**Acting Director P. Patrick Leahy Remarks at the Alaska Miners
Association Conference, Anchorage Alaska, November 2, 2005. "USGS and
Alaska: 1895 to 2005 to the Future - - Science to Support the Nation's
Best Choices for Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources"**

**Slide 1 - Introduction**

# Slide 2 -- 

· The role of USGS science in support of the Department of the Interior
and the Nation as a whole has grown since the 54th Congress first
appropriated \$5,000 to our agency for land surveying and mineral
exploration activities in Alaska in 1895.

· Our 21st century Nation shares a common goal with our pioneer
ancestors of the 1890's \-- to effectively manage its renewable and
nonrenewable natural resources \-- biota, land, water, minerals, and
energy \-- to sustain our quality of life and enhance our economic
strength. USGS still addresses many of the same needs set forth in 1895,
but today the Nation manages these resources in an ever complex and
interconnected process.

# Slide 3 -- 

· Traditional boundaries between environment and natural resource
science have blurred as land and resource managers, industry, and the
public must address increasingly complex issues. The need for the
cross-disciplinary integrated science that the USGS provides has never
been greater.

· And no better place for USGS to strengthen its integrated science
capacity than in Alaska, a land of great beauty, world class mineral and
energy resources, a productivity of fish, birds, and mammal
populations.... all of these valued by Alaskans and "beltway" folks,
like myself, alike. And a place were resources are managed in a strong
partner environment.

· In 2003, USGS embarked on an experiment -- bringing its science
talents under one voice in Alaska -- with the intent of making it easier
for decision makers to know what capacity USGS has to address issues and
to facilitate bringing those talents to the table quickly.

· That experiment -- the Alaska Science Center -- is a model of the USGS
future. It is a model that has been supported and embraced by you \--
the Alaska Miners Association \-- and a partnership I highly value.

# Slide 4 - 

· This year, the 109th Congress provided over \$20 million through the
USGS Alaska Science Center -- a bit more than the \$5,000 of 1895\--to
address

· the mineral interests we are gathered here today to discuss

· natural hazards assessments and response

· varied fish, wildlife, and water concerns and

· habitat and landform mapping used by you, the planner, the
hiker....alike

· I encourage you to visit our primary web site for the State and look
for enhanced opportunities to use our science to accomplish your goals.

· With natural hazards -- hurricanes, floods, earthquakes---almost daily
on the front page of the paper---I would like to highlight USGS efforts
in 2005 to support Alaska hazard planning and response....before I
return to USGS' plans for our part of the partnership to provide mineral
resource assessments in the State.

# Slide 5 -- 

**· Natural hazards are a fact of life in the Alaska**. Here in Alaska
-- in partnership with State and Federal officials, emergency managers,
and the public, we made progress on mitigating hazards to people and
infrastructure presented by floods, stream scour, earthquakes,
volcanoes, and wildfires and new emerging risks.

· Standing here in Anchorage, you can not help but appreciate the power
of an **earthquake** such as that you saw here some 40 years ago
\--seismic activity here is a given.

· Working with Alaska and Canadian partners, we revised the 1999 seismic
hazard maps of Alaska, producing state-of-the art probabilistic risk
assessments. These new tools will provide the structural engineering
community and community planners with improved information to
incorporate into city building codes when finalized in FY 2006.

· Our scientists and colleagues conducted geologic studies of the Denali
fault, responsible for the 2002 M 7.9 earthquake, and found new evidence
for active faulting as well as prehistoric earthquakes in Denali
National Park.

· USGS is proud of the strong partnership that makes the Alaska
**Volcano** Observatory a cutting-edge place of science on hazard
response. With the Geophysical Institute at UAF, the Alaska Division of
Geological and Geophysical Surveys, and USGS, the Observatory tracked
the status of over forty Alaska volcanoes, provided rapid status reports
of volcanic activity change, continued cutting edge science to help
protect both the people of Alaska and the commerce of the critical North
Pacific Air Routes.

