Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
SURVEY REPORT
NORTHWEST ALASKA ECONOMIC AND TRANSPORTATION PROSPECTS
by
Walter Parker Dale Swanson
Victor Fischer Jennifer Christian
prepared for
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District
March 1972
Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research
University of Alaska
Fairbankst Alaska
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
CHAPTER I - THE REGION
Physical Features Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley North Slope
Population Growth and Distribution Age and Sex Composition Educational Attainment
Economy Sources of Food Sources of Cash Income Employment and Unemployment
Footnotes
CHAPTER II - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: PRESENT AND POTENTIAL
Minerals and Mining Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley North Slope
Oil and Gas Development of Prudhoe Bay Field Exploring North Slope Province
Onshore Material Requirements Offshore
Development of National Petroleum Reserve Number Four
Gas Line Developments
v
vii
viii
xi
1
2 2 5 6
10 10 16 19
22 22 25 27
32
33
34 35 41 43
1, 7 50 51 51 53 54
55 58
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Fisheries and Aquatic Animals Norton Sound Kotzebue Sound and Its' ASsociated
60 62
River Systems 64 Northwest and Arctic Coasts 64
Reindeer Husbandry 6 7
Tourism and Recreation 73 Nome 74 Kotzebue 75 Barrow 76 Prudhoe Bay 77
Footnotes 78
CHAPTER III - SPECIAL FACTORS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 82
Changes in Land Ownership 83 Seward Peninsula 86 Kobuk Valley 88 North Slope 89
Alaska Native Fund Payments 91
Form of Government 93 Local Government 94 RurALCAP 96 Prospects for Regional Government 98
Footnotes 100
CHAPTER IV - TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN NORTHWEST ALASKA 101
Transportation Systems 102
Shipment Routes 102
Waterborne Transportation 106 Interregional Freight 107 Northwest Region Ports 114 Intraregional Freight 118
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Airborne Transportation 118 Freight Shipment J;1y,t{;1i1 121 North Slope Air Cargo 122
Road Network 124
Footnotes 125
CHAPTER V - FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR WATERBORNE TRANSPORTATION 127
Forecasting 128
Prospects Until 1980-85 128 Cargo Load Levels 12 9 Port and Other Transport Improvements 131
After the 1980's 138
Footnotes 144
APPENDIX A - FREIGHT TRAFFIC 145
APPENDIX B - FREIGHT SENT VIA PARCEL POST 152
APPENDIX C - ICE CONDITIONS, WEST COAST OF ALASKA 164
BIBLIOGRAPHY 176
Table
I-1 I-2 I-3 I-4
I-5 I-6
I-7
I-8
I-9 I-10 I-11
I-12
I-13
Il-14
II-15 II:-16
II-17 Il-18
III-19
III-20
III-21
IV-22
IV-23
IV-24
v
LIST OF TABLES
Subject Page
Average Temperature and Precipitation, Nome, Alaska 5 Major Rivers of Northwest Alaska 7 Average Temperature and Precipitation, Barrow, Alaska 9 Alaska's Population, Population Increase, Percent 11
Increase, and Present Distribution by Region, 1740-1970
Alaska's Population by Race and Region, 1960 and 1970 13 Urbanization Process in Northwest Alaska, Reflected in 14
Percentage Increase of the Population Living in the Regional Centers of Barrow, Kotzebue, and Nome, 1939-1970
Northwest Alaska, Total Population by Race and Census 17 Districts, 1939-1970
Total Population of Northwest Alaska by Census Divisions 18 and Places: 1970
Northwest Alaska, Population by Age and Sex 19 'Northwest Alaska, Educational Attainment, Ages 16-65 20 Summary of Social Characteristics by Census Divisions: 21
1970 Dependence Upon Food Gathering for Subsistence in 35 23
Northern Coastal and Interior Villages (1968) Summary of Economic Characteristics by Census 29
Divisions: 1970
Potential One-Time Inbound Cargo Flows to Support 61 Onshore Oil and Gas Development in Northwest Alaska
Fisheries Production and Potential, Norton Sound Area 63 Dollar Value Estimates of Kotzebue District Commercial 65
Fishery, 1962-1968 Individual Reindeer Herd Operations, 1948-68 69 Reindeer Meat Production for All Alaska 70
Native, State, and Federal Lands, Existing and 84 Planned for Acquisition in Northwest Alaska
Preliminary Estimate of Income to Northwest Region 92 from Native Claims Settlement
Number of Communities in Northwest Alaska, Qualified 95 and Incorporated as Cities
Comparison of Ligh terage and Ocean Freight Rates in Selected Ports of the Northwest Region, 1965
Relationship between Freight Charges and Price Levels -1965, Seattle to Nome
A Summary of Freight lloved Interregion Between 1965 and 1970 by Water
108
111
113
Table
IV-25
IV-26
V-27
V-28
A-1 A-2
A-3
B-1
B-2
vi
LIST OF TABLES (continued)
Subject
Airport Activity Statistics of Certified Route Air Carriers
Air Freight Carried into Northwest Region by Major Airlines, 1967-70
Projections for Waterborne Commerce for Northwestern Alaska until 1980-85
Projections for Waterborne Commerce for Northwestern Alaska, 1985-2000
Freight Traffic, Nome Harbor Bering Sea Port, Nunivak Island to Demarcation Point,
Freight Traffic Freight Traffic, Yukon River
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Fairbanks Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
120
122
132
142
146 149
151
153
157
r--- Figure ' I I
I 1-1
1-2
I II-3
I II-4
III-5
IV-6
IV-7
IV-8
V-9
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
~t1bject
Northwest Alaska, Regions, Major Population Centers and Major Rivers
Population of Alaska by Regions, 1740-1970
Locator Map for Potential and Existing Mining and Oil Development in Northwest Alaska
Estimated Number of Reindeer by Years, Alaska, 1892 to 1965
Lands Tentatively Approved for Patent to State of of Alaska and State-Selected Lands and Lands Eligible for Selection by Natives (March 28, 1972)
Existing Marine and Air Transportation Routes of Northwest Alaska
Existing and Proposed Rail and Road Routes of Northwest Alaska
Northwest Alaska Ports - Petroleum Products as a Portion of Total Cargo
Proposed Water/Land Transportation Network - Baldwin Peninsula, Near Kotzebue
3
12
46
68
85
103
104
115
135
ACKNOWLEDGEl!ENTS
ix
The extra measure of coopcratJon we rece:lve<l from federal agencles,
transportation carriers, and other fi nns merits special men ti on. This
study deals with a subject for which only scarce and inadequate sta-
tis.tics are compiled. 'l;o c!o C>lJr jop, we relied heayiJy e>n.certain
individuals who could help us piece together the facts. Important
insights, critical information and useful advice came to us from the
following persons: A. Lee Atherton of Seattle First National Bank,
V.R. Crabb of Alaska Steamship Lines, Leo Collar of Puget Sound Tug
and Barge, Al Doyle of Federal Aviation Administration in Nome, Roy
Isackson of Interior Airways, J.E. Kirkpatrick of Foss Launch and Tug,
Robert McLean of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Seattle, William D.
McLean of Puget Sound Tug and Barge, Tom Osdale of Northland Marine,
Leroy Peterson of Alaska Airlines, Richard Reeve of Reeve Aleutian
Airways, Wyman Rice of Wien Consolidated, the Staff of the Alaska Trans-
portation Commission, and Pearse Walsh of Pacific Canadian Explorations.
We also appreciated the working relationship we have had with the
Corps of Engineers both in Anchorage and Seattle. In particular, our
thanks go to Mr. Charles Welling, Chief of the Economics Section, who
provided constructive guidance throughout the study, expedited provision
of needed information, and carried out a most helpful critical review
of an earlier draft of this study. 't
The study was performed under the general direction of Victor Fischer,
Director of the Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research.
Most of the report is the work of Walter Parker, transportation planner
and research associate of ISEGR. Dr. Dale Swanson, associate professor
and head of the Department of Business Administration of the University
x
of Alaska, assembled and analyzed information on the transportation
aspects of the study. ·The final report owes its readability to the
rewriting and reorganizing talents of Jennifer Christian. Joyce
Bonavieh··eompetently~handled ... the .eleventh:-.hol!L preP.''Xi'o~i2'1 .. oL.th<c ....
manuscript.
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
xii
This review of Northwest Alaska economic development potentials
and transportation was designed to assist the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in evaluation of harbor requirements for Northwest Alaska.
The study focuses on economic activity and freight movements, both
past and present, and upon projections of future developments, both
short- and long-term. The report neither discusses nor analyzes
feasibility of individual projects.
Previous work on Northwest Alaska includes a survey report issued
in 1957 by the U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska. That study reviewed
the economy of the region and analyzed special problem areas within the
province of the Corps of Engineers. Consideration was given to a series
of possible projects for the region, including a deep sea terminal.
However, the District Engineer concluded that no economic justification
existed at that time for construction of any project considered in the
report.
Conditions in Northwest Alaska changed substantially in the period
since 1957 and a new look at the region's current and potential economic
activity was called for. Most significantly, the major petroleum dis
covery at Prudhoe Bay now provides the potential for long-term develop
ment of the Northwest. Despite the current slowdown, additional explora
tion and discoveries can be anticipated. Even if the oil moves by pipe
line, petroleum industry activity in the Northwest Region will require
freight shipments of a magnitude best moved by water.
Other factors in the Northwest's economic picture have changed
since 1957. What remained of gold mining has largely given way to
intensive exploration for other mineral prospects; several significant
xiii
discoveries have been made. Government activities in the region have
increased substantially since statehood. The federal government has
shown increasing interest in the welfare of Alaska Natives, and various
social and economic efforts have ·be-err ±nitrated with the assistance of
the Economic Development Administration,· Office of Economic Opportunity,
and several other agencies. Since 1957 also, Natives have formed asso
ciations and initiated action to win control over land and receive ade
quate compensation for the extinguishment of aboriginal land rights.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will have important economic
effects in all parts of Alaska. Since 1957, changes have also occurred
in the reindeer industry, tourism and other segments of the economy.
These developments, together with a newly awakened national interest
in Alaska's North, make this review of medium- and long-range develop
ment potentials most opportune.
Long-range plans must by definition look far into the future,
beyond the realm of the "probable" into the "maybe." In recognition
of the fact that long-range planners must prepare for every contingency,
the chapter on long-range possibilities reflects the range of levels
of development, from maximum to minimum. Even though definitive data
do not exist for all areas that need to be analyzed, an overall review
of development prospects based on currently available knowledge and
forecasts can provide the basis for further planning by the Corps of
Engineers.
In concluding this study, the investigators point to the mining
operations at Lost River on the Seward Peninsula as the most probable
source of continuing large-scale marine cargo shipments. Once oil
and gas exploration resumes, the existing transportation system will
xiv
be strained for a few years in order to meet the oil industry's cargo
needs. When the production phase begins, the oil industry will require
cargo deliveries on the order of only 10,000 tons a year. Fisheries,
tourism, and reindeer husbandry all have prospects for economic growth,
but none of these is likely to revolutionize the marine cargo transporta-
tion picture in the Northwest. Likewise, changes in land ownership and
payments to Natives under the Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 will
have effects throughout the region, but probably will not by themselves
cause a large increase in the demand for cargo ~hipments to the North-
west. Other than mineral development, it is unlikely that the Northwest
will generate enough commercial or industrial activity by the end of
this century to significantly expand its freight traffic. Provision
of good port facilities alone would not alter that fact.
On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Northwest Region now pay
a large share of their inadequate incomes for transportation of neces-
sities and other household goods, which amount could be reduced by the
provision of deep water ports. Furthermore, there are indications that
the cost of extracting Alaska's mineral and other natural resources
will become more competitive as the world's supply of non-renewable
resources dwindles in the coming century. This could create a market
demand sufficient to warrant the mining of coal, tin, gold, phosphates,
and other minerals. At that point, a deep water port could well become
a useful asset.
* * * A note on data availability is appropriate because the study approach
was predicated upon the use of published reports and other available
xv
materials. The study team found, as expected, that good information
was available for some elements of the study, e.g., data from the 1970
census on population, social and economic characteristics. In other
cases, the absence Of· llseflll, ·consistent; up-to-date, and reliable
information was literally shocking. This is true in particular with
respect to statistics in the transportation sector. The data that are
available are frequently either collected or tabulated in such a manner
as to make them virtually useless for analytic or planning purposes.
Much of the transportation sector is not covered by any systematic
process of reporting and statistical compilation. In many cases it
was found that government agencies did not have either the responsibility
or the authority to request the kind of information from carriers that
would provide the knowledge essential both for public and private eval
uation of ongoing and potential activities. In any case, available
data were almost always two to three years out of date.
We urge strongly that much greater emphasis be given by govern
ment agencies, both federal and state, to the collection and tabula
tion of all data required for effective economic and transportation
planning. We make this recommendation with the knowledge of the fact
(1) that the public officials concerned with transportation in particular
were as frustrated as we by the lack of useful data, and (2) that we
received the fullest cooperation from every transportation carrier
or other firm that we approached for information. We did not find
one case where there was reluctance to cooperate with us; what problems
were encountered were due to the fact that the information we sought
had frequently either not been collected or had been recorded in a
form not useful for this study.
CHAPTER I THE REGION
Physical Features
Population
Economy
2
Physical Features
"Northwest" Alaska is defined for the purposes of this study as
that portion of the state north and west of the Yukon River drainage. -- -·'"·-···-.......... _______ " ___ .... ,~ .. - -· . ··-----·-·····----- ···-·· ····----·---···------ --.. ---~--
It is almost totally arctic in character in the coastal and mountainous
areas with only a few of the more sheltered valleys having trees. It
' is the only truly arctic area in the United States and its 150,000
square miles make up about one-fourth of the land area of Alaska.
Although the region has a relatively long coastline, there is no deep
water port in Northwest Alaska.
The region falls naturally into three major geographic provinces
(see Figure I-1): first, the Seward Peninsula; second, the Kobuk Valley
and the associated coastal areas around Kotzebue Sound; and, third, the
area known as the North Slope stretching from the summits of the Brooks
Range to the Arctic Coast. These areas have widely varying physiographic
1 differences while retaining their essentially arctic character. The
outstanding climatic characteristics of the region are long cold winters,
short cool summers, a great deal of wind and light precipitation.
Seward Peninsula
Most of the Seward Peninsula consists of an upland area of broad
hills and ridges separated by sharply defined v-shaped valleys. Lowland
basins occupy much of the central interior section that is drained by
the Kuzitrin River. The Kobuk Valley is the major feature of the eastern
part of the region. The peninsula measures about 120 miles from north
to south and 200 miles from' east to west.
The coastal areas of 'the Seward Peninsula vary from the steep
forested headlands around Cape Darby in the northeast corner of Norton
CHUKCHI SEA
•
..
NORTON SOUND
•
. -
BEAUFORT SEA
NORTIH SLOP '
" c~. ______._ ,._/' ~ tg ~ --- -·~{~ v ~
,,,,,,,,.- --....... RIVER , ~ ~ ,,,,,,.,,,. • ............. ~ l ,,.,.,,,. ..... f" ...... ' . ...
' )" I ' I ..._ I . ..... ., I I I I
I UNALA~EE
I
' ...... "'"'o!.' _.,,,,.,. If,, ----' -----
' -<...-\ I I
'/ /
RtViR....,...__ _,/ ,,-----/' tti..f'"
Figure 1-1
Northwest Alaska, Regions, Major Population Centers and Major Rivers
...
4
Sound, through the barely vegetated, high mineralized hills that rise
abruptly from the beaches at Cape Prince of Wales, to the broad coastal
plain that characterizes the Peninsula's northern shore.
The climate is influenced by !:he surrounding ller:l.i:ig ari'd ChukchT
Seas and is essentially arctic maritime with cooler summers and warmer
winters than the more interior regions of Alaska. The western coastal
towns and villages have average annual temperatures about ten degrees I
higher than those on the Arctic coast due to the moderating influence
of the warmer Bering Sea. Nome's coldest month, January, averages
ll.5°F which is about 20°F warmer than the January average for Fairbanks.
Table I-1 lists the monthly temperature and precipitation figures for Nome.
Due to its proximity to the Aleutian low pressure area and its accom-
panying Pacific storm belt, the Seward Peninsula suffers from cloudy and
windy days during much of the year. The Peninsula is in a boundary area
between the storm belt and the quiet zone of the Alaskan and East Siberia
Arctic; the Peninsula can suffer extremes of weather especially in the
interior valleys where the moderating influence of the sea is diminished.
Precipitation in the southern half of the Peninsula is almost double
that in the northern portion which averages only about ten inches per
year. Host of the rainfall occurs during the latter half of the summer.
The Seward Peninsula as a whole is essentially an arid region; the
lack of water is a problem for industries which require large quantities
of it, such as placer mining. Only the Kuzitrin River valley has an
adequate supply of fresh water.
The average wind speed for the coastal areas in winter is about
12 miles per hour, though peaks of 70 miles per hour occur during
! r--·-_, ___ ·--- , ,
I
5
occasional storms. A relatively disagreeable winter climate is caused
by a combination of cool dampness and constant wind.
Month
January February March Apdl May June July August September October November December
Annual
Average Temperature and Precipitation, Nome, Alaska
------- ·---- --- --·---·--·-··
Temperature Precipitation (oF) (inches)
11.5 1.02 13.3 . 94 16.3 • 88 28.4 .80 41. 2 .69 52.4 .93 54.6 2 .29 54.2 3.80 47.8 2.67 35.4 1. 71 22.6 1.16 12.9 • 99
32.6 17.$8
Source: U.S. National Weather Service:
Kobuk Valley
Snowfall (inches)
10.3 6.3 8.7 7.3 1. 8
.1
T .5
4.7 9.5 8.2
57.4
The Kobuk Valley may be differentiated as sub-Arctic rather than
Arctic in its eastern reaches. The upper valley is essentially arctic
woodland in character, while the delta and coastal areas exhibit the
arctic climate and physiography of northwestern Alaska. The forests
along the Kobuk River above its delta resemble the central interior
valleys of Alaska.
6
The climate ranges from maritime coastal with cool summers and
moderate winters at Kotzebue to a typical continental climate in the
upper parts of the valley with temperature ranges from 90°F to -65°F.
··r11e·uppe:iiegions·ar···cne·va:ITe:f··aa····n:oi:····havethe··tm~ess=t· w±n·ds···of··the·
coast areas and chill factors for the two areas vary much less than
their temperatures. Annual precipitation is light averaging about
nine inches. The yearly snowfall is about four feet which accounts
for about one-half of the total precipitation.
It is evident from Table I-2 that the Kobuk and Noatak Rivers pro
vide the area with a much greater supply of fresh water than is available
in the other regions of the Northwest. Unfortunately, this supply is not
available to the regional population center at Kotzebue which relies on
an uncertain and inadequate water source on the Baldwin Peninsula. Water
will continue to be one of the inhibitors to growth and development in
Kotzebue unless new sources can be found.
North Slope
The Brooks Range describes a huge arc from the Richardson Mountains
on the east through the Davidson and Romanzov systems to the Delong
}lountains on the west where a spectacular dip is made beneath the sea
at Cape Lisburne. The Brooks Range is the northwestern continuation
of the Cordilleran backbone of the Western Hemisphere. Its highest
peak, Mt. Michelson, is only 9,131 feet high. There are only a few
passes that do not terminate in steep headwalls; the best known is
Anaktuvuk Pass with an elevation of 2,100 feet.
The climate of the Brooks Range is essentially continental with
very cold sinks in the valleys and little precipitation on the northern
Name
Seward Peninsula & Norton Sound
Unalakleet Koyuk Nuikluk Kuzitrin
Kobuk Valley & Kotzebue Sound
Buckland Selawik Kobuk Noatak
North Slope
Kuk Meade Ikpikpuk Colville Kuparuk Sagavanirktok
7
Table I-2
Major Rivers of Northwest Alaska
~ ·-· ~--.. Drainage Area (Square Miles)
2 ,080 1,968 2 ,189 2,600
2 ,850 4,540
11, 980 12,597
4,178 3 ,850 4,540
24 ,000 3,659 5 ,546
Estimated Average ·1engtii ofMaTn: ···· AnntiaIF'low- ·
Stream (Miles) (Cubic ft. per Second)
65 122
70 85
110 160 347 396
42 230 169 428 183 166
2,000 2,165 2,250 1,915
1,840 5,350
15 ,450* 10, 900
2,130 1,925 2 ,270
12 ,000* 1,830 2' 770
*Navigable by barge with three-foot draft.
8
flanks of the range. The sunnner climate is pleasant and free from the
fogs of the coastal areas. The Arctic foothills extend from the Canning
River on the east to the vicinity of Cape Lisburne. The southern part
of the area consists ot isolated hills reachihg altitUdeS Up to 3;700
feet, with the northern foothills having greater topographic regularity.
The coastal plain is a region of thousands of lakes and swamps with
few areas of well drained soil except along the riverbanks and coastal
verges. The northern coast bordering on the Beaufort Sea consists
mainly of long, straight, sandy beaches and spits, broken by a series
of lagoons. The Chukchi seacoast west of Point Barrow is relatively
free of barrier and offshore islands except around Peard Bay and Icy
Cape.
The North Slope lies in the area of minimum cyclonic activity in
the Arctic. In contrast to the Atlantic and Pacific storm belts which
fringe it, the weather is clear, fairly calm, and often very cold.2
The frequent onshore fogs that beset Barrow and other arctic coastal
connnunities are a result of the calm air conditions in the area and
the proximity of open lands in the arctic ice pack to the cold land
mass. As the ice pack solidifies during the later part of the winter,
continental air masses stabilize over the arctic basin and bring periods
of clear cold weather with constant winds. The average wind speed at
Barrow is 12 miles per hour.
The prevailing winds of the region are northeasterly in winter
and for a good part of the sunnner. Occasional southerly winds occur
when a deep low pressure area develops in the Bering Sea. In sunnner
or during periods when the ice pack is not stable, these winds can
9
cause severe erosion and ice scour problems along the Chukchi seacoast.
An occasional severe northeasterly wind will cause the same effect on
the Beaufort coast. Monthly temperature readings and precipitation
Month
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Annual
Table I-3
Average Temperature and Precipitation, Barrow, Alaska
Temperature Precipitation (oF) (inches)
-16.2 .18 -18. 3 .17 -14. 6 .ll
. 2 • ll 18.4 .12 33.1 . 36 39.1 • 77 37.9 .90 30.5 .64 16.6 .50
• 7 .23 -ll. 2 .17
9.6 4.26
Source: U.S. National Weather Service.
Snowfall (inches)
2.4 2.3 2.0 2.2 1. 9 0.5 o. 7 0.6 3.0 7.1 3.8 2.8
29.3
The North Slope exhibits the physical characteristics of a well
watered region with its many lakes and swamps but has the climatic
aspects of a desert with its low rainfall. Extremely poor drainage
is caused by the flat gradient of the coastal plain and the underlying
permafrost, with the low evaporation rate further compounding the probl"m.
10
Lack of a potable water supply has been· and will continue to be
one of the major deterrents to settlement and development on the North
Slope. Only the Colville River offers a reasonably adequate supply of
surface water and its flow is extremely low by the et1d. .;[";;.;inter: Mariy
of the smaller streams become dry during the long months when their
major sources are frozen. No subsurface water is available due to
the layer of permafrost ranging up to 1,330 feet in thickness. Lakes
have been a traditional source of fresh water, but their.slow replenish-
ment rate limits them to very low volume utilization.
Population
Growth and Distribution
The population of Northwest Alaska has fluctuated sharply from
census to census since 1740, starting at a high of 28,000 and falling
as low as 3,498 in 1890. Levels near the present one ocsurred 130
years ago (1840) and 60 years ago (1910). (See Table 1-4 and Figure
J 1-2.) Since 1920, however, the population of the Northwest has shown
a slow and continuing growth. While slower than the growth of the
J rest of Alaska, the_ increase has resulted in roughly a doubling of
regional population. During the same period, however, the Northwest
Region's population as a portion of the state's tbtal has steadily
decreased from 13 percent in 1929 to 4.2 percent in 1970.
As indicated in Table 1-5, Northwest Alaska is overwhelmingly
Eskimo, and the percentage of Eskimos in the Northwest population
('actually increased from 79 percent in 1960 to 82.6 percent in 1970.
Almost half of the Northwest Alaska population now lives in three
Source:
11
Table I-4
Alaska's Population, Population Increase, Percent Increase, and Percent Distribution by Region, 1740-1970
Year Total Southeast Southcentral Southwest Interior Northwest
Population
1710 74,700 ll,!:100 3,700 26,000 5,200 28,000 1R40 40,716 '9,260 4,157 11,299 4»00 12.000 1880 33,426 7,7<\8 4,352 13,914 2,568 4,844 1890 32,052 8,0.18 6,112 12,071 2,333 3,<\98 1900 63,592 1'1,350 10,000 '3,000 5,600 20,642 1910 64,356 15,216 12,900 12,049 13,064 ll,127
J920 55,036 17,<102 11,173 11,541 7,964 6,956 192" 59,278 19,304 ll,880 12,118 8,246 7,730 1939 72,524 25,241 14,881 12,IHG 10,345 9,211 1950 128,643 28,203 50,093 17,715 23,008 9,624 1960 226,167 35,403 108,851 21,001 49,128 11,781 1970 302,647 '42,565 163,758 26,679 56,799 12,846
Population Increase Over Preceding Census
1740 1840 ·33,98-1 ·2,540 "' ·14,701 ·1,200 ·16,000 1880 ·7,290 ·l,512 195 2,615 ·1,432 ·7,156 1890 ·l,374 290 1,760 1,843 ·235 ·1,316 1900 31,540 6,312 3,888 929 3,267 17,1'14 1910 764 866 2,900 .951 7,461 ·9,fl15 1920 ·9,320 2,166 ·l,727 ·1,459 ·5,100 ·4,171 192" 4,242 1,902 707 '77 282 774 1939 13,246 5,937 3,001 728 2,099 1.461 1950 56,119 2,962 35,212 4,869 12,623 413 1960 97,524 7,200 58,758 3~86 26,120 ~160 1970 76,480 7,162 54,907 5,678 7,671 1,062
Percent Increase Over Preceding Census
1740 1840 ·45.5 ·21.5 124 -56.5 ·23.1 -57.1
« 1880 ·17.9 ·61.3 4.7 23.1 ·35.8 ·59.6 ..,1890 ·4.1 3.8 40.4 ·13.2 ·9.2 ·27.8
1900 o.ut;.. 98.4 76.5 63.6 7.7 140.0 461.5 "1910-\' 1.2 6.0 29.0 .7.3 133.3 ·46.l J1920 ·14.5 14.4 ·13.4 -4.2 ·39.0 ·37.5 ,/1929 1.1 10.9 6.3 5.0 3.5 11.1 .-1939 22.3 30.7 25.3 6.0 25.5 19.2 ~·1950 77.4 11. 7 236.6 37.9 122.4 4.5 . 1960 75.8 25.5 117.3 18.5 113.5 22.4 ,· 1970 33.8 20.2 '°·' 21.0 15.6 9.0
1'''
Percent Distribution by Region
1740 100.0 15.fl 4.9 34.8 7.0 37.5 lA-10 100.0 22.7 10.2 27.8 9.8 29.5
""" 100.0 23.2 13.0 41.6 1.1 14.5 JH!JO 100.0 25.I 19.l 37.6 7.3 10.9 1900 100.0 22.6 15.7 20.4 &8 32.5
1910 100.0 23.6 20.t 18.7 20.3 17.3 1920 100.0 :11.6 20.3 21.0 14.5 12.6 1929 100.0 32.6 20,0 20.5 13.9 13.0
1939 100.0 34.8 20.5 17.7 14.3 12.7 1950 100.0 21.9 3fl.9 13.8 17.9 7.9 1960 IOO.O 15.7 48. t 9.3 2J.7 5.2 1970 100.0 14.1 5·l.l 8.8 18.8 4.2
Peter C. Lin, "Alaska's Population and School Enrollments," Alaska Review of Business and Economic Conditions, University of Alaska, Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, Vol. V.III, No. 5, Fairbanks, December 1971.
300
250
200
100
00
Source:
12
Figure I-2
Population of Alaska by Regions, 1740-1970
TOT L SOUTHEAST SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTHWEST
INTERIOR NORTHWEST
I /.
I / /
/ L- /~-~'--
·""l""'""•··~ro ~~~· =~.~~5 :;:;.'."'.".~-··;.~- -. 0 ;;
Peter C. Lin, op. cit., p. 25.
g •
13
Table I-5
Alaska's Population by Race and Region, 1960 and 1970
All Eskimo & Chinese, Other Year Region Races White Negro Indian Aleut Japanese & Race
Filipino
1960 STATE TOTAL 226,167 174,546 6, 771 14,444 27 ,571 1, 769 1,066 Southeast 35' 403 25,354 197 7,887 1,204 610 151 Southcentral 108,851 98,733 3,900 1,699 3,300 704 515 Southwest 21,001 6; 381 147 1,161 13 ,087 159 66 Interior 49,128 41,789 2,431 3,684 670 270 284 Northwest 11, 784 2, 289 96 13 9,310 26 50
1970 STATE TOTAL 300,382 236,767 8,911 16,276 34,609 2,411 1,408 Southeast 42,565 33,200 201 7,625 537 802 200 Southcentral 162,001 145,390 5,436 3,015 6,364 1,049 747 Southwest 26,491 8,719 344 1,180 15,935 224 89 Interior 56,479 47,389 2,884 4,419 1,159 305 323 Northwest 12,846 2,069 46 37 10 ,614 31 49
Percent Distribution of Alaska's Population by Race and Region 1960 & 1970
1960 STATE TOTAL 100.0 77 .2 3.0 6.4 12.2 0.8 0.4 Southeast 100.0 71.6 0.6 22.3 3.4 1. 7 0.4 Southcentral 100.0 90.7 3.6 1.6 3.0 0.6 0.5 Southwest 100.0 30.4 0.7 5.5 62.3 0.8 0.3 Interior 100.0 85.1 4.9 7.5 1.4 0.5 0.6 Northwest 100.0 19.5 0.8 0.1 79.0 0.2 0.4
1970 STATE TOTAL 100.0 78 .8 3.0 5.4 11.5 0.8 0.5 Southeast 100.0 78.0 0.5 17 .9 1.2 1.9 0.5 Southcentral lilO. O 89.7 3.6 1.8 3.9 0.6 0 ·'• Southwest 100.0 32.9 1.3 4.5 60.2 0.8 0.3 Interior 100.0 83.9 5.1 7.8 2.1 0.5 0.6 Northwest 100.0 16.1 0.4 0.3 82.6 0.2 0.4
Percent Change in Alaska's Population Between 1960 and 1970 by Race and Region
STATE TOTAL 32.8 35.6 31.6 12.7 25.5 36.3 32.1 Southeast 20.2 30.9 2.0 -3.3 -55.4 31.5 32.5 Southcentral 48.8 47.3 39.4 77 .5 92.8 49.0 45.0 Southwest 26.1 36.6 31+ .o 1.6 21.8 40.9 31, .8 Interior 15.0 918.6 20.0 73.0 13.0 13. 7 Northwest 9.0 ('_-9 .6 52 .1 184.6 14 .o 19.2 -2.0
S.ource: Peter c. Lin, OJ2 • cit. ~ p. 33.
14
large villages or regional centers: Nome, Barrow and Kotzebue (Table
I-6). "Urbanization" is the word used in Alaska to describe migration
from a small village to a regional center, which may itself have a
population of only 2,000. At the time of the 1939 census, only a
quarter of the region's residents lived in the three large villages.
It is apparent from this table that the rate or urbanization is appar-/
ently decreasing, from ten percent per decade between 1930-50, to six
percent per decade from 1950-70.
Table I-6
Urbanization Process in Northwest Alaska, Reflected in Percentage Increase of the Population
Living in the Regional Centers of Barrow, Kotzebue, and Nome, 1939-70
Population Regional Center 1939 1950 19fi0
Barrow 363 951 1,314 Kotzebue 372 623 1,290 Nome 1,600* 1,876 2,316
Regional Center 'Total 2 ,355 3,450 4 ,920
Regional Total 9 ,321 9,no 12,008
Percent Population Living in Centers 25% 35% 41%
*Estimated because census figures were not available.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
1970
2 ,104 1,696 2,488
6,288
13,:f48
47%
However, migration patterns for Northwest Alaska can be traced only
in their broad outline since little movement data has been collected.
15
As Rogers shows in Alaska Native Population Trends and Vital Statistics,
1950-85, Nome experienced an in-migration from the smaller villages
during the 1950's; but then during the next decade served as a staging
area for further migration of Eskimos to other parts of Alaska, pr in-
cipally Anchorage, or a return to the villages. Barrow, meanwhile, had
a slow increase during the 1950's that accelerated during the 1960's
and apparently retained most of the in-migration from smaller commu-
3 nities. In fact, 69 percent of the North Slope's population lives
in Barrow, and only three other villages are large enough to merit in-
clusion in census returns. Kotzebue has apparently struck a mean between
the other two regional centers of the Northwest. There has been some
staging to other areas but a substantial part of the in-migration has
remained in Kotzebue. Air transport patterns and fare differentials
in the 1950's meant that migration from Barrow historically trended
towards Fairbanks while migration from Kotzebue and Nome was to both
Fairbanks and Anchorage, mostly the latter. Another factor that has
affected migration is the large Native Health Service hospital in
Anchorage.
There is some evidence that village populations ha1e been main
taining themselves even with intensive out-migration, 4 but the birth
rate in Northwest Alaska is now lower than the rate of migration.
