Our area of over 88,000 square miles is larger than most states, but our 4,000 Native residents generally know each other and their lands very well. O ur people are known for their hospitality toward visitors throughout history. There is all kinds of construction and energy development going on, so you might see a lot of building materials and discarded items laying around in some areas. B ut we would hope you advise your clients that it is difficult to hide materials or almost anything in the Arctic. The ground is generally frozen and there is not a lot of vegetation.
Materials decay very slowly up here.
In addition, because of years and years of federal and state neglect, we are the largest community in Alaska without a public water and sewer system. Those big tank trucks you see running around are hauling water in and hauling sewage out. In fact, if this was not a dinner party, I could give an entire speech on the different kinds of toilets in use in Barrow. T he Borough and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation have been working hard on all kinds of economic developing planning. We all hope to encourage tourists and the tourism industry.