A bill would guarantee vehicle access for the village inside Gates of the Arctic

Anaktuvuk Pass is the last settlement of the inland Iñupiat, about 300 people living in a mountain pass named for caribou droppings, on a migration route their ancestors followed for generations. In 1980 Congress drew Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve around them. The North Slope Borough's own account of it is blunt: the park was established without the consent of the local people, who suddenly found themselves surrounded by federally protected land.

A bill from Rep. Nick Begich would guarantee those residents the right to use snowmachines, motorboats, all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles, tracked utility vehicles and similar machines for subsistence inside the park.

They already use them. Park Service guidance allows snowmachines for traditional activities, including subsistence and travel to and from the village, once snow cover reaches 6 to 12 inches. Park documents note that residents depend on snowmachines and off-road vehicles to reach subsistence areas because of the region's geography and climate. The village's economy runs largely on caribou hunting, and it is reachable only by air.

What the two-page bill would change is who decides. It amends the section of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act that created the park to say the Interior secretary "shall permit local residents of Anaktuvuk Pass" to use the listed vehicles, notwithstanding other provisions of that act or any other law. It also exempts those uses from Section 811, which guarantees rural residents reasonable access to subsistence resources and permits snowmobiles and motorboats subject to reasonable regulation for conservation, public safety and administration. Removing that section removes the regulatory check along with the guarantee.

Environmental groups have objected to broader off-road vehicle use in the park.

The bill was introduced Sept. 8 and referred to the House Natural Resources Committee. It has not passed either chamber.