Increase in total population between 1960-70 in the Northwest was 585
people, while the regional centers gained more than 1,300 in popula-
tion during that period. The birth rate slowed markedly after 1965.
The 1970 resident increase for the entire area of Northwest Alaska
was only 214 people against a 1960-65 increase of 371. Large-scale
16
migration to regional cenLers and cities coupled with a declining birth
rate presages the disappearance of many small villages. Without some
sort of rejuvenation in the form of employment of other income-producing
activity, some amount of the increasingly educated and sophisticated
population is likely to react to the Northwest Region's lack of oppor
tunity by leaving it entirely.
The total population for the Northwest Region appears in Table I-7.
It should be noted that the Barrow Census District and the Eastern North
Slope (Area 1 of the Upper Yukon Census District) are included in the
area referred to in this study as the "North Slope." Table I-8 breaks
down the region into communities. A small permanent settlement is also
growing up around the oil development camps at Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse,
with a combined population of 212 in 1970. It is doubtful that oil field
headquarters, which will be essentially bachelor camps rather than
villages, will generate many supporting jobs in the area after devel
opment is ended, other than communications and airlines personnel. The
population, other than the estimated 400 oil company personnel who will
operate the field, will most likely not exceed 200 in the immediate
Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse area. Other oil exploration activity in the
central Alaskan Arctic could generate a temporary surge of population
for the exploration period as occurred in 1968 and 1969.
Age and Sex Composition
The people of Northwest Alaska are young and predominantly male.
The youthfulness of the population is due to high birth rates from 1955
through 1965,5 and the male predominance is due to the out-migration of
17
Table I-7
Northwest Alaska, Total Population by Race and Census Districts, 1939-1970
Total Eskimo Non-Native (Military)
Total Northwest Region
1939 9,321 7,802 1,519 1950 9. 770 8,058 1,712 (447) 1960 12,008 9,547 2 ,461 (748) 1970 13,248 10. 752 2,420 (310)
Eastern North s102e (Upper Yukon Census
District, Area I)
1939 145 140 5 n. a. 1950 146 135 11 n.a. 1960 224 200 24 n. a. 1970 402 133 230 n.a.
Barrow Census District
1939 1,450 1,420 30 1950 1,481 1,404 77 (37) 1960 2' 133 1,602 531 (154) 1970 4,663 2,304 349 (90)*
Kobuk Census District
1939 2,666 2,486 180 1950 2,598 2,444 154 1960 3,560 3,203 357 (90) 1970 4,434 3,858 568 (95) *
Nome Census District
1939 5,060 3,756 1,304 1950 5,545 4,075 1,470 ( 410) 1960 6 ,091 4,542 1,549 (504) 1970 5. 749. 4,457 1,273 (125) *
*Preliminary from Department of Defense.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Adjustments to unifonn districts by George W. Rogers.
18
Table I-8
Total Population of Northwest Alaska by Census Divisions and Places: 1970
Census Districts Total All Total Non- Estimated Native Estimated Pop. for and Places Races Native Population Indian Esk1rno & Aleut
Barrow Census Divis:lon 2,663 348 2 ,315 10 2,305 Anaktuvuk Pnss city 99 2 97 0 97 Barrow city 2,104 199 1,905 8 1,897 Wainwright city 315 8 307 0 307
Rest of division 145 139 6 2 4
Kobuk Census Division 4,434 576 3 ,858 8 3,850 Ambler (u) 169 10 159 0 159 Buckland city 104 1 103 0 103 Deering (u) 85 2 83 1 82 Kiana city 278 10 268 0 268 Ki valena city 188 5 183 0 183 Kotzebue city 1,696 378 1,318 5 1,313 Noatak (u) 293 7 286 0 286 Noorvik city 462 19 443 0 443 Point Hope city 386 17 369 0 369 Selawik city 429 11 418 1 417 Shungnak. city 165 5 160 1 159 Shungnak Village (u) 56 2 54 0 54
Rest of division 123 109 14 0 14
Nome Census Division 5,749 1,271 4,478 19 4,459 Brevig Mission city 123 5 118 0 118 Diomede (u) 84 2 82 0 82 Elim (u) 174 6 168 0 168 Gambell city 372 16 356 0 356 Golovin (u) 117 6 111 0 111 Koyuk (u) 122 1 121 0 121 Nome city 2,488 964 1,524 18 1.506 St. z.ac~1ael city 207 15 192 0 192 Savoonga city 364 10 354 0 354 Shaktolik city 151 7 144 0 144 Shismaref city 267 18 249 0 249 Stebbins city 231 8 223 0 223 Teller city 220 28 192 0 192 Unalakleet (u) 434 31 403 1 402 Wales city 131 10 121 0 121 White Mountain city 87 3 84 0 84
Rest of division 177 141 36 0 36
Note: The Northwest Region as defined in this study also includes
Source:
the eastern north slope which is included in the Upper Yukon Census Division. In that division north of the Yukon drainage, only Kaktovik is lessened with a population of 123.
Peter C. Lin, op. cit., pp. 35, 37, 38.
19
young females from the area to marry or find work. (See Table I-9.)
Table I-9
Northwest Alaska, Population by Age and Sex
Population Census District Total Under 21 % Male % Female
Barrow 2,665 1,455 55 1,433 54 1,230 Kobuk 4,434 2,767 62 2 ,320 52 2 ,114 Nome 5,749 3 ,156 55 3,071 53 2,678
Total 12 ,848 7,378 57 6 ,824 53 6 ,022
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Report PC (l)-C-3, Alaska.
%
46 48 47
47
The median age in the Barrow area in 1960 was 22 years which fell to
6 19 years by 1970. The falling birth rate will eventually reverse this
trend but the median age may continue to fall for a few more years.
Educational Attainment
Educational attainment for the Northwest is low. There has been
improvement from the median of 5.9 school years completed reported in
1960, to a median of 7.5 years as reported by the 1970 Census. However,
the region is still well below the Alaskan and U.S. averages (both more
than 12 years). 7 In larger villages, the educational level is usually
higher. In the Barrow census district the Alaska Department of Labor
found that the median years of education is 8.2 for the Barrow and
20
Wainwright villages. In the survey of Kobuk, which included Kotzebue
and 11 small villages, the median years fell to 7.1. (See Table I-10.)
Table I-10
Northwest Alaska, Educational Attainment, Ages· 16-65
Years of School Completed
Percentage of Population Barrow District Kobuk District
0-4 5-6
7 8
9-11 12
13-15 16+
No response
Median Years of Education
14. 5 10.2
7.5 16.3 21.0 17.3 5.5 1.0 6.7
8.2
21.0 18.6 9.0
13. 7 18. 5 13. 2 2.5 2.5 1.1
7.1
Source: Alaska Department of Labor, Manpower Studies for Barrow-Wainwright and for Northwest Alaska.
Table I-11 presents the summary of social characteristics by census
divisions as reported in the 1970 Census and indicates in the ninth col-
umn the high percentage of persons ages 14 to 17 enrolled in schools:
Barrow - 98. 7, Kobuk - 89.2, and Nome - 99.9. As will be seen in column
ten of the same table, the median school years completed for persons 25
years and over for the Nome population is even greater than that for
Barrow and Kobuk.
Table I-11
Sunnnary of Social Characteristics by Census Divisions: l~ [Doto bosed on sarnpJe, see te;ii;t. For minimum bose for derived figures (percenr, ml!ldion, eti;.} ond meonin; of symbols, l.ff te:d}
Census Divisions
n. Stote ----------------Aleut ion Islands ____ -------- __ -- ---- -- -- -- -- --Anthoroge ____________ ---- __ ----------------Aoqoon •• ____ ---- ______ ---- _ ----------------Sorrow __________ .. -------- -----------------Be1hel ---- __________ ------ __ ---- ------------Brislol Boy Borough __ -- __ •••• ----------------· Bri$to! Soy Division •• ________ _ ----------------Cordovc-McCorthy _______ : •••. ----------------foirbonks __________ ---- ---------------·-----Hoinu ·--------- -------Juneau ·- ---- ______________ _ Ktnai-Coak Inlet •••• ________ _ Ketchikan __________ ------ __ _ Kobuk ______ ---- •• -------- •• Kodiak •• ---- ---- __ -- •• ···- _ Kuskokwirn -----------------Molanuska-Susilna ____ ---- __ • Homt •• ____ ---- __ •• ____ ----Outer Kttcbikon ____ •••• _____ _ Prince of Woles --~- ---- ____ -~
Seword ·- ________ •• -- ------ _ Sitko -- -- ·- ·- -- ____ •••• -- -- _ Skogwoy·Yakutol ~- ·- _______ _ Sout~ast foirbonks __ ---- ___ _ Upper Yukon----------------1/olde:-Cbitina-Wbillier Wo~ Homptan --------------Wro1>9eU-Pe1ersburg _______ _
------------------- ----------·----------- ---------------------------------------·------------------------------------------------- -------- -----· ------------------- ---- -- ---- ---·-- -------------·----------- ----·------· ------ --.. ---- ------------ ---- ---- --------------------------------------
Yukon-Koyukuk __ •••• -- ___ _ ---------------
Number
300 312
8 057 12-4 5"2
'81
"" 7 579 9«
"" ! 769 45 952
I '61
13 599 14 250 10 041
.... "' 9 "" 2 275
""' - 5 749 1 771 2 Oil
2 021 6 424 2 037
' 299 I 606 3 !74 3 917 4 913 4 752
•Children ever born per 1.000 women of all maritcl cla~ses.
Total populction
Pet"Cenl n.otive
of Percent f~ign
ruro! Percent Percent or rnixei:I non- rurol foreign parent-lo= ,,,. born age.
49.1 ... • •• .., 98.5 1.5 2.3 7.1 31.l 0.3 2.7 6.7 99.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 97.4 2.6 0.7 3.6 99.• ,. 0.1 ,. 87.9 12.l ... 11.0 90.2 9.6 0.5 7.1 92.7 7.3 •.1 14.4 26.5 0.5 2.9 6.5 97.3 2.7 7.5 12.7
5'.0 0.6 2.9 12.9 72.B 2A 2.3 6.0 26.7 - 3.7 11.8 95.3 '" 0.2 2.3 22.8 3.1 2.7 6.2
100.0 - 0.7 2.3 92.3 7.7 1.9 ... 95.6 '' 1.2 <.6
100.0 - 1.5 18.l 98.l 1.9 0.2 6A
100.0 - 3.1 9.1 42.6 . 5.3 9.9 99.3 0.7 3.6 9.3 99.2 06 2.6 6.0 97.8 2.2 0.7 '" 99A 0.6 2.9 6.8 Sl.2 18.8 - 1.6
"" 1.5 '·' 11.6 966 1.2 1.2 5.1
Children Persons No rive in ele- 25 years Married popu- Pers.ons mentory Persons '"' coupl11s-
lo,tion- S years school- 14 to 17 over- Percent Percen1 '"' Percent ~rs- Median without f«idin; over- m Percent school ,., in State Percent private ,, yeori houu-af birth migrant schoal ~hool camplettc:I ''"
31.7 41.1 2.3 91.0 12.4 I.I
26.8 55.4 5.2 91.6 12.3 2.0 20.I 44.9 0.6 91.2 12.6 0.6 89.0 •.3 - 99.9 9.9 -87.0 17.3 2.2 96.7 6.6 3.6
"" 9.5 6A 80.3 •. o 2.2 30.6 63.1 - "" 12.5 -85.0 6.6 10.1 90.2 "' 1.6 41.9 31.1 - 89.3 12.4 -18.9 50.I 2.7 88.9 12.6 0.7 55.7 3'.1 - 61.S l 1.6 3.5
36.1 35.3 O.• 98.J 12.7 0.5 20.5 52.4 0.7 93.6 12.4 ... 36.7 31.6 3.3 69.9 12.4 I.I 89.7 10.S 15.8 89.2 7.0 5.5 31.6 49.3 "' 92.5 12.3 1.3 71.9 26.1 5.1 90.2 7.9 -"·' "" 1.7 93.5 12.3 0.1 6'1.6 16.2 1.7 99.9 6.3 7.5 53.9 '6.7 - 98.0 12.2 12.8 34.1 44.6 ... 87.8 12.0 1.3
32.3 '3.1 1.0 77.4 12.2 -36.1 38.1 3.5 99.9 12.4 1.7 51.1 15.5 - 83. l 12.1 2.1 23.5 44.9 - 98.S !2.4 -66.6 26.2 5.6 6'.9 9.2 -42.0 "" - 78.4 12.2 0.7 91.0 ll.1 9.5 89.5 3.5 16
"" 27.5 . 91.0 12.l -53.0 28.5 3.1 94.2 12.1 .
Pen.ons Families- under 18
Ptreent yeors-with Percent ,., living
chfldrtn with undtr both
6 yeori parents
37.6 U.3
49.5 89.I 37.3 66.6
"'" 84.5 47.l ·80.0
"" "" 35.6 76.3 '6.6 87.7 22.8 80.7 39.5 88.l 3'.5 '89.4
31.l 81.1 33.7 ':86.6
"" ·a1.3 ..... 75.9 39.3 :S7.3 49.6 ·66.3 26.7 81.6 37.9 75.3 39.9 "87.7 35.8 90.6
17.l 83. l 36.8 86.7 30.6 , 76.9 40.2 83.3 23.8 66.8 26.7 81.7 63.9 83.4 31.2 89.4 49.l 84.5
Note: The difference in age group for which the data are shown in Tables I-9 and I-10 accotmts for some of the apparent discrepancy in median educational attainment.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Report PC(l)-C3.
Women 35 to u yeors-
Cu mu-lotive
ferti61y rate'
3 3.53
3 .. 7 2 978
' 305
""" "" 3 976
"" 3330
2 952 3 139 3 513 6 571
2 "" 6 617 3 525 4 625
' 636
"" ""' 3 523 4 587
"'" 6 027 2 932 7 847
"" 4 917
N .....
22
Economy
Rural Alaska, which includes .the Northwest Region, is sometimes
said to have two economies -- one based on subsistence activities and
the other based on wage emJ>loymerit:.. It is perhaps more accurate to
include a third economy, based on welfare payments. As time passes,
however, these distinctions grow more fuzzy since all of the economies
increasingly coexist in every village. In small hunting and gathering
villages such as Kivalena and Anaktuvak, minimal employment or welfare
payments normally provide a source of cash income; in welfare-dependent
larger towns and less self-sufficient villages, such as Nome and Kotzebue,
a consi.derable amount of food continues to be obtained from natural sources.
Those individuals who comprise the wage economy are predominantly white,
and live in villages and towns where the majority of the population is
dependent on a combination of wages and welfare payments and subsistence
activities.
Sources of Food
The degree to which a person depends on locally-gathered animals
and plants for food is an index of his involvement in a subsistence
economy. Hunting and gathering food, providing firewood and other
sourCes of heat, securing water and other basic necessities are the
subsistence economy's equivalent of "work" in a wage economy. SubsiS
tence activities take up a lot of time, and provide items that could
be purchased with cash.
In 1968, the Bureau of Indian Affairs surveyed food sources in
35 northern coastal and interior villages. They found that about
23
one-quarter of the adult population received none of their food supply
from hunting, fishing, or trapping. At the other extreme, only one
adult out of every twelve were completely dependent upon these activ-
Hies for food. (See Table 1~12.)
Table I-12
Dependence Upon Food Gathering for Subsistence in 35 Northern Coastal and Interior Villages (1968)
Utilization Number Responding Percent
None at all 384 26 25% from subsistence 356 24 50% " " 468 33 75% " " 135 9 All " " 124 8
Total 1,467 100
A dietary survey conducted between 1956-61 found that locally
gathered foods in four villages of the Northwest supplied 30-46 percent
of the total caloric intake and 67-81 percent of the protein. 8 Since
that survey, the advent of food stamps in rural Alaska has drastically
altered consumption patterns in some villages. The ability to buy pro-
cessed foods has increased the carbohydrate content and decreased the
protein content of the Native diet. In Barrow and elsewhere, dietary
9 imbalances and tooth decay are increasing problems. In Anaktuvak,
on the other hand, eating imported foods has the beneficial side effect
of lowering exposure to strontium 90 and other radionuclides that are
24
concentrated in the bone marrow of the caribou. Slow-growing lichens
contain substantial amounts of radioactive fallout from the atmosphere
and are the main food of caribou.
The food resources presently available for the existing population
appear more than adequate to maintain a subsistence economy for the
entire area. The Seward Peninsula offers a wide variety of land and
marine mammals in addition to a large variety of fish. Salmon and
seal are staple foods with walrus, beluga whale, and caribou being
important. Sheefish, pike, and whitefish are important fresh water
species. While reindeer are a domestic animal in the main, they con
stitute the most important staple subsistence resource for the Seward
Peninsula. (See Reindeer Husbandry.)
The Kobuk area is the northernmost region of the state where salmon
occur in large enough quantities to serve as the major subsistence food
source. Caribou and reindeer comprise the most important protein source
after salmon. Marine mammals are less important here than elsewhere in
the Northwest.
On the Arctic and Chukchi coasts sea mammals are the primary sub
sistence food. In different villages and at different times of the
year, whale, walrus or seal are the most important staple. Fish,
caribou, and birds are eaten in varying amounts, depending in part
upon success in hunting marine mammals.
Wild roots and greens, berries, and small mammals supplement the
diet in all areas of the Northwest. Nowhere has overhunting and over
fishing meant that inadequate food stocks are available. It is not
the lack of food but the change in life styles that has meant the end
25
of the subsistence way of life.
The effect of consolidating population into larger settlements
inevitably limits the subsistence living habits and eventually elim
inates them for a large part of the population. As a village grows
larger, competition for all resources of the land and sea becomes
more intense and it is necessary to make longer hunting and food
gathering trips. Historically, very large villages existed in the
Arctic only where unusual circumstances provided a large relatively
stable food source. Villages with access to large numbers of whales
and other marine mammals were traditionally larger than those which
depended upon caribou. Even the greatly expanded mobility offered
by the snow machine cannot overcome the problems of too many hunters
in an area. Winter hunting of caribou and seal can be expanded by
snow machine, but the major part of food gathering, fishing and hunting
is done in the summer when snow machines are useless.
The introduction of the snow machine, like the outboard motor
before it, has brought about another set of changes in subsistence
life styles that work some drastic and some subtle changes in that
style. The general replacement of dog teams by snow machines has
lessened hunting pressure since in many instances a family's dogs con
sume twice as much meat or fish as the family. Snow machines are
modern, ease winter work and travel, but the added expense may double
a family's cash expenses in a year.
Sources of Cash Income
After the Eskimo's introduction to the benefits of a cash economy,
whale hunting and then fur trapping were in turn the means by which the
26
Nc:1tive population of Northwest J\]aska earned cash incomes. Conunercial
whale hunting ended around 1900, and then fur prices slumped in the
1940's. Fur prices are unlikely to rise to profitable levels in the
foreseeable future, which leaves wage employment as the~ best source
of earned income. (Game animals such as caribou may neither be sold
nor traded by state law. Another alternative, reindeer herding, has
not proven to be a good source of large amounts of money. See Reindeer
Husbandry.)
The money economy of the Northwest is largely the domain of its
white minority. In most villages and towns, Natives hold few of the
full-time jobs. They usually hold the lowest paying government jobs,
such as postmaster, Head Start instructor, health aide, school main
tenance man, and in some cases higher salaried positions such as
teacher or Rural Community Action Program administrator. In the pri
vate sector they may s,erve as station agent for the airline or operate
small stores.
The search for cash income is reflected in the ubiquitous village
coffee shop -- as many as three or four in some small villages none
with enough business to provide a minimal income for one person. How
ever, coffee shops and other small enterprises provide jobs and training
in the responsibilities of entrepreneurship and employment.
In Kotzebue, Nome, and Barrow, more full-time jobs exist in hos
pitals and other government facilities, as well as in the private sec
tor. These opportunities, however, are low paying and available mostly
to women. The jobs are good only by comparison to those in the smaller
villages.
27
The employment situation will not improve in the smaller villages
unless jobs are created by the state and federal governments or by the
Native Claims Settlement Act corporations, or unless natural resource
development in the immediate area employs local Natives. In the mean-
time, villagers seek employment elsewhere. People from as far north
as Point Hope work in the canneries of Bristol Bay in the summer and
many men find seasonal employment out of the villages as construction
workers or firefighters.
A dual economy -- part subsistence and part cash -- can provide
a reasonable standard of living as long as seasonal employment is avail-
able on a regular basis. Full-time work is inconsistent with subsistence
living, since hunting and fishing are full-time occupations during certain
seasons. The scarcity of seasonal employment results in another form of
dual economy -- part subsistence and part welfare. Almost every village
in Northwest Alaska is almost exclusively dependent on welfare payments
during the winter months.
Employment and Unemployment
The outstanding feature of the labor situation in Northwest Alaska
is widespread unemployment. The Alaska Department of Labor reported an
10 unemployment rate of 29.2 percent in the Kobuk area in 1969, of 22.3
percent in Wainwright and Barrow in 1968, and 18. 7 percent for Nome in
1969. 11
Alaska Department of Labor statistics are based on insured employ-
ment and give an overly optimistic view of the employment picture in
rural Alaska -- grim as the above unemployment figures are, they
28
considerably tmderstate the real unemployment situation. Firstly,
unemployment insurance does not, in all cases, cover self-employed
or unpaid workers, nor employment in state and local governments,
services, or fisheries~; For example, those Natives who fish part of
the year and are unemployed the rest may not be counted in the state's
data. Secondly, the state unemployment statistics are not broken down
by race and cannot give the true rate of unemployment in the Native
sector.
Thirdly, civilian unemployment figures are calculated as a per-
cent of the labor force -- and in rural Alaska, participation in the
labor force is low compared to total population. Table l-13 shows
1970 U.S. Census data on Alaska employment and unemployment, including
labor force participation, employment in manufacturing, government and
white-collar occupations, and full-time employment. Taking these factors
into account, it has been estimated that Native unemployment probably
amount~d to between 60 and 70 percent throughout rural Alaska in 1969.12
A better indicator of the true condition of labor in the Northwest
is the ratio of employed workers to the total population. These figures
13 show that 27.8 percent of the North Slope population is employed, but
only 13.4 percent of Seward Peninsula residents and 12.8 percent in the
Kobuk area. 14 Overall employment for the entire area was 16.1 percent.
These compare to a statewide percentage of 36.1 and national of 38.5.
By these ratios, unemployment or underemployment is about three times
as great in the Kobuk and Nome areas as it is in the rest of Alaska.
In 1969, 71 percent of 297 people in the Barrow labor force said that
they would move if offered a job elsewhere; and in 1970, 66.8 percent
Table I-13
Summary of Economic Characteristics by Census Divisions: 1970
!Doto based on sample. see text. For minimum bow for derived figures {perctl'!t, medion, etc.) one! mtoning of symbol1, a. ltlCT]
Census Divisions
Tit Stllte
Alev1iQn ls!ond~---------··--· Anthoro9e __ -- •••• -· ••••••••
---------------·---------------- -- ------ ---- -
An9oon •• ____ .. ____ ---- •••• _ ·--------------lklrrow ···--- -··- __ --------Se1~1 ••••••••.•••• - -------· 8ristol Soy 8oro1,19h --·---·--· Bri$tol Boy Division ••••••••••• Cordovo·MC((lrThy •• __ •••••• _ foirllonks Hoines
Juneov •••• ----·--- --·- ••••• Kenoi·Co-ok !nlel -------··----Ketchikon ____ •• ·- •••••••••• _ l(obuk •• ---- __ ·-·- ......... . l(odiok -----------.--------· Kvskol<wim ----------------Mo1onusko-Susitno •••• __ ---- _ Home •• -- -- ••••• _ ---··----· Outer l(efchikon •••• __ ...... .. Prince of Wolu ••••••••••••••
Seword .. __ •••• -· •• __ -- •••• -Sitko ____ •• __ .... __ •• ____ •••
Sko9wor·Yoku!O! --·--------· Sovth~S! foirb(lnh UpperYvkon ··---------··--Voklt2.(hi1ino.whiftier ·- __ •••• Wode Hampton •••• W ron9ell·Pe!ersbur9 Yukon.l(oyukvk •••• -· -- •• --
. -------- -------- -- -- ---- -----·- -------------. -- -- ---- -- ----. -- -- -- ------ ------- ---- --------- -- -- .. -- -- ----------------------------------- ------------·----------------- ---------------------------------------- ---- -- ------ -- ----- --------------------- ---- ---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------·-------------------------------- -- "' -- -- -- -- -
Femofe. 16
Nonworker- y&ars worker "' n:itio over
1.21 .... 0.68 31.1 1.15 S0.7 6.85 18.8 2.79 25.4 4.06 J;:i 0.59 4.41 29.6 1.05 49.7 1.00 '6.6 1.85 25.4
0.98 62.8 1.59 ~A l.33 u.7 4.22 28.8 1.>0 :;.1.y 2.80 20.9 2.07 31.7 2.46 39.8
·" " , .... 20.7
l.47 46' 1.18 55.4 !.52 48.7 1.15 34.8 1.51 32.5 1.37 51.1 5.21 16.0 1.52 46.3 l.45 33.6
Pertel'lf in lobar force
Married women, ,.,. husband prestnl
With ,., 65 children 18 to ,~~
under 6 " "' Toto! years yeors over
.. .. 30.3 H.2 36.0
30.6 19.7 96.4 55.9 47.3 32.6 92.4 '4.2 14.9 35.5 14.7 -24.l "'·' 64.5 11.9 1'.6 •O·O ''·' <·• 37.6 u.7 96.2 306 29.9 25.6 -so.o 31.9 83.0 33.9 '3.5 26.8 92.8 57.5 26.2 27.9 66.7 31.8
59.7 49.4 76.4 S0.0 35.5 26.6 80.0 37.0 41.0 22.6 89.5 362 32.6 20.8 45.9 7.0 51.0 J4.o "·' "·' 23.6 18.5 65.9 31.9 21.8 '4.8 25.5 ... 3 33.0 47.l 31.2
---- " 75.5 0, .•
22.6 14.3
... 6 42.1 68.1 32.l 52.2 40.0 8'.4 21.5 43.9 38.S 56.3 42.2 31.6 22.6 96.6 53.7 41.7 37.0 76,3 -49.4 42.7 70.3 15.2 18.3 19.7 56.5 !J.8 "2 33.0 75.7 33.6 32.7 30.5 83.4 29.2
Employed persons Work.cl
during Persons c1nsus who
Percent -·- worked CiviJion ;, Percent Percent ;,
labor monu· ;, working 1969-force- foe- whit~ Percel'lt outside Percent Percent hiring collor !JOvem- county workl'd unem· indus- occupo· ment of resi- 50 to 52 ployed tries tions workers denee WHkS
9.2 7.1 5$.3 36.S 3.3 S•.S
15.0 13.8 '3.& 47.2 0.7 61.l 8.2 3.1 60.0 34.2 2.0 62.3
15.3 10.0 30.0 80.0 - 3.9 11.7 0.7 36:9 59.7 6.0 39.9
"·' -·· ,, .• -..- '·' "·' 26.3 - 62.4 67.3 74.9 59.9 11.2 6.3 52.l 49.0 1.0 22.2
5.0 7.1 38.7 24.7 3.7 38.9 8.0 2.7 57.1 37.5 3.9 56.4 9.5 29.6 36.7 21.4 9.9 45.8
7.5 2.7 73.9 57.9 1.6 58.5 13.9 12.8 '3.9 20.4 1.6 47.4 10.l 19.4 47.6 27.9 2.1 53.7 11.l 2.8 50.3 56.8 3.6 28.3
'" "·' --· ''·' .., ;u.o 19.4 22 47.6 47" - 39.4 11.8 2.2 48.8 33.8 18.4 '4.7 15.7 1.9 47.4 49.7 1.9 28.6
·- < .• 10:0 .ia:o ,, .
2A 74.5 21.2 17.0
12.l 11.9 45.9 41.0 8> 39.5 7.7 26.8 '6.1 32.5 0.2 58.5
!2.4 6.0 4!.8 25.3 - 36.0 13.7 0.9 U.3 49.3 3.0 53.9
7.0 4.0 31.9 21.9 23.l 36. l 12.6 1.6 48.0 45.1 5.2 38.0 !7.3 5.6 '4.1 62.9 3.7 18.9 6.4 34.6 36.8 17.2 0.6 35.2
1!.4 " "'·' 53.0 2.7 44.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Report, PC (1) - C3.
M&dion income
(dollorsJ
12''3
8 553 13 593
2 "' 8 575 . _, 12 390 6 67!
11 935 12 338 13 '197
16 073 12 969 12 816 6 571
" ·-3 1 .. 10 686
""° , 11 907
11 381 14 09! 1 J 414 9 514 6500
l2 292 3 417
1) 357 13 028
Fomlries
Percent with incom1 of-
Leu Thon
poverty $15,000 level or mart
9.3 37.1
8.1 13. 1 5.0 43.2
97.2 -27.7 15.5 -· l t.i 16.l 20.8 32.8 13.0 10.7 34.5 .., 38.5 2.9 35.8
3.5 54.l : 7.1 39.5
7.8 35.2 '32.3 12.2 ,, ,. " 55.2 16.1 20.4 30.2 31.2 !7.4
'"' 29:2 16.3
10.0 28.3 3.1 43.6
19.0 29.9 13.3 24.6 23.6 25.4 10.7 41.4 96.8 3.1
9.6 27.1 17.6 41.0
N
'°
30
of 947 people in the Kobuk labor force also stated that they were willing
15 to n1ove to secure employment.
The concentration of government in Barrow has meant that the employ
ment situation there is better than in the Kobuk and Seward Peninsula
areas. The Naval Arctic Research Laboratory and the major DEW Line in
stallation offer about 265 jobs to the community and this employment
generates other support jobs. In addition, there are over 100 other
federal and state jobs in the community. However, most of higher paying
jobs are held by temporary white residents of Barrow.
Despite the resurgence of exploration activity in mining and the
oil activity at Prudhoe Bay, industry employment is very low. Few
residents of the Northwest are employed at Prudhoe, and it is most
realistic to treat this development as an employment enclave within
the area that has littl~ or no generative effect upon the local economy.
Mining employment in the Seward Peninsula in the summer of 1971 may
have reached 70 or 80 at times while about 30 persons were reported to
be employed in exploration activity at Bornite. Most of these jobs
were held by Natives except for the engineering and supervisory positions.
Actual totals are not available because of security requirements of the
Alaska Department of Labor reporting system. Unemployment in Nome ranges
from a high of 26.2 in April to a low of 11.4 percent in October.16
The
sources of employment in No1ue are government, tourist services and trans
portation.
Recent data on per capita income are not available but, in January
1970, a survey in Nome and Kobuk reported that 32 percent of the work
force in Nome and 68 percent of the workforce in Kobuk had incomes under
31
$3,000.17
Since the survey covered all employed persons, it is probable
that the above percentages are a fair estimate of family incomes for
the area with some adjustment downwards for the rare families with two
or three incomes.
32
Footnotes
1. The descriptive material of the geology of the areas was obtained from the U.S.G.S. publication, Landscapes of Alaska, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1958. Primary sources were the chapters by George Crye on the Brooks Range (pp. 111-118) and the Arctic Slope (pp. 119-127) by the same author. Also utilized was the chapter on the Seward Peninsula by J.P. Hopkins and D.M. Hopkins.
2. Most of the climatological explanation is due to R. Kenneth Hare's chapter, "Weather and Climate," in Geography of the Northlands, American Geographical Society, New York, 1955, pp. 58-83.
3. George W. Rogers, "Alaska Native Population Trends and Vital Statistics," ISEGR Research Note, November 1971, pp. 5-6.
4. Arthur E. Hippler, "Some Observations on the Persistence of Alaska Native Village Populations," ISEGR Research Note A-1, September 1969.
5. George W. Rogers, op. cit., p. 17.
6. Ibid.
7. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970; General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Reports, PC (1)-6-3, Alaska.
8. Christine A. Heller and Edward M. Scott, The Alaska Dietary Survey, 1956-61, Public Health Service, Arctic Health Research Center, Anchorage (now at Fairbanks), 1967.
9. Arthur E. Hippler, From Village to Town: An Intermediate Step in the Acculturation of Alaska Eskimos, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, October 1970.
10. Workforce Estimates, U.S. Department of Labor, 1970.
11. Alaska Department of Labor, Manpower Survey, Barrow-Wainwright Area, July 1969, p. 12.
12. Judith Kleinfeld and Thomas A. Morehouse, Manpower Needs in Alaska, ISEGR, University of Alaska, August 1970.
13. Prudhoe Bay oilfield employment not included.
14. Figures compiled from Manpower Surveys of the areas involved. State and national figures obtained from Manpower Survey, Barrow-Wainwright area.
15. Alaska Department of Labor, Barrow-Wainwright area, and Kobuk area Manpower Surveys.
16. Alaska Department of Labor, Manpower Survey, Nome Area, January 1970.
17. Manpower Surveys, Nome and Kobuk.
CHAPTER II ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: PRESENT AND POTENTIAL
Minerals and Mining
Oil and Gas
Fisheries and Aquatic Animals
Reindeer Husbandry
Tourism and Recreation
34
Minerals and Mining
Next to federal and state spending, mining and tourism were the
major components of the cash economy of Northwest Alaska until the
discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay. The Seward Peninsula, and to a
lesser degree the Kob.uk Valley, have historic ties with the gold mining
industry dating back to the Gold Rush of 1898. Until World War II, the
white population of the Seward Peninsula was reasonably prosperous. The
decline of gold mining in the last three decades depleted the white popu
lation and steadily reduced the natural resources base of the Northwest's
economy.