# Slide 6 - 

In FY 2005, USGS provided strong **water science:**

• a significantly refined and web-based Streambed Scour Program that
allows ready access to near-real-time information relating to bridge
safety to the State of Alaska;

• enhanced hydrology models for FEMA to update flood insurance maps in
the State's capital Juneau;

• Products on river scour and bank stability probability to aid
community planning to reduce flood and erosion risks for expected major
growth within river corridors in Greater Anchorage.

•As many of you experienced first hand, Alaska experienced its third
largest **fire** year in FY 2005 following the record-breaking 2004 fire
year.

•USGS' national LANDFIRE program was initiated in Alaska in 2005 and
prototype methods developed to provide land-use managers with predictive
models to aid in their response to wildfires.

**Slide 7 -- Early Warning Risk Assessment Avian Influenza Risk**

• In any given year, hazards vary. Alaskans are used to earthquakes,
flood, volcanoes, and fire, but emerging hazards exist. In 2005, USGS
geared up to monitor a very different risk \-- **Avian Influenza (Bird
Flu) \--** in Alaska:

• Wild migratory birds, particularly waterfowl, are natural hosts of
avian influenza viruses. A highly pathogenic avian influenza strain has
become endemic in poultry in Southeast Asia, has spread to Russia and
Eastern Europe.

• The strain has also caused mortality in several species of migratory
birds in Asia.

• Not detected in humans, poultry or wild birds in North America yet;

• Alaska and corresponding areas of the Russian Far East are a unique
area where migratory bird species mix during migrations to and from
breeding and wintering grounds.

• Thus, if carried to North America in migratory birds, the virus would
most likely arrive first in Alaska.

• The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
began targeted surveillance monitoring for the virus in wild birds in
Alaska in 2005. We collected samples from over 500 birds of 10 species,
focusing on species that are known to migrate through the Russian Far
East and Southeast Asia.

• The first phase of an accelerated program is scheduled for Alaska in
2006 and involves the USGS, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and the
Department of Agriculture.

• See examples of USGS bird movement data such as this on the Alaska
Science Center "Wandering Wildlife" section of its web page.

# Slide 8 -- Mineral Resources

• I'd like to close by returning to the subject of this morning session,
"Agency Geologic Investigations" and describe where I see USGS today and
in the future in continuing the job Congress set before us in 1895.

• USGS is one of several partners who work together to ensure the
availability of fundamental information concerning Alaska's known and
as-yet-undiscovered mineral resources. Much has been accomplished and
still much remains to be done.

**Slide 9 -- ANILCA**

• Our assignment is clear. The task is large and one that cannot be
accomplished by any of us alone.

• Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

• Public Law 96-487; Signed into law December 1980

**Slide 10 - USGS Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program (AMRAP);
1976-1995**

Post-ANILCA USGS activities toward this goal began with the Alaska
Mineral Resource Assessment Program:

• 1:250,000 quadrangle investigations, averaging 4-5 years including 3
years of fieldwork;

• New geologic mapping;

• New geochemical surveys -- mostly stream sediment and panned
concentrate;

• Some new geophysical surveys -- mostly aeromagnetic investigations;

• Undiscovered Mineral Resource Assessments made for all quadrangles.

**Slide 11 - MDIRA - Minerals Data and Information Rescue in Alaska (FY
1998-2004)**

• Beginning in 1998, USGS and partners undertook to ensure the long-term
availability of existing geologic and mineral resource information for
Alaska. This work was characterized by some as saving data that were at
risk of loss after the elimination of the Bureau of Mines, hence it is
sometimes called the Data-at-Risk project.

• The USGS and BLM received over \$12M between 1998 and 2004 to locate,
recover, compile, and publish Alaska minerals and geologic information.

• The majority of these funds were passed to other agencies and private
entities.

• MDIRA ushered in a new era of inter-agency and NGO cooperation - with
participation by the USGS, BLM, US Forest Service; Alaska Dept. of
Natural Resources, Native Corporations, University of Alaska, and the
Alaska Miners Association.

