Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions S924
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
S. 924. A bill to authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village Corporation and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about a small community in the southwestern part of my State of Alaska.
Newtok, a Village with about 300 Yupik Alaska Native residents, is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the Ninglick River. Erosion from the Ninglick is slowly threatening Newtok, and the Village will be under water in less than a decade and the Village airstrip in less time. Once the Village airstripNewtok's only connection with the outside worldis flooded, the Village will not be able to survive.
The Village is surrounded by land owned by the Federal Government in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge. In 1997 the Newtok Native Corporation attempted to exchange land on higher ground with the Fish and Wildlife Service, administratively, but these negotiations failed. Therefore, action by Congress is required to ensure the future of Newtok and its residents.
Today I am introducing legislation to begin the process of moving Newtok to a location that is not threatened by erosion or flooding. The Newtok Native Corporation has identified a 10,943 acre tract of land on Nelson Island for the location of the new Village. Newtok Native Corporation is willing to accept this land in the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge from the Fish and Wildlife Service in exchange for a 996 acre piece of land on Baird Inlet Island and another 11,105 acre plot northeast of the present location of Newtok.
The Fish and Wildlife Service desires the Newtok owned land for ecological reasons and Newtok needs the Federal land because of its geology that keeps it safe from erosion. Both parties win in this exchange; the Federal Government improves the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge for the benefit of the American people, and villagers of Newtok have the opportunity to move to a safe location and see that their culture and community endure.
Newtok needs to be moved before it is too late, and my bill is an important first step in the process of protecting this community.