There have been sporadic efforts by both private industry and
government to overcome the barriers to exploration and development of
the known and indicated mineral reserves of this part of Alaska. Figure
II-3 (p. 46) is a locator map for the existing and potential mineral and
oil developments mentioned in the text. The general consensus has been
that if the transportation problem could be solved all other economic
inhibitions to development would be overcome. This study concludes
that transportation is not in fact the key to mineral development in
Northwest Alaska, but rather, it is the development of market demand
sufficient to pay the high costs of Alaska production and transport.
In recent years large mining concerns have shown renewed interest
in Northwest Alaska, some spurred by the general excitement created by
the Prudhoe Bay discovery and others by a desire to find reserves at
home in a politically secure nation, rather than in the more volatile
underdeveloped and developing world.
Spangler has listed five reasons why companies seek and hold mineral
35
leases in Norton Sound; this list applies generally to onshore and off-
shore holdings in all of Northwest Alaska. The five reasons for holding
on to mineral lands are:
A tendency to retain speculative holdings because the cost of the original leases was not large in many cases and the annual cost of maintaining leases was small.
An expectation that the price of gold will sooner or later be increased substantially as the U.S. gold reserve shrinks and pressure mounts to devalue the dollar.
Hope that rich pay streaks will be found that can be mined at a profit under present conditions.
The possibility that offshore mining will be reduced in cost due to technological advances.
A belief that federal subsidies, especially tax incentives, will be available soon for underwater mining and exploration.l
It should be noted that none of the five reasons for holding mineral
leases are reasons to start active work on them, nor is the availability
of transportation a consideration. As the following review will show,
the three subsectors of Northwest Alaska have very different prospects
and problems in mining.
Seward Peninsula
The Seward Peninsula is regarded as one of the most highly mineral-
ized areas in Alaska. Beginning with the dsicovery of gold in 1898, the
following minerals have been located and produced in significant quanti-
ties: gold, tin, tungsten, and beryllium. Small amounts of antimony,
bismuth, copper, silver, lead and quicksilver have also been found but
no large deposits of these metals are known. A residual iron deposit
36
occurs near Nome, while zinc, arsenic, uranium and molybdenum occur
in or near the tin and base metal lodes. 2 Platinum, manganese, mica,
fluorite and graphite have also been reported. 3
A fluorite and beryllium mining venture at Lost River by Lost River
Mining Corporation, an affiliate of Pacific Canadian Explorations (PCE)
of Toronto, Canada, is the only immediate hope for a new surge of mining
activity in Northwest Alaska. The major interest now is fluorite which
is expected to command a premium price on the world market for the next
five years. The Japanese steel industry has shown interest in the fluorite
production possibilities at Lost River and is regarded as the best market
4 at this time. The U.S. now imports 80 to 90 percent of its needs in
fluorite so a strong domestic market may develop. 5 PCE's mining engineers
now predict that there are 30 million tons of ore reserves at Lost River
which would permit processing 4,000 tons per day when the mine is in
active operation.
There are long-range problems to mining in the southwestern corner
of the Seward Peninsula that will not be easily overcome. Foremost is
the lack of water. Previous mining efforts have encountered problems
with maintaining sustained sources of surface and subsurface water. The
current venture hopes to overcome the shortage by building a dam and im-
pounding the spring runoffs. However, all of the valleys in the region
have small catchment areas. Large-scale mining enterprises may require
the buidling of several dams, the importing of water from the nearest
major freshwater source (the Kuzitrin River) or the use of sea water.
Another problem to be overcome is shipping. PCE has completed
some initial surveys for a quay extending 5,000 feet into the Bering
37
Sea at a depth of up to 40 feet. PCE is negotiating for federal and/or
state assistance in the financing of the port because a deep water port
would benefit the area as a whole. PCE feels that the economics of ore
movements make it imperative that the dock is close to the mine site.
They point out that the Seward Peninsula highway system's nearest point
at Teller is only 24 miles from Lost River and that backhauls from the
United States and Japan on the ore freighters would make cheap freight
6 for Nome and other communities on the road system a reality. However,
the backhaul scheme runs counter to the current trend of specialization
in vessels, and is unlikely to materialize.
The long-range plans for Lost River envision a town of 1,500 people
to serve as a base for the present and future mining ventures in the
area. Present plans by the mining company are for the town to be laid
out under the auspices of the Alaska State Housing Authority and for a
7 portion of the costs to be borne by the state.
Maintenance of a work force in a company town in this area may not
be as easy as is presently supposed. The present employment at Lost
River is in large part composed of Natives from nearby villages and
some miners from Kiana trained by Kennecott in their Bornite explora-
tions. These men may wish. to continue to commute for intermittent
work periods from their home villages rather than move their families.
Ideally, the mining operations in this area would absorb the surplus
labor force now idle on the Seward Peninsula. Alaska Natives may prefer
to work in their own enterprises when land claims are settled, in which
8 case local labor mai not be available.
38
Gold mining on the Seward Peninsula has stopped. 9 Mining opera
tions began in 1898, and annual production of gold on the Seward Penin
sula peaked in 1906 at $7.5 million, then gradually decreased until
1931. Production in terms of volume continued to decline until 1934,
when the newly established price of gold at $35 an ounce brought about
a resurgence in activity that lasted until 1942.
The inability of the mining companies to secure either materials
or men during World War II caused a drastic curtailment of mining that
lasted until 1947. There was a brief buildup for five years and then
overall price increases in Alaska caused by Dew Line construction,
plus national inflation, brought about the decline of the gold mines.
Hore than $175 million in gold has been extracted from the Peninsula
since mining began. 10
Today there is no gold mining industry on the Seward Peninsula.
The increase in the price of gold caused by the recent devaluation
does not change the diseconomies of mining gold for sale at a fixed
price.
In the past three years renewed interest has been generated in
offshore exploration programs in Norton Sound. Large companies, such
as Shell and American Smelting and Refining (ASARCO), have shown in-
terest in the seabed resources. Core drillings have found a wide dis
tribution of gold-bearing bottom sediments off Nome and in areas to the
east of that city. Estimates have been made of values as high as $150
million per acre and $2 billion total in gold alone for the offshore
areas around the Seward Peninsula. These conjectural estimates are
an indicator of the possible potential of the seabed of Norton Sound
39
and other coastal waters of the Peninsula.11
In the opinion of almost all dredging and gold mining engineers,
however, the initiation of a successful offshore placer gold mining
operation at Nome will require a capital investment of $50 to $100
million. Of the several companies interested in offshore mining in
the area only two have ever invested more than $1 million in Alaska
ld d f h b . f d d . d 12 marine go ventures an ew ave een active or an exten e perio .
The capital required for a large-scale operation appears unlikely to
materialize.
The City of Nome has discussed plans for dredging a deep water
13 port and recovering a large part of the costs through gold recovery.
The project would be able to use the dredges now in storage at Nome.
The Martin Dredging Company of Nome has used a hydraulic dredge on its
underwater holdings near Bluff but the degree of its success is not
known.
On the basis of onshore gold production the U.S. Geological Survey
has inferred potential placer deposits worth $120 million offshore in
the vicinity of the Seward Peninsula. The minimum conditions for com-
mercial exploitation of such deposits are a concentration of gold of
40 cents per ton, within three miles of shore, in less than 60 feet of
14 water, and with less than 100 feet of overburden.
Unless the USGS estimate of placer deposits is at least doubled
by the discovery of especially rich areas, the outlook is not favorable
that the large sums necessary for development will be forthcoming from
15 private sources. An increase in the price of gold would also make
the likelihood of development greater.
40
There has been a minimal amount of silver production as a by-product
of gold mining. The value of this metal produced since 1931 is only
about $120,000. Future silver production probably rests upon the <level-
opment of some of the lead and silver bearing galena lodes that occur
at widely scattered localities on the Seward Peninsula.16
If these
lodes were to be developed, it would be primarily for their lead content;
however, there is no known or anticipated activity in commercial lead
production in the area.
About $3.3 million worth of tin has been shipped from the Peninsula
in this century, most of it produced by small-scale placer mining at
Tin City and Lost River. The placer operations are relatively inactive
at present while interest is focussed on lode tin at Serpentine Hot
Springs and Tin City. Although the known tin resources are not large
they constitute the only known deposits of significance in the United
17 States. If fluorite and beryllium deposits in the Lost River area
are developed, the predicted Lost River tin ore reserves of 510,000 tons
containing 1.5 percent of tin may be confirmed and possibly expanded.18
Tin claims on Rumbolt Creek, 125 miles due north of Nome near Serpentine
Hot Springs, were explored during 1970 and 1971. These are believed to
be an extension of the lode tin deposits at Lost River which would make
19 them the fourth known tin lode in the world.
Lead, zinc, and copper production do not appear commercially pro-
fitable at this time. Small amounts of these ores have been recovered
in the past as a by-product of gold mining. Barring a breakthrough in
the technological processes of placer mining, the production of these
ores will wait for very heigh market prices to begin production. The
41
preparations being made to start fluorite operations at Lost River make
the future of mining look brighter than it has been for several decades
on the Seward Peninsula.
Kobuk Valley
The center of economic interest in the Kobuk Valley since 1956
has been Bornite, 150 miles east of Kotzebue, where the Kennecott Copper
Corporation is exploring copper deposits. For several years these were
the only large-scale mining explorations being conducted in Alaska and
commencement of production was eagerly anticipated. Then the underground
workings flooded in 1966 and for a time it was feared that Kennecott would
discontinue their effort. The company has resumed exploration work but
seems no closer to setting a date for beginning production than it was
a decade ago.
The last report on the inferred reserves at Bornite was published
over nine years ago when an estimate of more than 100 million tons of
ore containing 1.2 to 1.6 percent of copper was reported.20
The Bureau
of Mines is estimating at this time 500 million tons of reserves for the
21 area containing over one percent of copper.
Kennecott has remained very secretive about its findings and in
tentions. The company has not indicated any institutional, logistical
or technical obstacles beyond the expected transportation problems and
the occurrence of excessive underground water in some areas.
Various state and federal agencies have tried to elicit a commitment
for starting operations from Kennecott without success. Building a rail
way or a highway, dredging the Kobuk River, and flying the ore out by
42
Lockheed CSA or Boeing 747F have all been proposed without stirring any
particular response from Kennecott.
The last probable production figures that were furnished for
Bornite was 5,000 tons per day which would yield a yearly tonnage of
115,000 tons of concentrate, or a daily shipment of 315 tons from the
mine.22
It is expected that the mine will employ from 200 to 500 persons
with an equal number in supporting jobs. 23 A town of up to 5,000 people
could eventually result if all employees lived at the mine site. The
unemployment problems of the Kobuk Valley would be largely solved if
Kennecott's present program of local hire is continued.
The company presently employs from 30 to 50 men in their exploration
activities in the summer. Almost all of the laborers are from the Kobuk
Valley. Several local men have become experienced miners and are working
at other locations throughout Alaska.
Conditions in the world copper market will eventually mean that the
commercial production of Bornite copper will be competitive. Whether
this is within five, twenty or fifty years is at present a matter of
surmise. The recent expropriations of American copper interests in
Chile may prove to be a stimulus to production in the United States
and at Bornite in particular.
There are large asbestos deposits near the village of Kobuk. These
consist of tremolite and minor chrysolite erratically distributed in
serpentine along a belt about 45 miles long. The asbestos occurs in
podlike veins that are of great purity but weak tenacity. Some pro
duction occurred from these deposits between 1943 and 1945 under the
stimulus of high wartime prices. The asbestos resources of the Kobuk
43
Valley have not been adequately measured but the limited thickness and
extent of the serpentine bodies that normally enclose the mineral make
it unlikely that more deposits of major importance will be found in the
24 future.
Jade of neophrite variety and of gem quality occurs in various
places throughout the asbestos-bearing region. Both the jade and as-
bestos have been mined by the Eskimos for several centuries. There
has been continued small-scale mining of jade and some attempts to
establish a local jewelry industry that would utilize the jade as the
basis for jewelry and objets d'art with an Eskimo motif. Several
Eskimos were sent to Mexico after World War II to learn the jade work
ing and silversmith crafts in the Spratling factory at Taxco. However,
the experiment did not succeed and at present jade recovery and process
ing provide only a couple of jobs within the region.25
Gold mining in the Kobuk Valley has been limited to a few small
placer workings and has never attained a position of importance. It
still employs a few local people on a sporadic basis but it is unlikely
that it will ever be an important economic activity in itself.
North Slope
Besides the petroleum deposits for which the North Slope has become
world famous (see Oil and Gas), the only mineral resources which the
North Slope has in abundance are coal and phosphates. No metalliferous
lode deposits have been confirmed in the area at all.
The North Slope has over 92 percent of the presently known coal
resources of Alaska. Almost one-half of the entire area of 77,000 square
44
miles is underlain with an estimated total of 19,292.2 million tons
of bituminous and 100,905.3 of subbituminous and lignite coals. Generally,
the area from Cape Lisburne eastward to the Colville River and north to
Peard Bay is almost totally underlain with coal. Roughly half the coal-
bearing area falls within Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4. The surface
outcroppings in the vicinity of Wainwright and at Cape Corwin have been
mined by Eskimos as long as can be remembered. Early explorers, whalers,
and traders utilized the resource extensively.
Detailed investigations by the Morgan Coal Company began in the
Kukpowruk River coal field in the early 1950's. Previously, the Geolo-
26 gical Survey had conducted some surface surveys. In the period 1961-
63 the Union Carbide and Ore Company and the U.S. Bureau of Mines also
sampled these coal beds for coking analyses. The Geological Survey
returned to the area for field investigations in 1966-67.27
The Kuk-
powruk River region has attracted the most interest due to the large
areas of coking coal found there. I
In the Utukok-Corwin region it is estimated that coal beds having
coking characteristics underlie approximately 1,200 square miles. The
total coal thickness averages about 50 feet, and lies in layered beds
of 2-1/2 to 20 feet per layer. The Morgan Coal Company holds an active
lease in the area. Applications for prospecting permits covering large
areas are pending before the Bureau of Land Management.
There are several major deterrents to the development of Alaska's
northern coal fields. Foremost are the legal restrictions, namely
Native land claims withdrawals and present federal withdrawals (pri-
marily Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4). The other deterrents are
45
possible environmental restrictions on' large-scale strip mining and
development and operating costs.
It has been estimated that an investment of $50 million in mining
equipment and transportation systems will be necessary before a ton of
coal can be moved from the northern fields.28
This estimate was made
for the area immediately adjacent to the coast, with the least trans-
port costs. The first producer must solve problems such as moving
the coal from mine to tidewater in a roadless area, plus the develop-
ment of a suitable port and loading techniques. Mining itself may
prove a major problem in a permafrost area. Only an enormous demand
would justify the necessary outlays.
The only potential market of such magnitude at this time is Japan,
which requires a minimum of 40 million tons of coking coal annually·to
meet the demands of her steel industry. In 1969, the Japanese imported
85 percent of its requirements from the United States, Australia, and
29 Canada. Only a cost-competitive extraction and transportation system
would make it attractive to the Japanese to switch to North Slope coal
sources. Hard coking coal was selling in Japan at $18.00-$20.90 per
ton from the U.S. and $15.00-$17.50 from Australia in 1969. 30 Tussing
estimated in 1968 that Alaskan coal could not exceed $9.00 per ton at
tidewater in Alaska to be competitive with other sources by the time
31 transport costs were added on.
There are large phosphate resources in the eastern sections of the
Arctic Slope. Since U.S. reserves are 1,000 times present production,
it is not economically feasible now or in the foreseeable future to
develop these ores for the domestic market. The foreign market does
not appear any more promising at this time.
•
..
BAP.R:OW
-~
/ .. ··············- .. ~~~~L •91NJ-LAY ' . PETROLEUM ..
.· l ': ,-,,, I COAL 1"1EL.OS ;_ \
..... / RESERVE _./ ) r· .. . ·····- ··············· ······ .... · ,,,~- ....... - ... _, ___ ,, No.4 ,,.--............. "'
', I -\...... I
', I ', I
',I ~
.BORN!Te'.
.KOBUK
Figure 11-3
. --' ..... """ \~
( • ( ARCTIC
\ \..<•~< NATIONAL \ I - I I
I \ t, WILDLIFE I
I \_ \ RANGE \ 4sus1E .... \ '-'\,_ ,
I \. ,---:_-I '\ -..., ,, __ ,, I '\ I
I ·,-,, ~ ;:?I Po·~.---- ~ o I ss1e1.c: GAs --. d' I l.//vc: Ro4rc: • :, . I 0, \ ..,I -I . ~, -:., ~,
' :-. ~, <::.:-. "',
\
' ' \ \ \
•
I I
\ I I
Locator Hap for Potential and Existing Hining and Oil Development in Northwest Alaska
.... ,..,:: ..
·-
.c
°'
47
Oil and Gas
At the present, known oil and gas reserves for Northwest Alaska
are confined to the North Slope. While there are definite expectations
of offshore finds in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, only preliminary ex
ploration has taken place at this time.
Oil and gas seepages in Arctic Alaska were discovered by early
explorers and traders. These reports were confirmed by the Geological
Survey in the region in 1901.32
As a result of preliminary surveys,
President Harding established Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (NPR No. 4)
in 1923. In 1943, a field party led by U.S. Bureau of Mines personnel
thoroughly reconnoitered northern Alaska. They confirmed oil seepages
at Dease Inlet, Cape Simpson, Ungoon Point, and Barter Island along
the coast, and also confirmed inland seepages at Umiat Mountain and on
the Kukpowruk River north of White Mountain.
The first oil exploration in the Arctic began in NPR No. 4 under
the auspices of the U.S. Navy in 1944. 33 Subsequently the Navy under
took a ten-year program during which time 36 test wells and 44 core
tests were drilled. Three oil fields and six gas wells were discovered
within the Reserve's more than 23 million acres. The three oil fields,
Umiat, Cape Simpson and Fish Creek, were shut in after discovery and
not developed. Estimates of reserves for the Umiat field range from
3 to 70 million barrels of recoverable oil. Reserves at Cape Simpson
are estimated at 12 million and at Fish Creek 5 million barrels of
heavy oil.
Only one of the six gas fields discovered during the Navy explora
tions is in production. This is in the South Barrow gas field located
48
about five miles south of the village of Barrow. The Navy has used this
field since 1949 to supply its energy needs first at its Barrow explora
tion base and later at the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory. In 1964,
Congress authorized the sale of gas to the residents of Barrow village.
At present there are five wells capable of producing gas for consumption
at Barrow. The Navy has estimated that the remaining reserves at Barrow
are 13 million MCF (thousand cubic feet) of gas. Cumulative production
to the end of 1969 was 4.4 million MCF. 34
The Navy exploratory drilling program in NPR No. 4 was limited to
the shallow Cretaceous zones and did not investigate the deeper zones
in which the later Prudhoe discoveries were found. 35 The Cabinet Task
Force on Oil Import Control in its 1970 report extrapolated from reports
on findings in Prudhoe Bay and the geology of Naval Petroleum Reserve
No. 4 to make predictions of between 4 and 25 billion barrels of re
coverable reserves in NPR No. 4. 36
In the decade following the Navy's discoveries, private oil com
panies paid little attention to the North Slope. Between 1953 and 1963
several oil companies sent field geologists into the north of the Brooks
Range. However, during this period most geologically promising acreage
was unavailable for leasing. In the 1920' s, 25 million acres of the
lands east of NPR No. 4 had been withdrawn by the federal government;
but in 1958, the lands between the Colville and Canning Rivers were
opened to exploration. The creation of the National Arctic Wildlife
Range in 1958 has kept the area east of the Canning River closed.
Exploratory activity recommenced in earnest in 1963 and eventually
led to the discoveries at Prudhoe Bay. First the drillers struck gas,
49
but in unexciting quantities; then they drilled one dry hole after another.
Expectations on the North Slope reached a low ebb when Atlantic-Richfield
37 drilled to 13,517 feet without a show of oil or gas.
Atlantic-Richfield's next attempt was at Prudhoe Bay and the historic
first well came in during March of 1968. A confirmation well was drilled
seven miles away and when it was completed in July of 1968, ARCO announced
that the wells had struck oil. The news set off an explosion of explora
tion between the Colville and the Canning that lasted until October 1969.
At the beginning of the 1969 oil rush 15 major oil companies and 31
other individuals and consortiums held around 5 million acres under lease
on the North Slope38 (or about bne-fifth of the total area with petroleum
potential). Native protests caused the suspension of federal leases, but
did not affect state mineral leases. Therefore, drilling was concentrated
in the Prudhoe area but substantial wildcatting was continued in the foot-
hills region.
At the peak of activity there were 24 rigs in operation on the North
Slope. Eight major all-year airstrips were constructed at minimum cost
of $1 million each. In May of 1969, 43 airstrips were in operation
supplying either drilling, seismic, or other exploratory efforts.
Peak employment was estimated at over 4,000 men counting two crews
on rotation on and off the Slope to make a full working crew of 2,800.
Average monthly employment in statewide petroleum industry mining rose
from 1,603 in 1967 to 2,153 in 1968 and peaked in 1969 at 3,220 dropping
to 2,649 in 1970. 39 All of the employment increase was due to North
Slope activity increase since Cook Inlet oil field employment was de-
clining.
50
After the $900 million State lease sale in September of 1969, ex
ploration activity steadily declined. Development drilling also slowed,
from 86 wells spudded in 1968, to 67 in 1969, 48 in 1970 and 20 in 1971.
The slowdown reflects industry's uncertainty over the timely provision
of a pipeline delivery system for the oil they tap.
The near-term future of the North Slope oil province falls into
two phases, development of the three known pools at Prudhoe and the con
tinued exploration of the rest of the province. These two phases will
undoubtedly overlap to some degree.
Development of Prudhoe Bay Field
About 120 wells and 19 multiple well pads will be required to meet
initial delivery requirements from the Prudhoe field to the pipeline.
A large part of the material necessary for this stage is already on
hand at Prudhoe and it is estimated that about 20,000 tons of additional
material will be required to complete the gathering lines from the pads
and perhaps another 20,000 tons to complete the initial development
40 well complex.
The final complex at Prudhoe will require about 80 additional pads
with an average of six wells being drilled from each pad. No firm es
timates have been made of the amount of material required to complete
the Prudhoe unit. Since a good deal of the equipment used to build
the first stage can be utilized in the second, it is probable that the
bulk of further imported materials will be material directly required
for wells and gathering lines. An estimate between 150,000 and 200,000
tons appears reasonable for the needs of this stage.
51
Once development of the Prudhoe unit is complete it is unlikely
that there will be a need for major cargo flows. Diesel oil and
natural gas will be supplied from the field itself. The main cargo
requirement will be gasoline and jet fuel for the automotive equipment
and aircraft in the area. The work force of 250 to 400 men will not
generate major requirements since it is not contemplated that family
quarters will be provided at Prudhoe for oil company employees. The
continuing needs of the Prudhoe unit itself will probably be under
41 10,000 tons per year.
Exploring North Slope Province
Onshore
The total area of the North Slope is about 77,000 square miles,
of which around 53,000 square miles is prime area for petroleum explora
tion. Of the prime area about 35,000 square miles is either in NPR No. 4
or in the Arctic National Wildlife Range, and thus is not available for
leasing or exploration without further action by Congress.
Of the remaining 18,000 square miles about 2,000 has been explored
for gas or oil by drilling. There have been a total of 60 wildcat wells
drilled exclusive of those in the NPR No. 4 program.
There can be little doubt that exploration will be carried out
over the major part of this area unless the proposed pipeline is not
built and a good alternative transportation cannot be found. In addition
to the three pools proven at Prudhoe (Lisburne, Sadlerochit, and Kuparuk
River), there are two shut-in oil wells just west of the Prudhoe field
limits. Whether these will constitute a new field or another pool in
52
the Prudhoe field is not yet known because the drilling infonnation
has not been released.
There is another promising structure just to the east of Prudhoe
in the vicinity of Mikkelsen Bay and even better possibilities further
42 east just offshore from the Arctic National Wildlife Range. In any
case, large oil fields such as Prudhoe have never before existed in
isolation, Tussing in the Alaska Pipeline Report listed five reasons
why the present northern Alaska reserves of 9.6 billion barrels estimated
by the American Petroleum Institute should ultimately prove much larger:
1. As Prudhoe Bay field development nears completion, the proved reserve estimates will rise.
2. Large petroleum accumulations of the Prudhoe Bay variety have never been known to exist in isolation. They are typically associated with a group of smaller accumulations.
3. Exploration activity on the Arctic slope has been directed as much by the administrative vagaries of land classification as by geological expertise; many areas with as much ii. priori favorability as that of the Prudhoe Bay field remain unleased.
4. Large structures of Prudhoe Bay magnitude are known to exist elsewhere in the province.
5. Firms with access to specialized geologic information and expertise have bid large sums for undrilled tracts far from existing discoveries, indicating they believe that further discoveries are extremely likely.43
A dry gas well on the Kavik River is the only substantial find in
the eastern foothills of the Brooks Range thus far, but the area has
been only lightly explored in comparison to the coastal areas. It is
the general consensus that further significant finds will be made in
the central section of the North Slope coastal area, but the foothills
53
still retain the promise that made them the initial prime area for
wildcatting from 1963 to 1967.
The areas west of NPR No. 4, especially in the vicinity of Point
Lay, are considered to have high petroleum potential. There was ex-
tensive seismic exploration around Point Lay in the spring of 1970, the
results of which are still confidential. There has been no drilling
activity in the area because of land withdrawals.
Material Requirements
Exploring the rest of the available North Slope potential oil
acreage at the same level of intensity as the companies explored near
Prudhoe would require another 480 wildcat wells. However, as geologic
knowledge is increased, the need for wildcatting in some areas will
probably be lessened. No estimates have been made as to the number
of wildcat wells required to explore adequately the area at this
time, though a ballpark range of between 250 and 400 seems likely.
About 5,500 tons of freight are required for one wildcat operation
when drill rig, camp, and all other material must be brought to the
44 site. Additional drillings that can use the same rig and camp
location require only about 1,500 tons of additional cargo. The 60
wildcat operations between 1964 and 1971 required around 300,000 tons
45 of air and barge cargo for support.
It seems probable that between 1 million and 1. 5 million tons of
cargo will suffice for the future exploration needs of the area between
the Colville and Canning Rivers and that portion of the North Slope
west of NPR No. 4. If diesel and fuel oil is furnished to the Colville-
54
Canning area from the refinery at Pru<lhoe, the cargo totals can pro-
bably be cut by one-third.
The rate at which the 1-1.5 million tons will be needed will de-
pend on the pace of exploration. This pace will be dictated by several
factors, among them being: (1) the number of new entrants who succeed
in securing North Slope leases when the land is opened to exploration
and development; (2) the possibility of securing oil transportation
capacity in addition to that offered by the presently projected pipe
line; (3) the amount of exploration budget allocated to the North Slope
by existing lessees; and (4) the demand for Alaska oil in domestic and
possibly foreign markets. With so many variables, the exploration
period could fit any time frame from 5 to 20 years.
Offshore
The offshore areas in the Chukchi Sea are considered especially
promising. It is probable that the historically high discovery rate
in offshore oil drilling will obtain along the Arctic Coast as it has
in other areas. The offshore success rate off the coasts of Louisiana
and Texas was 41 percent during the early years of offshore exploration
in the middle 1950's, and in 1957 the success rate for both the Gulf
and Pacific coasts was 44 percent. 46
It is evident that in ice-free waters the high success rate coupled
with a higher chance of locating a giant field reduced average discovery
costs well below those of onshore ventures. However, the technology
for offshore drilling in areas of heavy sea ice has not been developed
and may not come easily. It is not only the problem of building a
55
platform that will withstand severe ice stress that must be conquered,
but also the problem of protecting underwater pipeline systems from
ice scour in the shallow reaches of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
Drilling in very shallow waters may be possible from "captured"
ice islands that are grounded and then built up with ice so that they
remain stationary. Dredging from drilling islands is another feasible
solution. If drilling islands are placed so that they protect the
pipeline systems that link them to their gathering systems from in
trusions by heavy ice floes, the problem of bottom scour could be
largely eliminated.
Unless national energy needs become acute it seems likely that
offshore developments in the Arctic will follow after the most promising
onshore areas are explored and developed. This would place any major
offshore efforts into the decade of the 1980's or later.
Development of Naval Petroleum Reserve Number .Four
NPR No. 4 has never served as a true strategic military reserve
since its oil would not be available in a timely manner in a national
emergency. The reserve was originally created to insure the Navy a
future supply of oil and the strategic limitations of a reserve in the
Arctic appear to have been ignored. The Navy is now considering other
ways to meet its national security requirements.
The building of a major pipeline to the Prudhoe Bay field will
provide the Navy with a way to get its oil out of the Arctic. In order
to find out whether NPR No. 4 is actually big enough to make large-scale
reshuffling worthwhile, the navy would have to initiate a new development
56
program to drill <leeper test we.Lls and determJne just how much oil
there is in the deeper layers of the reserve. If significant amounts
47 of oil are found, three alternatives present themselves.
First, the Navy oil wells could be shut in and arrangements made
to take over the pipeline on a standby system. This alternative would
not necessarily provide increased production to the nation in time of
war or emergency if the pipeline were already carrying a capacity load
of private oil. In addition, the Navy would have to leave equipment
and other capital immobilized in the standby status of NPR No. 4.
Another disadvantage is the possible· loss of oil through migration to
any fields developed along the borders of NPR No. 4. The only strate-
gic advantage would be in determining what reserves were available.
A second alternative is for the Navy to lease certain sections
of the reserve to private oil companies who already possess reserve
capacity in other states. If the companies find oil in NPR No. 4.,
then production from the northern field could be traded for an equiv-
alent reserve in a proven field in the south which would be shut in
as a more strategic reserve. Adjustments would be made based on the
wellhead price for each field. This plan would have the advantage of
providing extra capacity through existing pipelines in an emergency
without the great delivery system costs necessary to provide standby
capacity to NPR No. 4.
A third alternative is for the Navy to use a portion of the
throughput of the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay and move oil from NPR
No. 4 to another part of the U.S. where it could be stored in salt
domes easily accessible to the national pipeline grid. This alternative
57
may be cheaper than the maintenance of import quotas but is probably
more expensive than the shut-in petroleum reserves because the Navy
must: (1) purchase oil for storage in the current market rather than
at a discounted present value from some future production date; (2) pay
a lifting cost; (3) pay to transport the oil to the site of the salt
dome; and (4) bear the cost of pumping the oil back into the ground
48 for storage.
In discussing these alternatives in an unpublished paper, Meade
and Sorenson found that maximum production of domestic oil is strate
gically unsound. Their major objection to import quotas as a means
of promoting national security is that they "sacrifice future national
security in order to obtain a higher degree of self-sufficiency in the
49 immediate period."
The cost of maintaining an oil reserve in a ready standby condition
has been computed by Meade at 8.4 cents per barrel per year for a domes
tic petroleum reserve. He computes the social costs of oil import
quotas at $1.04 per barrel of additional domestic production. 50 Thus,
in situ holding of oil appears to provide the greatest long-run security
to the nation at the least social cost. Since alternative two would
provide increased production in time of emergency at no extra cost,
then it would appear to be the most favorable solution to the problem
of NPR No. 4 for the Navy. The oil industry would also benefit from
alternative two because the increased volumes of oil travelling through
the pipeline would reduce the cost of the pipeline per barrel of oil.
A further advantage would be that a pipeline grid serving develop
ment on the entire North Slope could be developed, a prospect that is
58
not likely as long as NPR No. 4 remains inviolable. This would make
unnecessary the building of a fleet of specially ice-stressed tankers
to serve the areas north of the Bering Straits.
Complete exploration of the reserve could require up to 500 wild
cat drilling operations and an input of around 2 million tons of cargo
to the area. Any major .field developments would require tonnages sim
ilar to those necessary at Prudhoe or about 500,000 tons for a giant
field.51
The absence of gravel in the greater part of NPR No. 4 would
make it necessary to provide some substitute for the drilling pads used
in the Prudhoe Bay area. Platforms on pilings seem to be the most fea
sible answer at this time. This would raise the carg0 requirements sub
stantially for this area. Additional needs will be generated by pipeline
spurs to connect to the main line at Prudhoe Bay.
Gas Line Developments
Construction is expected to begin on a natural gas line to Prudhoe
Bay four to five-and-a-half years after the trans-Alaska oil pipeline
is begun. This would mean that the gas line would be available one or
two years after the oil pipeline was completed. The assumption is made
that maximum oil production at Prudhoe Bay will produce enough casing
head gas to reinject for field pressure maintenance and to send through
the gas line.
Plans for the gas line envision a capacity of 2.5 billion thousand
cubic feet (MCF) per day with the capability of being expanded to 4
billion MCF per day. Alternatives advanced for maintaining supply
when casinghead gas is not available for any reason include a ready
59
"2 supply of dry gas or stored excess gas kept in depleted reservoirs.J
The contractors constructing the gas line will be able to utilize
many of the existing facilities on the North Slope so their freight
requirements will be largely limited to the pipe itself, gathering
facilities, and support for the construction crews. Based on the
tonnages of the oil pipe shipments, a requirement for about 200,000
to 250 ,000 tons appears likely. This would be for a line to Prudhoe
Bay only.
The State of Alaska prohibits unnecessary flaring of natural gas,
so it will be necessary to tie every oil development into the gas pipe-
line grid. If not, then the gas may be reinjected or converted to
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Provision of transportation to any oil and gas production along
the Chukchi Sea coast will require the closest examination of alterna-
tives. A pipeline from Point Lay to Prudhoe Bay would be almost 350
miles in length. Unless there were intervening fields along the way
with which to amortize the costs, it is most likely that it would be
much cheaper to provide a tanker fleet and solve the gas problem by
the cheapest of the available alternatives. The tanker solution would
have the added advantage of not having to wait for available throughput
capacity in the main pipeline from Prudhoe.
