01/21/2008 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

        CSHB 176(RES)-CREATE FORT ROUSSEAU CAUSEWAY PARK                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:42:11 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   HUGGINS   announced   CSHB   176(RES)  to   be   up   for                                                               
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PEGGY  WILSON,  sponsor   of  HB  176,  gave  the                                                               
committee an overview of what the  bill does. In the build up for                                                               
WWII, the  Department of the  Army constructed  fortifications at                                                               
several locations encircling Sitka  Sound. An 8,000-foot rock and                                                               
gravel road  was built connecting  several small islands  west of                                                               
the  then Navy's  Sea Plane  and  Operating Base  in Sitka.  This                                                               
causeway  terminated at  the  Army's  command headquarters  named                                                               
Fort Rousseau on  Makhnati Island. She said some  of the original                                                               
concrete  structures built  by  the military  are  still in  fair                                                               
condition. They  include a tri-level command  post, anti aircraft                                                               
gun   batteries,   three   ammo  magazines   and   two   bunkers.                                                               
Construction of  the Sitka Airport  in the late  1960s eliminated                                                               
pedestrian and vehicle access. The  causeway lands, most of which                                                               
belong to the State of Alaska,  remain under management by the as                                                               
part of the  Sitka Airport under the management  of Department of                                                               
Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF).                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WILSON  said,  Sitka  Trail  Works  has  received                                                               
federal  and  state  grants to  rehabilitate  the  causeway,  but                                                               
cannot continue until  the land is transferred  to the Department                                                               
of  Natural  Resources.  State   Parks  can  provide  the  active                                                               
management with  a very small  fiscal note. Without  this status,                                                               
there  will   be  no  authorization   to  move  ahead   with  the                                                               
environmental  and  cultural   resources  assessments,  planning,                                                               
interpretation, and  rehabilitation of  this historic  site, thus                                                               
jeopardizing  the  considerable  grant funds  committed  to  this                                                               
effort. Since visitors  are very eager to tour this  WWII site, a                                                               
positive revenue  stream to the  general fund should  be realized                                                               
in just a few years.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
She  said the  proposed  Ft. Rousseau  Causeway State  Historical                                                               
Park is small. It contains 58  acres of upland area with a sliver                                                               
of tidelands  large enough  for the  footprint of  a dock.  It is                                                               
consistent  with the  purpose behind  the establishment  of parks                                                               
and  in part  promotes the  growth and  development and  provides                                                               
opportunities and enjoyment for the  citizens of Sitka as well as                                                               
visitors.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said this bridge  couples the past with the                                                               
present. The causeway has been  added to the National Register of                                                               
Historic  Places  and  has  been   designated  as  an  historical                                                               
landmark  by  the National  Parks  Service.  Preservation of  the                                                               
unique historical features of the  Fort Rousseau area will remind                                                               
all visitors about Alaska's role in  WWII and allow for a glimpse                                                               
into the  life of the  soldiers who  stood ready to  defend their                                                               
country.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HUGGINS asked  if the $16.8 thousand fiscal  note was still                                                               
applicable.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WILSON replied  that there  is an  updated fiscal                                                               
note of $18.1 thousand.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:46:27 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the  department had any plans to install                                                               
placards with explanations.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON  replied yes; the  business plan is  a very                                                               
good one.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEVENS asked who Mr. Rousseau was.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CLIFF STONE, staff for Representative  Wilson, explained that Mr.                                                               
Rousseau  was a  brigadier general  who was  commissioned by  the                                                               
president  of  the  United  States  to  accept  Alaska  from  the                                                               
Russians.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:48:12 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR STEDMAN  commented that during  WW II Sitka  was targeted                                                               
by the Japanese  as the next invasion point in  Alaska and the US                                                               
military built gun emplacements along  the causeway and had radar                                                               
station on  Harbor Mountain. The  concept is  to not only  tie in                                                               
the military  heritage of the  park, but to also  enhance marine-                                                               
based wildlife viewing.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:51:01 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR STEDMAN moved  to pass CSHB 176(RES)  from committee with                                                               
individual recommendations and attached  fiscal notes. There were                                                               
no objections and it was so ordered.