Early Legislative History
The legislation was initially introduced into Congress in 1974 in several different bills, each outlining a single proposed park, monument, or other area. Several of these, in particular Lake Clark and Kenai Fjords, were quite controversial in Alaska. Little action was taken on any of them, so that by 1975 the National Park Service (NPS) and conservationists conceived the idea of a single bill that would cover several separate areas. The election in 1976 of Jimmy Carter buoyed hopes that Alaskan conservation would finally get a fair hearing. However, several members of Congress, particularly Senators Ted Stevens and Mike Gravel of Alaska, remained strongly opposed to the absorption of such a large amount of land by the NPS — which would take the land off the market, they contended, and hamper long-term economic development plans for Alaska. Stevens and Gravel became the primary opponents to the act.
Read more about this topic: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
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