The above assumptions are based upon the existence of only one
major oil pipeline and one major gas line from the North Slope to the
south. Opposition of conservationists will be likely to limit oil and
gas delivery systems to one pipeline for each. However, a major energy
crisis and the presence of extremely vast reserves in the Arctic could
60
change this picture and make imperative the provision of several de
livery systems.
The following table showing low and high estimates of cargo flows
based on oil and gas development is based on the assumptions found in
the preceding projections. With so many variables, it is impossible
to offer these projections as anything other than an educated guess
of what the future may bring. The estimates of cargo flow presume
that NPR No. 4 is explored by either the Navy or the oil industry
under agreement with the Navy sometime in the next two decades, and
that only one major oil and one major gas line will be built to the
south, It should be noted that even with this most optimistic outlook
for oil and gas development, the annual inbound cargo requirements
would still be small compared to major cargo flows elsewhere.
A policy of restricted leasing in order to control exploration
would tend to even out cargo requirements, but some degree of erraticism
will probably continue.
Fisheries and Aquatic Animals
The fisheries resources of the llorthwest are limited in potential
and, with one exception, attempts to establish a fish processing indus
try have failed. High operating costs, erratic catch levels, under
capitalization, and high transportation rates have been the reasons
for failure. Despite their lack of commercial potential, the North
west fisheries are adequate for subsistence fishing and hunting.
Table II-14
Potential One-Time Inbound Cargo Flows to Support Onshore Oil and Gas Development in Northwest Alaska
Central Area Western Area of North SloEe NPR No. 4 of North SloEe Total Low High Low High Low High Low High Est. Est. Est. Est. Est. Est. Est. Est.
(1,000 tons)
Prudhoe Bay Oil Field Development 190 240 190 ~40
Pipeline Construction 50 100 100 100 50 300
Gas Line Construction 200 250 100 100 200 450
Exploration 1,000 1,500 1,250 2,000 250 400 2,500 3,900
Other Field °' Development 1,000 soo soo 2,oou .....
---Total 1,440 3,090 1,250 2,700 2SO 1,100 2,940 6,E90
Annual Average 10-Year Development 144 309 12S 270 2S 110 294 689
20-Year Development 72 1S4. s 62.S 13S 12. s SS 147 344.5
Potential Contunuing Annual Cargo Flows 10 30 10 10 10 50
Source: Walter B. Parker's calculations.
62
Norton Sound
Norton Sound is the best fishery in the Northwest, and is rich in
fish species if not in numbers. There are king, pink, silver, and
chum salmon, herring, many varieties of demersals, king crab, and
shrimp in the marine environment, besides large resident populations
of seals and beluga whales. In the rivers, besides the salmon, dolly
varden, whitefish, and herring are plentiful.
The Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska
estimated that if a fishery could be developed it might return between
$447,000 and $738,000 in 1968 prices to the local economy (see Table
11-15). The lessening reliance upon fish for dog food with the advent
of snow machines makes this fishery even more possible now.53
There have been several attempts to market Norton Sound fisheries
products in the past decade. Many have relied upon air transportation
with little success. The problem has not only been one of high costs
but of maintaining product quality during transshipment at Nome and
in Anchorage. The volume of business has not make it worthwhile to
establish the necessary freezer and cold room facilities necessary to
market either a frozen or truly fresh product.
A combination of local ownership through a cooperative and the
availability of centralized freezer facilities could encourage the
development of this fishery resource. A joint facility for processing
reindeer and fish products has been suggested to operate in conjunction
with the joint city-state reindeer slaughterhouse now existing in Nome. 54
There have been no studies made on expanding the Norton Sound
fishery beyond its present riverine and close onshore range. As early
Species
1966 .Production
Chum Fishery
King Fishery
Pink Fishery
Coho Fishery
Total
1970 Estimate
Chum Fishery
King Fishery
Pink Fishery
Coho Fishery
Herring Fishery
Salmon Caviar
Other Species
Total
63
Table Il-15
Fisheries Production and Potential, Norton Sound Area
Number of Fish Value (FOB Norton Sound)
Level:
560,000 $ 54,000
31,000 6,200
38,000 3,000
40,000 4,800
$ 68,000
600,000 - 1,000,000 $180,000 - $300,000
50,000 - 70,000 25,000 - 35,000
200,000 - 400,000 20,000 - 40,000
100,000 - 200,000 40,000 - 80,000
500,000 - 1,000,000 35,000 - 70,000
57,000 - 93,000
300,000 - 400,000 90,000 - 120,000
$447,000 $738,000
Long Run Additions
Bottom Fish 300,000 - 600,000 $ 15,000 - $ 30,000
Total $462,000 - $768,000
Source: United States Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Subregional Economic Analysis of Alaska, Anchorage, 1968.
64
as 1948 king crab and shrimp were taken in encouraging numbers near
Nome by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (now the Bureau of Sport
Fisheries and Wildlife). 55 Little more information exists now as to
the extent of high value stocks farther offshore.
Kotzebue Sound and Its Associated River Systems
The Kotzebue area fisheries have extremely limited potential but
form an important segment of the present economic base for the region.
The formation of the Kotzebue Sound Area Fisheries Cooperative in 1968
has brought higher incomes to the local fishermen and brought about a
better utilization to the catch (see Table 11-16). The co-op is
operating a modern freezing and processing plant.
The most important fish run in the area is chum salmon (the least
valuable of the salmonids). Arctic char (dolly varden), sheefish and
whitefish are important. Some of the finest grayling, in terms of size
and overall sport fish quality in Alaska, inhabit the Kobuk and Noatak
River systems. Beluga whale and seal inhabit Kotzebue Sound. Some
small-scale expansion of the fishery may be possible through utiliza
tion of other species and wintertime fishing of inland waters.
Northwest and Arctic Coasts
Whale, seal, and walrus hunting are important to the coastal villages
from Kotzebue to Barrow. Whale hunting especially retains great social
and psychological importance in the village culture. The bowhead whale
migrates through the Bering Strait as soon as ice conditions permit,
and during whale hunting all other daily activity stops.
Year
1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 19683
Notes: 1)
2)
Table II-16
Dollar Value Estimates of Kotzebue District Commercial Fishery, 1962-1968
Gross Value of Catch to Fishermen
$45,500.00 9' 140. 00
34,660.00 18' 000.00 25,000.00 28,700.00 46,000.00
$
Wages1 Earned
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
15,000.00 11,000.0o+
Total Income to District
$ N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
43,700.00 57,000.00+
Wholesale Value of Pack2
$304,500.00 113,316.00 158,020.00 83,294.00 84,630.00
100,450.00 62,000.00
Includes wages paid to tender boat operators, processing plant employees in district.
Based on type of processing when fish were shipped out of the district.
3) First year of operation for Kotzebue Sound Area Fisheries Cooperative.
Source: 1968 Annual Report, Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Area, Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, p. 108.
=' i,...;
66
Walrus ivory, baleen from whales, and animal skins form the basic
materials for the Native handicrafts which constitute home industry for
Northwest Alaska. For some families the income from their ivory carving,
skinwork, or other art form may be the only source of independent cash
income.
Seal hunting remains the basis of the Eskimo subsistence economy.
The phasing out of dog teams by snow machines means the total meat
requirement of some families will decrease by as much as two-thirds.
Ardent hunters tend to retain dogs in order to have an excuse to hunt
and also to retain the old ways intact.
Whitefish is the major fish food for Barrow and most of the other
villages along these coasts. Arctic char, smelt, grayling, and some
salmon are also taken, as are the tomcod. Little is known of the
fisheries of the rivers emptying into the Arctic Ocean, but a number
of whitefish and char have been taken intermittently from the Colville
throughout the years.
The fisheries and other marine resources of the Arctic Ocean are
also largely unknown. The Japanese took 92 tons of chum salmon in the
Chukchi Sea with one vessel in a two-month period in 1966. Little is
known about further Japanese or Soviet efforts north of the Bering
S . 56 traits.
Any major effort to utilize the pelagic stocks of Norton Sound
and the ocean areas to the north would more likely be made by an open
ocean fishing fleet rather than coastal fishing boats and thus would
have little effect upon the regional economy.
67
In all, there is little likelihood that a commercial fishery of
any magnitude can be maintained on the living resources of the rivers
from Point Hope to the Canadian border.
Reindeer Husbandry
Commercial agriculture in Northwest Alaska is confined to the
reindeer industry. The history of the reindeer in Alaska, beginning
with its introduction in 1892, is tangled, controversial and for the
purposes of this study largely irrelevant. The most important fact
about the reindeer industry -- the meteoric rise in animal numbers
fr.om 1890-1930 and the equally rapid fall -- is shown in Figure ll-4.
Other important points are few: (1) the actual raising of large
numbers of reindeer is biologically-speaking relatively easy; but (2)
the current system of ownership and management of reindeer has not
been able to develop reindeer herding into a dependable growing source
of income to the Natives as intended; and (3) even if management were
improved and reindeer numbers grow, a market for reindeer meat outside
rural Alaska has not developed.
57 Total reindeer at present number around 30,000, up from an early
fifties low of less than 20,000. Two community herds produce reindeer
for subsistence, two governn1ent her~s are protected as wild reindeer,
and the remaining eleven herds are a combination of subsistence and
small commercial operations (see Table 11-17). Most reindeer herding
is done on the Seward Peninsula.
Production of reindeer meat has been relatively stable over the
past decade with most of it going to supply domestic markets in the
700,000
600, 000
500,000
400,000
300 ,000
200,000
100,000
1890
68
Figure Il-4
Estimated Number of Reindeer by Years, Alaska, 1892 to 1965
r-' I \ I \ I ' I ~ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
A~ I l... ' I \
I I I l
I \
II \ I \
;' \ I I \
I \ ,,.., ,.,J "'".;. _,,,,,, / \,,..,
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960
Source: John D. Abraharason, Westward Alaska, The Native Economy and Its Resource Base, Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Anchorage, 1968, p. 79.
69
Table II-17
Individual Reindeer Herd Operations, 1948-68*
Estimated Herd Size Village or Region 1948 1958 1968
Golovin 1,542 5,231 5,000 Kiwalik 600 Kotzebue 2,600 Selawik-Smith/Gray 1,332 1,537 1,320 Shungnak 400 Barrow Village 600 Point Barrow 1,250 Cape Halkett 400 Teller 650 2,250 3,000 Candle 3,500 961 Deering 1,100 1,029 Cape Espenberg 1,562 2,086 Buckland 1,500 1,700 Selawik-Shelden 1,000 Selawik-Skin 1,800 Noorvik 900 Unalakleet 650 195 Noatak 1,097 Bervig Mission 600 Koyuk 480 Nome-Davies 500
Total 9,374 22,127 16,871
*Table does not include two government herds at Nunivak and Nome and two community herds at St. Lawrence and Stebbins.
Source: 1948: Charles Rouse, C.R. Montjoy, and D.M. Belcher, Reindeer Survey - 1948, made jointly by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Native Service (July-September 1948), p. 1-16; 1958: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Annual Land Operations Report, 1958, p. 11-12; 1968: Herd estimates by BLM (data compiled and tabulated by Dean F. Olson, in Alaska Reindeer Herdsmen, ISEGR, University of Alaska, 1969, p. 70-73.
70
villages and larger towns of western Alaska. Some by-products are
marketed hides as tourist items, as raw leather to manufacturers
and antlers to Korea and other parts of the Orient. Table 11-18
shows reindeer meat production in Alaska.
Year
Table Il-18
Reindeer Meat Production for All Alaska
Pounds (dressed weight) Dollar Value
1962-66 (average) 1967
552,540 614,900 739,000 569,800 602,800
215,000 257,000 324,000 269,900 294,688
1968 1969 1970
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Statistical Reporting Service, Alaska Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, Alaska Agricultural Statistics, 1968-69-70 (annual series), cooperating with Alaska Division of Agriculture, Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station, Palmer, and Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska.
Private range allotments for reindeer totalled 10,133,584 acres
in 1968, and extended throughout the Seward Peninsula and the area be-
tween Kotzebue and Selawik. The range is under the control of the
Bureau of Land Management, but management has not been a problem in
recent years because the herds are so small.
Since statehood, the reindeer industry has received scrutiny as a
possible development focus for Northwest Alaska but little progress has
been made. Major roadblocks in the way include confusion over subsis-
tence versus commercial production goals; ownership and management
71
personnel and techniques; an<l production techniques and marketing <irrangc~
men ts.
Traditionally reindeer have been slaughtered on the open range near
their home village during the winter months. The herd owner serves as
producer, processor, and wholesaler since he usually sells direct to his
destination retailer. Labor costs of rounding-up and slaughtering the
deer are usually paid in meat; thus, less than half of the carcasses
58 produce sales revenue for the owner.
Under a typical range slaughter operation, an owner may slaughter
600 deer from his herd of 2,000. Of this number some 330 may be used
up in camp meat and as payment for direct labor, leaving 270 carcasses
to be sold. Assuming a dressed weight of 150 pounds, a total of 40,500
pounds becomes available for sale. The deer are usually sold at 40 cents
per pound but freight and operating expenses usually take half this amount,
so the eventual profit to the owner is about $8,000 or $13. 33 per deer of
59 those slaughtered.
The range slaughter system serves as a means of redistribution of
wealth within the village and also provides the non-deer owners with a
source of meat for the winter. Any other system introduced, such as a
centralized slaughter house, will have to take this factor into account
and make allowances for it or risk upsetting the entire village economy
of the Seward Peninsula.
The State of Alaska has built a $60,000 slaughter house at Nome to
act as a central processing point for the reindeer of the Seward Peninsula.
The plant has not been able to begin operation to date because of adminis
trative difficulties. In order to use the facility, the deer must be
72
herded to Nome where they are to be sold on the basis of live weight, A
proposed price of 12-1/2 cents per pound is planned. Under this system
the herd of 600 reindeer would have a live weight of about 120,000 pounds
based on 200 pounds per deer. A gross of $15,000 would be received from
which must be paid operating, direct labor, and transportation expenses.
Since direct labor costs would be paid in cash now instead of meat, the
expenses for bringing 600 deer to market might be higher than the price
of slaughtering them on the open range. It does not seem probable that
the herder will wind up with any more in net profit than he receives
from the open range operation.
The main advantage of the slaughter house is that the meat would -·--·-·--------~--·-·--
receive federal and state certification for sale, thus opening the
way to an expanded market. The disadvantages are that the central
slaughtering procedure is inconvenient and less profitable for the
individual Native owners.
The Alaska State Division of Agriculture has a continuing research
program on market potential for reindeer products. They estimate that
a probable market exists for one million pounds of meat in Alaska pro-
vided that prices can be adjusted to make reindeer meat more competitive
with beef and more attractive processing can be achieved.
In 1930, 2.5 million pounds of meat were exported to the West
Coast from Alaska. Since the population of the West Coast has almost
tripled since that time, the consumer potential is still there. However,
meat distributors could be reluctant to venture into reindeer, even as
a speciality item, in a period when beef, chicken and other standard
meat products are having great difficulty in holding their market
73
positions. ~1oreover, the reindeer's history of precipitous increaHe
and decline adds to the indecision over market expansion.
The advisability of increasing reindeer herds to the point where
they will compete with the caribou for range must be carefully studied.
During the 1930's, no one observed caribou migration, but it is thought
that the reindeer were beginning to drive them off the range. At
present, however, fears of overlarge reindeer herds seems premature
in light of the difficulties herders have experienced in trying to
expand herds at all.
Tourism and Recreation
Perhaps more than any area in the state, the Northwest presents
the opportunity for developing a year-round tourist industry. The
Northwest Region fits the tourist's conception of Alaska: it has
Eskimos, arctic vistas, and, in Nome, traces of the gold rush's most
famous boom town. A harsh climate turns into an asset ·for the tourist
who wants to experience the "real Arctic," Eskimo culture in winter,
i.e., dog sledding, ice fishing, etc., which is closer to tourist
expectations of Eskimo life than the fishing and seasonal work culture
of the summer months.
Tourism and recreation are at this time limited to three main
categories of visitors: (1) tourists taking air package tours on Wien
Consolidated or Alaska Airlines to Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, and Prudhoe
Bay; (2) sportsmen who hunt marine animals along the coasts and on the
icepack, and hunt land animals in the Brooks Range; and, (3) a few
independent travellers who come by private plane or scheduled airline.
74
The estimated 15,000 tourists who visited Northwest Alaska in
1971 were one of the prime generators of cash flows into the regional
60 economy. If their number can be increased and more especially if
their length of stay can be increased, touris1n can provide a firm base
for employment of several hundred people in the region. Tourists will
continue to travel by air, and will not directly affect waterborne com-
merce except as an indirect stimulus to purchase of equipment and
supplies.
In order to maximize the tourist attractions of Northwest Alaska,
a 1968 study recommended that Barrow, Kotzebue and Nome each develop
those attractions which are unique to itself and minimize duplication.61
In this way, tourists will be encouraged to visit each community in the
area and increase their total stay in the region.
The study suggested that Barrow should concentrate on dramatizing
the Eskimo's life to the tourist; Kotzebue should concentrate on the
hunting and fishing aspects of Eskimo life; while Nome's mining atmos-
62 phere should be further enhanced. Prudhoe Bay has since joined the
ranks of tourist attractions, and it is a showcase of Arctic oil <level-
opment.
Nome
The impact of tourism on Nome, as on the other communities, will
continue to be linked to the package tours furnished by Wien Consolidated
and Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines has made a major investment in Nome
and now operates all three of the modern hotels in the community, plus
the better restaurant facilities. Alaska's employment of as many as
75
forty workers makes the airline a major Nome employer.
Tourism makes jobs for Nome's population and supplies a market
for Eskimo handicraft items which are a major source of income for
many residents. In fact, the limited supply has been exceeded by demand
and cheap imports are being sold in place of handmade items. Despite
the rush of business, large incomes do not accrue to the skin sewers
and ivory carvers of Nome; their incomes are limited by their production,
and it is the rare artist who can produce over $2,000 in work for the
year.
The airlines offer several tourist attractions for the tourist in
Nome tours of the adjacent gold workings and dredges, Eskimo dances,
and dog sled rides. However, little is done to extend the stay of the
traveller on the Seward Peninsula. Nearby attractions such as the Imuruk
lava beds, hot springs, and reindeer herds hold potential interest for
the tourist,
/ Kotzebue
Tourism in Kotzebue is limited by the number of overnight accom-
modations. The small number of lodgings available are not of the same
quality as those in Nome and need upgrading if Kotzebue is to secure a
share of the overnight tourist business.
In many ways, this community offers more than Nome or Barrow in
excursions for tourists interested in penetrating rural Alaska. River
boat trips on the Kobuk and Noatak have been offered but the main em-
phasis of these trips has been on sport fishing. Both rivers have
beautiful valleys and offer a unique wilderness experience with minimum
76
exertion by the traveller. The Noatak Valley is virtually unpopulated
above the village of Naotak. The Kobuk River is lined with small villages
and old sites that offer a glimpse of the present and past woodland culture
of the Eskimos.
Kotzebue lists itself as the polar bear hunting capital of the world.
The community is headquarters for over one hundred hunters every spring,
each of whom stays from two days to two weeks. The influx of hunters
has brought a cash flow into the sluggish winter economy. However, as
polar bear hunting is restricted, this source of income will diminish.
Barrow
Barrow has appeal to visitors for three reasons: it is the northern
most community in the United States and on the North American continent;
it is the largest Eskimo village in North America; and, it is the field
base for American arctic research.
New hotel facilities have been built at Barrow but the town is still
woefully deficient in accommodations. The Northwest Development Corpora
tion has been trying to promote a new terminal building for the airport
which would form the nucleus for a complex designed to better serve
visitors. This project would be a joint federal/state/local/private
operation and has experienced some of the most involved coordinating in
the history of the state.
Tourists at Barrow have been generally restricted to the sights
immediately around the village with some tours to the Will Rogers-Wiley
Post monument. Dances and dog sled rides are staged here for tourists
as in Nome and Kotzebue.
77
The Naval Arctic Research Laboratory at Point Barrow has a large
collection of arctic animals which is generally not available for public
viewing. The basis for a unique arctic zoo exists here, a facility which
would enhance the research aspects of the animal collection while making
it available to the public. However, no plans for such a zoo exist at
present.
Barrow is suited to be the site of an Eskimo cultural center similar
to centers operated elsewhere by the National Park Service. A cultural
center could provide the most comprehensive display possible of the
Arctic Eskimo (Inupik) way of life, past and present. The center would
preserve the rhythm of the hunting cycle throughout the year and climax
with the whaling festivals held in Barrow every spring. The current of
Eskimo life is still strong in Barrow, and a cultural center could be
integrated into village life as a living expression of the culture of
the Inupik-speaking peoples.
Prudhoe Bay
Wien Consolidated Airlines converted an oil company camp into a
visitors camp at Prudhoe Bay in the summer of 1971. Located at Deadhorse
Airport, it provides the first accommodations for the casual visitor to
this part of Alaska. It seems likely that the oil fields will continue
to have some attraction, especially if exploration and development
activity begins again.
78
Footnotes
1. Miller B. Spangler, New Technology and Marine Resource Development, 1970, p. 222-23.
2. Henry C. Berg and Edward H. Cobb, Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska, 1967, p. 108.
3. Frederick C. Lu, Lawrence C. Heiner and DeVerle P. Harris, Known and Potential Ore Reserves, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1968, p. 1.
4. Interview with Ron Sheardowne, Manager, Lost River Mining Company, at Lost River, August 26, 1971.
5. "Optimism Reigns at Lost River," Alaska Construction & Oil, Vol. 12 (9),p.24.
6. Ibid.
7. Sheardowne interview.
8. In an interview with Mrs. Edith Bullock of PAC Barge Lines on October 14, 1971, she stated that she believed that the land claims would make it more difficult to get the cheap labor which she had relied upon as the operator of the lightering service at Kotzebue, B & R Tug and Barge, and which Kennecott .had also relied upon. Mrs. Bullock did not believe that B & R could have operated and paid going Anchorage wage rates.
9. Lawrence E. Heiner and Ernest N. Wolff, Mineral Resources of Northern Alaska, 1968, p. 18.
10. Frederick C. Lu, op. cit., p. 20-21.
11. Tim Bradner, "Nome Plays the Wai ting Game," Alaska Construction & Oil, Vol. 10(5), May 1969, p. 25.
12. Miller B. Spangler, op. cit., p. 222.
13. Clark & Groff Engineers, Nomeport, A Preliminary Investigation of a Deepwater Harbor at Nome, Alaska, 1968.
14. Leonard L. Fischman, The Economic Potential of the i1ineral and Botanical Resources of the U.S. Continental Shelf and Slope, Springfield, Virginia, Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, September 1968, p. 385-86.
15. Hiller B. Spangler, op. cit., p. 234.
16. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral and Water Resources of Alaska, 1964, p. 116.
79
17. Lawrence E. Heiner, op. cit. , P· 18.
18. Frederick c. Lu, op. cit. , P· 32.
19. Tim Bradner, op. cit. , P· 18.
20. Mining World, February 1962, p. 21.
21. Federal Field Connnittee for Development Planning in Alaska, Economic Outlook for Alaska, 1971, p. 169.
22. Lawrence E. Heiner, op. cit., p. 20.
23. Federal Field Connnittee for Development Planning in Alaska, A Subregional Economic Analysis of Alaska, 1968, p. 340.
24. U.S. Geological Survey, Locatable Mineral Resources in Alaska, unpublished report to the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Anchorage, March 1971.
25. Alaska State Housing Authority, Kotzebue, Alaska Comprehensive Development Plan, March 1971, p. 36.
26. R.M. Chapman and F.C. Sable, Geology of the Utukok-Corwin Region, Northwestern Alaska, 1960.
27. J.E. Callahan, Geology of T. lS, R. 441, Unsurveyed Umiat Principal Meridian, in the Kukpowruk Coal Field, Alaska, U.S.
28. Alexander A. Wanek, Coking Coal Potential in Alaska, February 1971.
29. Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha Ltd., Coking Coal Imported by Japanese Steel Industry, May 25, 1969.
30. Ibid.
31. Arlon R. Tussing, Salvatore Comitini, et. al., Alaska-Japan Economic Relations, ISEGR, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1968.
32. F.C. Schrader, A Reconnaissance in Northern Alaska, USGS Professional Paper No. 20, Washington, D. C. , 1904.
33. Donald P. Blasko, "Regional Economic Development Plan and Program for Alaska, Resource Fuels, Petroleum, Natural Gas, 11 U.S. Bureau of Mines, unpublished paper prepared for the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Anchorage Field Operation Center, February 1971, p. 16.
34. Ibid., p. 17-18.
80
35. Walter J, Meade and Phlllip E. Sorenson, "A National Defense Petroleum Reserve Alternative to Oil Import Quotas," unpublished paper, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1971.
36. Cabinet Task Force on Oil Import Control, The Oil Import Question, Washington, D.C., February 1970, p. 306.
37. Donald P. Blasko, op. cit., p. 17.
38. Federal Aviation Agency, Alaska Plan for the Arctic Region, Anchorage, December 1969, p. 23 (information computed from Alaska Division of Oil and Gas records).
39. Alaska Department of Labor, Statistical Quarterly 1960-70, Juneau, 1971.
40. Information received from Homer Burrell, Director, Alaska Division of Oil and Gas, in an interview on September 10, 1971. This infdrmation was submitted to the Division of Oil and Gas at the Prudhoe Bay field unitization hearings.
41. It has been stated several times by British Petroleum and Atlantic Richfield personnel that they expect the permanent operating force at Prudhoe Bay not to exceed 400 men. The major component on inbound freight will be gasoline and jet fuel. Personnel support requirements are expected to be very small.
42. Information furnished by oil companies to the Federal Aviation Administration's North Slope working group in November 1968.
43. Arlan R. Tussing, George W. Rogers and Victor Fischer, Alaska Pipeline Report, ISEGR, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1971, p. 56.
44. Interview with Homer Burrell, September 9, 1971.
45. About 600,000 tons of freight was hauled to the North Slope for the oil companies by barge, winter road, and aircraft between 1963 and 1968. About half of this total was material for the pipeline and the permanent development at Prudhoe Bay.
46. Miller B. Spangler, .£11 · cit. , p. 156.
47. Walter J. Meade, op. cit.
48. Ibid. , p. 16.
49. Ibid. , p. 18.
so. Ibid, , p. 13-15.
81
51. There have been about 300,000 tons hauled to Pru<lhoe thus fnr for field development and another 200,000 tons are estimated to be necessary to complete the unitization program.
52. Information received from the presentation by the Northwest Gas Study Group at the Alaska Legislature Pipeline Committee (Croft Committee hearings on September 29, 1971).
53. Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, op. cit.
54. Alaska Consultants, Nome Comprehensive Development Plan, Alaska State Housing Authority, Anchorage, 1968, p. 74.
55. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Alaska, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1959, p. 36.
56. Phillip E. Chitwood, Japanese, Soviet, and South Korean Fisheries of Alaska, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Washington, D.C., January 1969, p. 15.
57. Alaska Consultants, op. cit., p. 68.
58. Ibid., p. 88.
59. Ibid., p. 88. Cost model is based on figures developed by Dean Olson for average production costs of reindeer meat.
60. Preliminary estimate obtained from Wien Consolidated Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
61. Cresap, McCormick and Paget, Management Consultants, A Program for Increasing the Contribution of Tourism to the Alaskan Economy, prepared for the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Travel Division, Department of Economic Development, State of Alaska, p. VII-38.
62. Ibid. , p. VII-41.
CHAPTER III SPECIAL FACTORS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Changes in Land Ownership
Alaska Native Fund Payments
Fonn of Government
83
Changes in Land Ownership*
The great bulk of the land of Northwest Alaska is owned by the
federal government with the exception of lands that are tentatively
approved for patent to the State of Alaska along the Arctic Coast be-
tween the Colville and Canning Rivers. This situation will change
markedly during the next few years because the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act authorized the selection of large tracts by the Eskimo
inhabitants of the Northwest and made possible the resumption of state
land selections by removing the reason for the "land freeze" imposed
by the Secretary of the Interior in 1966. After state and Native land
selections are over, about 20 million acres will have passed out of
federal ownership. (See Table III-19.)
The State of Alaska has tentatively selected several areas in the
Northwest as shown in Figure III-5. At present it is not known whether
the State will have priority in selecting these lands over the Secretary
of the Interior, who was given permission by the Congress under the Native
Claims Act to withdraw up to 80 million acres for possible inclusion in
the National Parks, National Wildlife Refuge, and Wild Rivers systems. 1
There can be little doubt that some changes in development strate-
gies and patterns will result from these changes in land ownership. The
changes will be different in scope and rate for each of the three regions
making up Northwest Alaska.
*This section was completed prior to the Secretary of Interior's March 15, 197~ announcement of extensive federal withdrawals. However, the map on page 85 does reflect these withdrawals.
Region
Seward
Kobuk
North
84
Table III-19
Native, State, and Federal Lands,a Existing and Planned for Acquisition in Northwest Alaska
Native State b Federal (thousands of acres)
Peninsula 1,857 4,032 l,936c
2,562 3,162 10,630d
Slope 4,806 5,300f 34,76le
Total 9,225 12, 494 47,327
Total
7,825
16 ,354
44,867
69,046
Notes: aDoes not include withdrawals of March 15, 1972.
b Excluding federal and unappropriated public lands.
c Includes proposals in the Imuruk Basin and along the Shis-maref coast. The Department of Interior has taken no position as yet on its Alaskan selections under the Native Claims Act and the above are national interest lands that have been identified by various government agencies.
d • Includes the Kobuk Sand Dunes, Onion Portage, Upper Noatak Valley, and the headwaters of the Kobuk around Walker Lake.
elncludes the existing reserves plus small areas around Cape Lisburne and small additions to the Arctic National Wildlife Range.
fExisting, tentatively approved and applied for state lands north of the Brooks Range.
Source: Alaska Federation of Natives, 1971; press release by the Office of the Governor of Alaska as reported in the Anchorage Daily News, 1972; and the Alaska Wilderness Council from the Bureau of Land Management.
•
..
CHUKCHI
PC:NT HOPE
-t,;,,. <"~'9
(I~
SEA
.!'ov
"'"
. . BEAUFORT SEA
.-.-·KA-~vnc
I
\ I I
\ I I
·· -.. _:'i~A~i: :-i,O;:: ::llll!llllllllllllllli'' •i,.~f~l~,~111\I _, . , \
LEGrnD NORTON SOUND fifillH Lands selected by Stote
Lands under Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Figure III-5
Lands Tentatively Approved for Patent to State of Alaska and State-Selected Lands and
Lands Eligible for Selection by Natives (March 28, 1972)
I I
\ I l
\ I I
...
°' "'
86
Seward Peninsula
The area referred to here as the Seward Peninsula is generally
the same as the region covered by the Bering Straits Native Association,
and is one of the districts which will form a regional corporation. Each
village in the Bering Straits Native Association will have the right to
select up to 1,856,815 acres from the 25 townships contiguous to each
village,2
under the provisions of the Native Claims Settlement Act which
call for land distribution according to population. There will be no
regional selections by the Bering Straits Native Association under the
"land lost" formula used in making regional allocations, That formula
is the means by which land will be distributed to Native corporations
according to the amount of land to which they laid aboriginal claim.
The amount of land which the population of the Seward Peninsula will
receive is equal to or greater than the amount it would receive under
the "land lost" formula.
There are Indian Reservations existing in the area at Elim and
Wales. The Wales reservation is very small, but that at Elim is con
siderably larger than the four townships that place is entitled to
select under the Act. Both villages could elect to keep their reserva
tion status by forgoing their entitlements and privileges under the land
claims legislation.
The State of Alaska has made application for 4,032,000 acres in
a single bloc in the northern part of the Seward Peninsula. 3 This
effectively separates state selections from those of the Natives which
lie generally along the southern and western coasts. The area applied
for by the state includes lands with some mineral potential and the
87
lava beds in the upper portion of the Imuruk Basin which is also being
considered as a national interest area.
State and Native proposed selections together total about 5,888,815
acres or about 70 percent of the region's land area. Possible federal
selections have not been detailed as yet but they are not expected to
be large.
Final land distribution patterns on the Seward Peninsula would
thus appear to follow a pattern of Native land holdings along the
southern and western coasts with limited private and federal holdings
interspersed. State lands would dominate the northern half of the
peninsula. The great bulk of the unreserved public domain might be
in the areas of the Darby and Bendeleben Mountains.
The bulk of the reindeer grazing lands would lie in the Native
areas and the unreserved public domain, but enough of these lands would
belong to the state to make range management a problem requiring a high
degree of inter-governmental and private cooperation. Fisheries re
sources in the coastal zone would appear to lie primarily in the Native
zones since many of the village sites were originally selected due to
their nearness to such resources.
The mineral resources of the peninsula seem to be widely distributed
enough that the federal and state governments and the Natives should have
a chance at having some valuable lands under their control. It appears
that the great bulk of potential mineral lands will remain under state
and federal control due to the nonparticipation by the Bering Straits
Native Association in regional land selection.
88
Kobuk Valley
The Northwest Native Association largely covers the Kobuk Valley
and its associated coastal areas. The regional corporation to be set
up under the Native Claims Settlement Act takes in the villages of
Deering, Candle, and Buckland, which are geographically a part of the
Seward Peninsula but which are a part of the Kotzebue trade and poli-
tical area.
