No place in Alaska is more beautiful than Kachemak Bay. Its pristine beauty was threatened in 1973 when Gov. Bill Egan authorized the state Department of Natural Resources to hurriedly issue oil and gas leases in the middle of a highly productive king crab fishery.
Egan had rejected Alaska Department of Fish and Game objections. DNR had conducted the sale quickly in December and issued leases primarily to Standard Oil of California and Shell. Egan was proud of the $25 million the companies paid, at the time the second-highest lease-sale amount in Alaska's history. The sale became a campaign issue in 1974 when Jay Hammond said the leases should be canceled, and the $25 million returned. Commercial fishermen were alarmed. Hundreds protested the sale at a hearing Sen. Bob Palmer conducted in August 1974. Homer legislator Clem Tillion joined the opposition, but worried about whether Big Oil could be defeated.
In November 1974, Jay Hammond was elected governor. Hammond won by less than 300 votes, and some people think this issue could have swung the election. As governor, Hammond could have used eminent domain, but rejected unilateral action. Hammond's efforts in 1975 to get legislative action for the buyback ran into a brick wall in the House Resources Committee. Egan was a Democrat; Hammond a Republican. The House was Democrat, 31 to 9. Complicating things further, opposition to the buyback was led by Republican Leo Rhode of Homer.
The state Senate rose to the challenge and acted first. In January 1976, I had placed myself on the Senate Resources Committee to help Chair Kay Poland. In late March, the committee introduced a buyback bill, Senate Bill 720. Kay and I were the first two legislators voting to pass. After hearings, it passed the full Senate 10 days later, 16 to 3. In the House, Speaker Mike Bradner sent SB 720 to the judiciary and finance committees, bypassing resources. Still there was significant opposition.
Enter the jack-up rig George Ferris, made famous in the movie "Diamonds Are Forever" when James Bond blew it up. It was reincarnated and brought to Alaska where it underwent $6 million in repairs and was then parked in Mudd Bay. The bay's name was ominous. Even crab pots got stuck in Mudd Bay. So did the Ferris when its four legs sank 82 feet before it could drill a single well. In May 1976, attempts to float it with the tide swamped the rig and created an uncontainable diesel spill.
Public opinion shifted strongly in favor of canceling the leases. In the House, Reps. Terry Gardiner and Hugh Malone did the heavy lifting, adding the threat of eminent domain if negotiations for a buyback were to fail. As amended the House passed SB 720, 26 to 14 in mid-May. Attorney General Av Gross summed it up, "All the people of Homer had to do was turn around the entire oil industry and the government of the state."
Kachemak Bay retains its pristine beauty. The only oil spilled in Kachemak Bay was brought in with the rig, not pumped from any oil field. Hammond is quoted in "Fish, Oil and Follies," by Loren B. Flagg, saying the repurchase "represents a major turning point in Alaska's history."
King salmon and halibut are now the prize for a fleet of charter boats. The king crab are gone. Climate change, an imbalance in harvest quotas, new predators, many different explanations are offered for the disappearance. Egan, Hammond, Malone, Palmer, Poland, and Rhodes are no longer alive.
Alaska's Ninth Legislature, the most active and productive in its history with 499 bills becoming law, met the challenge. A few days later it adjourned sine die, never to meet again. Now Cook Inletkeeper stands guard, ready to sound the alarm if modern-day raiders are sighted.
Chancy Croft was there when the buyback happened, serving as president of the Senate in the 9th Alaska Legislature, 1975-76.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.