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Bob Howe and Bill Brown, Part 2
Bob Howe and Bill Brown

This is the continuation of an interview with Bob Howe and Bill Brown on May 6, 1991 by William Schneider at Bob's house on the Salmon River in Gustavus, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, Bob and Bill continue to talk about their experiences working for the National Park Service as new park units were being established after passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. Specifically, they discuss working in the Yukon-Charley Rivers area where they tried to establish good relationships with the local people who were concerned about preserving their subsistence-based lifestyles and historic cabins in the area, and getting the National Park Service to incorporate this local knowledge into their planning process.

After clicking play, click on a section to navigate the audio or video clip.

Sections

1) Bill Brown talks about personal trips in the Yukon-Charley Rivers area and how they contributed to Yukon-Charley planning for cabins

2) Bill Brown talks about how the field trips paid off in terms of scientific studies

3) Bill Brown talks about the "Master Plan" of 1973

4) Principle elements of "the Yukon-Charley Plan" as they revised it

5) New construction versus the use of historic cabins, and the impact of a National Park Service presence

6) Bill Brown talks about restoration of historic cabins. and the values of the river people

7) How much influence they think they, and people like Dave Evans, had on the shaping of Alaska parks and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve specifically

8) How they and others brought their influence to bear on National Park Service planning

9) Al Henson and how he encouraged the use of local knowledge and was responsive to the recommendations from those who had lived and worked in the field

10) Bob Howe talks about his experiences in Yukon-Charley fit in with his other experiences in the National Park Service

11) Bill Brown talks about how his experiences in Yukon-Charley fit in with his other experiences in the National Park Service

12) Bill Brown talks more about the attitudes of old-time Alaskans and the attitudes of more recent settlers

Click play, then use Sections or Transcript to navigate the interview.

After clicking play, click a section of the transcript to navigate the audio or video clip.

Transcript

Section 1: Eagle\ Charley River\ Potts, Mike\ Gaudio, Little John\ Mission Creek\ Comet Creek\ Fortymile\ line cabins\ trapping\ winter travel\ Nelson, Elmer\ camps\ Yukon-Charley - planning\ old timers\ mining\ river people\ Han Athabascan\ traditional use\ historic sites|

Section 2: Institute for Northern Studies\ geology\ Yukon-Charley - paleontology\ Allison, Carol\ hydrology\ botany\ mammals\ invertebrate\ arctic steppes\ peregrine falcons\ Yukon-Charley - scientific values\ glaciers|

Section 3: "Funny Book"\ legislation - federal lands\ ANCSA\ D-2\ trails\ Howe, Bob\ Caulfield, Rick\ Brown, Bill\ Yukon-Charley - visitors\ Eagle city\ Eagle Village\ Han Athabascans\ Yukon River\ lifestyle - subsistence|

Section 4: resources - development\ Yukon-Charley - organizational planning\ preservation\ Charley River\ cabins - use of existing\ Circle\ Yukon-Charley - facilities\ Eagle - attitudes\ Yukon-Charley - impact\ public meetings\ public relations\ Yukon-Charley - planning\ Mihalic, Dave\ Howe, Bob\ Brown, Bill\ Foreman, Bill|

Section 5: Slaven's Cabin\ Kandik River\ Charley River\ Coal Creek\ cabins - restoration\ Coal Creek - historic preservation\ Coal Creek - research station\ Eagle - attitudes\ Yukon-Charley - personnel\ Ulvi, Steve\ Chase, Don\ Yukon-Charley - headquarters|

Section 6: cabins - Nation River\ Nation River - cabins\ Evans, Dave\ Taylor Cabin\ Webb, Melody\ river people - values\ historic sites\ Yukon-Charley - visitors\ cabins - restoration\ Slaven's Cabin\ river steamers\ The Last Frontier: A Regional History of the Yukon\ Ulvi, Steve\ land - intangible values\ Yukon-Charley - impact\ Copper Creek\ Shields, Harvey\ archaeology - historic\ National Park Service - history in Alaska|

Section 7: Howe, Bob\ Brown, Bill\ Evans, Dave\ National Park Service - history in Alaska\ Yukon-Charley - planning|

Section 8: Evans, Dave\ Ulvi, Steve\ Ulvi, Dana\ Potts, Mike\ Howe, Bob - story\ Cook, Dick\ Eagle Village\ public relations\ Juneby, Willie\ Caulfield, Bob\ Henson, Al|

Section 9: Henson, Al\ Swem, Ted\ Belous, Bob\ Newman, Stell\ Wright, Jerry\ Kauffman, John\ Yukon-Charley - planning\ fieldwork|

Section 10: Howe, Bob\ field work|

Section 11: Belous, Bob\ Howe, Bob\ Brown, Bill\ taskforce\ historic moment - sense of\ National Park Service - history in Alaska\ Lopez, Barry\ "Crossing Open Ground"|

Section 12: old-timers\ James, Vince\ old-timers - attitudes\ Yukon-Charley - impact\ Olson, Barney\ Hanna, Jim\ Alaska Task Force\ "end-of-the-roaders"\ Austin, Jeff\ 1970's attitudes\ hippies\ public relations\ Eagle - attitudes|