This corporation will have rights to about 1,743,860 acres in
village and 818,567 acres in regional selections for a total of
4 2,562,427 acres. There is an existing Indian Reservation at Noorvik
covering about four townships (92,160 acres).
In the Kobuk, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has established
two classification areas near Bornite and on the Baldwin Peninsula
(near Kotzebue) within which permission must be secured for land
utilization. Those two areas represent the only major federal land
classifications in the Kobuk region at this time.
Application has been made by the State of Alaska for 3,162,000
acres in the vicinity of Walker Lake on the periphery of the Kobuk
region. 5 This selection may conflict with planned federal withdrawals
for the long proposed Gates of the Arctic National Park. There are no
other proposed state land selections in the Kobuk area at this time,
which would make it one of the largest regions in the state with no
state land holdings.
Other possible federal actions in this area are a Wild River desig-
nation for the Noatak above the village of Noatak (a move which has strong
support in the Kotzebue community) and a national interest lands designation
89
for the sand dunes in the central Kobuk and the archeological sites
at Onion Portage.
Generally, in the Kobuk there see~s to be little conflict between
the aims of the Northwest Native Association, the State of Alaska, and
the Federal government with the exception of the area around Walker
Lake. Native claim areas will probably surround the Kennecott mining
claims in the Bornite area which will limit expansion of the Kennecott
operation unless agreement is reached with the village and regional
corporations.
North Slope
Large existing federal withdrawals and pre-existing approved and
applied-for state selections complicate the equitable adjudication of
the competing interests in North Slope land. The two major existing
federal land withdrawals in the area now are Naval Petroleum Reserve
Number 4 (NPR No. 4) and the Arctic National Wildlife Range. Both of
these withdrawals are north of the Brooks Range and have limited the
area of private petroleum exploration to the area between the Colville
and Canning Rivers and the coastal region around Point Lay on the
Beaufort seacoast. Almost half ·of Alaska north of the Brooks Range
is encompassed in these special purpose federal withdrawals.
Total selections by the Arctic Slope Native Association could
reach 4,806,087 acres with 1,060,120 in village and 3,745,967 in re
gional selections. 6 Since regional subsurface selections cannot be
made in NPR No. 4 or the Arctic Wildlife Range, the entire regional
selection for subsurface rights will fall in the central area between
90
the Colville and Canning Rivers and along the Beaufort Sea coastline
(the area of most petroleum activity).
In its selections filed on January 24, 1972, the State of Alaska
did not identify any new lands which it wished to select north of the
Brooks Range. The region between the two federal withdrawals, south
of the previously applied for state lands and north of the Brooks
Range, is available for Native selection.
Proposals may be presented for major federal wildlife and water
fowl sanctuaries on the North Slope. These could be surface selections
in the present NPR No. 4, since such surface use could prove compatible
with any carefully controlled potential petroleum exp.loration or <level-
opment.
All of the villages in the Arctic Slope Native Association lie
wholly or in part within federal withdrawals except Point Hope and
Point Lay. Point Lay lies within a township that has been tentatively
approved for selection by the State of Alaska. Those villages lying
within the federal withdrawals will be able to select their surface
use lands from the surrounding townships, but regional selections for
subsurface rights to village lands must be made elsewhere. This will
create large blocs of land where surface rights belong to the federal
government and subsurface to the Arctic Slope Native Association, with
equally large blocs around the villages where the reverse is true. 7
There are no more than 7 ,000 ,000 acres of potentially petroliferous
land available for subsurface selection by the Arctic Slope Native Asso
ciation, and that association's regional selections could utilize almost
70 percent of this area. To a much greater degree than in the other
91
regions of the Northwest, a satisfactory North Slope settlement will
require competent cooperative management practices by the state, federal
government, and the Native regional corporation.
Alaska Native Fund Payments
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 provides for pay
ments of up to $962.5 million to individuals, to village corporations
and to thirteen regional corporations. Part of the money will be dis
tributed on the basis of population, and part of the basis of "land
lost," or the land area claimed to which the people had aboriginal
rights. The Northwest Region has roughly one-fifth of the state's
Native population, and so can anticipate receiving around one-fifth
of the total money distributed. The Congress has authorized $462.5
million in treasury funds to be disbursed to Natives according to a
fixed schedule. Also, the Congress has required the State of Alaska
and the United States to pay two percent of all rents, royalties and
bonuses up to $500 million from Alaska mineral leases to the Natives.
A combination of the Settlement Act's schedule of treasury payments
with a projected schedule of royalties from Prudhoe Bay oil production
results in a ballpark projection of the revenues per year to Alaska
Natives, and to the Northwest Region in particular. This estimate
ignores mineral and timber revenues from Native-owned lands and other
revenues, assumes that the trans-Alaska pipeline begins operating in
1975, and assumes that no other further major oil fields go into pro-
8 duct ion.
As can be seen from Table III-20 the Northwest Region as a whole
will be receiving an amount of between $2.5 and $12.5 million, of
Year
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
92
Table Ill-20
Preliminary Estimate of Income to Northwest Region from Native Claims Settlement
Prudhoe Bay -Northwest From Oil Northwest
From U.S. Region Rents, Bonuses Region Treasury Share and Royalties* Share
(millions of dollars)
12.5 2.5 50.0 10.0 70.0 15.0 40.0 8.0 12.3 2.5 30.0 6.0 25.5 5.1 30.0 6.0 27.2 5.4 30.0 6.0 29.0 5.8 30.0 6.0 30.7 6.1 30.0 6.0 32.6 6.5
34.3 6.9 35.6 7.1 36.1 7.2
Total Northwest Income
2.5 10.0 15.0 10.5 11.1 11.4 11. 8 12.1 12.5 6.9 7.1 7.2
118.1
*It has been assumed that total mineral income will include nine-tenths Prudhoe Bay oil royalties and rentals, and one-tenth income from other mineral production ($50 million). Of that amount, 20 percent or $10 million is added to the Northwest total.
Source: House of Representatives, 92nd Congress, 1st Session, Report No. 92-746, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, December 13, 1971.
Arlon R. Tussing, George W. Rogers and Victor Fischer, Alaska Pipeline Report, University of Alaska, Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, Fairbanks, 1971, p. 79.
93
which ten percent goes to the village corporation, but the village cor
porations may elect to contribute their share to joint projects with the
regional corporation, This means that a maximum of $2.2 to $11.2 million
will be available per year to the regional corporation to undertake eco
nomic development and for other purposes.
A comparison of this amount with the estimated capital requirements
of the major resource extraction ventures mentioned elsewhere in this
report (see Minerals and Mining) indicate that the Natives' money would
be inadequate to start such operations. Other enterprises such as com
mercial reindeer production or development of tourism are more consistent
with the amount of capital which is likely to be available.
In addition, a significant portion of the Natives' income is likely
to go to physical plant improvements such as housing, utilities and other
construction projects. This form of spending would generate carge re
quirements, as would the higher incomes of individual Natives. These
increases are included in the projected cargo requirements in Chapter V,
Future Prospects for Waterborne Commerce.
Form of Government
All of Northwest Alaska is included in an undergoverned entity
known as the Unorganized Borough. Alaska's form of regional government,
the borough, has never been extended to these regions. There are a few
state offices in the Northwest, and most services are provided by offices
in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Federal programs are administered
from a complex of regional organizations that is gradually being centralized
in Seattle with suboffices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau, The Northwest
94
Region's distance from govern1nent centers and its lack of a regional
government means that small villages must often negotiate in their own
behalf with sophisticated bureaucracies.
Local Government
Local government is provided by cities, unincorporated villages,
and groups developed by the Rural Alaska Community Action Program
(RurALCAP). Of the 35 communities in Northwest Alaska, 20 are incor-
porated as fourth class cities and only one, Nome, is a first class
city (see Table 111-21).
The reason why the towns chose a fourth class position is that
fourth class cities do not have to pay for the operation and maintenance
of local schools. Most of these communities cannot even begin to approach
having the tax base necessary to support their schools and probably will
not in the foreseeable future despite generous matching funds available
from the State of Alaska. However, a fourth class community may Il;Ot
levy property taxes and special assessments. Thus, they are severely
limited in their ability to improve or add other urban services.
The major incorporated communities rely upon a sales tax for the
bulk of their revenues. Nome, the only city with property taxing power,
collects almost as much from its three percent sales tax as from its
9 property assessments. Barrow also has a three percent sales tax, as
does Kotzebue. This represents the ceiling for both communities per-
mitted under state law. The total revenues for Barrow and Kotzebue,
including state-shared revenues, come to about $100,000 each compared
10 to about $533 ,000 for Nome. Since Barrow and Kotzebue are five to
95
Table III-21
Number of Communities in Northwest Alaska, Qualified and Incorporated as Cities
Cities First Class Second Class Fourth Class Total
Region Qual. In corp. Qual. Incorp. Qual. Incorp. Qual. In corp.
Seward Peninsula 2 1 14 8 16 9
Kobuk Valley 3 9 10 12 10
North Slope 1 5 1 2 7 2
Total 6 1 28 1 20 35 21
Source: Alaska Municipal League Directory, 1972.
to six times larger than the next largest villages in their area, the
revenue of the smaller villages must be on the order of five to ten
times smaller than $100,000. Meager revenues mean that the cities are
extremely limited in the services they may provide.
The City of Nome has reached the point where it offers all normal
city services, including utilities, to the community. Sewer and water
are provided to the downtown area only and will be difficult and expen-
sive to expand as they are everywhere in the Arctic. Kotzebue and
Barrow also provide the normal urban services but to a much more
restricted degree. Nome is the only community having control of its
own school system; and even there the state regional high school plays
a significant role in community education.
96
Only two of the Northwest towns, .Nome and Barrow, have city managers.
Kotzebue has a full-time city clerk. In all of the other incorporated
towns and villages, the civic government is handled by part-time or
volunteer efforts, usually of the village council members.
The makeup of the village council will usually determine the overall
trend and life style of the village. Some communities are extremely
strict in enforcement of local ordinances on dog control, drunkenness,
waste disposal, and other such problems while others are lax. Often a
new council will significantly change the overall style of a community.
The individual schoolteachers and clergy in small communities can
have a major effect on villagers' moral beliefs, behavior, and attitude
towards white society and government. The representatives of the regional
Native organizations and of the Alaska Federation of Natives can also play
a part in determining village attitudes.
RurALCAP
The Rural Community Action Program in Alaska has recognized the need
to give more control of local and regional government to the affected
citizens and has formed two regional development corporations in the
area: the Inupiak Development Corporation of 18 villages that generally
falls within the area of the Bering Straits Native Association (roughly,
the Seward Peninsula); and the Kitigruk Development Corporation of 12
villages whose area clearly matches that of the Northwest Alaska Native
Association (roughly, the Kobuk area). 11 No RurALCAP organization has
been formed for the Arctic Slope but Kaktovik is a part of the Upper
Yukon Development Corporation fO rmed by RurALCAP.
97
The priorities of the development corporations, in addition to
local government, have been housing and land claims. Prior to the
passage of the Native Claims Settlement Act, RurALCAP had an active
program, in conjunction with Alaska Legal Services, to insure that
everyone entitled to a 160-acre Native land allotment registered for
his land. This program was designed to provide a fallback position
in case the Native claims were not successfully prosecuted and also
to take care of those families whose ancestral sites and lands were
beyond the confines of village and regional land selections. However,
only a very small number of Natives ever did apply for their allotment.
Other programs pursued by the development corporations have been
fisheries, co-ops, food stamp distribution, alcoholism counselling,
and arts and crafts. None of the economic development programs have
had marked success.
The executive boards of the corporations are made up of a repre
sentative from each village. There is a permanent staff of a director,
a program officer, and a secretary for each of the two groups. Each
village representative is expected to provide a focus for and leadership
of efforts in his home village. RurALCAP has provided a focal point
for the concepts of regional cooperation and government to be expressed
and developed in the Seward Peninsula and the Kobuk. It has given ex
perience in the dynamics of working together to Natives and has laid
a base for both the regional corporations called for by the Native
Claims Settlement ASt and any future regional governments that are es
tablished in Northwest Alaska.
98
Prospects for Regional Government
During 1970 and 1971, the Arctic Slope Native Association organized
and laid the groundwork for the creation of a borough covering all of
Alaska north of the Brooks Range. On February 25, 1972, the local
boundary commission approved a petition for incorporation as a first
class borough. Pending an election approving the plan, the borough
should become operative in the spring.
Three possible reasons why borough status is desirable are that
(a) a borough has the power to levy property taxes, (b) a borough may
issue bonds on the strength of its tax base, and (c) a borough has the
right to select up to ten percent of the unappropriated state lands
within its area. Thus, for example, the North Slope borough might be
able to tax oil company property and issue bonds for school construction.
Under Alaska law, boroughs in thinly populated areas without first
class cities may be established with a five-man borough assembly, a
borough manager or chairman, and a borough clerk. Thus, the bare bones
of government can be provided at a cost probably within the means of
even the poorest of the prospective local governments.12
Native asso
ciations on the Seward Peninsula and in the Kobuk area are eying the
success of the Arctic Slope Natives and may follow their example in
the near future.
The regional corporations that will be established under the claims
settlement act can easily find themselves filling the role of governments
in the absence of some other form of regional government. The net effect
could well be that funds derived from the claims and intended for economic
and social development would be diverted to provide everyday maintenance
99
services. Some fOrm of local and regional government would seem to
be a necessary corollary to the successful implementation of the re
gional corporations and other provisions of the claims settlement act.
The next twenty or thirty years will bring an increasing amount
of regional organization to Northwest Alaska, in the form of regional
corporations, boroughs, and other institutions. Insofar as economic
development and increases in commerce are concerned, the supra-village
forms of organization will be able to consolidate natural, social and
financial resources and use them more efficiently. However, the paucity
of the resources will continue to be a limiting factor.
100
Footnotes
1. Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Section 17.10.d2A.
2. Unpublished report by Ken Bass to the Alaska Federation of Natives dated December 16, 1971, p. 4.
3. Anchorage Daily News, January 23, 1972, p. 1.
4. Ken Bass, op. cit., p. 5.
5. Anchorage Daily News, op. cit.
6 . Ken Bass , op. cit. , p . 5.
7. Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Section 11.
8. Arlan R. Tussing, George W. Rogers and Victor Fischer, Alaska Pipeline Report, University of Alaska, Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, Fairbanks, 1971.
9. Alaska Municipal League 1972 Directory, Juneau, Alaska. Nome entry - sales tax $167,946.86; property taxes $172,787.87.
10. Alaska Municipal League 1972 Directory, Juneau, Alaska. Barrow and Nome entries; Kotzebue information from the comprehensive development plan for Kotzebue prepared by the Alaska State Housing Authority.
11. There are some different organizations: namely, Deering, Candle and Buckland are a part of the Bering Straits but not the Inupiak group, while Point Hope is a member of the Kokotugruk corporation but belongs to the Arctic Slope Native Association.
12. Conversation with John Shively, Director of Alaska RurALCAP, January 27, 1972.
CHAPTER IV TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN NORTHWEST ALASKA
Transportation Systems
Shipment Routes
Waterborne Transportation
Airborne Transportation
Road Network
102
Transportation Systems
Six tons of freight enter Alaska by water for every ton of freight
that enters by air; nothing enters the region by road or rail, although
there are a few intraregional roads. All passenger traffic into and out
of the region is by air. The waterborne and airborne transport system~
of Northwest Alaska meet at Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, and Prudhoe Bay
(see Figure IV-6). A limited road system serves. the southern part of
the Seward Peninsula and a network of roads radiates from Prudhoe Bay
serving oil field exploration and development in that area (see Figure
IV-7). The State of Alaska has plans to construct a road joining Nome
and Fairbanks via an expected copper mining operation at Bo mite. The
spur connecting Bomite with Fairbanks is likely to be built before
1990, but the tentative conclusion of this study is that a road all
the way from Nome to Fairbanks is not likely before the tum of the
century.
Shipment Routes
/
Seattle is the major gathering point for freight moving into North-
west Alaska. All of the seagoing tug companies that serve the Northwest,
as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs' "Norths tar" are based there.
Seattle served as homeport for Alaska Steamship Company which is no
longer in operation. The parent company of Alaska Steamship, Skinner
Corporation, is also based in Seattle, and still operates the Alaska
Trainship Corporation which runs the railcar vessel "Alaska" between
Vancouver, British Columbia and Whittier, Alaska. According to Alaska
Industry magazine, there are reports that this company plans to add an
additional railship to its line in the very near future. 1
•
; / ,,
-"" /
.,,..,,, -/CAPE LISBUR~
I -
----- ....... __.-- ••·•· - .. .. - :• - -~
••• '~ ~ PRUCHOE BARTER ISLAND . .:~'i-•&··········--
~ . I LEGEND
I I I • ..
---·-......... \ . . I \ . . I
MARINE TRANSPORTATION
AIR JET ROUTES
AIR BUSH ROUTES
I ..
•·• ••. • · . ...
... ,,,,,.-------- .... ~-
\ . . I \ . / KOTZ;;~ .....
/ SHISHM~; / \(\~~··_••••••••••••••OsHUNGNAK \ -~ __,]•
. I \ . . I \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
TO SEATTL! a I OTHER PORTS
......... . \ ,. ~:.lfeucKLAND ............... • •
/• ...... ··cANDLE ......... \ /
.. ......... ............... /... ..··· . ·v· ... ·· . - .......... ......_ O~E -'\ ~.~
•••••:.XJ.?F•-·-·-· -·-·-· -·-·~ FAl(IBANKS
I •
TO ANCHORAGI! 'TO ANCHORAG!
Figure IV-6
Existing Marine and Air Transportation Routes of Northwest Alaska
·-
•
..
BARROW
,
l I I I I I l I I I I I
BORNIT! I
~u·- K ,,?------- . l - , ---' . ---- -----\ ....... ....... _________ ,.,
COUNCii.
LEGEND
EXISTING ROADS
---- PROPOSED ROADS (MENTIONED IN TEXT}
PROPOSED RAILROADS (MENTIONED IN TEXTl
Figure IV-7
FAIRBANKS
Existing and Proposed Rail and Road Routes of Northwest Alaska
,.,.:,:
..
105
The tug companies have in recent years, however, picked up freight
for Alaska's North Slope from as far away as Japan and Texas. It was
found from the Federal Maritime Commission's study in 1964 that even
2 then freight movement patterns were changing. The Seattle wholesaler
is playing an ever decreasing role as the source of goods for Alaska.
Alaskan purchasers are more and more ordering directly from suppliers
beyond Seattle -- steel from East Coast steel mills or chickens from
the South. These goods move directly by railcar through Seattle or
other West Coast ports to Alaskan ports, such as Anchorage, Whittier,
Valdez, and Kodiak. This service eliminates excessive handling and
reduces middlemen's profits.
However, there is no direct hydrotrain service to Northwest
Alaska at present nor are any plans known. Hydrotrain service does
lower the total cost of freight movement into the Northwest by lowering
freight rates to Anchorage and Fairbanks, the principal points for for-
warding air cargo to the area.
Anchorage, with its year-round ice-free harbor and improved facil-
ities and its road and rail connections to the Interior, is the main
redistribution point for the state. Shipments to the Northwest are
usually sent by water from Seattle to Anchorage and then by air to
the Northwest. Also, in the summer months, goods are shipped from
Anchorage by rail to Nenana and then via the Yukon River into the
Interior. The only transshipments by sea that could be ascertained
from company records showed that 4,000 tons of goods were moved from
Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay in 1969, and in August of 1971 slightly over
2,000 tons of prefabricated school buildings were moved to Kotzebue
for redistribution to other villages.
106
Shipment by water to Anchorage and then transfer to air-freight
or air-mail is feasible principally because of the high cost of lighter
age in the Northwest. A combination of air and water shipping seems to
be rate competitive with existing all-water routing, is quicker and re
duces the necessity of maintaining large inventories at destination. 3
Fairbanks is another logical gateway. It is the northern terminus
of the Alaska Railroad and the Alaska Highway. Fairbanks is connected
to major southern ports by all-weather roads. Because it is Alaska's
second largest city, it generates enough demand by itself to cause
primary movement of goods into the Interior. Further, it serves as
a warehousing area for goods which come up from Anchorage by road or
rail.
Waterborne Transportation
The main advantage of water transportation is that it is cheap;
its main disadvantage is that it is slow. During the North Slope oil
exploration boom in 1968-69, water transportation was passed over in
favor of air, but a shift was made to waterborne commerce at the earliest
opportunity in the summer of 1969. 4
Waterborne transportation in North
west Alaska is not as cheap as it is elsewhere because of the lack of
deep water ports and the short ice-free season. In most ports, at
least some cargo must be offloaded to lighters and brought ashore.
World War II Liberty Ships have given way to sea-going barges as
the primary unit of waterborne commerce in the past several years.
Alaska Steamship Company, the last of the Liberty Ship operators, closed
out its operations to the Northwest in 1970, The sole remaining operator
107
of deep draft cargo vessels is the Bureau of Indian Affairs which uses
the "'Northstar" to supply freight to villages and towns of the Northwest.
A major reason for the change from ships to sea-going barges is the
lack of adequate ports. Barges can go into shallower waters, and are
cheaper to operate even with small volume loads. However, barges are ............----~-----~---- ------- - -
slower than vessels and are more prone to accidents. ~es
for barges in Alaska are among ~he hi_glil'_s_t .. in. the world. In many areas
of Northwest Alaska, even barges must anchor offshore and be partially
offloaded until the draft is sufficiently shallow to allow a landing.
Some cargo such as petroleum can be offloaded without lightering by
means of floating hoses and other equipment which obviate the need
for dockside handling.
Lighterage charges on an unweighted average of 41 commodities were
$1.35 per 100 pounds in 1965. At that time, $1.35 was approximately
one-quarter of the average deep draft vessel rate from Seattle to
Kotzebue. At present, lighterage costs constitute a comparable per-
centage of the total of freight transportation. Tables IV-22 and IV-23
contain information on the interrelation among price levels, freight
charges and lighterage rates in 1965. (More recent detailed information
was not obtainable.)
Interregional Freight
As shown in Table IV-24, the primary companies moving freight into
the region now are barge lines and barge operations of franchised petro-
leum products dealers. If the North Slope-bound cargo is subtracted from
the total freight, a net cargo to the Northwest of around 75-80,000 tons
remains for each year.
Table IV-22
Comparison of Lighterage and Ocean Freight Rates in Selected Ports of the Northwest Region - 1965a
(Rates in cents per 100 pounds or cents per cubic foot)
Commodity Des crip ti on
Commoddity Code
Appliances 3 Beverages, Malt {Beer) 5 Beverages, Alcoholic 6 Beverages, Carbonated 7 Building Materials 9 Cement (in bag) 11 Cigarettes ·12 Eggs (fresh in 14
cartons) Freight, N.O.S. 17
(100 lbs.) Freight, N.O.S. 17
(Cubic feet) Fruits & Vegetables 18
a. Fresh b. Refrigerated
Furniture, Not Com- 19 pletely K. D.
Groceries No. I N/B 20 Groceries No. II N/B 21 Household Goods 22 Insulating Material, 23 Not Wall Board or Plasterboard
Lettuce, Chilled 24
Kotzebue
B & R Tug & Barge, Ocean Light-Frei~ht erage Rate Ratec·
598-1/4 390-1/4 625 440-1/4
¢130-3/ 4 236-1/2
¢204-3/8 711-1/4
291-1/4
¢145-5/8
¢149-5/8 ¢213-5/8 ¢105-3/5
274-1/4 332-3/4 642-1/4 651-5/8
¢213-5/8
153 94
121 94
¢33 66
¢60-1/2 79
68
634
643 ¢43 ¢33
66 83
204 160
¢43
Legend: ~ Rate is in cents per cubic feet~ N/B Northbound Rate. S/B Southbound Rate.
_;:
Inc. Lighter age as % of Ocean Freight Rate
26% 24 19 21 25 28 30 11
23
23
29 20 31
24 25 32 25
20
Nome
Lomen Commercial Ocean Light-Freight Rateb
529'-l/4 360-1/4 575 397-1/4
¢114-1/2 203-1/Ze
¢195-3/8 650-1/4
274-1/4
¢137-1/8
¢140-5/8 ¢180-5/8 ¢96-3/5
256-1/4 316-3/4 567-1/4 591-5/8
¢180-5/8
er age Rated
153 125 192 no ¢31
53 ¢60-1/2 161
68
¢34
¢39-1/2 ¢39-1/2 ¢20
66 83
167 158
¢39-1/2
Company Lighter age as % of Ocean Freight Rate
29% 35 33 28 27 26 31 25
25
25
28 22 ll
26 26 29 27
22
,... 0 00
--····----~ --·~----· . ~-~-~~-~-------------------:-~ - T -·---· - -----
Table IV-22 (continued)
Kotzebue Nome Com- B & R Tug & Barge 2 Inc. Lomen Commercial ComEany mod .. Ocean Light- Lighterage Ocean Light- Lighter age
Commodity dity Freight erage as % of Ocean Freitt er age as -% of Ocean Description Code Rateb RateC Freight Rate Rate Rated Freight Rate
Lumber, Softwood, 25 $66.69f $17.60f 26% $57.68f $15.40f 27% Less 32 1
Matches 26 ¢153-5/8 ¢42 27 ¢145-5/8 ¢34 23 1·1eat 27 875-1/4 79 9 791-1/4 99 13 Oil, Petroleum & 31 ¢103-1/8 ¢29 20 ¢94-1/8 ¢25-1/2 27
fetroleum Products, viz: Lube Oil
Pipe, Iron & Steel, 32 ¢145-5/8 ¢34 23 137-1/8 ¢34 25 Less than 2411 in Diameter
Plywood, Softwood 33 321-1/4 86 27 276-1/4 83 30 ..... Potatoes (no Re- 34 274-1/4 72 26 256-1/4 66 26 0
'° frigeration) Salt , Common 36 206-1/2 68 33 186-1/2 68 36 Tire, Rubber 38 402-1/4 68 17 378-1/4 95 25 Roofing 39 ¢129-5/8 ¢33 25 ¢113-1/8 ¢31 27 Fish, Canned (1 lb. 40 200-1/4 66 33 17&-l/4 54 30 or larger)
Motor Vehicles 41 a. Private Passenger 1,187-1/4 330 28 1,117-1/4. 275 24
N/B Private Passenger 987-1/ 4 330 33 917-1/4 275 30
S/B b. Trucks, 3/4 and 1,177-1/4 330 28 1,107-1/4 275 25
Pickup N/B Trucks, 3/4 and 977-1/4 330 34 907-1/4 275 30
Pickup S/B Coal (in sacks) 44 127-1/4 51 40 117-1/4 40 34 Grapefruit 47
a. Fresh ¢149-5/8 ¢43 29 ¢140-5/8 ¢39-1/2 28 b. Refrigerated ¢213-5/8 ¢43 20 ¢180-5/8 ¢39-1/2 22
Legend: ¢ Rate is in cents per cubic feet. N/B Northbound Rste. S/B Southbound Rate.
Table IV-22 (continued)
Kotzebue Nome Com- B & R Tug & Barg_e z Inc. Lomen Commercial ComEanz mod- Ocean Light- Lighter age Ocean L~ght- Lighterage
Commodity ity Frei~ht er age as % of O::e.a.."l Frei~ht er age as % of 0 cea."1.
Description Code Rate RateC Freight Rate Rate Rated :Freight Rate
Machinery 50 a. Derricks & ¢113-1/8 ¢29 26% ¢105-1/8 ¢26-1/2 25
Gradersg Ores and Concentrates 51 150-1/2 51 34 133-1/2 40 30
S/B Wallboard (in Solid 55 374-1/4 95 25 330-1/4 83 25
Flat Sheets) Fish, Canned (Less 56 230-1/4 66 29 204-1/4 54. 26
thar. 1 lb. cans) Gasoline 58 ¢107 ¢32 30 ¢99-1/2 ¢25-1/2 26
Total 21,845-1/3 5 ,572-1/2 19,333 5,034
Average Rate 532. 81 135. 91 26% 471.53 122.78 26%
aFrom Alaska Steamship Company tariffs FMC-F No. 51, and FMC-F No. 119, and supplements thereto; B & R Tug and Barge, Inc. tariff FMC-F No. SA and supplements thereto; Lomen Commercial Company tariff FMC-F No. 9 and supplements thereto.
b These rates include wharfag,e and handling at Seattle.
~ighterage charges are based on weight or measure as shown on ocean ship's manifest.
dLighterage charges are based on weight or measure. Where rates are stated in cents per 100 pounds or cents per cubic foot, the rate which produce,s the larger revenue applies.
eA rate of 222-1/2 cents per 100 pounds on shipments of a minimum weigh; of 200,000 pounds is also applicable. This rate expired October 31, 1965.
£This rate is in dollars per 1000 board feet.
gDerricks only.
Legend: ¢ Rate is in cents per cubic feet. N/B Northbound Rate. S/B Southbolmd Rate.
,.... ,.... 0
:-~ T
Table IV-23
Relationship Between Freight Charges and Price Levels - 1965,a Seattle to Nome
Percent Retail
Ocean Wholesale Percent Ocean Total Percent Price Weight Freight Price Freight Charge Freight Total Freight Nome Exceeds
Per Charge (F.O.B.) Is Of Seattle Charge b Is Of Seattle Retail Landed Col!llllodity Unit Unit* Per Unit Seattle F.O.B. Price Per Unit F.O.B. Price Price Coste
Alcoholic Case 33 189. 75c $ 60. 45 3.14% 229. 68c 3.80% $ 63.25 o. 80% Beverages
Roofing Roll 45 114 .03¢ $ 2.54 44.89 147.44¢ 58.05 Asphalt Ton 2,000 $ 49. 89 $ 25.00 199 .56 $ 62.65 250.60 Cement Sack 94 l91.29c $ 1. 34 142. 75 25:i. :i3c 189.05 Lettuce -Refrigerated lb. 1 10.84¢ 14.00c 77.43 13.42c 95. 86 19.00 0 188. ll Non-refriger. lb. 1 8.44c 14.00c 60.29 11.02c 78. 71 79.00c 215.75 ,._.
Milk Qt. 2.38 16 .07c 24.50c 65.59 19. 95c 81.43 71.00¢ 59.73 ,._. ,._.
Washing Each 2.50 $ 13. 23 $109 .15 12,12 $ 17 .06 15.63 $163.00 29.15 Machine
Oranges -Non-Refriger. lb. l 5.27c 12.00¢ 43.92 6. 88c 57.33 39 .00¢ 106.57 Refrigerated lb. 1 6. 77c 12.00¢ 56.42 8.38¢ 69.83 39 .OOc 91.36
Cigarettes Case 41.80 534.92c $112. 80 4.74 100 .56c 6.21 Refrigerator Each 230 $ 12.17 $186. 50 6.53 $ 15.69 8.41 Beer Case 28 lOO. 87c $ 3.20 31.52 127.19c 39. 75 Insulating 34 200. 77c $ 58.00 3.46 255.17c 4.40 Hate rial
Meat lb. l 7. 9lc 46.00¢ 17.20 8.70c '18.91 69.00c 26.14 Potatoes lb. l 2.56¢ 8.80¢ 29.09 3.28c 37.27 20.ooc 65.56 Sugar Bag 10 25.63¢ $ 1. 01 25.38 32.23¢ 31. 91 $ 2.54 90.98 Coca Cola Case 20.35 80. 84¢ $ 2.64 30.62 99. 97c 37.87 Lumber 1,000 BP.! 2,150 $ 5 7. 68 $ 54.21 106.40 $ 75.28 BFM 138.87 Eggs Dozen 1.80 11. 70¢ 42.50¢ 27.53 13.12¢ 30.87 98.00¢ 76.20 Flour Bag 5 12. 81¢ 33.00c 38. 82 16.llc 48.82 $ 1.09 121. 95 Apples -
Non-Refriger. lb. l 5.27c 17.00c 31.00 6.88¢ 40.47 39.00¢ 63.32 Refrigerated lb. 1 6. 77c 17.00¢ 39.82 8.38¢ 49.29 39.00c 53.66
~
Ocean Weight Freight
Per Charge Commodity Unit Unit* Per Unit
Dresser, S.U. Each 90 914.63¢ Lube Oil Qt. 2 4.80¢ Common Salt Sack 50 . 93.25¢ Paint Gallon 12 32. 91¢
*Weight in pounds.
Table IV-23 (continued)
Wholesale Percent Ocean Total Price Freight Charge Freight (F.O.B.) Is Of Seattle Charge b Seattle F.O.B. Price Per Unit
$ 50.90 17. 97% $ 12.27 32. 80¢ 14.63 6.28¢ 95.00¢ 98.16 127 .25¢
$ 4.90 6.72 41.07¢
Percent Total Freight Is Of Seattle F .O.B. Price
24.11% 19.15
133.95 8.38
Noi.ue Retail Price
$ 8.60
Percent Retail Price Exceeds Landed Coste
61.96
aFrom: (1) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Crop Research Division, Agricultural Research Service and Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station. Quarterly Report on Alaska's Food Prices, various reports for 1965; (2) Lomen Com::c.ercial Company Tariff FMC-F No. 9 and supplements thereto; (3) Alaska Steamship Company tariffs FMC-F No. 51, E{C-F No. 114, FMC-F No. 119 and supplements thereto; (4) Letter, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ewan Clague, Commissioner, June 28, 1965; (5) Letters, Federal Maritime Commission Field Auditor, June 7 and 16 1 1965; (6) Federal Maritime Commission field interviews of merchants in Alaska in July to Septewber 1965; and (7) FHC Form 109 questionnaire (requesting price data) various.
b 11 Total Freight Charge Per Unit11 consists of Alaska Steam's Ocean Freight Charge plus Nome lighter age charge (Lomen).
c"Landed Cost11 consists of Seattle FOB price plus Total Freight Charge.
