Concerned over potential land grab

To the editor:

The largest military land grab is happening in Alaska right now. Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex wants 42,000 square miles, Lake Louise, Summit Lake, Tangle Lakes and most of the Denali Highway. This is serious! The Environmental Impact Statement scoping meetings are going on this coming week.

Much of this land is state and private land — as if the federal government doesn’t already own enough of Alaska. We need to get Parnell to speak up. This is horrible!

Please, everyone, think about this. This action, if it is allowed to proceed, would lock up a large part of the land that is accessible by road in Alaska, severely curtail all recreational activities and put one of the two east-west transportation routes in the state under military control. It would also debilitate growth and development in already existing communities, cutting off expansion possibilities that would otherwise exist.

We are talking about a test range the size of a state. We are talking about bombs falling in Summit Lake, and Lake Louise becoming part of a military reservation. The few military jobs that would result from this action are in no way comparable to the loss of beauty, accessibility and the resources cashiered away.

Lisa Murkowski provided the earmark money for this EIS and has brought this looming prospect to us. Let’s let her know that this kind of “development” isn’t what we have in mind for our beautiful land.

Craig Hodges

Palmer