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Judy Alderson (Leidberg)

Judy Alderson was interviewed on April 27, 2004 by Bill Schneider in Anchorage, Alaska. At the time of the interview, Judy worked for the National Park Service in the Anchorage office, but the subject of her interview was her time as a ranger in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in the early 1980's. She talked about coming to work for the Park Service, and the natural resource issues they identified as important at the time. She also talked about her definition and concept of "wilderness," and how the Park Service has interpreted what wilderness means. There is also some mention of the all-terrain vehicle use management issues that the Park Service faces.

Digital Asset Information

Archive #: Oral History 2002-27-18

Project: Gates of the Arctic National Park
Date of Interview: Apr 27, 2004
Narrator(s): Judy Alderson
Interviewer(s): Bill Schneider
Location of Interview:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Alternate Transcripts
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Slideshow
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Sections

1) Her personal background, work history, and coming to work in Alaska

2) Working for the National Park Service

3) Politics and land use policy in Alaska national parks

4) Land management and wilderness designation in national parks

5) Land use concepts in different contexts and national park land use managemen

6) Debate over "using" versus "preserving" land and the importance of wilderness

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Transcript

Section 1: Pendergrast, Don\ Bettles\ ranger station -- burned down\ records -- loss of\ birthplace\ Madison, Wisconsin\ vacation -- camping\ state parks\ Yellowstone National Park\ Glacier National Park\ work -- outdoors\ girl scouts\ Isle Royale National Park\ University of Wisconsin\ college degree -- wildlife ecology\ job -- Fish and Wildlife Service\ Michigan\ Kirtland's Warbler Project\ Ohio\ biologist\ animals -- damage control\ birds -- migratory\ croplands\ National Wildlife Refuge -- Minnesota\ Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge -- manager\ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge\ Alaska National Interest Lands Act (ANILCA) -- passage of\ Wisconsin -- duck pond\ Fairbanks\ job -- outdoor recreation planner\ job -- environmental education programs\ job -- interpretive public information\ cabins -- permits\ commercial services guides\ law enforcement\ policies\ National Park Service -- administration\ Watt, James\ park land -- exploration\ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- 10-02 Area\ land -- USGS inte rest\ exploration programs\ studies -- wildlife\ studies -- wild and scenic rivers\ studies -- interagency\ Porcupine River\ Wind River\ flying -- law enforcement\ guides -- hunting\ job -- change in\ Gates of the Arctic National Park\ camping -- minimum impact\ public information|

Section 2: job -- change in\ Fish and Wildlife Service\ National Park Service\ job -- naturalist\ Gates of the Arctic National Park\ public support\ biological mandate\ resources -- preservation of\ natural resources\ public education\ science -- low priority\ history\ partnerships\ railroads\ automobile association\ access\ people -- use by\ park -- concept of\ land -- system\ resources\ Yosemite National Park\ Yellowstone National Park\ Grand Canyon National Park\ Alaska parks -- remote\ Alaska parks -- accessible\ Denali National Park\ Glacier Bay National Park\ staff -- types of\ chief ranger\ superintendent\ resource staff\ second-tier hires\ Parks organization -- establishment of|

Section 3: politics\ parks -- resources\ controversy -- park establishment\ land use policy -- D2 Era\ planners -- national parks\ promises\ reactions -- Park Service\ land use -- task force\ Carter, President Jimmy\ National Monuments -- designation of\ regulations -- enforcement of\ rangers\ guns\ camps -- hunting\ Anaktuvuk Pass \ access -- guarantee of\ lifestyle -- changes in\ land use\ access -- all-terrain vehicles\ land use -- issues\ Fairbanks\ Bettles\ Anaktuvuk Pass\ wildlife projects\ natural resources\ programs\ protections\ scienctific research -- base line information\ species -- harvest of\ hunting -- subsistence\ trapping\ hunting -- sports\ fishing\ ecosystem -- type of\ Arctic\ ecosystem -- limited production\ animals\ plants\ seasons -- short growing\ tundra -- fragility of\ studies -- wolf\ studies -- lake trout\ Dall sheep -- population\ science -- raw data\ fire\ Bettles\ photos\ fishing -- sport\ fishing -- fly-in\ lake trout -- population\ guiding operations\ Walker lake\ fish -- management|

Section 4: Kauffman, John\ land -- preservation of\ park -- general management plan\ land use planning -- ANILCA\ Gates of the Arctic National Park\ wilderness -- mandate for\ park -- creation\ legislation\ parks\ wilderness spectrum\ park staff\ superintendent\ Ring, Dick\ National Park Service -- Denver Service Center\ wilderness -- maintaining character of\ campsites -- impact of\ Arrigetch Peaks\ people -- number of\ overcrowding\ commercial use\ groups -- size limits\ management -- precedents\ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge\ access -- limited\ flying\ Bettles\ Coldfoot\ visitation -- amount of\ use -- high concentration\ Noatak River\ wilderness -- definition of\ undeveloped areas -- opportunity in\ natural ecosystem\ predators\ fire -- management\ nature -- unchanged\ National Park Service\ park -- differences\ parks -- Alaska and Lower 48|

Section 5: land use -- definitions\ land use -- pre-ANILCA\ land use -- understanding\ Native\ historical\ cultural\ land use\ Brown, Bill\ Nunamiut\ Athabascan\ land -- homeland areas\ cultural context\ Anaktuvuk Pass\ land use -- conflicts\ land use -- perceptions of\ resource development\ mining\ land use -- D2 lands\ land use -- economic benefits\ tourism\ recreation\ Kenai Fjords National Park\ Seward\ Bettles\ guides -- hunting\ flying -- air taxis\ people -- number of\ users -- backpackers\ users -- hunters\ Sourdough Outfitters\ tourism -- winter\ dog sledding\ tourism -- expansion\ recreation -- rafting\ people -- National Park Service\ Ring, Dick\ Collins, Bruce -- first chief ranger\ Bane, Ray -- land use studies\ Pepper, Jim -- management\ Karraker, Jeff -- Interpretative Ranger\ staff -- administrative\ Kunz, Mike -- Archeologist\ job -- change\ Anchorage\ job -- environmental specialist\ minerals program\ park -- regulations\ resources -- biology\ park -- projects\ Katmai National Park\ park -- coastal issues\ Wrangell St. Elias National Park\ park -- law enforcement\ park -- management\ National Natural Landmarks Program\ job -- regional wilderness coordinator|

Section 6: Yukon-Charley National Park\ Gates of the Arctic National Park\ land use -- debate\ user -- designations\ user -- residence\ user -- park\ land use -- regulations\ regulations -- conditions for\ settlement patterns\ occupation\ land -- preservation of\ wilderness\ human -- presence\ cabins\ Wiseman\ hunting -- restrictions\ Wilderness Act\ historical presence\ Marshall, Bob\ Murie, Mardie -- memorial service\ Murie, Mardie -- book "Two in the Far North"\ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- establishment of\ Hunter, Celia\ Wood, Ginny\ land -- protection of\ protection -- dedication to\ Arctic Wildlife Refuge -- 20th Anniversary\ Arctic -- conservation of\ conservation\ Brooks Range \ resources -- important\ wilderness -- character of\ opportunities -- preservation of\ wilderness -- experience of\ grizzly bears|