..... ..... N
113
Table IV-24
A Sununary of Freight Moved Interregion Between 1965 and 1970 by Water
Company 1965 1966 1967 1968 Short Tons
Puget Sound Tug & Barge Company
Arctic Marine Freight 5 '714 Alaska Puget Limited 27,453 23,219 32 '918 28,140
Foss Launch & Tug Co.
Alaska Steamship Co. 11, 996 10 ,062 9,325 8,647
Northstar B.I.A. a 14 ,000 14,000 14,000 14,000
Standard Oil Co. 25,334 24 '989
Northland Marine
Total Cargo 53,449 47,281 81,577 81,490
Less North Slope Cargo 5 '714
Net Cargo 75, 776
a Audit figures.
1969 1970
91,089 168' 194 26,057 27,945
7,000
10' 758 4 ,891
14,000 14,000
28,665 30,040
2,000 2,000
172 ,569 254,070
91,089 175,194
81,480 78,876
Source: The following sources were used: letter from M.W.D. McLean, Vice President, Puget Sound Tug & Barge Co., Seattle, Washington, September 22, 1971; letter from J.E. Kirkpatrick, Western Alaskan Sales Manager, Foss Launch & Tug Co., Seattle, Washington, August 26, 1971; according to V.R. Crabb, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Alaska Line (Alaska Steamship Co.), Seattle, Washington, letter of August 26, 1971 - Mr. Kirkpatrick was given the old records of Alaska Steamship as he was formerly Bering Sea Manager for this company, he therefore supplied data for both Foss and Alaska Steamship Co.; conversation with Tom Osdale of Northland Marine, November 15, 1971 and Mr. Terrell, Assistant Traffic Manager, Standard Oil Company, October 9, 1971.
114
Figure IV-8 graphs the contribution of petroleum products and
pipe (shipped to Prudhoe Bay for the pipeline) to cargo totals in the
Northwest Region. Figure IV-8 also graphs the relations of petroleum
products to all cargo for Nome harbor by activity, and is representative
of the area's demand for freight independent of oil development. Freight
landings for Nome are similar to other villages except Prudhoe and Barrow,
Freight landed in Barrow includes less petroleum products because the
town uses natural gas for heating, and Prudhoe receives large volumes of
specialized oil industry equipment. (Appendix A lists freight by type
entering Northwest ports.)
Northwest Region Ports
Starting from the mouth of the Yukon and moving northward, a brief
examination of the ports in Northwest Alaska reveal that they are almost
unijformly shallow and that
J St. Michael is one of
lightering is necessary.
the best sheltered harbors on the Bering
Coast. However, little of the freight that enters this harbor is in-
tended for the Northwest. Ocean-going vessels must lie offshore since
the docks can handle only a three-foot draft at low tide and about
seven feet on the highest tides. 5 The port serves as a point of trans-
shipment from sea-going to river transportation for the lower Yukon.
Generally, freight on the Yukon up to Marshall is handled through St.
Michael, while that above Marshall comes from Nenana, the riverport
for the Alaska Railroad. The institution of the service through Nenana
caused St. Michael to decline from its great days when it was the port
of entry for almost all freight on the portion of the Yukon River in
•
... 240
210
• '
180
0 I 0 0
"' ISO z 0 .... (,)
j;: u. <. ", a: 120 .... .... :t: >'! w
90 ! I v I ~ 0: u. ~ K
60 ------:30
I l'o1;q
-NciM[-HARBO-- l NoM.t --------
I
---
'.
, , --~-
/ _)-Pi?·c· .. •········ +: ~p , l
... '!To " .•
,,. -""'"---t ;I ,E_E°fROl,;'..UM
--------- -------- -- .. ;.·_ ---...........1 '"' ,./ _____ ,...~_-_-__ -__ -_-_ 1'
!
1961 1962 !963 1964 1965 1966 !967 1968 !969 1970
Figure IV-8
Northwest Alaska Ports - Petroleum Products as a Portion of Total Cargo
~
1--' 1--' \.n
116
Alaska. The feasibility of upgrading the facilities at St. Michael
has been recently studied for the State of Alaska. The cost of a
barge dock suitable for unloading containers from the barges now serving
6 the Bering Sea ports was estimated at only $35 ,000. This would largely
involve rebuilding of an existing dock.
/ Moving north from St. Michael, the next protected anchorage is at
vf Qolovin Bay which has a channel depth of 13 feet in its entrance. This
is a large roadstead and was recently the site of a fish processing and
freezing facility. ;fhere are no surface connections from Golovin to
other points on the Seward Peninsula.
J The harbor at ~presently consists of a barge-turning basin with
an eight-foot entrance channel. This facility at the mouth of the Snake
River requires annual dredging by the Corps of Engineers to keep it in
operation. The City of Nome has requested a harbor that can acco1U1Uodate
ships of 30- to 35-foot draft be constructed in some suitable location
j close to their city.
for such a port but did suggest that some of the costs could be recovered
A preliminary study did not develop cost estimates
by extracting gold from the materials dredged from the channel and port
Jas. 7 Nome is the center of the peninsular road net.
Port Clarence has long been considered as one of the best candidates
for a deep draft harbor in this area. In a 1968 study, the Coast Guard
estimated that it would require $1,517,000 to dredge the port to a depth
suitable for deep water docking facilities. 8 The entrance channel at
I Port Clarence is 42 feet. Port Clarence is connected to Nome by a road
from the village of Teller which lies on the spit forming its outer
barrier.
117
Init.ial plans have been developed for a loading facility at ~ / River to serve the fluorite and tin deposits there. The proposed dock
would extend about 5,000 feet directly out from an open beach into
about 40 feet of water. Preliminary surveys indicate that such a dock
is probably feasible and would withstand ice and storm conditions in
9 the area. This site is not connected to the existing Seward Peninsula V/ road net and would require an expensive bridge to connect it directly
to the Teller Road.
There is no possibility for a deep draft port at Kotzebue because
of heavy silting problems. Ships must now anchor ten to twelve miles
out. Plans developed for a water transportation center at the Baldwin
Peninsula are discussed in Chapter v. Until additional
justify new port facilities, the best hope for Kotzebue
cargo flows J lies in the
provision of containerized service to the maximum extent possible
roll-off containers minimize lighterage expense.
At Barrow it is also necessary to lighter all goods except petro-
leum products coming ashore through hoses. Here ships can lie fairly
close inshore but are subject to danger from an onshore movement of the
ever present ice pack. Provision of a deep draft dock or other harbor
facility here seems beyond the bounds of present feasibility. The same
general situation pertains along the entire Arctic Coast, with all pro-
tected anchorages being shallow and having poorly defined entrances.
The harbor at Prudhoe Bay is a good example of this situation sine),/
it is here necessary to unload from the seagoing barges and lighter
freight for six miles with smaller barges to reach the unloading dock.
Although no cost studies are available on the extra costs this entails,
118
some have estimated that the extra movement added $40 a ton to the
10 landed price at Prudhoe Bay.
The first good protected harbor east of Barrow, Herschel Island, ~
is in Canada. There is a deep water hole off the east side of the
island with a deep water channel to the Arctic Basin via the MacKenzie
Submarine Canyon. This is the only known deep water refuge in the
western Arctic at the present time.
Intraregional Freight
Freight moves in the Northwest Region by shallow-draft river barges
on the Kobuk and Noatak rivers. These rivers are open approximately
four months per year. Traffic on these rivers has varied from 2,000
11 to 5,000 tons in recent years.
There is also intracoastal movement of goods from St. Michael,
Nome and Kotzebue to smaller coastal villages. Large sea-going barges
j tinload in the three towns and smaller barges take over. At present
it is estimated that 30 percent of the cargo landed in Kotzebue, Nome
and St. Michael is sent forward still containerized, but that 70 percent
must be broken up before being forwarded to its destination. This
added amount of handling substantially increases the final cost of the
goods.
Airborne Transportation
The air system which serves Northwest Alaska is of two types:
scheduled service by jetliner linking the larger towns with the rest
of Alaska, and bush service by air taxi tying the regional centers to
119
smaller villages. During 1968-69, another class of service, contract
freight airlines, carried large cargoes of specialized freight. Generally,
the air service is good for regional centers and sporadic for the smaller
villages.
Air transportation in Northwest Alaska has the advantage of quickness
and the disadvantage of costliness. While high costs are characteristic
of air transport in the Northwest as a whole, freight rates and fares
between Fairbanks, Anchorage and the villages begin to constitute a real
barrier to mobility. Inasmuch as passenger travel into and out of the
Northwest is only possible by air, high fares effectively restrict free
movement.
The other problem for the area is frequency of air service. The
larger places receive daily service, although often at odd hours due to
equipment utilization problems of the regional air carriers. Smaller
villages are usually restricted to two flights a week, and bad weather
will sometimes cause them to go without service for two to three weeks.
Alaska and Wien Airlines have regularly scheduled service to Nome,
Barrow, Kotzebue, Galena and Unalakleet. The air taxi role is vitally
important to bush points because to many villages it is the only trans
portation means; but in terms of absolute tonnages, it is probably in
significant. Some indication of the interregional passenger travel can
be seen from Table IV-25. There was a 70 percent increase in passenger
travel between 1966 and 1970.
As pointed out previously, fares are expensive compared to costs
in other states. For example, travel from Anchorage to Nome (a distance
of 550 miles) on a one-way tourist fare costs 11.3 cents per mile,
120
Table IV-25
Airport Activity Statistics of Certified Route Air Carriers*
Point 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
(Persons)
Barrow 4 ,682 5,953 5,878 7,834 9'119 Kotzebue 11,254 13,427 15,763 16 '863 24' 825 Nome 15 '786 16 '973 19,917 25,359 21,636 Unalakleet 1,924 2,044 2,249 2,331 1,697
Total 33,646 38 ,39 7 43,807 52 '387 57 ,277
*Data given as "the total number of revenue passengers. boarding aircraft, including originating, stop over, and trans fer ·-p~~sengers in scheduled and nonscheduled services."
Source: Civil Aeronautics Board and Federal Aviation Agency.
whereas to travel similar distances from Minneapolis to Rapid City
costs 6.9 cents per mile, and from Pittsburgh to Boston costs 7.2 cents
12 per mile.
The problems facing the air transport system -- high costs and in-
frequent service -- are an expression of the region's widely dispersed,
undeveloped and fractionated (except for Prudhoe Bay) transportation
needs. It is unlikely that investments in airport and other improvements
or in more modern equipment will bring about reductions in costs. Indeed,
if the classic aviation pattern is followed, such investments would tend
to raise costs to the users. Direct subsidy is probably the most realis-
tic solution to this problem.
121
i Freight Shipment by Hail
A substantial amount of freight goes into the Northwest Region
as mail. Although no exact records are available for any extended
period, the Anchorage and Fairbanks post offices kept blotter records
of large shipments tended as parcel post from August 1, 1969 through
November 26, 1969 (Anchorage) and from August 1, 1969 to October 30,
1969 (Fairbanks). In Anchorage, the volume of freight sent as parcel
post amounted to 1,394,534 pounds. For Fairbanks, the figure was
434,648 pounds. The breakdown according to sender appears as Appendix B.
According to these figures, approximately 2,100 tons of freight
were sent as mail from Anchorage each year and 800 tons from Fairbanks.
However, it is suspected that these figures cannot be lineally projected
because the sampling was done during summer, when barge shipments were
possible, and inventories would be expected to be at their peak. Total
freight sent as mail would probably be more than the 2,900 tons shown.
Parcel post to the Northwest travels by air on a space available basis.
Parcel post rates are cheaper than air freight rates for large packages.
Sending 100 pounds parcel post from Fairbanks or Anchorage to Nome,
Barrow or Kotzebue costs $6.35. Air freight on Wien Airlines for the
same package from Anchorage to Barrow (most expensive) is $19.96 in-
eluding tax.
The two principal interregional mail carriers are Alaska Airlines
and Wien Consolidated. According to post office records for fiscal
year 1969, Alaska Airlines moved 1,419 ,5 75 pounds of mail in to the
Northwest and brought back 165,584 pounds. Wien moved 6,509,100 pounds
from various points outside of the Northwest into the region and brought
back 651,185 pounds of mail. 13
122
North Slope Air Cargo
During the 1968-69 rush to explore the North Slope, large volumes
of freight were carried by air. Table IV-26 shows tonnages of air
freight carried by major carriers for 1967-70. The figures shown con-
siderably understate the situation since freight totals are not availa-
ble for short-term enterprises which folded when the demand ceased in
1969 (for example, Arctic Airways of Fairbanks). 14
Table IV-26
Air Freight Carried into Northwest Region by Major Airlines, 1967-70
Company 1967 1968 1969 1970 (Short Tons)
Alaska Airlines Hercules Flightsa 4,560 82 ,080 20,520
(North Slope Totals) Common Air Freight 208 482
Interior Airways, Inc. 4,701 83 ,982 20,684 (North Slope Totals)
Red Dodge n.a. n.·a. n. a.
Reeve Aleutian b 261 521 6,257 1,564
Wien Consolidated c 1,611 1,975 2,816 3,482
Totals 1,872 11,757 175,343 46,732
Notes: ~ercules Flights moved 114,000 tons of freight between March 15, 1968 and August of 1971. Because these flights are on a contract basis and Alaska Airlines could not supply exact figures for each year, the assumption was made that percent changes in yearly volume should be comparable to Interior Airways, which is also on a contract basis and could supply exact figures. Implicit in the assumpt1.on is that all air contact carriers receive proportionate volume of the demand which is open to cri.ticis1n.
123
bThe same assumption mentioned above was made for Reeve, who could only supply average yearly figures.
cAlthough Wien supplied accurate records of freight movements, the data were identified only as freight coming onboard and being offloaded (on and off movements), and did not break down origin and destination pf shipments. Therefore, the portion of freight moving interregionally and intraregionally had to be estimated. According to Mr. Sorenson, Wien cargo manager in Fairbanks, the off movements at Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow probably represent interregional movement of freight, while the off movements at other points in the Northwest are probably intraregional shipments. Freight coming onboard at Kotzebue, Barrow and Nome could be either freight being backhauled out of the region entirely, or intraregional freight. Mr. Sorenson stated that small seasonal salmon shipments were the only shipments out of the region, so records of freight coming onboard were not counted as interregional freight.
Sources: Letter from Larry G. Evenson, Director, Contract/Cargo Sales, Alaska Airlines, Seattle, Washington, August 25, 1971; interview with Roy Isackson, Interior Airways, Inc., August 1971, Fairbanks, Alaska; letter from Richard D. Reeve, Assistant Vice President, Reeve Aleutian Airways, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska, August 11, 1971; and letter from S.B. Fitzhugh, Vice President - Finance, Wien Consolidated Airlines, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska, September 21, 1971.
Air taxi companies (as opposed to scheduled or contract carriers)
also moved considerable freight to the North Slope. For example, Pan
Alaska and Delaware Air Jet, a subsidiary of Hamilton Oil Company, to-
gether moved approximately 400 tons of freight and 3,134 passengers in
15 1970 to the North Slope. Other air taxis moved freight to the North
Slope, but their records do not distinguish between interregional and
intraregional flights.
It is generally anticipated that if and when oil and gas line
permits are granted there will be another surge of exploration activity
on the North Slope, although still on a comparatively short-lived basis.
124
The second phase should be less frantic than the first because most
of the promising lands are already under lease. Therefore, air trans-
portation will probably play a smaller re la ti ve role and water trans-
portation, which is cheaper, will assume a relatively greater share of
material movements.
Road Network
There are at present no interregion roads. The winter road (the
Hickel Highway) constructed by the State in 1969 and 1970 has not been
maintained. Only 7,500 tons of freight were sent over this road in the
spring of 1969. In 1970, the total grew to over 19,000 tons but in-
16 eluded rolling stock for construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline.
The road system serving the Seward Peninsula is an outgrowth of
old mining roads. The last major investment by the State was the road
serving Nome, Teller, and the largely abandoned mining camps of the
Peninsula. As pointed out previously, the road system at Prudhoe Bay
only serves the needs of the oil fields in that area. There are no
co,Jnections to other locations.
\./ The State of Alaska still plans to construct a highway to Prudhoe
Bay as part of the trans-Alaska pipeline project with a possible extension
to the Kobuk Valley and ultimately on to Nome.
125
Footnotes
1. Alaska Industry, Vol. III, No. 11, Alaska Industrial Publications, Inc., Anchorage, November 1971.
2, Alaska Trade Study, Federal Maridme Commission, Bureau of Domestic Regulations, U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1967.
3. Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings, 21238, P.O.D. 201, p. 60.
4. Air transport hauled in freight at a rate of 14,000 tons per month in 1969 which dropped to 4,000 tons per month average in 1970, after 91,000 tons of cargo were unloaded from barges at Prudhoe Bay in the summer of 1969.
5. George C. Sillides, Project Feasibility: Report of a Dock Facility at St. Michael, Alaska, prepared for the Alaska Department of Public Works, Division of Water and Harbors, Fairbanks, January 1971, p. 14.
6. Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings, op. cit.
7. Clarks and Groff, Engineers, Nomeport, A Preliminary Investigation of a Deepwater Harbor at Nome, Alaska, prepared for the City of Nome, Alaska, Salem, Oregon, November 1968, p. 45.
8. United States Department of Transportation, Coast Guard, Polar Transportation Requirements Study Report, Vol. II, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968, p. A-78.
9. German and Milne, Fluorite Shipment from Lost River, Alaska, prepared for Lost River Mining Corporation Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, April 1971.
10. Conversation with Geoffrey Larmanie, BP Oil, Alaska, June 1970.
11. Alaska Trade Study, op. cit.
12. Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings, op. cit.
13. Walter B. Parker, High Fares and Low Incomes, Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, March 1970.
14. According to Wien testimony at the Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings in June of 1970, "In order to meet the short-term emergency demand created by the North Slope exploration and to supply the temporary fuel requirements of the drilling rigs, obsolete aircraft from all over the world were placed into service. These included 10 constellation 1049-type aircraft, CL-44 swing-tail aircraft and other multi-engine craft especially fitted for the hauling of fuel, including Hercules-type aircraft,
"During the summer of 1969, hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo were moved to the Slope by barge. These shipments included buildings,
126
drilling cement and mud and fuel oil. Thus, huge stockpiles were accumulated on the Slope and the airlift requirements were drastically curtailed during the winter of 1969 and 1970. As a result, the Hercules aircraft were largely removed from the North Slope market; and the other equipment, purchased by various entrepreneurs and hired on a short-term basis by the oil companies, is now lying idle at various airports throughout the State."
15. Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings, Docket 20826, Exhibit WCA-1001, p. 2; Alaska Transportation Commission, Quarterly Reports of Air Taxi Companies.
16. Federal Aviation Agency, Alaska Plan for the Arctic Region, Anchorage, December 1969.
CHAPTER V - FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR WATERBORNE TRANSPORTATION
Forecasting
Prospects Until 1980-85
After the 1980's
128
Forecastin&
A general lack of detailed physical data about the resources of
Northwest Alaska makes any future forecast highly problematical. When
the confusion of political issues, as manifested by the Alaska pipeline
dispute, and the uncertainty of world markets for minerals is inter-
jected into the planning matrix, it becomes difficult to regard fore-
casts as anything more than conjecture.
The forecasts have been divided into two time periods, the first
covering the immediate future up to the period 1980-85 and the second,
or longer range, forecast covering the subsequent period. Forecasts
;6r the first period are
ment now in the planning
based on the commencement of mineral develop-'----..__
stages and continued exploration and develop-
ment of the North Slope oil province. For the distant future, maximum
projections assume continued mineral exploration, mining of the area's
coal or other mineral reserves, and the continued development of oil
including the offshore areas.
Prospects Until 1980-85
Waterl>e>rne-+reight in the next decade will leave the Northwest
Region in the form of ore and concentrate shipments from Lost River
(and other smaller mines on the Seward Peninsula) and Bornite (and
associated developments in the Kobuk). Waterborne freight will enter
the region in the form of general cargo headed for ports on the Seward
Peninsula, the Kobuk Valley, and general and specialized cargo headed
for the Arctic Coast to support oil and gas exploration and develop-
ment.
129
Cargo Load Levels
Based on current estimates, the ore .shipments from Lost River
will amount to 350,000 tons annually, and the Bornite cargo will be -·---- - --------------,
115,000 tons. Other mines are assumed to contribute up to 100,000
tons annually, with most of the ore likely to originate in the western
half of the Seward Peninsula. Total outbound ore flows from the Seward ~
Peninsula and the Kobuk would then be about 565,000 tons.
Mining activity sufficient to produce 565,000 tons would require
a work force of about 1,000 men. An additional 1,000 new jobs should
be created in support industries and by the increase in tourism.
Unemployment in the region is assumed to be solved or at least
reduced before workers are imported to fill the new jobs. Of the
1,000 new jobs in.mining, 500 are estimated to go to local residents
and 500 to imported labor. The jobs created in support industries and
tourism are also estimated to be split equally between residents and
outside workers. The result is an expectation of 1,000 new workers ----........ moving into the area during the period under consideration. Using a
factor of 3.5 persons per job to calculate total population increase
gives an in-migration total of 3,500 people.
Assuming a moderate rate of natural increase and the present rate
of out-migration from the region, an increase of 3,000 persons by 1980
above and beyond the 3,500 workers and families can be projected. The
population of the two areas, the Seward Peninsula and the Kobuk, would ------·
be about 16 ,500 or a 65 percent increase over the 1970 census figure of
10 ,183.
The population increase, in combination with a general increase in
per capita income brought about by payments to individuals under the
130
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and an increased level of local
development, financed by village and regional corporations set up under
the Act, could raise inbound cargo flows to the Seward and Kobuk areas
to near 150,000 tons, or two and-one-half times the present rate.
A total of 150,000 tons of inbound and 565,000 tons of outbound
cargo are thus predicted for the annual freight levels of the Seward
Peninsula and the Kobuk Valley during the next ten years. This total
compares closely with the level of activity of such Southeast Alaska
ports as Wrangell and Skagway.
The only identifiable outbound cargo flow from the North Slope
during this period is the oil and gas production of the Prudhoe Bay
field. It is assumed that this will be shipped through the projected
pipelines and will not be a factor in waterborne commerce as a product.
Inbound cargo to the villages of the Arctic Slope and the remain-
ing DEW Line stations should increase slightly to about 30,000 tons as
the standard of living improves. If the radar stations are phased out,
freight requirements could drop below the present level since fuel oil
for these sites is a major component of present cargo.
Cargo inbound to the North Slope for oil development would average
about 350,000 tons per year if a moderate level of exploration and
development over the entire Slope (including NPR No. 4 but excluding
the Arctic National Wildlife Range) is maintained. If NPR No. 4 is not
opened to private development, this need would be cut to about 200,000
tons unless the Navy instituted a substantial program of its own. A
low level of exploration could cut this requirement to less than 50,000
tom ann~lfy.
131
Total cargo flows for all three regions of the Northwest would
therefore be somewhere between 795,000 and 1,095,000 tons annually by
1980. The comparison between regions shown in Table V-27 indicates that
the Seward Peninsula is the only area with a good possibility of signi-
ficant amounts of inbound and outbound cargo in the near future.
Port and Other Transport Improvements
The Kobuk Valley could be served by either of two alternative systems.
The first would entail improving the present ,lighteri'!.!L and port facilities -------,-~---."--·--.----"
at Kotzebue to make feasible the transshipment of ore from Bornite; the
other alternative is to extend the Seward Peninsula road system to
--------· Kotzebue and Bornite.
Kotzebue Sound has an average depth of 40 to 60 feet but immediately
adjacent to Kotzebue it shallows so gradually that deep draft ships must
lie eight to ten miles offshore making necessary an expensive and at
times dangerous lightering trip. The approach to Kotzebue through the
entrance to Hotham Inlet is blocked by numerous shoals deposited by the
Noatak River.
It has been estimated that lightering services at Kotzebue account
for one-quarter of the total shipping costs from Seattle. 1 If labor
costs increase as expected when the effect of the Native settlement of
land claims is felt, lightering costs could increase to an even greater
percentage of total costs since at Kotzebue the operation is relatively
labor intensive and has relied upon the depressed wage rates in that
area to maintain its profit margin at current rates. 2
132
'?
Table V-27
Projections for Waterborne Commerce for Northwestern Alaska until 1980-85
Inbound Outbound Region Cargo Cargo Total
(annual estimates in thousands of tons)
Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley Chukchi Seacoast Prudhoe Bay Area
Total
100 50
45-195a 35-185
230-530
440 125
565
540 175
45- 195 35- 185
795-1095
Revised estimates if Alaska Railroad is built to Bornite and Prudhoe Bay:
Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley Chukchi Seacoast Prudhoe Bay Area
Total
Revised estimates
Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley Chukchi Seacoast Prudhoe Bay Area
Total
Revised estimates
Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley Chukchi Seacoast Prudhoe Bay Area
Total
100 30
35-125
165-255
if highways
80 20
35-125 15- 75
150-300
if highway
80 20
45-195 35-185
180-480
440
440
are built to Nome and
440 125
565
is built to Nome only:
440 125
565
540 30
35-125
605-695
Prudhoe Bay:
520 145
35-125 15- 75
715-865
520 145
45- 195 35- 185
745-1045
Note: Cargo flows to the Chukchi Seacoast are for the North Slope west of the Colville; for the Prudhoe Bay Area, the North Slope to the east of the Colville. a·
Cargo flow ranges are from Table 11-14 in the section on Oil and Gas, page 61.
133
The federal Bureau of Land Management has set up
fication unit at the neck of the Baldwin Peninsula in
a proposed classif /
order to reserve//
this area as a possible future water transportation center. There is
deep water much closer inshore at this location and it is much closer
to the main channel of the Kobuk River, thus eliminating most of the
· sometimes dangerous trip across Hotham Inlet that must now be made
from Kotzebue by the barges serving the riverine villages.
The possibility of dredging a deep draft harbor channel at Kotzebue
has previously been rejected by the Corps of Engineers due to the severe
3 silting problems. No feasibility or cost studies have yet been done on
the Baldwin Peninsula site. However, one of the known costs would be a
30-mile road link to Kotzebue. The project could be expanded to include
a barge canal across the neck of the Peninsula and/or a deep draft channel
to allow dockside unloading of deep draft vessels. No cost estimates on
either of these are available. (See Figure V-9, which is a graphic pre-
sentation of the proposals for this area.)
If the Seward Peninsula road system were extended to serve Kotzebue
and an associated water transportation center, about 150 miles of road --·-~-
would be needed to connect K~.ue with the nearest point now served
by road, Taylor. A _ _i;;.i-mple cost comparison between road and port costs ·------
would probably favor the port, but a road could serve more purposes than
freight transport in and out of the region.
Kotzebue Sound is closed by ice for two months longer than the south
shore of the Seward Peninsula and keeping a port on Kotzebue Sound open
the year round would require twice as much icebreaker time. Icebreakers
are estimated to take only five days for a round trip from Saint Lawrence
134
Island to Port Clarence or Nome, which makes the provision of year-round
icebreaker support to Nome or Port Clarence feasible.4
Appendix C is a
series of charts showing ice conditions on the west coast of Alaska by
month.
The aggregation of both outbound and inbound cargo for the two areas,
the Seward Peninsula and the Kobuk Valley, would make possible the amor-
tization of superior port facilities for handling ore outbound and con-
tainers inbound.
A port Ofl the ~eward Peninaula would need to be located close to the
source of the majQL __ QJ:Lflows that are now imminent. The use of this
port for shipment of Kobuk ores was suggested by the1Coast Guard Polar
Transportation Requirements Study. 5 Reversing the situation and shipping
Seward Peninsula products through a Kotzebue Sound port would mean keep-
ing Kotzebue Sound open to shipping during the ice season at a considerably
higher cost.
The shH_t_ing nature at qil cle.v:el,opment JeCJ,l,!irements, the absence of
major outbound cargo flows, the expense of maintaining year-round service,
and the lack of a good deep draft site, make it unfeasible to consider
a port on the Chukchi or Beaufort seacoasts at this time. Unless there
are more stable cargo flows from the North Slope, the present service of
barges can handle the area with reasonable adequacy.
In conclusion, for the period between the present and the first half
~' f the 1980 decade, the provision of a deep draft port to serve the Seward
eninsula appears feasible provided that the projected ore developments
n Northwest Alaska do occur. This port should be located as close as
possible to the source of the major ore flows and, if possible, should be
•
CHUKCHI
SEA
-:1 -~
'j ,·:.
'"i;oc ... ,
NORTON SOUND
. . ·~
·":.:.,_~KIVALINA ...
·C
'!i ~1,
NOATAK
KOYUK
Figure V-9
LEGEND
EXISTING ROADS
---- PROPOSED ROADS TO CONNECT KOTZEBUE AND SORNITE TO THE SEWARD PENINSULA ROAD SYSTEM
•••••••- BARGE ROUTE
-----------------TO 80RNITE
•
COPPER MINES
Proposed Water/Land Transportation Network - Baldwin Peninsula, Near Kotzebue
'<
..
>-' w \.n
136
built where it can be connected to the main road network of the Seward
Peninsula with the least cost.
Residents of Nome and other peninsular villages need cheap freight.
A single good port on the Seward Peninsula could probably provide better
and cheaper service than the current combination of offshore anchorage
and lightering at every port, by making it possible to move goods directly
from the port to· the community. When containers can be offloaded directly
from the ships to their trailers, the savings in lighterage fees alone
should substantially reduce total freight costs.
For those areas that would still have to rely upon barge service,
provisions should be made for the deep water port to serve as a trans-
fer point from ships to barges. Fast containerships could then be used
for the greater part of the trip from the U.S. West Coast and other
ports. It would eliminate two of the major problems of the barge opera-
tions -- transit time and the weather dangers of the North Pacific and
the Gulf of Alaska. Even ports to the south, such as Bethel and Dilling-
ham, might be served more cheaply by such a system.
A question that must be examined is how much of the waterborne
freight might be diverted to competing transportation systems during
this period. There are three major possible alternatives to consider:
(1) extension of the Alaska Railroad to the North Slope and Bornite or
to either one; (2) the building of major highway links from the present
main highway net to Nome or to the North Slope or to both; and.(3) the
use of large cargo-carrying aircraft to haul both general and bulk
cargo.
(1) If the Alaska Railroad were extended to Bornite and no road -~·------____,
built from the Kobuk copper mines to the Bering coast, then the ore
137
would of course travel by rail. However, if both a railroad and road
existed, it might well prove cheaper to haul by truck to a port on the
Bering coast than by rail to a port on the Gulf Coast of Alaska, since
the distance would be less than half as far.
If the Alaska Railroad were extended to the North Slope, almost
all inbound freight except for very bulky items, would switch to a
rail route because it would be available on a year-round basis and
probably would be cheaper. Freight handlers in Anchorage have estimated
that they could put freight down in Prudhoe Bay at $80 a ton from Seattle
6 if the rail line were extended. Waterborne commerce could not compete
with this rate if it were necessary to lighter freight ashore at Prudhoe
Bay, since moving freight by water to Prudhoe Bay from Seattle now costs
between $125-$160 per ton.
The rationale for construction of the railroad to the North Slope
is based upon some movement of oil by train. Alaska Railroad engineers,
in conjunction with specialists on unit train movements from the Southern
Pacific Railroad, have computed that 20 unit trains per day could be moved
over a single track railroad from Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage. Each train
would contain 110 tank cars, each car holding 26,500 gallons of oil.
Each train would thus haul 55,000 barrels or a total of 1.1 million
barrels per day by all trains. The costs of equipment and new high
strength rails for the existing railroads have not been computed as
7 yet. The cost of extending the Alaska Railroad from Nenana to Prudhoe
Bay has been estimated at $436 million. 8
(2) If a highway were extended westward from the proposed pipeline
road to Kobuk, ore from Bornite could be hauled and then transshipped
by railroad. If the road were ext.ended to Nome, the ore could be hauled
138
directly to a port on the Bering coast. If a highway were built the
whole length of the pipeline route, the chances that truck rates to
Prudhoe Bay would be cheaper than the present marine rate are reasonably
good. Projected median costs from Anchorage would be about $70 per ton
based on eight cents per ton mile costs on a paved highway and nine cents
9 on a gravel road.
(3) Lockheed and Boeing have claimed that their cargo planes can
haul ore or oil at five cents-per ton mile and put freight down at .----------Prudhoe Bay and Nome from Seattle for $100 per ton. However, bulk ore
flows by marine ore carriers would be far under the above rate if suitable
harbor facilities were provided (on the order of $10 to $20 per ton).
Large air freighters could absorb significant amounts of inbound general
cargo from the current transportation network, but not from a rapid large
volume integrated ship/rail/road transportation network.
Inbound cargo to the North Slope will largely move via a railroad
or highway, if one is built, except for extremely large items. The marine
system is simply too limited without massive icebreaker support, and round
trip times of 34 days for icebreakers from St. Lawrence Island to Prudhoe
Bay make the maintenance of year-round service by barges or conventional
shipping to the Arctic Coast prohibitive. 10
After the 1980's
It is impossible to predict when the world will need the great coal
deposits of the North Slope or when tankers may carry oil from offshore
fields in the Chukchi Sea. Such massive shipments of natural resources
may never become a reality, but if they occur will probably be at least
twenty years in the future.
139
If the coal fields of the North Slope were to supply one-fourth
of Japan's present coal requirements, it would require the mining of
10 million tons per year. This would require about 500 trips from
Alaska to Japan annually using medium-sized ore freighters.
