Wednesday is mark-up time for the bill allowing Tongass National Forest land selections by the Sealaska Native corporation in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.
Don Young introduced the bill in April, and had a hearing in May before the Indian Affairs Subcommittee. The office says only minor changes have been made since that hearing. Most of the land selections are on Prince of Wales Island. The bill also proposes economic development zones.
Senator Lisa Murkowski has attempted to address some of the criticism of the bill in her own version. It also had a hearing in April. Her office says it hopes for a markup this summer.
Download Audio (MP3)
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
