Murkowski Committee Work Leads to Over 150 Alaskan NPS Jobs
Senator’s Legislative Fix Gives Upper Hand to Alaskans’ Regional Knowledge
Senator Lisa Murkowski today welcomed the news that 157 Alaskans have gotten National Park Service jobs this year because of the ANILCA Local Hire provision she restored in the 2012 Department of Interior funding bill through her position as top Republican on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.
The National Park Service recently informed Murkowski that they are making the best use of her legislative fix to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) – resulting in the hiring of over a hundred local Alaskans who best understand the singular issues surrounding living and working on Alaska’s lands. Without this legislative fix, the federal agencies would have not been able to utilize local knowledge as a criteria for hiring decisions – resulting in many non-Alaskans being hired.
“It’s truly rewarding to see that my work in the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee has such tangible impacts on so many Alaskans. We worked extremely hard to improve the local-hire program that for years had been bogged down and misinterpreted by federal government bureaucrats in Washington, DC,” said Senator Murkowski. “Today, we see just how impactful that fix was, and how many local Alaskans who live on the lands and know its uniqueness can use their unique knowledge to benefit their communities.”
|
Permanent |
Termed |
Temporary |
|
|
Denali National Park |
2 |
3 |
57 |
|
Glacier Bay National Park |
|
|
10 |
|
Katmai National Park |
|
2 |
2 |
|
Kenai Fjords National Park |
|
2 |
9 |
|
Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park |
1 |
4 |
11 |
|
Lake Clark National Park |
1 |
|
3 |
|
Sitka National Historical Park |
1 |
|
5 |
|
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park |
1 |
|
42 |
|
Yukon-Charley Rivers/Gates of the Arctic |
|
|
1 |
|
TOTAL |
6 |
11 |
140 |
The local-hire program was created in 1980 under ANILCA. In addition to creating or expanding 15 national parks in Alaska – totaling almost 80 million acres – the unique local-hire program was established to allow local residents and communities who have regional and traditional knowledge to enjoy employment and economic benefits from the establishment and enlargement of those new national conservation system units. Changes made to hiring requirements since its creation undermined the local-hire program and hindered the hiring of Alaskans until Senator Murkowski’s recent change was enacted into law.
