with Alaska, he might understand how public lands are not only important to most Alaskans (hunting, fishing, hiking), they are the foundation of our visitor industry — one of our most important economic engines. Tourists come to experience our mountains, glaciers, wildlife, trails, and understand the majesty of thousands of years of human experience and culture. They don’t travel from all over the world to view Begich’s vision of an industrial wasteland. …

Public lands nurture the moose, caribou, deer and other subsistence species we depend on for food. Many states barely have any public land for hunting and fishing, and in those places, hunting is often the domain of the moneyed elite where the best hunting opportunities are on private game reserves. We should all be thankful that Alaska is a place where working-class Alaskans with skills and stamina can harvest fish and game and feed their families. It is also the only place left in the United States where our Native people meaningfully have the chance to continue traditions that have endured for thousands of years. That would not be possible without the careful stewardship of our public lands.