A shipment of 2 million barrels of oil per day from a Prudhoe
size field off the Northwest Coast would require 1,000 trips per year
by tankers somewhat larger than the "Manhattan" of Northwest Passage
fame. (As pointed out previously, most onshore fields would probably
find it most expedient to ship their oil via the Alaska pipeline; thus
only offshore fields would utilize tankers.)
If both coal and oil were shipped by sea, there would be 1,500
round trips per year of 4.1 trips per day each way. If the tankers
and ore carriers were built to operate as icebreakers, little support
would be needed from a conventional icebreaker for a substantial part
of the year.
There are no suitable natural sites for a deep draft harbor along
the Chukchi Sea coast. Since the oil tankers would be loading from
offshore structures, the central gathering point for the oil fields
would probably serve as a loading terminal.
The situation regarding coal is very different since the cargo
must be handled from shore to ship. The use of slurry pipelines to
get coal to an offshore terminal would seem an ideal solution if salt
water could be used to mix the slurry. If fresh water must be used,
severe problems would arise since the sources of the quantities of
water that would be required are non-existent for most of the year.
Oil might also be considered as a carrier liquid. In any case, some
system that avoids the problems of coastal ice scour and the ice
140
stresses of the Arctic ice pack must be devised from the shore to the
loading terminal.
Location of offshore terminals as far as possible from the shore
would be a wise course. Large ships operating in the winter ice pack
will need as much manuevering room as possible along these shallow ice-
stressed coasts. For this same reason, the use of narrow harbors con-
structed along the coast would seem to be a poorer expedient than off-
shore terminals. This history of arctic navigation is replete with
instances of small ships being unable to negotiate narrow passages
because of ice pressure. The greater power of the large ships wiil be,
in large part, offset by their inertia and cross section presented to
ice forces in navigating in narrow seas. Oil and coal shipments of the
magnitudes envisioned here could not be delayed for days or weeks while
the ice took its natural course. Therefore, harbor, channel and terminal
design will have to be innovative in design. The ultimate shape for such
a terminal may be composed of several elements: part fixed structure,
part grounded ice island, and part dredged protector islands. However,
this kind of undertaking lies far in the future after markets for Alaska
coal and offshore oil develop.
Since the oil from Prudhoe Bay will travel by pipeline, the Prudhoe
Bay area will not need a deep draft port unless offshore oil fields are
developed off the Arctic Coast that cannot be tied into a pipeline grid.
If tanker carriage of oil from Arctic offshore fields does become a
reality, then the discussion of oil tanker traffic from the Chukchi
Sea offshore production applies as well.
For the Seward Peninsula and the Kobuk Valley, a moderate jncre:_ase ~
in mining activity is possible but the vagaries of the world market make
141
predictions on a long-range basis extremely hypothetical. At some time
in the future, the resources of these areas will probably be needed, but
when that time will be depends on many variables outside Alaska.
No large cargo flows are envisoned to be generat~---"~_!:her
reindeer or fishing industries in the study area. A maximum herd size ___ ...,._ ..::"·
of 600,000 (estimated to be the largest size population the range can
handle) would produce about 150 ,000 carcasses or
for shipment. A herd of this size would support
10 ,000 tons of meat J! about 550-600 persons 1
as herders and probably an equal number in support and production trades.
Any major development in fisheries will most likely be in the dem-
ersal stocks of the Bering Sea. While potential exists for some <level-
opment by Alaska fishermen, many fisheries biologists in Japan and the
United States feel that these stocks are being fished at close to their
11 limits at present. It is more likely that these stocks would be fishev·
by distant water fleets based on Kodiak or Unalaska than by coastal fish-
ing effort based on the Seward Peninsula.
A moderate level of petroleum exploration and development is pre-
dieted for the 1985-2000 period resulting in the completion of the ex-
ploration phase for most of the North Slope and its adjacent coastal
areas by the end of the Period. No major activity In petroleum is -~·-·----·-- ~--- - --·--
assumed for the Norton Sound or Kotzebue Sound areas. Coal mining and ~
petroleum _ _p_E:>duc_t:ion are increasingly automated and once the exploration
and initial development phases are ended will require only a small labor
force. Table V-28 shows inbound cargo estimates for a population of
27,500. This figure is based on a natural increase of 5,000 and a net
in-migration increase of 6,000 people, and builds on the development
levels presumed to have occurred between 1970-85.
Region
142
Table V-28
Projections for Waterborne Commerce for Northwestern Alaska, 1985-2000
Inbound Outbound Cargo Cargo Total
(annual estimates in thousands of tons)
Seward Peninsula Kobuk Valley Chukchi Seacoast Prudhoe Bay Area
Total
200 100 175 175
650
550 750 250 350
172 ,425a 172 ,600 (162,425)b 175
173,225 173,875 (335 ,650) (336,47S)
Revised estimates if Alaska Railroad is extended to Bornite and Prudhoe:
Seward Peninsula 200 5SO 7SO Kobuk Valley so so 100 Chukchi Seacoast 125 172,425 172 ,sso Prudhoe Bay Area (162 ,42S)
Total 37S 173,025 173,400 (335 ,4SO) (33S, 82S)
(162 ,600)
(162,425)
Revised estimates if highways are built to Nome and Prudhoe Bay:
Seward Peninsula 150 S2S 675 Kobuk Valley so lSO 200 Chukchi Seacoast 150 172,425 172 ,S75 Prudhoe Bay Area 7S (162 ,425) 7S
Total 425 173 ,100 173,525 (33S,52S) (336,025)
Notes: a Includes 10 milliun tons of coal shipments, the rest is petroleum.
bWill be shipped by waterborne commerce if not feasible to ship via established pipelines from the Prudhoe Bay area.
(162,500)
143
By the turn of the century, a highway system is likely to be ex-
tended to the Seward Peninsula and the North Slope. Extension of a
highway to the Barrow-Point Lay area is not assumed, however. If the
Alaska Railroad has not been extended to Bornite and/or the North Slope
by 1985, it will probably not be built before the end of the century
since roads or other competing systems will have become well established.
However, estimates of the railroad extension's effect on waterborne
commerce are included on the assumption it will be built by 1985.
During this period, large cargo-carrying aircraft and air cushion I .
vehicles may capture a large part of the general cargo market but should -~·-·~--~--
have little effect upon bulk cargo flows from established ports. Air
cushion vehicles may be marketed in the next twenty years to serve as
lighterage vehicles, since they can provide ship-to-door service.
Air cushion vehicles also may play an important role in hauling
ores from small-scale mining operations to established ports. If small
ore bodies that are far from established transportation systems are ever
to be developed in the Arctic, it will probably require the type of
innovation that allows development with minimum costs for infrastructure
and environmental damage. In this respect, the off-road vehicle develop-
ments may accelerate, rather than compete with, marine waterborne commerce.
Lastly, in sight near the year 2000 is the possibility of ocean-going air
cushion vehicles as large volume cargo haulers.
jC In summary, large-scale waterborne commerce for Northwest Alaska
will be dependent primarily upon development of markets for its coal
and mineral resources and upon the development of offshore oil fields.
144
Footnotes
1. Federal Maritine Commission, Alaska Trade Study, Washington, D.C., March 1967, p. V-4.
2. Based on information received in interview with Edith Bullock on October 14, 1971.
3. Alaska State Housing Authority, Kotzebue Comprehensive Development Plan, Anchorage, March 1971, p. 41.
4. Coast Guard, Polar Transportation Requirements Study, Vol. II, Washington, D.C., November 1968, p. A-69-70.
5. Ibid.
6. Interview with George Hutton of Alaska Hydrotrain, May 1970.
7. Interview with Cliff Fuglestad, Alaska Railroad, November 11, 1971.
8. Tudor, Kelly, Shannon Consultants, Third Interim Report, Alaska Transportation Corridor Study, a report to the Department of Transportation, February 1971.
9. Median cost used in western Canada and Alaska as obtained from various trucking firms.
10. Coast Guard, op. cit.
11. Washington Law Review, North Pacific Fisheries Symposium, Seattle, October 1967.
APPENDIX A - FREIGHT TRAFFIC
Nome Harbor
Bering Sea Port
Yukon River
Appendix Table A-1
Freight Traffic, Nome Harbor
--Total Short Tons
Co!!l!!lodity 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Meat and Products, Fresh, Frozen 24? 240 180 152 77 88 46 59 53 Meat and Products, NEC* 16 22 14 16 23 17 11 9 Animal Oils and Fats, Edible 18 Animals and Products, NEC 1 1 Condensed and Evaporated Milk 196 30 128 42 Dried YJ.lk 8 Dairy Products 1 NEC 24 28 15 14 14 11 9 6 Fish and Fish Products, Fresh 4 Fish and Fish Products, Canned 372 388 Eggs a=id Egg Products 2 ,....
" Wheat Flour and Semolina 152 162 140 8 "' Grain Mill Products, NEC 42 7 1 4 6 Animal Feeds, NEC 2 Hay a'1d Fodder 5 Vegetables a.'l.d Prep, Fresh, Frozen 176 142 74 80 111 101 93 63 76 49 Fruits c:.nd Prep, Fresh 80 28 16 78 29 36 25 11 25 26 Table Beverage Materials, NEC 22 19 Sugar 100 42 60 12 Molasses, Sugar Prod., Edible 36 8 Alcoholic Beverages 640 810 540 676 209 247 238 64 215 472 Beverages and Syrups, NEC 134 26 96 14 109 109 Groceries and Hise. Food, NEC 1,648 2,362 1, 708 3,676 1,162 1,112 1,097 1,019 1,154 1,860 Rubber and Misc. Plastic Products 22 44 14 25 15 3 6 3 Tobacco Leaf ar.d Manufactures 8 2 2 16 13 10 6 1 Cotton Manufactures 2 Burlap and Jute Bagging 2 Textile Products, NEC 58 4 1 5 4 2 2 2 Timber, Posts, Poles, and Piling 78 98 145 73 180 4 6 1 Lumber and Shingles 1,210 378 1,030 2,044 245 86 48 206 431 1,531 Plywood, Veneers, Cont. Mat. 286 212 456 536 244 56 132 69 250 609 Wood Manufactures, NEC 136 146 122 352 158 52 61 125 41 261 *Not Elsewhere Classified
c L , - ~- .·.
---- ---·------- - ------- • > ----- -
~ _, ·7 ,. , . ...__._ ·----- ., r-·r---·
Appendix Table A-1 (continued) Freight Traffic, Nome Harbor
Total Short Tons Commodity 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 ---Furniture and Fixtures 214 452 111 112 85 43 Plastic Material l l Paper and Mfgs., NEC 70 100 110 33 9 9 15 18 Bituminous Coal and Lignite 126 100 110 50 30 48 30 20 22 15 Liquefied petroleum gases 384 532 575 326 305 105 Gasoline 6,032 13 ,582 4,716 8,576 4,898 8,445 7,801 5,027 2,115 2, 951 Diseillate Fuel Oil 14 ,588 16 ,144 27 ,230 22,330 12 ,845 21,592 14,677 23 ,572 15 ,412 9 ,247 Jet Fuel, All Types 1,998 2,902 1,438 1,148 Kerosene 26 24 48 48 4,197 2,293 1,469 2,800 2, 775 Asphalt Building Mate-rials 97 Petroleum Asphalt 176 106 292 118 Aliphatic Naphtha 16 28 Lubricating Oils and Greases 226 600 314 172 29 202 434 178 ,.... Petroleum Products, ~EC 500· 384 76 1,134 1,873 "09 269 234 1 233 . _.,_ Building Cement 184 60 708 1,178 143 53 79 182 447 319 " Stone and Mfrs., NEC 8 2 46 30 13 Glass and Glass Products 8 2 Brick and Tile 8 144 Salt 10 17 28 11 6 2 2 Sand, Gravel, Crushed Rock 6 286 98 78 152 Nonmetallic Minerala, Mfrs., NEC 256 132 380 74 356 6~ 162 163 34 270 Iron and Steel Scrap 42 18 4 32 14 15 12 6 Iron and Steel Piµe 74 44 132 222 139 Iron and Steel Bars 208 Iron and Steel Plate 22 2 Tools and Basic Hardware 738 24 4 120 64 5 Rolled, Finished Stl. Mill. Prod. 104 138 280 498 38 17 9 Xetal Mfrs. a.~d Parts, NEC 612 326 444 698 411 377 374 Copper Semifabricated Forms 24 40 Zinc Forms 84 Nonfer. Ores, Metals, Scrap, NEC 54 26 30 84 53 24 l Electrical ~achi~ery 72 22 186 6 39 24 18 15 16 25
'· ..;
Appendix Table A-1 (continued) Freight Traffic, Nome Harbor
Total Short Tons Commodity 1961 1962 1963 1964 1S65 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Machinery, except electrical 506 1,226 108 1,026 1,153 1,093 343 614 454 301 Motor Vehicles and Parts 228 158 224 310 115 126 63 155 116 126 Watercraft and Parts 338 19 131 9 21 Aircraft and Parts 20 1 3 Vehicles and rarts, NEG 180 27 8 4 13 116 Misc. Mgf. Products 1,436 6,359 2 5 5 Fabricated Metal Products 394 483 196 Instrt.mlents, photographic and optical 15
goods, -,.atches and clocks Crude and Refined Coal Tar 2 Medicines and Preparations 8 6 Alcohols 6 Industrial Chemicals, NEC 140 90 526 32 Chemical Specialties, NEC 70 22 14 41 Pigments, Paints, Varnishes 48 32 30 31 ~
Miscellaneo"US Chemical Prod. 8 4 16 .... Com!llodities, NEC 4,466 1,032 4,044 5,080 1,222 957 16,279 6,820 1,208 2,124 °" --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
Totals 36,676 42,224 46,330 51, 720 28,197 47,047 45,357 41,221 26,272 24,568
Source: Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
\. /
- . --·-·---= .. ==-.o~-~-~----
Appendix Table A-2
Bering Sea Port, Nunivak Island to Demarcation Point, Freight Traffic
Commodity
Heat and Products. Fresh, Chilled, Frozen
Meat and Products, Prep •• Canned M~~t ~nd Products, NEC An!~al Oils and Fnts, Edible Condensed and Evaporated Milk Dried Milk Dairy Products, NEC Fish and Products, Fresh Fish and Produ<:ts, Prepared F!sh and Products, NEC Eggs .:md Egg Products Hides and Skins, Rav Leather and }!.fi:s. Animal Products, Inedible, NEC Corn \.'heat Flour Flour, Flour-Grain Prep, NEC Ani1118l Feeds, NEC Vegetables, Fresh, Fro:z:en Ft"Uits and Prep, Fresh Fruits and Prep, Dried Fruit Juices Nuts and Prep Vegetable Oil, Fats, Edible Table Beverage Materials, NEC Sugar Molasses, Sugar Prod.,' Edible Li<;uors and t.'ines Beverages and Syrups, NEC Groceries and Food, ?-.'EC Rubb.ir a:id ~lisc. Pl.3stic Products Naval Stores, Gums and Resin'5 Tobacco ~!ar.ufactures Cotton Manufactures Vegetable Fiber M.frs., NEC Wool t'm:::.:t.'lufaccures Textile Products, ~EC !icl>er, Posts, Poles, a.'ld Pilings L_u=ber a.'ld Shi:igles Pl;.~.:ood, Veneers, Cone. Hat. Wood Y.a.~.ufactures, NEC Furniture and Fixtures Paper and ~[frs .• NEC Pulp, paper and pa~erboard, NEC Printed Matter · Plastic Materials Bitu::Unous Coal a.~d Lignite Gasoli:ie Gas Oil, Di~tillate Fuel Oil Jet Fuel, All Types Kerosene Residual Fuel Oil Asphalt Pro~ucts Aliphatic Naptha Lubricating Oils and Greases Petroleum and Cosl Produces, NEC BuilC.ing Ce:::ient Stone ~!f?;S •• 'l1"EC Glass a.'ld Glass Products
1961
9S
15
9 289
l 33
139 1,346
322 3 2 4 2 4
3ll 65 25 59 37 10
34 35
123 21
146 108
1,912 3 2
10 7 8
39 llO
2,035 387 132
100
187 3,276 8,788
49 7
1,299 l
3ll 5,357
827 2 l
1962
139
6 2 ll
151
118 176
1,073 265
2
200 27 40 31 l9 l l 2 6
38 74 5
199 64
1,653 3
6 l
38 3
152 1,073
246 l5
96
167 2,191 7 ,755
568 28
338 40
530 24
457 46
5
1963
16
2
253
249 1,747
441
183
42 23
3
ll5
218 72
1,895 34
8
10 1,124
253 135
" 91
1,785 9,335
288 59
2 3
270 6,384
108 330
2
1964
92
4 10
140
4l 20
1,690 390
2
146 29 6
28 22
83
198 96
1,542 18
14
109 1,131
326 103
103
72 4,356
25,068 272 160
1,172 112
3 399
1,233 1,341
98 4
Total Short Tons 1965 1966
:i
4
4
804
l
5
29 10
93 1,703
4
12
2 213 378 110 139
74 34
60 4,032
30 ,997
147
200 2,068
42
9
4
' 1,673 1,060
7
" 12
70 94
2,708 2
6
4 140 673
85 73 63
' l
37 2,122
10 ,59"3
1,353
9,323 ,.
1967
6
2 1
5 154
2,120
37 6
2,415
6
4 328 275
68 3, 720
63 84
ll7
30 7 ,084
24 ,264
1,245
4,015
802 38
3
1968
5
2
' 34 749
8
26 6
1,627 l
3
3 4
556 55 77 90
9 30
27 3,071
10 ,658
681
216 1,830
62
1969
4
557 1,335
34 6
3
2,183 15
l
4 2,826 8,297
567 839 130
25
50 25
7,784 55 ,716
3,414 726 719 274
422 1,217
12,957
1970
52
158 750
2 1
Z,057 1
2 32
5,525 2'7 963
26
39 6,889
59,717 3, 3 78 2. 701
85 7 ,798
33
.... ~
"'
Appendix Table A-2 (continued)
Bering Sea Port, Nunivak Island to Demarcation Point, Freight Traffic
Total Short tons C~odity 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Salt 49 31 42 • 18 lB ll5 265 3,000 30 Clay, CerSl!lic and Refractory Mater. 4,642 2,481 Sane:!, Gravel, Crushed Rock 278 l 71 194 '" " 13 Nonoetallic Minerals, Mfrs., NEC lJB 177 409 176 201 126 113 l4B 15,137 901 lron and Steel Scrap and Nonferrous l 1 6
Scr.:ip tools and Basic Hardware 166 " 96 Kitchen and Hospital Utensils 3 lron and Steel Pipe 110 " l4 3 6 1,622 82,044 !t"on '1nd $t('cl B;\rS 6 607 63 Rolled, finished Stl. Mill Prod. 462 92 141 941 6 l is ~!eta!. Hfrs. and Parts, NEC 1,221 440 226 336 A.luoinUl!l Metal and Alloys 6 C<'rrE'r Scmif;"<bricated Forms 77 9 6 • Liqu..-th,J Pctroleu~ Gases >40 592 965 11 • Iror. and Steel Plate 1 19 Fabricated Metal Products 251 94 200 303 17 ,239 405 th,nferr<lus ~ktul Ores 11 Alu:::iinllt:I. 12 Slag 962 Littte 3 Structural Clay 3 Electric;\l H,"\Chinecy 146 173 " 24 23 ll 2l 26 133 29 ~\ac.hinery, except electrical 9.374 703 1,977 S,436 301 196 2,525 1,202 2,538 8,838 ,_. 11\:'tor \'ehicles and Parts 4.16 ~95 200 215 95 13 6 ' 467 "" "' \'ehicles and Parts, NEC 9 l 21 1 20 10 366 40 0
~atercraft and Parts 74 16 174 6 29 25 2 Medicines and Prep. 2 l Sulphuric Ac.i.d 1 Alcohols 10 17 l 31 Sodium Hydroxide 177 Icdustrial Chemicals 114 57 128 217 Basic Cle-:nicals 231 Che~icals, Special 113 112 .. 29 2 Paints, Varnishes, and Allied Prod. 42 43 1 19 5 Misc.. Chemical Products 9 1 14 139 385 Cct!!::!odities, NEC 7,343 9,165 ·13,574 18,756 3,553 10,571 7,794 8,975 15.,612 31,602 1-'ater 26 Misc. Prod. of Mfgr. 6,905 725 9 4 145 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Totals 48,235 29,621 42,393 64,912 53,181 42,991 58 .. 737 31,607 162,729 217,799
Source: Departw.ent of the At'f!IY, Corps of Engineers
~-- --··-·--~·--------....,_. ___ ·-----
Appendix Table A-3
Freight Traffic, Yukon River
Total Short Tons Co~.t!.:y 1961 1962 1963 1964 1%5 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Mea:: and Product!!, Fresh l 31 26 Meat nr.d Products, NEC l Fish a:id Products, Fresh 703 268 829 660 4'1 603 697 416 1.057 Fish and Products, Prepared 1,602 47' 760 675 919 863 428 Fish and Products, NEC 486 223 792 \
0egetables, Fresh, Frozen 2 30 26 Fruits and Prep., Fresh, Canned l 25 Liquors a:1d Wines 7 4 61 Groceries and Food, NEC 2,454 1,737 305 1,003 1,410 1,045 832 1,597 1,156 Logs 7,930 13 Ti~~er, rosts, roles and Pilings 12 ~ood, No~~anufactured, NEC 36 Lul:lber .md Shingles 654 338 168 534 369 279 104 641 304 Plywood, \'encers, Cont,· Mat. 30 13 Wood Xanufactures, NEC 18 16 57 108 300 255 Paper and Mfrs., NEC 170 10 Printed ~latter 99 G.1~0U.nc 622 299 19 742 828 '" 620 258 Gas Oil, Distillate Fuel Oil 869 461 4,651 784 865 2,727 80 Lubric~ting Oils and Greases 2 Petroleu:::i Produces, NEC 45,100 34,031 25 .197 26,839 28,246 27 ,983 24,244 23 ,515 32,084 Aspli'1lt PC"oJucts 145 f-' .Building Cement 742 45 33 53 51 99 95 l.n Stone .md Mfrs., NEC sa-0 272 147 •96 f-' ~onrnetallic Minerals, Mfrs., NEC 590 272 150 500 398 187 103 302 251 Alcohols 239 99 286 Tools and B~sic Hardware 604 181 Ii:on and Steel Bars 165 Iron and Steel Pipe 136 70
Metal l'!'.fC"s. and Psrts, NEC 1,816 157 130 452 Electrical Machinel:"y 4 Machinery, except electrical 2,500 418 633 312 62 14 701 178 387 Motor Vehicles and Parts 178 282 166 568 79 136 253 117 140 Vehicles and Parts, NEC 68 Jet Fuel, All Types 161 Salt " Fa::iricated Metal Products 10 241 143 Lio;;uified Petrolelllll. BS !ndustri'11 Chemicals, NEC !SB 33 99 Mis..:elluneous Chemical Products 5 112 Coi:w.odities, NEC 7,998 676 4,111 S,932 3,226 2,814 1,882 2,667 2,667 Struc':;ural Clay 18 Miscellaneous Products of Mfr. 156 92 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Totals 68,082 39,604 32,489 44,138 - 45,414 35,886 29,692 34,325 39,430
Source: Department of the kt:1trJ, Corps of E?J.gineers
Note: Individ~al commodities may not coincide exactly with publiahed reports by the Corps of Engineers due to the fact that in 1965 various CQmm.cdities vere re~lassified. However, total tonnages remain the same.
APPENDIX B - FREIGHT SENT VIA PARCEL POST
Fairbanks and Anchorage Post Offices
I I
I I '
Date Rec'd
August
1
4
6
7
8
9
12
13
15
18
21
25
27
28
29
151
Appendix Table B-1
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Fairbanks Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 1
1
1
1
1
1 1
1
Source Destination
West Coast Groc. - Tacoma Shontz-Barrow Alaska Beverage - FAI various
West Coast Groc. - Tacoma various
ANICA - Seattle various
ANICA - Seattle various
ANICA - Seattle various
ANICA - Seattle various
Time-Newsweek various
Alaska Beverage - FAI various Shontz-Barrow
ANICA various
ANICA various Quality Meats - FAI various
West Coast Groc. Tacoma various
West Coast Groc. - Tacoma Barrow
Alaska Beverage - FAI Barrow
ANICA various
Ken Jernstrom Co. - FAI Anaktuvuk Market Basket - FAI various
ANICA various
Estimated Weight
21,000 3,000
3,000
15,000
14,860
4,319
4,600
1,005
12,000 5,000 3,500
2,833 4,700
5,000
5,000
11,250
5,000
2,300 4,000
5,300
Date Rec'd
September
3
4
5
8
9
10
11
12
13
16
17
22
23
24
27
29
154
Appendix Table B-1 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Fairbanks Post Off ice for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1
1
1 1
1 1 1
Source
A & W Wholesale FAI Alaska Beverage - FAI
ANICA
West Coast Groc. - Tacoma
Alaska Beverage - FAI
A & W Wholesale - FAI
Alaska Beverage - FAI
Quality Meat - FAI
ANICA Market Basket-- FAI
A & W Wholesale - FAI A & W Wholesale - FAI
Market Basket - FAI West Coast Groc. - Tacoma
A & W Wholesale - FAI
Alaska Beverage - FAI West Coast Groc. - Tacoma
A & W Wholesale - FAI West Coast Groc. - Tacoma ANICA
A & W Wholesale - FAI Fairbanks News - FAI
Ken Grimes - FAI Alaska Beverage - FAI
Quality Meats - FAI
Lindy's Grocery - FAI Lynden's - SEA - SR 98010
A & W Wholesale - FAI Fairbanks News - FAI Alaska Beverage - FAI
Destination
various Barrow Kotzebue Ft. Yukon various
various
various
various
Shontz - Barrow Ft. Yukon Kobuk various
various various
Huslia & Nulato various
various Barrow
Barrow
Barrow Barrow
various various various
various Kotzebue various
various Barrow
various
various various
various various Barrow
Estimated Weight
1,200 6,500 1,600 1,400 6,150
4,000
4,400
2,032
4,500 2,200
550 2,854
3,890 1,180
2,000 1,080
1,450 8,000
1,000
6,600 42, 500
1,350 2,500
14,093
1,200 1,000 1,459
5,058 9,000
2,950
1,300 34,860
1,470 2,175 7,550
Date Rec'd
October 1
4
6
7
11
12
13
14
16
18
21
22
23
24
25
155
Appendix Table B-1 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Fairbanks Post Off ice for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
l 1
1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1
1
1
1 1
1 1
Source
B. I.A. - FAI Santa's Bakeries - FAI
A & W Wholesale - FAI Lindy's Groc. - FAI
Fairbanks News A & W Wholesale Market Basket Quality Meat Lindy's Grocery
Alaska Beverage - FAI Santa's Bakeries - FAI
A & W Wholesale - FAI
ANICA
West Coast - Tacoma
Santa's Bakeries - FAI Market Basket - FAI
ANICA Alaska Beverage - FAI
Destination
Barrow various
various various
various various Wainright various various
Barrow various
various
various
Ambler Barrow various various
various Barrow
Barrow
Estimated Weight
965 1,120
2,000 1,780
1,700 1,300
150 640 515
8,500 1,080
1,867
6,220
2,000 1,000 1,200 1,130
8,000 8,800
1 1
A & W Wholesale - FAI Market Basket - FAI Venitie & Pt. Hope
1,130 1,200
1 1
1
1 1 1
1
1
1
A & W Wholesale - FAI Lindy's - FAI
ANICA
Quality Meat - FAI Santa's - FAI Alaska Beverage - FAI
Santa's - FAI
A & W Wholesale - FAI
A & W Wholesale
various various
Point Hope
various various Barrow Ft. Yukon
various
various
various
1,335 1,870
2,200
1,600 1,350 8,000
900
1,500
1,550
1,265
Date Rec'd
156
Appendix Table B-1 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail . at Fairbanks Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
Source Destination
October (Continued)
27
28
29
30
31
1 1 1 1 l
1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
ANICA A & W Wholesale Quality Meats SanFair (Bakery) Lindy's
A & W Wholesale Alaska Beverage Lindy's
ANICA Quality Meats A & W Wholesale Market Basket Lindy's
A & W Wholesale Sanfair (Bakery) Quality Meats Market Basket Lindy's
A & W Wholesale Lindy's Sanfair (Bakery) Market Basket
various various various various various
various Barrow various
various various various various various
various Barrow various various various
various various various Anuktuvuk Pass
Estimated Weight
1,944 1,700
500 500 514
700 6,600
300
7,000 500
1,300 400 585
900 315 300
1,000 375
1,500 1,230
150 750
Date Rec'd
August
1
4
5
6
8
11
12
13
157
Appendix Table B-2
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
2 2
1 1
1 1
1 1 1 1
Source
Interior Shipping - ANC
Sunrise Bread - ANC Anch. Cold Storage - ANC Grocers Wholesale - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC V. F. Grace - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC
Produce Wholesale ANC V. F. Grace - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC State of Alaska School-ANG
Sunrise Bakery - ANC
Anch. Cold Storage - ANC Anch. Cold Storage - ANC Grocers Wholesale - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Grocers Wholesale - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC Pepsi-Cola Bottling - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC
ANICA Interior Shipping - ANG
Sunrise Bakery - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC V. F. Grace, Inc. - ANG
Grocers Wholesale ANC Pepsi-Cola - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANG
Destination
P. T. Albert, Tununak, Ak
Balance-various various various various various
various various various
various various various various Ft. Yukon McGrath various
various various various Swanson Bros. Store, Bethel
various various various various various various various various
various various
various various
various various
various various various various
Estimated Weight
1,400 700
3,000 2,000 3,000 8,000
4,000 2,500 3,800
3,000 2,500 1,600 6,500 2,000 2,500 3,200
5,000 10,650 26,000
3,600 5,000 5,000 3,200 2,800
11,000 1,200 3,000 2,000
3,500 2,000
4,000 5,000
4,000 4,000
35,000 10,000
3,600 5,000
Date Rec'd
J-5 B
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Off ice for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
Source Destination Estimated Weight
August (Continued)
14
15
18
19
20
21
22
23
26
1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 2 1 1 1 1
1
1 1
1 1 1
1
1
1 1 1 1 2
2
Northern Commercial - ANC various Interior Shipping - ANC various Produce Wholesale - ANC various
Sunrise Bakery - ANC Anchorage Cold Storage Grocers Wholesale - ANC Northwest Janitor Supply-
Alaska State School, ANC
B. I.A. - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC V. F. Grace - ANC A. L. French Co. - ANC A. L. French Co. - ANC
Anchorage Cold Storage Sunrise Bakery - ANC Grocers Wholesale - ANC Alaska State School - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC
A. L. French - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC Frigid Fruit & Gro. -ANC
Pepsi-Cola Bottling - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC
Grocers Wholesale - ANC
Grocers Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC Grocers Wholesale - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC Pepsi Cola Bottling - ANC Prairie Market - ANC
Interior Shipping - ANC
various various various
various
various various various various various
various various various various various Andy Charlie, Tununak, Ak
Balance-various various
various various
St. Mary's Mission various various
various
various
various various various Emmonak, Ak Naknek, Ak and Ft. Yukon, Ak
various
3,000 4,000 6,000
2,000 3,000 2,500
6,000
10,000 6,000 3,000 6,000 4,286
2,500 4,200
25,000 6,000 6,000
2,260 1,540 5,520
2,000 2,500
1,985 2,500 3,465
2,200
25,000
5,000 15,000
5,000 1,475
2,400 3,000
Date Rec'd
J.59
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
Source Destination Estimated Weight
August (Continued)
27
September
2
3
4
5
8
9
10
11
12
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1
1
3
2 3
2
3 2
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 1
1
1 1 2
Produce Wholesale Grocers Wholesale V. F. Grace, Inc. Anch. Cold Storage Alaska State
ANC ANC ANC
- ANC
School District - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Alaska Fish & Farm - ANC A. L. French - ANC
Pepsi Cola - ANC
Interior Shipping - ANC
Pepsi Cola Co. - ANC Pacific Fruit
& Produce - ANC Family Market - ANC
Pepsi Cola - ANC Interior Shipping - ANC
Alaska Fish & Farm - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Anc. Cold Storage - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
U.S. Weather Bureau ANC Knott Company - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Alaska Cold Storage-ANG Interior Shipping -ANC Pepsi Cola - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC v. F. Grace - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC
Produce Wholesale - ANC Grocery Wholesale - ANC Pepsi Cola Co. - ANC
various various various various
various various various various
various
various
Kotzebue & Aniak
various various
St. Mary's Nondalton
various various various various
various Bethel various various various Kotzebue & ANiak various
various various various
various
various various Emmonak
11,000 20,000 1,400 7,500
5,000 4,000 1,225 1,168
1,500
3,500
1,100
1,590 1,200
2,500 1,515
1,575 4,000
12,000 3,500
4,500 4,000 5,000 1,500 1,850 1,650
10,000
2,100 1,500 1,150
5,000
10,000 12,000
1,550
Date Rec'd
160
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
.Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
Source Destination
September (Continued)
15
16
17
18
19
22
23
24
25
26
29
1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1
2 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 2
3 1 2 1 1 1
3 3
2 2 1
1 1
1
Sunrise Bakery - ANG various Grocer's Wholesale - ANG various
Northern Commercial - ANG Nome & Bethel ANICA various Sunrise Bakery - ANG various Produce Wholesale - ANG various Interior Shipping - ANG various
Grocer's Wholesale - ANG Northern Commercial - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG State of Alaska Schools Produce Wholesale - ANG
Sunrise Bakery - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANG
Interior Shipping - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG Grocers Wholesale - ANG
Anch. Cold Storage - ANG Northern Commercial - ANG Grocers Wholesale - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANG
Sunrise Bakery - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANG Interior Shipping - ANG
Pepsi Cola - ANG V. F. Grace - ANG Interior Shipping - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANG Grocers Wholesale - ANG
Odom Covey Co. - ANG Interior Shipping - ANG
various various various various Bethel
various various
various various various
various various various various various
various various Nome
Kaltag various various various various various
Holy Cross various
A. L. French - ANG various Interior Shipping - ANG various Anch. Cold Storage - ANG various
Sunrise Bakery - ANG various Grocer's Wholesale - ANG various Produce Wholesale - ANG various
Estimated Weight
3,500 12,000
4,100 8,539 3,000 4,500 1,750
11,500 7,917 2,500 3,600 2,800
2,600 4,000
1,650 2,700
30,000
7,150 1,587
31,700 2,500 3,000
2,400 2,200 1,800
1, 750 1,560 1,590 7,500 3,600
35,000
2,600 1,790
1,550 1,760 4,500
3,500 8,500 3,600
! I
Date Rec'd
October
1
2
3
6
7
8
9
13
14
15
16
17
20
161
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
1
2 1
2
2
2
2 1
2
2
1
2 2 1 1 1 1
1 1 3 1
3 1 1
2 1 1 1 1
3 1 1 1 1
Source
Sunrise Bakery - ANG
Interior Shipping - ANG V. F. Grace - ANG
Pepsi Cola - ANG
V. F. Grace ANG
V. F. Grace - ANG
Fish Farm & Fur - ANG V. F. Grace - ANG
V. F. Grace - ANG
Pepsi Cola - ANG
Interior Shipping - ANG
Alaska Fish & Farm - ANG A. L. French - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG N. C. Co. - ANG Anch. Cold Storage - ANG Frigid Fruit - ANG
Grocers Wholesale - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG Sealand - SEA - SR 98010 N.C. Co. - ANG
Interior Shipping - ANG Sunrise Bakery - ANG Knott Co. - ANG
Pepsi Cola - ANG N.C. Co. - ANG ANICA Sunrise Bakery - ANG Grocers Wholesale - ANG
Interior Shipping - ANG Anchorage Cold Storage Sunrise Bakery - ANG Grocers Wholesale - ANG Produce Wholesale - ANG
Destination
various
various various
St. Mary's & Kotzebue
various
various
Kalskag various
various
Kotzebue
various
various various various various various various
various various various various
Nondalton various various
St. Mary's various various various various
various various various various various
Estimated Weight
3,100
1,550 950
950 1,500
1,050
1,750 900
1,700
1,550
750
800 800
2,000 3,000
20,000 3,000
25,000 2,500
65,100 4,000
1,500 2,100 2,000
1,500 5 ,010 2,000 2,200
35,000
1,700 5,500 3,000
20,000 1,400
162
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Date Number of Estimated Rec'd Trailers Source Destination Weight or Trucks
October (Continued)
21 1 Interior Shipping - ANC various 700 1 Knott Company - ANC Bethel 2,400 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 3,500 1 Produce Wholesale - ANC various 5,500 ...
