431 



ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 



501 W NortMrn ugnii Blvd .. Suite 203. Anchorage. AK 99503 (9071 276-0347 



March 1, 1990 



Honorable Frank Murkowski 

 United States Senate 

 709 Hart Building 

 Washington, DC 20510 



Dear Senator Murkowski: 



RE: HR 987 



The 



any 



milli 



in a 



land 



fishi 



econo 



of t 



depen 



yet, 



plann 



r ecog 



Alask 



addi t 



on a 



Wild 



area 



n 8i 

 my of 

 hese 

 ds o 

 this 

 ing 

 nize 



a Mi 

 ional 

 cres 

 ernes 



of 



recre 



this 



activ 



n bal 



leg 

 and m 

 or ac 



ners As 

 "Wild 

 of new 

 s class 

 southea 

 a t ion , 



region 

 ities t 

 anced p 

 islatio 

 anageme 

 knowled 



soci 

 erne 

 Wild 

 if ic 

 st A 

 tim 

 . I 



CO 



lann 

 n v 

 nt . 

 ge m 



ation i 

 as" in 

 er nesa 

 ation f 

 laska . 

 ber an 

 t furth 

 nt r ibut 

 ing and 

 iolates 

 We fu 

 ining a 



s op 



sout 



prop 



or m 



Th 



d to 



er a 



a to 



man 



eve 



rthe 



s a 



posed 

 haast 

 osed 

 ore t 

 e le 

 ur ism 

 cknow 



the 

 ageme 

 ry te 

 r not 

 use o 



to th 

 ern A 

 in HR 

 han SO 

 gislat 



as co 

 ledges 

 econom 

 nt of 

 net o 

 e that 

 f the 



e desi 

 laska . 

 987 wo 



perce 

 ion a 

 ntribu 



that 

 y in 

 tho To 

 f bal 



HR 98 

 forest 



gnati 

 Th 

 uld 

 nt o 

 cknow 

 tors 

 the a 

 the 

 ngass 

 anced 

 7 doo 



on of 



e 1.8 

 result 

 f the 

 ledges 

 to tho 

 bility 

 future 

 , and 

 land 

 s not 



The areas proposed for Wilderness designation in HR 987 include 

 many geologic tracts of high to very high mineral potential. 

 These areas include active mining districts and more 

 specifically, active mining claims. It appears to us that no 

 effort was made to recognize mining as a potential use of federal 

 lands, in fact, one could argue that the selection of a number of 

 the proposed areas appears to have been planned to squeeze out 

 mining . operations that are in advanced stages of exploration or 

 that are under development at this time. 



The mineral potential of many of the areas proposed for 

 Wilderness is still relatively unknown. To illustrate this point 

 we cite a just-released U.S. Geological Survey publication (MF- 

 1970-B) within which ths authors describe a belt of rocks that 

 occurs within and parallel to the long axis of the West Duncan 

 Canal proposed Wilderness. Tho government scientists predict 

 that this belt of rocks has a 90% probability of containing two 

 mines and a 50% probability of containing four mines. This 

 recently identified potential would be extinguished by the 

 propoaed Wilderness classification. 



