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Jim Hannah, Part 1
Jim Hannah was interviewed on June 14, 1993 by William Schneider, Dave Krupa, Ann Worthington and Jenna App at the National Park Service's airplane hangar at the Glennallen Air Field in Glennallen, Alaska. In this interview, Jim reflects upon the conflicts between the Park Service's preservation mandate and the many varied interests that compete for access to and use of park resources. Jim rests firmly on the side of preservation, and suggests that there are very few subsistence users of the park. He expresses concern about the many pressures on the fragile ecosystem of the Wrangell-St. Elias area, pressures that threaten to repeat the exploitation and degradation of the environment in the Lower 48. He is steadfast in his commitment to seeing that the mistakes of the past not be replayed here in Alaska, at least not in the thirty or so million acres comprising National Parklands. Jim talks with candor about the many difficulties of his Alaska assignment, including isolation, local resentments, and the vastness of the area over which the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park personnel must preside. He urges new park personnel in Alaska to stick to their vision and not to be swayed by local or corporate interests that he feels would unwisely exploit the land and animals. His advice to those who may have had use of or interests in the area prior to park formation: Alaska is a vast land; there is enough land ownership and enough multiple use areas for everyone.
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Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 95-71-05-01
Project: Wrangell-St.Elias National Park
Date of Interview: Jun 14, 1993
Narrator(s): Jim Hannah
Interviewer(s): Bill Schneider
People Present: Anne Worthington, David Krupa, Jenna App
Location of Interview:
Location of Topic:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Parts:
Alternate Transcripts
There is no alternate transcript for this interview.
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Sections
1) Personal background and how he got interested in the National Park Service
2) Experience working with controversy
3) When he worked in Big Bend National Park, and when he came to Alaska
4) Regional office people in Alaska, and the effect of the establishment of national parks
5) Entering Eagle and the locals' perception of the Park Service
6) Perceptions of the Park Service
7) His attempts to present the Park Service to the people of Eagle
8) His very first encounter when he entered Eagle
9) Return to Big Bend, and his acceptance as District Ranger at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in April 1981
10) Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
11) Work as District Ranger, Chitina District, Wrangell-St. Elias Park, June 1980
12) Wrangell-St.Elias area deaths
13) ANILCA, issues of access, and the use of aircraft for sport hunting versus subsistence
14) The transient population in Glennallen, subsistence rights, and resident zones
15) ATV's, their impact on the land, and the coming necessity of paved roads
16) Access to established areas
17) Harvesting trees in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
18) Tree harvesting
19) Mineral policies and mining claims
20) The impacts to wildlife resources and subsistence abused by people
21) Problems with the guiding system
23) Helping guides understand regulations
23) Mountaineering
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Transcript
Section 1: hunting -- interest\ fishing -- interest\ Indianapolis, IN\ Rousse, Bob -- cousin, worked for Colorado Fish & Game\ Rousse, Bob -- influence\ teacher -- biology, Arlington High School, Indianapolis\ school administration\ coach -- football, track\ Vernal, UT\ Dinosaur National Monument -- interpreter, back country ranger, river ranger\ Yampa River
Section 2: Grand Canyon National Park -- 1972, river ranger\ Grand Canyon -- river management\ boating\ NPS -- experience with controversy\ Bryce Canyon -- intake ranger\ resource management\ Navajo Power Plant\ Glen Canyon
Section 3: Bryce Canyon -- 5 1/2 years\ Big Bend National Park -- district ranger\ Rio Grand District\ U.S. Customs\ border control -- U.S. and Mexico\ Alaska -- vacation, 1979\ Alaska -- offered job in 1981 for NPS
Section 4: Broadway, Doug -- Property and Procurement, NPS\ Yukon-Charley Rivers National Park\ Paleck, Bill\ Brown, Bill\ Tanner, Bill\ Cook, John -- Area Director\ Carter, Jimmy -- establishment of National Parks\ parks -- consequences\ park -- formation\ park -- Alaska Congressional Delegation views\ Yukon Charley National Monument -- Yukon Charley National Park
Section 5: Skagway\ Texas\ Eagle\ Eagle -- first visit, "Hostile Den"\ Monuments Proclamation -- also known as HR39\ ANILCA\ NPS -- resistance\ squatters\ NPS -- view as threat
Section 6: McPhee, John\ Chow, John -- district ranger\ NPS -- bureaucracy
Section 7: Eagle -- first visit\ Eagle -- anti-Park Service\ Eagle -- protest signs\ Eagle -- town meetings\ Evans, Dave
Section 8: Waller, Sarge\ Brown, Bill\ Eagle -- refusal to serve Park Service\ Eagle -- school\ Yukon-Charley Rivers National Monument -- recommended to be Preserve
Section 9: Wrangell-St. Elias -- District Ranger\ Ahtna Lodge\ Kenny Lake\ Ahtna Regional Corporation -- wife worked there\ Hannah, Shirley\ Copper Center -- school\ cabin -- description\ outhouse -- story
Section 10: water -- hauling\ Chitina\ rumors\ Wrangell-St. Elias -- private land, 1 million acres
Section 11: Budge, Chuck -- Superintendent\ Budge, Chuck -- worked at Bryce Canyon\ Bryce Canyon\ Paleck, Bill -- Chief Ranger\ Kotzebue
Section 12: Shaver, Mack\ Mullen, Kit -- seasonal worker\ Miller, Judy\ Dan Creek\ Crumb Gulch\ Gagnon, Fran\ May Creek\ Barrett, Bruce -- killed December\ Van Azdel, Don -- shot Bruce Barrett over dogs versus snowmobile dispute\ deaths -- McCarthy, 1983\ deaths
Section 13: ANILCA -- Dec. 2, 1980\ access -- aircraft\ access -- boat\ access -- ATV\ access -- policies\ subsistence -- use of aircraft
Section 14: pipeline -- corridor\ road -- impact\ visitors -- transients\ Glennallen\ Congress -- access intent\ subsistence -- grandfathering\ Tok\ resident zones -- defined\ Glennallen
Section 15: ATV's\ track vehicles -- surplus military\ Nabesna Road\ access -- challenges\ Copper Trail\ Tanada Lake Trail\ access -- channeling via paved roads\ access -- limitations
Section 16: Chisana\ access -- established areas\ McCarthy Road\ access -- present users want to limit newcomers
Section 17: trees -- harvesting, dead\ McCarthy\ Fireweed State Subdivision\ garbage\ Kennecott\ bears -- eating garbage
Section 18: May Creek\ trees -- girdling, green\ trees -- harvesting, creates trail system\ Gagnon, Al -- girdling trees
Section 19: mineral -- policies\ mining -- claims\ ANILCA -- access to claims\ access -- defining reasonable
Section 20: caribou -- Mentasta population\ subsistence -- caribou\ Slana\ Watt, James -- head of U.S. Department of the Interior\ Slana -- BLM land opened to homesteading\ Homestead Act\ Nabesna Road\ trees -- girdling\ beetles -- bark\ ecosystem -- management\ attitude -- boom/bust
Section 21: guiding -- problems\ guiding -- good old boy system\ guides -- lack of education to write management policies\ Chisana\ Lesko, Russ\ guides -- make big money
Section 22: Wade, Karen\ guides -- criticism for lack of education\ intimidation
Section 23: mountaineering -- Mt. McKinley\ mountaineering -- avoiding problems of Denali\ Wrangell Mountains\ Kluane National Park\ Tetlin Wildlife Refuge\ Tetlin Indian Reservation\ Mount Logan\ park -- diversity of resources