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P E N I N S U L A
Friday–Saturday, August 17–18, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 274
In the news Interior Department eyes protected Arctic land for drilling ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Trump administration is aiming to open millions of acres (hectares) of Alaska Arctic land for drilling that was protected under the Obama administration. The U.S. Department of the Interior began talks with state officials and the North Slope Borough, looking to update the 2013 management plan that kept drilling off about half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reported this week. The vast reserve spans about 35,937 square miles (93,077 square kilometers), and is almost as large as the state of Maine. The potential area includes part of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, which was about doubled in size under the integrated activity plan and other protections. The area and nearby wetlands are considered vital for several animal species, including caribou, polar bears and migrating birds. The formal process to review and revise the plan has not started, said Joe Balash, the department’s assistant secretary for land and minerals management. “The (management) plan really restricted a lot of acreage,” Balash said. “A lot of people were unhappy about it. The borough was unhappy, the state was unhappy. So it’s ripe for a review.” Susan Culliney, policy director for Audubon Alaska, said the existing plan doesn’t need to be changed because it balances conservation and oil development. Environmental review and public comment will be critical for any revision to the plan, she said. “Audubon will certainly be there to offer science and data” to show why strong protections are warranted, she said. The borough wants the part of the protected lands with strong oil and gas potential to be opened up, Mayor Harry Brower Jr. said. Measures to protect wildlife and subsistence hunters can be implemented where needed. The size of the area that could open for drilling is uncertain and the proposal will be made with input from the stakeholders, Balash said.
Chinese hackers scanned Alaska networks By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
An East Coast cybersecurity firm said Thursday that Alaska computers were the target of reconnaissance by Chinese hackers before, during and after an Alaska trade mission to the country. That trade mission, led by Gov. Bill Walker, was intended to boost Chinese interest in Alaska products and relationships, including the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. According to the firm, Recorded Future, “The network reconnaissance activity against
Alaskan organizations increased following the governor of Alaska’s trade delegation trip to China in late May. Organizations targeted by the reconnaissance activity were in industries at the heart of the trade discussions, such as oil and gas.” Recorded Future made the revelation as part of a report on the activities of hackers based at Tsinghua University, the Chinese equivalent of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The report concluded, “We assess with medium confidence that the network reconnaissance activities we uncovered were conducted by Chinese state-sponsored actors in sup-
‘There is no way to tell if the activity is related to the recent trade mission to China, and a review by the Office of Information Technology has found no evidence that no state networks were hacked in this instance.’ — Austin Baird, Gov. Bill Walker’s press secretary port of China’s economic development goals.” The analysis was first reported by Reuters on Thursday morning. The section of Recorded Future’s report devoted to Alaska
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indicates that IP addresses associated with Tsinghua made more than 1 million connections to networks in Alaska between April 6 and June 24. Walker’s trade delegation was in China between May 19 and
May 26. Computers belonging to Alaska Communications, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Power and Telephone, TelAlaska, and the governor’s office were all scanned for vulnerabilities. Alaska Communications spokeswoman Heather Cavanaugh said by email that the company is not willing to discuss the incident but is “serious about cyber security.” “We do not, however, respond with information that could be used by malicious actors to gauge the efficacy of reconnaissance and exploitation See SCAN, page A2
Up and running Telecom companies expand on central Kenai By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion
Trinity White, 10, and Alexa Richards, 12, chase pigs down the track during the pig races at the Kenai Peninsula Fair on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Ninilchik. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News, file)
Llamas and cattle and piglets, oh my! Kenai Peninsula Fair comes to Ninilchik for 67th year this weekend By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Now in its 67th year, the Kenai Peninsula Fair is slated to bring three days of classic carnival rides, pie eating contests, pig races and more to Ninilchik this weekend. Tiffany Sherman, the Kenai Peninsula Fair’s new manager, said the fair has al-
ready received a record number of exhibit entries, ranging from larger-than-life vegetables to baked goods to homemade jams and jellies. The annual event will be hosting the same popular events from the fair’s past, including the parade, but with new twists. This year, the parade will take place inside the fairgrounds. There will be live music and en-
tertainment throughout the weekend. Hobo Jim takes the stage on Friday and Seward-based band Blackwater Railroad Company will play Saturday. Coloradobased Americana band Grant Farm and California-based acapella group 4th and Main are headlining Saturday and Sunday. Other entertainment includes Dan the See FAIR, page A8
Three of the Kenai Peninsula’s major telecommunications providers have been busy expanding and improving their networks this summer. GCI and Alaska Communications, two of the larger phone and internet service providers in the state, are both working on multi-year expansion projects in the central Kenai Peninsula. A third, Homer-based wireless internet provider SPITwSPOTS, is making a move out of the southern peninsula into the Soldotna area with service beginning this summer. Much of the work GCI has done this year is focused on improving wireless cell coverage and increasing wireless data speeds, said spokesperson Heather Handyside in an email. “Recent upgrades in Cooper Landing mean GCI customers are getting LTE data speeds and expanded coverage from around the Sunrise Inn to the just past the (Russian River See NET, page A8
NTSB report offers little insight State seeks into Denali sightseeing plane crash
geothermal energy land nominations
By DAN JOLING Associated Press
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ANCHORAGE — An Alaska sightseeing airplane was flying toward its home base when it crashed earlier this month on a mountainside in Denali National Park, killing all five people aboard, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The report contains few new details of the Aug. 4 crash, and doesn’t identify a possible cause. The site of the wreckage, on a near-vertical mountainside covered by snow and ice, has hampered National Transportation Safety Board investigators. Neither the wreckage nor the bodies can be recovered because of the hazardous position of the airplane.
By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion
This Aug. 6 nphoto released by the National Park Service shows the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed Saturday with pilot Craig Layson and four passengers from Poland onboard in Denali National Park and Preserve. (National Park Service via AP)
The crash killed pilot Craig Layson and four passengers from Poland, whose names have not been released at the request of the Polish government. Layson initially survived the crash and
had two conversations with the company office 50 miles away in Talkeetna, where the airplane took off. The flight operating on visual See CRASH, page A8
The state is looking for takers to explore new energy — specifically, geothermal energy. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas announced Wednesday that it’s looking for nominations of state lands with geothermal resources for a potential lease sale. Positioned at the northern edge of the Pacific plate, Southcentral Alaska and the Aleutian Islands are pockmarked with volcanoes and hot springs bubble up in the Interior. While oil and gas extraction and hydroelectric energy generation are common in the state, there hasn’t been a successfully developed large-scale geothermal project yet. One powerplant outside Fairbanks, a power plant in Chena Hot Springs Resort, opened in 2006 with a generating capacity of 400 kilowatts, according to an announcement from the Division of Oil and Gas on Wednesday. See ENERGY, page A8