**Slide 12 - MDIRA information available at...**

MDIRA information is posted at the multi-agency website
http://akgeology.info

• Includes State and Federal mining claim information, digital geologic
map indices and digital geologic maps, publications, geochemical and
mineral deposit databases, and on-line library catalogs.

**Slide 13 - Partnership Accomplishments Status**

**So, here's where we are today with respect to geologic mapping and
mineral resource assessment for Alaska.**

• Map showing completed AMRAP quadrangles relative to Federal Lands in
Alaska

• Map showing published USGS 1:250,000 geologic maps for Alaska -- most
completed under AMRAP Program

•These products, as well as the information made available through
MDIRA, enable many current partnership activities, including:

> •**[BLM Resource Management Plans]{.underline}**: The USGS and BLM
> have signed a new Interagency Agreement to produce assessments of
> potential for undiscovered mineral deposits for BLM Resource
> Management Planning (RMP) areas in Alaska.
>
> • Under this agreement, the USGS will prepare quantitative assessments
> for planning areas for incorporation into BLM planning documents. The
> first of these assessments is for the Bay RMP and will be completed by
> January 2006.

• **[Digital Geologic Map Databases]{.underline}**: The USGS recently
released digital geologic data for three areas in Alaska:

• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Kodiak Island, and the Yukon-Koyukuk
basin.

• These releases are part of an effort that will see similar digital
coverage for the entire state within the next few years.

• These maps are far more detailed than previous (and non-digital)
compilations, and will be useful to a broad group of stakeholders.

• **[NPRA Digital Elevation Models]{.underline}**: Working with the BLM
to produce high resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and digital
ortho photo quarter quads (DOQQs) of areas important to oil and mineral
exploration in the NPRA.

• **[Digital Elevation Models and Digital Ortho-photo Quarter
Quads]{.underline}**: USGS has the lead to work with the BLM, USFS, NPS,
NRCS, and Alaska Department of Natural Resources to come up with a plan
for the acquisition of high resolution DOQQs and DEMs over areas that
have potential infrastructure development in response to oil/gas/mineral
extraction.

• These plans will also include potential acquisition of Statewide DEM
and DOQQs.

**Slide 14 - AMRAP *(new)***

Looking toward the future:

•USGS continues to conduct minerals-related project work in southwest
Alaska, on the Seward Peninsula, and in the Tintina gold-belt, and is
continuing basic data collection across the state. In all, we spent
about \$4 million in base funds to support mineral resources work in
Alaska in FY 2005. This work is identified as a high priority in the new
five-year plan for our Mineral Resources Program.

•We were able to supplement that base-funded work using supplemental
funds in what has been called NEW AMRAP.

•Alaska Miners Association was instrumental in obtaining funding to
resurrect AMRAP Program.

•\$1.15M received for FY 2005. No funding passed for FY 2006.

•**You heard this morning some of the exciting results that are coming
from the combination of base funds and these supplemental funds.**

•FY 2005 supplemental funds augmented ongoing USGS project in Taylor
Mountains area in southwest Alaska.

•This enabled the USGS to complete new geologic mapping and geochemical
sampling of a 4,000 square miles area

•Also, new regional-scale aeromagnetic surveys covering approximately
10,000 square miles have been instigated in southwest Alaska;
preliminary results from those surveys are being processed even as we
speak and will be released as soon as possible.

**Slide 15 -** **Completing Priority Mineral Resource Assessments for
Alaska**

USGS is committed to continuing to work with you to:

• ensure availability of basic geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and
mineral deposit information, and

• provide assessments of potential for undiscovered mineral deposits.

These data are the **mineral** **resources** contribution to meeting the
mission that brought USGS to Alaska in the 1800's\--to provide the
science that will allow the Nation to effectively manage its renewable
and nonrenewable natural resources to sustain quality of life and
economic strength.