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"NEWS FROM THE OIL CENTER OF ALASKA"
SECOND YEAR
Friday, March 17. 1961
10c a Copy
Number 32
AREA SEEKS OIL AND GAS RIGHTS
FOR MORE PENINSULA HOMESTEADERS
An effort on the part of Sen.
Ernest Gruening may provide
oil and gas rights for more
homesteaders than were origin
ally included in the Public Law
86-789, Gene Smith, president
of the Alaska Entrymen’s
Rights Assn., has revealed.
Smith said that Herb Beaser,
legislative assistant to Senator
Gruening, has asked homestead
ers who were living on their
land, with a suitable house
built and some land cleared be
fore July 23, 1957, to submit an
application to the Senator for
oil and gas rights.
“This is not assurance that
they will receive these rights,”
Smith said, but is a possibility
Udall Sets
Moratorium
On Pub. Lands
The 18-month moratorium
closing filing for non- mineral
land from the Bureau of Land
Management does not affect
homestead or trade and manu
facturing sites or claims that
were on file with the office be
fore Feb. 14.
Secretary of the Interior
Stewart L. Urall ordered the
moratorium to allow for time
for the Department of the In
terior to review the entire land
management picture, eliminate
work backlogs, and develop
long-term management policies
and program.
Scrip rights and applications
by states and local governments
are not affected, he said.
In recent years, the secretary
said, unethical land locators
and promoters have abused the
privilege of filing nonmineral
applications and petitions for
public lands at a cost of millions
of dollars to the public. The
land offices have been deluged
with thousands of nonmineral
public land applications.
In addition, many earnest cit
izens have manifested the great
American ambition to own a
piece of land by filing types of
applications which the govern
ment could not effeciently han
dle.
The moratorium will permit
development of legislative and
administrative remedies to pre
vent land speculators and pro
moters from seriously impeding
protection of the public’s inter
est in the 477 million acres of
public lands.
Also, BLM will undertake a
large-scale land inventory pro
gram and will classify, open and
make appropriate lands avail
able for transfer to states, local
governments, individuals and
business firms. Most land trans
fers to private individuals will
be on a competitive-bid basis,
while a few will be handled on
an equal-value exchange basis.
During the moratorium the
department will proceed to pro
cess over 60,000 applications
and petitions now on file for
nonmineral public lands. Each
pending application will re
ceive a full and fair considera
tion on its own merits.
that is worth some effort. He
said that Beaser indicated that
it may be only a matter of ad
ministrative adjustment to open
the rights for these homestead
ers.
Applications may be sent to
Gruening or given to AERA of
ficers.
The Bureau of Land Manage
ment recently released the news
that those who complied with
all requirements of the home
stead laws, with the possible
exception of submission of final
proof prior to July 23. 1957,
will receive the rights.
The Act granting the oil and
gas rights was signed into Law
on Sept. 14, 1960.
BLM is checking records of
all Kenai homestead entries.
Anyone who is covered by the
law will be contacted and in
formed of his rights.
L. T. Main, Anchorage super
visor, said that anyone claiming
a right to oil and gas deposits
that might be in homestead en
tries should file a notice of his
claim with the manager of the
land office in Anchorage.
(Continued on page 2)
Range Petition
Hits Peninsula
A group of interested resi
dents on the Peninsula have be
gun to circulate petitions pro
testing the construction of hous
ing on the Moose Range.
The petition reads: “We, the
residents of the Kenai Penin
sula, are unequivocably op
posed to any housing, either
private or company, including
trailer houses and other mobile
or temporary housing being al
lowed to be placed within the
confines of the Kenai Moose
Reserve. The Kenai Reserve is
a nesting ground of the nearly
extinct trumpeter swans and a
reserve of all wildlife, and
housing located in the reserve
would unquestionably be detri
mental, even disastrous to this
game reserve.”
According to reports received
by the Cheechako News, the pe
tition came on the heels of a
rumor that a 70-unit trailer
court will soon be constructed
on the reserve.
New Park, Roads Set
For Construction Soon
Progress on road construction
in the Soldotna area and secur
ing a mile-long river front state
park for the area, have high
lighted the Soldotna Chamber
of Commerce’s committee on
roads this past year.
Chairman C. E. Goodrich said
that the park, consisting of
nearly 200 acres, has “definite
ly been authorized’’ by the state
and work will begin when
funds are available in July.
Some equipment, such as tables
and restrooms, have already
been acquired by the city for
use in the public park.
A summer road will be built
Choral Group
To Perform
‘Crucifixion’
The newrly formed Kenai Pe
ninsula Choral Society has
scheduled three performances
of John Stainer’s “Crucifix
tion.” This group, a 22-voiced
choir from the communities of
Kenai, Soldotna, Kasilof, Clam
Gulch, Cohoe, Ninilchik, and
Wildwood Station, have been
meeting for the past two
months under the direction of
Mr. Thane Curry of Ninilchik.
Performances are scheduled
for the Soldotna Baptist Church,
3 p.m. March 26, Ninilchik Bap
tist church 7:30 p.m. March 26,
and the Kenai Methodist Church
for the combined Good Friday
evening service, 7:30 p.m. This
choral group is accompanied by
Mrs. Pat Fulcher of Kenai.
