Bruce Collins

Bruce Collins was interviewed on Thursday, August 6, 1992 by David Krupa at Bruce's office in Anchorage, Alaska. Bruce is currently Aviation Manager for the National Park Service, but from 1981-1991 he was Chief Ranger for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, stationed in both Fairbanks and Bettles. Poor flying conditions kept Bruce grounded in Anchorage and made time available for this interview. He used the occasion of the interview to express his enthusiasm for the vast and diverse landscape of Alaska, and his growing awareness that the challenge of the Park Service in Alaska is to act as a wise steward for "global resources" unmatched in size and ecological integrity. He discusses the difficulty of conveying to outsiders the enormity, integrity, and diversity of Alaska and its paradoxical vulnerability to environmental insult. Like Ray Bane, he seemed intent on preserving a record of the unique period of park formation in Alaska; and sensitizing a new generation of park personnel regarding the depth and intensity of local concern over the impact of park formation upon historic patterns of use and occupancy on park lands. He discusses the struggle between the preservation mandate of the park and the needs of local communities. He also expresses his fear that park lands are in real danger of being compromised by political realities such as state claims to transportation corridors and increased hunting, mining, and trapping pressures at the margins of protected lands.