22 1 Anchorage Cold Storage various 5,500 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,200 1 Produce Wholesale - ANC various 5,600
23 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 3,600 1 Grocers Wholesale - ANC various 39,000
24 1 V. F. Grace - ANC various 500 1 Interior Shipping - ANC various 750
27 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,200 1 Grocer's Wholesale - ANC various 25,000
28 1 Grocers Wholesale - ANC various 25,000
29 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 3,400 1 ANICA various 1,608 1 Produce Wholesale - ANC Bethel 4,500
various 1,000
30 1 Grocers Wholesale - ANC various 25,000 1 Produce Wholesale - ANC various 2,100
31 1 Grocers Wholesale - ANC various 4,000 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,000
November
3 1 Northern Commercial - MIC various 7,469 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,000
4 1 Grocers Wholesale - ANC various 21,000 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,000 1 Produce Wholesale - ANC various 5,000
5 1 Anch. Cold Storage - ANC various 2,500 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 2,400
6 1 Sunrise Bakery - ANC various 3,000
7 1 Anch. Cold Storage - ANC various 4,000
Date Rec'd
163
Appendix Table B-2 (continued)
Trailer or Truck Loads of Material Deposited in Mail at Anchorage Post Office for Air Transport Onward
Number of Trailers or Trucks
Source Destination
November (Continued)
10
12
13
14
17
18
19
20
21
24
25
26
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1
1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1
Grocers Wholesale - ANC Northern Commercial ANC Kohli - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC
Grocers Wholesale - ANC Knott Co. - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
Sunrise Bakery - ANC
Anch. Cold Storage - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC
Northern Commercial - ANC ANICA Sunrise Bakery - ANC Produce Wholesale - ANC
Grocers Wholesale - ANC Sunrise Bakery - ANC Weather Bureau Grocers Wholesale - ANC
various various various various
various Bethel various various
various
various various
various various various various
various various various various
Produce Wholesale - ANC various Sunrise Bakery - ANC various
Knott Co. - ANC various Sunrise Bakery - ANC various
ANICA various Sunrise Bakery - ANC various
Grocers Wholesale - ANC various Sunrise Bakery - ANC various
Northern Commercial - ANC various Grocers Wholesale - ANC various Sunrise Bakery - ANC various
Sunrise Bakery - ANC various Northern Commercial - ANC various Grocers Wholesale - ANC various
Estimated Weight
12,000 5,265 2,400 2,300
16,000 3,600 4,000 4,500
2,100
7,200 2,600
2,533 3,000 4,200 5,000
12,000 2,200 3,780 7,500
6,000 2,500
5,000 2,200
2 ,400 4,200
20,000 3,600
3,451 3,000 2,400
2,100 22, 771 10,000
APPENDIX C - ICE CONDITIONS, WEST COAST OF ALASKA
Source: Captain T. C. Pullen, Report to the Lost River Mining Corporation, Conc;rning Environmental and lee Conditions as They Hight Influence Shipping Operations to the Lost River Area of Alaska. Ottawa, Ontario: Northern Associates Reg'd., January 31, 1971.
! •
I·
5!>' - .
'"].,,, '"' -l..W..: .1 J 1.J., L..1. ,.J
1n 110 I><
165
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
FAIR 100
DATA DISTRIBUTION
;tJ .•• ~·
•'
I
}
I I
\ ..
'• ( "
i I
I
t tEGEND
-- PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF I 18 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH J 965
-- LIMIT OF OBSERVA !IONS NOTE,
I ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS Of THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF OBSER-
- - 60'
! VATIONS PRECLUDES ANALYSIS.
w'-~_;--_c-~ -~-'--'---'-''-_l__i_ _j_L __ L ------~- ----- ·-. -- -·----···--L..--- ~o· PS' 180" ns· 110' If.~· lf.O' !~~-
cl r- JANtJA fEC
PERIOD OF 06SftlVATIONS POOR fAJR GOOO
....
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE
OF 1 8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
.. (,
11~·
JI , I
~ I
\_ I
i'\~ I
~L~ I ,
I I l~0i I I
l I
I 100~~-.. ·'\.('; 75 '
I
LEG ENO
-- PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF I /B OR GREATER CONCEN· TRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM· 1953 THROUGH 1965
-- LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS
NOTE1 ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS Of THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF 08SERVATIONS PRECLUDES ANALYSIS.
,,. 1'>5'
FEBRUARY
f.
,,,. --- -- -- .
55' --------- ~-- ---··
I
167
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE
OF l 8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
-L- -- -- .1
'• ""
LEGEND
-- PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRfNCE OF SEA ICE Of J :a OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
I -, ; .:'
.1J?~--~ -- LIMIT Of OBSERVATIONS , >;-.;,!if:»S~ , NOTE
•' OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF OBSER-
155' ,,.
.. I I ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS
.--~ _:_L_f __ L_;__J__J__L.._ __ -_--___ v_A 1_1o_N_s_P_R_E_ct_u_o_'_s_A_N_A_t_v_s_1s_. --.. --------.. -_-_..J_ j sw
180' po· 175• 160' I'•'>'
MARCH
f>ERIOD Of OBSERV.4.TKlNS POOR FAIR GOOD
6S' ·---k ~,..
lJ.... {.,' ·,1 ,.
168
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE
OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
~~~50>--~~~~--------
---i::--::::::-:--= 2:1---
" I "
LEGEND
- PERCENT FREQUENCY Of OCCURRENCE Of SEA ICE Of l/B OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
-- LIMIT Of OBSERVATIONS
NOTE,
_L ___ 1 _1 _I 160'
Jj ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY Of OBSERVATIONS PRECLUDES ANALYSIS.
_J__i.__J_~ .1-.J ___ L_l -~---~----- .. -~--- . ----- . ---·-- ,,,. 110· 160' !',,,·
APRIL
PERIOD Of c>aSERVA.TtONS
lo~
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE
OF 1 8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
100
POOR 0 THROt.JGH J Yf ARS ~ FAIR 4 THROl.IGH 7 YfA.RS GOOD 8 THROUGH 11
or·t--+---+-
"':-60" -~---~ .. - -~~~-·~·- - . • •. - ~--·-···- .
' .. ; ~
0 ~-~ •• ~- "7-.;.8 ;;.·· 1 .
'
MAY
PEl;IOD OF 09SEJl:VATIONS POOR fAIR GOOD
60. -----·--·-·-·--·--· -- ----
"
170
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1 /8 OR. GREATER CONCENTRATION
\ ;'
t/~"\ I ·,)
.
LEGEND
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS Yf.ARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS
NOTE: ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF OBSERVATIONS PRECLUDfS ANALYSIS.
""'
, ·,'I , ~~ w·~~~1 -- I I I J L __ L_ I .l._J __ .1. __ ..:._ ___ , __ L.-... -.-.• -.-----------------' i,,rr
115' \8()• )1)" po• I&~· 1(.0• ">','
JUNE
60"
171
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
'"" =~~ ~~-\;...._... __ ..;.... __ ._ _________ _. _ _._., ..
PERIOD OF OBSERVATIONS
POOR 0 THROUGH 3 YEARS FAIR .C THROUGH 7 YfAltS GOOD 8 THROUGH 11 YI AR'S
, .. '
'" ..l_J LJ • I .,,. .. PATA OISTRl8UTION
'""
.,.
.~
LEGEND
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE Of I. 8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS '•. ~ . i
' NOTE, l ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS I OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF OBSER·
i· L-~~-V_A_n_o_N_s~••_E_c_tu_D_E_s_A_N_A_L_Y_s_is_.~-~~~---' 111)" lf,(J0
J55" ,,.
. 6~·
f,t;'
JULY
172
PERCENT FREQUENCY Of OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE
OF 1 8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION 16·-· '"'" --~.
~' '-"_,, J--'--'-----"'-'--'-_;..--.:....-'-< TTl"i;,. -,
PERIOD Of O&SERVAflONS POOR 0 THROUGH 3 '!'f:ARS f/\IR GOOD
~s· ·---·-
~7S' __l_L_l--~~
1ao·
'')-
., I~
' l_.l_:__L __ ,__,_____,__L _ _.__--'-----'-
11~· 110·
NOTE: ZERO PERCENT LINE LIES NORTH OF AREA.
\ I
( ~ (/f'-.. ~U" \:,··.
I !
AUGUST
60' - --·----·- ..
ss· ---·- .
lJ ••• ~·
173
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1 ;8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
• • ;J*lG~OD -------- -- -· 65'
I j Ll Li...1.--J.lJ....LJ,_ .1.LL , .,. ,,~. ,... ,...,. ,.,.
"
I I
I I
I I
t .,,_
.• I "
I
I (j .; . \
I '
---- ·-------···- - . 60'
-+-·~--..;;.='----'-'__.;._:::_' ~~L::__-L:_'.J.______:c__::.;;..;..., 1,
I LEGEND
-- PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE Of l iB OR GREATER CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
-- LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS
NOTE,
AllHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY Of OBSERVATIONS PREClUDES ANALYSIS.
.,. ~'._J __ ;_ ___ L_j_j L~LJ_J__i -'-· '----·=--. --.. --------_ -" ____ ,,,. 11s· iso· ]}0' 16'> lf-0' l'>~'
SEPTEMBER
174
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
17!1' ISO' 17~' 110' 16S· 160' 155'
ro··.c-;~-r~-.-,-,J:,,::::~~~~.-~~~~--'-~-~~~--'r-~~~~~.~1-~~·~_,~-~---~~1~
F..._IR GOOD
0 THROUGH 3 Yf -'RS <I THROUGH 7 YEARS 8 THROUGH 11 YEARS
MT ---
60' --- ---~··----- - -----·- -------·
.,.
;a.·.. '{,'
' "'°"
\ ..
.• Id ,µ
25 /__.
'· I l ... ~75 ' r /'il I
50"\><d 'j_r~ , 1V •
I
LEGEND
-- PERCENT FREQUENCY Of OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1 /8 OR GREATE:R CONCENTRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM 1953 THROUGH 1965
-- LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS
NOTE, ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS AREA, THE SPARSITY OF OBSERVATIONS PRECLUDES ANALY5'5.
.,,,-
·-----·--------------- --- ----·--- '.>0' l60' \~~-
OCTOBER
J. / J
PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF SEA ICE OF 1/8 OR GREATER CONCENTRATION
=~~ !o--~---'-.... -'--'--..... -'-"'-..l.....l.-l......J...., -.
PERIOD Of OB!>ERV .. TIONS
POOR 0 THROUGH ) YEA.RS fAIR .C THROUGH I Yf ARS G000 YE.AAS
' · .. :! ~_,- • " l POOR "1' J.J.l .1 ; ~I I l 1 J LL J .. Ll .. l_ ..l..J. .. .LL L.Ll
Ht' It.<> ,,.. PO" 1~•· l&O'
60" .. ------····
I ! I
I
DATA DISTRIBUTION
'';-
I I -·
.·2~tfl 75 .J:/rt" 25\ "'-50
25 1
'/ (,,fl ( \,r,"" I
/ I,> Jl'_jl. I . ;, ;,,~~,- I
1
--·-1 ~~:N~~ .-i.. \ ~·,·
I : -- PERCENT FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF I SEA ICE OF I /8 OR GREATER CONCEN-
1
TRATION BASED ON VARIOUS YEARS FROM .,
/ ,,. 1953 THROUGH 1965
/ e> -- LIMIT OF OBSERVATIONS /J '• o• •-~ . "' I :- '<T.;.8 pr~ ·1 NOTE.
~ ALTHOUGH ICE OCCURS t< OTHER PARTS
w·'-----~-----'--'-------'---1. •' ! l___L_'_l__'===~=A=FT=-~=H~=~=A=:~=~=~=Lu='~=·:=s='==~-::--~n:--y~-·s=O=F=O=B-S=ER=-=-=---~----- SO'
17s· 1so· 11s· 170' 16S' lf.o' 1~s-
NOVEMBER
176
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrahamson, John D. Westward Alaska: The Native Economy and Its Resource Base. Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1968.
Abrams, Charles. Housing the Alaska Native. Anchorage: Alaska State Housing Authority Remote Housing Report No. 1, February 1967.
Adkison, W.L. and Mary H. Brosge (eds.). Proceedings of the Geological Seminar on the North Slope of Alaska. Los Angeles, California: U.S. Geological Survey and American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 19 70.
Alaska. Consultants. Nome Comprehensive Development Plan. Anchorage: Alaska State Housing Authority, 1968.
Alaska. Dept. of Economic Development, Alaska Statistical Review, 1970. Juneau: 1970,
Alaska. Dept. of Fish and Game. Alaska Catch and Production, Commercial Fisheries Statistics 1960-1969. Juneau,
Alaska. Dept. of Highways. Long Range Highway Program. Juneau: 1968.
Alaska. Dept. of Labor. Alaska's Manpower Outlook -- 1970's. Juneau.
------ Cooperative Area Manpower Planning System Committee. Alaska Manpower Training Programs. Juneau: 1970.
Manpower Survey, Kobuk Area. Juneau: 1970.
Manpower Survey, Nome Area. Juneau: 1970.
1970 Census and Alaska Manpower Resources Report on the Barrow-Wainwright Area. Juneau: 1969.
Statistical Quarterly 1960-70. Juneau.
Workforce Estimates. Juneau: 1970.
Alaska. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. A Survey of Handicapping Conditions. Juneau: 1970.
Alaska Industry, Vol. III, Nos. 6 and 11 consulted. Anchorage: Alaska Industrial Publications, Inc. 1971.
Alaska Municipal Officials Directory 19 72. Alaska Municipal League. Juneau: · 19 72.
!
, '
177
Alaska (Ter.) Planning Council. Preliminary Economic Survey of the Seward Peninsula Area. Juneau: 1940.
Alaska State Housing Authority. City of Barrow Comprehensive Development Plan. Anchorage: 1970.
Kotzebue, Alaska Comprehensive Development Plan. Anchorage: 1971.
Alaska Steamship Company. Presentation at the Public Hearings on Deep Draft Navigation Improvement for the Seward Peninsula, held by the Department of the Army, Alaska Division, Corps of Engineers, Nome, Alaska, Kotzebue, Alaska, September 12-13, 196 7. Presentation by Mr. James F. O'Sullivan.
The Alaska Survey and Report, 1970-71. Anchorage: The Research Institute of Alaska, Inc., 1970.
Alaska. Transportation Commission. Quarterly Statistics of Air Taxi Companies, unpublished, 1969-70.
Arctic Transportation Conference, Yellowknife, Northwest Territory. December 8-9, 1970. Conference Papers Vol. I. Ottawa, Ontario: 1970.
Armstrong, Terence. Soviet Northern Development With Some Alaskan Parallels and Contrasts. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1970. (ISEGR Occasional Paper #2.)
Arnold, Robert D. A Survey of the Administrative Situation in Alaska as It Affects Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts. Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1969.
and Esther C. Wunnicke. Alaska Natives and Federal Hire. ------Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1967.
Ballinger, J .N. "Marine Navigational Aids and Terminal Facilities." Ottawa, Ontario: Arctic Transportation Conference, Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, 1970.
Bass, Ken. From an unpublished report prepared for the Alaska Federation of Natives. December 16, 1971.
Berg, Henry C. and Edward H. Cobb. Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska. Washington, D.C.: 1967. (Geological Survey Bulletin 1246.)
Blasko, Donald P. "Regional Economic Development Plan and Program for Alaska Resource Fuels, Petroleum, Natural Gas," U.S. Bureau of Mines, unpublished paper prepared for the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Anchorage, February 1971.
178
"BLM Head Sees Conflict Over Three Land Choices." Anchorage Daily News, January 23, 1972.
Bowkett, Norma S. Direction 70's, An Assessment of Educational Needs in Alaska. Compiled by Alaska Dept. of Education. Juneau: 1970.
Bradner, Tim. "Nome Plays the Waiting Game." Alaska Construction and Oil. May 1969. p. 16.
Brewer, Dr. Max c. "Some Results of Geothermal Investigations of Permafrost in Northern Alaska." Transactions, American Geophysical Union. February 1958.
Brower, Charles D. Fifty Years Below Zero. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1942.
Brown, George W. Building the Canadian Nation. Vol. II. New York: Macfadden Books, 1968.
Burton, Wayne. Alaska's Agriculture. Economic and Government Research, (ISEGR Report #30.)
Fairbanks: Institute of Social, University of Alaska, 1971.
Civil Aeronautics Board Hearings. Docket 1120826 and 1121238, P.O.D. 201.
Cabinet Task Force on Oil Import Control. The Oil Import Question. Washington, D.C.: 1970.
Callahan, J.E. Geology of T. 15, R. 44 N., Unsurveyed Umiat Principal Meridian in the Kukpowruk Coal Field, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey open file report. n.d.
Carr and Donald and Associates, Ltd. and Site Transportation for Lost 1971.
Preliminary Study of Marine Terminal River Mining Corporation. March 30,
Chance, Norman A. The Eskimo of North Alaska. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966.
Chapman, Robert M., Robert L. Detterman and Marvin D. Mangus. Geology of the Killik-Etivluk Rivers Region, Alaska. Washington, D.C.: 1964. (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Papers 303-F and 303-G.)
and F.C. Sable. Geology of the Utukok-Corwin Region, Northwestern Alaska. Washington, D.C.: 1960. (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 303.)
Clark and Groff Engineers. Nomeport, A Preliminary Investigation of a Deepwater Harbor at Nome, Alaska, prepared for the City of Nome. November 1968.
179
Cresap, McCormick and Paget, Management Consultants. A Program for Increasing the Contribution of Tourism to the Alaskan Economy, prepared for the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and Travel Division, Dept. of Economic Development, State of Alaska, 1968.
DeLeuw, Cather and Associates and Try ck, Nyman and Hayes.. Report and Recommendations for Engineering Service Requirements, Transportation Corridor, Nenana-Dunbar Area to Kobuk River Valley, Office of the Governor, NORTH Commission, State of Alaska. Anchorage and New York: 1968.
Detterman, Robert L. and Robert S. Bickel and George Gryc. Chandler River Region, Alaska. Washington, D.C.: 1963 logical Survey Professional Paper No. 303-E.)
Geology of the (U.S. Geo-
Feulner, Alvin J., Joseph M. Childers and Vernon W. Norman. Water Resources of Alaska. Anchorage: U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska District, 1971. (Open File Report.)
"Field Work Study on Railway to North Slope." Fairbanks News Miner, October 21, 1971.
Fischman, Leonard L. The Economic Potential of the Mineral and Botanical Resources of the U.S. Continental Shelf and Slope. Springfield, Virginia: Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, 196 8.
Gazaway, H.P. Rural and 1966.
National Program Inadequacies and Needs to Be·tter Serve Native Alaska. Juneau: U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Geological Survey. Mineral and Water Resources of Alaska. Report to the Congress. Washington, D.C.: 1964.
German and Milne. Transportation Study for Lost River Mining Corporation, Ltd. Montreal: April 29, 1971.
Gilbert, De Witt. The Future of the Fishing Industry of the United States, Vol. IV of New Series Publications, in Fisheries. Seattle: University of Washington, 1968.
Graham, John R. A Summary Report on the Lost River Mineral Deposits, Lost River Area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, prepared for PCE Explorations Limited. Toronto: April 17, 1970.
Griffin, Warren. "Plans of Action FY 19 71." Anchorage: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare, Alaska Native Health Service, Office of Planning and Evaluation, 1970.
180
Gryc, George. "The Arctic Slope," Landscapes of Alaska, Geological Survey publication. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958.
"The Brooks Range," Lands capes of Alaska, Geological Survey publication. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958.
Hansen, Henry P. (ed.). Arctic Biology. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1967.
Hare, R. Kenneth. "Weather and Climate." Geography of the North lands. New York: American Geographical Society, 1955.
Harrison, Gordon Scott (ed.). Alaska Public Policy: Current Problems and Issues. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1971.
Heiner, Lawrence E. and Ernest N. Wolff. Mineral Resources of Northern Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska, June 1968. (MIRL Report No. 16.)
Heller, Christine A. and Edward M. Scott. The Alaska Dietary Survey, 1956-61. Anchorage: Public Health Service, Arctic Health Research Center, 196 7.
Herbert, Charles F. Alaska-Northwest Canada Economic Activities, Part I: A Summary Comparison of Mining Laws and Oil and Gas Laws and Practices with Recommendations for Policy. Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1967.
Hickok, David M. Observations on the Alaska Reindeer Situation. Anchorage: Jederal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1968.
Hippler, Arthur E. Barrow and Kotzebue: An Exploratory Comparison of Acculturation and Education in Two Large Northwestern Alaska Villages. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, December 1969.
"Some Observations on the Persistence of Alaska Native Village Populations," Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1969. (ISEGR Research Note A-1.)
"Some Unplanned Consequences of Planned Culture Change." Edmonton, Alberta: Boreal Institute of the University of Alberta, 1968. (Occasional Publication No. 6.)
Hopkins, J.P. and D. M. Hopkins. "The Seward Peninsula." Landscapes of Alaska, Geological Survey publication. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958.
181
Hume, James D. and Marshall Schalk. "The Effects of Beach Borrow in the Arctic." Shore and Beach. April 1964.
Johnson, Philip R. and Charles W. Hartman. Environmental Atlas of Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska, 1969.
Kelsall, V.P. The Caribou. Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Canadian Wildlife Series, 1968.
Kleinfeld, Judith and Thomas A. Morehouse. Manpower Needs in Alaska. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, August 1970. (ISEGR Report No. 26.)
Konicek, R.R. Alaskan Air Distribution Analysis. Lockheed-Georgia Company, October 1970.
Laut, Agnes C. The Canadian Commonwealth. Chautauqua, New York: The Chautauqua Press, 1915.
Lemke, Richard W. Unpublished selections from an unpublished report on the geology of the Nome area, U.S. Geological Survey. Denver: October 196 7.
Lin, Peter C. "Alaska's Population and School Enrollments." Alaska Review of Business and Economic Conditions, Vol. VIII, No. s. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1971. ·
Arthur D. Little, Inc. trial Development,
Alaska's Mineral Resources as a Base for Indusreport to the State of Alaska, February 1962.
Locatable Mineral Resources in Alaska. lished report to the Federal Field in Alaska, Anchorage, March 1971.
U.S. Geological Survey, unpubCommittee for Development Planning
Lu, Frederick C., Lawrence Heiner and De Verle P. Harris. Known and Potential Ore Reserves - Seward Peninsula, Alaska. College, Alaska: 1968. (MIRL Report No. 18.)
MacCormac, John. Canada: America's Problem. New York: The Viking Press, 1940.
Massell, Benton F. and Adele P. Massell. "High Prices and Construction Costs in Alaska: an Analysis and Some Policy Guidelines, 11 unpublished report, Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, June 1971.
Meade, Walter J. and Phillip E. Sorenson. 11A National Defense Petroleum Reserve Alternative to Oil Import Quotas, 11 published paper. Santa Barbara: University of California, 1971.
182
Mirsky, Jeannette. To the Arctic! Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Morehouse, Thomas A. and Victor Fischer. Borough Government in Alaska. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1971. (ISEGR Report No. 29.)
Murie, Adolph. The Wolves of Mount McKinley. National Park Service, Series No. 5. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1944.
North Pacific Fisheries Symposium. Washington Law Review. Seattle: October 196 7.
Northwestern Alaska. Letter from the Secretary of the Army. Washington, D.C.: GPO, March 18, 1959.
Olson, Dean F. Alaska Reindeer Herdsmen. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1969. (ISEGR Report No. 22.)
"Optimism Reigns at Lost River .. " Editorial, Alaska Construction and Oil, Vol. 12, No. 9. Seattle: Alaska Construction News, Inc.
Oswalt, Wendell H. Alaskan Eskimos. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 196 7.
Parker, Walter B. High Fares and Low Incomes: the Problem of Intra-Alaska Air Routes. Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 1970.
Marine Transportation in Alaska's Bering Areas. Ports and Ocean Engineering Conference. University of Norway, August 1971.
Sea and Arctic Ocean Trondheim: Technical
Regulatory and Economic Aspects of the Use of Air Cushion Vehicles in Alaska. Anchorage: Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, January 1971.
Patterson, E. Arthur. Nome Area Overall Economic Development Plan. Nome: 1964.
"Proposed State Selections." Press release of January 22, 1972 by the Office of the Governor for Alaska, Anchorage Daily Times, January 23, 1972.
Pullen, Captain T.C. Report to the Lost River Mining Corporation, Concerning Environmental and lee Conditions as They Might Influence Shipping Operations to the Lost River Area of Alaska. Ottawa: Northern Associates Reg'd., January 31, 1971.
183
Rice, E.F., J. Ronald Saroff and William B. Fuller. Barrow Community Development Study. Fairbanks: University of Alaska, 1964.
Riley, Francis. Fisheries of the United States ... 1969, C.S.F. No. 5300, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C.:1970.
Rogers, George W. "Alaska Native Population Trends and Vital Statistics." Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, November 1971. (Research Note.)
Alaska Regional Population and Employment. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1967. (ISEGR Report No. 15.)
and Richard A. Cooley. Alaska's Population and Economy. 2 V. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1963. (ISEGR Report No. 1.)
Sater, Beverly F. (ed.). Arctic and Middle North Transportation, based on symposium held in Montreal, March 5,6, and 7, 1969, The Arctic Institute of North America. Montreal: December 1969.
Schrader, F.C. A Reconnaissance in Northern Alaska. Washington, D.C.: 1904. (Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 20.)
Snipes, James c. and Richard A. Schmidt. A System for Coordinating Intergovernmental Planning in Alaska, prepared by Stanford Research Institute for Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska. Menlo Park, California: l1arch 1971.
Spangler, Miller B. New Technology and Marine Resource Development. New York: Praeger, 1970.
and Clifford Eklins. Expanded Requirements for Deep Water Ports ----~-,: and National Policy and Program Alternatives, National Planning Asso-
ciation, November 2, 1967.
Stanford Research Institute. Planning Guidelines for the State of Alaska. 2 V. Prepared for the Office of the Governor, State of Alaska. Menlo Park, California: December 1969.
Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha Ltd. "Coking Coal Imported by Japanese Steel Indus try," unpublished, May 25, 1969.
Surface Transportation for Northern Alaska. Prepared for the NORTH Commission, State of Alaska, adapted from a manuscript by Roger Bye for the NORTH Commission. Anchorage: May,1968.
l
184
J. Hurray Thomas and Associates. Alaska's Commercial Timber Resources, prepared for the State of Alaska, Dept. of Economic Development. Portland: April 1970.
Tudor, Kelly, Shannon Consultants. Third Interim Report, Alaska Transportation Corridor Study, a report to the Dept. of Transportation, February 1971.
Tussing, Arlon R. "Discussion: The Economics of Petroleum Development," delivered at the 20th Alaska Science Conference, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, August 25, 1969.
---=--' Salvatore Comitini, Hubert J. Gellert, Ichirou Inukai, Akio Iwasaki, Michael R.C. Massie, et al. Alaska-Japan Economic Relations. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1968. (ISEGR Report No. 17.)
-----.,-and Gregg K. Erickson. Mining and Public Policy in Alaska. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1969. (ISEGR Report No. 21.)
------' George W. Rogers and Victor Fischer. Alaska Pipeline Report. Fairbanks: Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, University of Alaska, 1971. (ISEGR Report No. 31.)
U.S. Alaska. International Rail and Highway Commission. "Transport Requirements for the Growth of Northwest North America," Washington, D.C.: 1961. 3 V. (87th Congress, 1st Session. Senate Document No. 170.)
U.S. Army. Corps of Engineers. Northwestern Alaska. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1959.
Point Barrow Beach Erosion Reconnaissance Report. Anchorage: 1969.
Rail and Port Surveys of Alaska. Seattle: 1943.
Reconnaissance for Railroad or Highway West of Fairbanks. Seattle: 1942.
Waterborne Commerce of the United States, Calendar Year 1967, Part 4, Waterways and Harbors, Pacific Coast, Alaska and Hawaii. Vicksburg, Mississippi: 1969,
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population 1970: General PopulaCharacteristics, Final Report PC(l)-B3, Alaska.
Census of Population 1970: General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Report PC(l)-C3, Alaska.
Census of Population 1970: Number of Inhabitants, Final Report PC(l)-A3, Alaska.
.'I
~ U.S.
u. s.
185
1970 Census of Population. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1971.
Coast Guard. Polar Transportation Requirements Study Report. 3 V. Washington, D.C.: 1968.
Congress, Senate Committees on Public Works and Commerce. Problems of Alaska. Joint Hearings, 9lst Congress, 2nd Session, July 6, 7, 8, and 10, 1970. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1970.
U.S. Federal Aviation Agency. Alaska Plan for the Arctic Region, Anchorage: 1969.
U.S. Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska. Alaska Community Inventory. Anchorage: 19 71.
Alaska Natives and the Land. Anchorage: 1968.
Economic Outlook for Alaska. Anchorage: 1971.
The Need for Long-Range Communications Development Plan in Alaska. Submitted to the Office of Telecommunications of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, November 24, 1969.
A Subregional Economic Analysis of Alaska. Anchorage: 1968.
Transportation and Economic Development in Alaska. Joint Federal/State Transportation Task Force. Anchorage: 1968.
rv U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. Alaska Trade Study. GPO, 1967.
Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Rampart Project, Alaska: Market for Power and Effect of Project on Natural Resources - Volume 1. Juneau: 1965.
U.S. Dept. of Transportation. Alaska: Plan for the Arctic Region. Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Region. Anchorage: December 1969.
Long-Range Polar Objectives, proceedings of the Long-Range Polar Objectives Conference, Easton, Maryland, March 4-6, 1968. Washington, D.C.: U.S.D.O.T., April 1968.
U.S. House of Representatives, Resolution 10367. "Alaska Native Settlement Act of 1971," 92nd Congress, 1st Session, approved December 19, 1971.
U.S. Public Health Service, Barrow Service Unit. Five-Year Social Work Program. Washington, D.C.: 1969.
U.S. Public Land Law Review Commission. One-Third of the Nation's Land. Washington, D.C.: June 1970.
186
U.S. Weather Bureau. Climatic Summary of the United States .•. Alaska. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1965.
Wanke, Alexander A. "Coking Coal Potential in Alaska," unpublished report to the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska. February 1971.
Wisconsin. University. for the Public Land Policies in Alaska.
Center for Resource Policy Studies and Programs Law Review Commission. Federal Land Laws and
Madison: 1969.
i I
I l l ~