The public is cordially invit
ed to attend any of the perform
ances. A free will offering will
be taken in each performance.
in the park proper with foot
passes to the river front. Also a
harbor with a floating dock is
on the agenda.
Goodrick looks to the park as
being an improvement of which
the whole area will benefit.
“Last year, tourists had no place
to camp or picnic; we are hop
ing that this season will see
first real use made of the facil
ity.”
The park will be located
across the proposed pioneer ac
cess road from the Soldotna air
port. The state division of parks
has offered to provide for a su
pervisor for the campsite.
“The Kenai Peninsula is mov
ing with amazing progress on
pioneer road construction, and
surprising the state with its
economy,” Goodrich said. There
have been two roads completed
and two more scheduled for
construction this summer.
More than thirty homesteads
and farms were given access to
by last year’s pioneer access
road construction, the Slikok
Valley road, now known as
Echo Lake Road, and the Cie
chanski Road, running off of
Kalifonsky Beach Road. Both
projects cost under $50,000.
Scheduled to begin “as soon
as weather permits” is the
Kenai River Park road and the
Funny River road, both author
ized. The Park road is a two
mile strip to service the new
state park and the Soldotna air
port.
And the long awaited Funny
River road, extending beyond
the park, will provide ground
access for 35 homesteads and
state grazing land. A sum of
$50,000 has been allotted for
this road.
The pioneer access road pro
gram is opening up many areas
Paul Choqueite, chairman of the state boundary commission,
was present at the most recent meeting of the Peninsula League
of Chambers of Commerce to explain the proposed borough bill
and how it will affect the peninsula.
Kenai Peninsula C of C
Meets With Choquette
The Peninsula League of Chambers of Commerce took first
action toward definite organization Saturday at an open meeting
held at Henton’s Lodge in Cooper Landing.
The group voted to make the league into a permanent organi
zation with by-laws, committees and a board of directors. The
first board meeting will be held
March 18 at Parker’s in Soldot
na, with two pro tern members
from each chamber on the pe
ninsula in attendance.
After lengthy consideration
on the borough bill and a sug
gestion by a member of the
boundary commission, the
League voted a motion to send
night letters to their local repre
sentatives directing them to
proceed on the original propos
als.
Dr. Joseph B. Diecher, Sew
ard, was directed by the par
ticipants to send letters to
Rhode, Irwin and Metcalf, ask
ing them to refer the letter, sent
previously by the League with
suggestions for the proposed
borough bill, to the chairman of
the appropriate Senate commit
tee.
Paul Choquette, Homer, a
chairman of the state boundary
commission, told the group that
the letter sent before was used,
and was the best method of ob
taining cooperation. Several of
the suggestions were included
in the newly drafted House Bill
17.
Also included on the agenda
of the meeting was a proposal
to meet jointly with the 23
members of the Kenai Penin
sula Development Assn, to con
sider consolidating into one or
ganization. It was not decided
when the meeting will be held.
It was pointed out that this is
the third attempt to organize
such a group for mutual bene
fits and those present were ex
uberiantly opposed to letting
this group collapse as have the
past efforts.
Considerable time was allow
ed for discussion of membership
requirements in the League. It
was tentatively decided to al
low' anyone w'ho desired to
come into the group to join, de
spite the fact that they may not
belong to another organized
chamber of commerce.
Attending the open meeting
were Howard Myhill, Leroy C.
Wythe, Paul D. and Gay Cho
quette, and James A. McDowell,
all of Homer; Frank Mullen.
Ralph Soberg, C. E. and Frances
Goodrich, and “Red” Olsen, all
of Soldotna; Jo and Jack Ran
dall and William Pege of Coop
er Landing: Mildred Kirkpat
rick. Vange Allen. Beverly Dun
han, and Dorothy- and Ralph
Rider, of Seward; Allan L.
Petersen, Kenai; arid Virginia
Dugan. Anchorage.
Kenai Hearing
On Tidelands
A public hearing regarding
the classification of tidelands in
the Kenai area will be held in
the high school gym at 8:00
p.m. on the 21st of March, 1961.
Representatives of the Divi
sion of Lands will conduct the
hearings, and the public, with
interest in such lands, is urged
to attend.
Upon Statehood. Alaska re
ceived ownership of all the tide
lands. Persons, however, who
occupied and developed tide
lands prior to Statehood may
apply to the State for title to
such lands.
All unoccupied tidelands may
be disposed of by lease; how
ever, before they are disposed
of, they must be classified, such
as commercial, recreational, etc.
The purpose of the hearing is
therefore to receive suggestions
and recommendations from the
public as to the most appropri
ate form of classification of the
tideland in the Kenai area.
The representatives of the di
vision of lands will also be
available to answer any ques
tions on all tideland matters.
Peterson Named
For Tour Group
Former State Representative
Allan L. Peterson, Kenai, has
been named for a two-year term
on the newly created state Tour
ism Advisory Board.
The Senate and House of
Representatives confirmed the
appointments last week of
Peterson and 24 other members
from throughout the stat«