THENORTHERNLIGHT
April 17, 2012
University of Alaska Anchorage
www.thenorthernlight.org
Outdoor program cut due to budgetary concerns
Recreation organization closed after seven years of operation, students have voice their displeasure By Evan Dodd Staff Reporter
Since 2005 the UAA Housing Recreation and Activities program has provided residential students with a chance to experience Alaska and gain a much-needed break from studying. However, on Friday, April 6, it was announced that the program had been cut and would cease operation after the current semester. The decision was announced by Business Services, the organization responsible for UAA’s auxiliary services, and was justified by budgetary concerns. “We looked at the budget this year and there just wasn’t enough money to continue the program,” stated Bob McDonnell, Director of Business Services. McDonnell, who assumed the position of Director of Business Services in July of last year, explained that the decision to cut the program was based upon the costs accrued by Recreation and Activities. He described the cut as “strictly a business decision” and said that it was a hard choice for everyone.
See RECREATION Page 3
Derby Cove, Ressurection Bay 2010
Photo courtesy of UAA Recreation and Activites
New sports arena necessitates mass tree removal More than 14 acres of forested area has been cleared to make room for the new Seawolf sports arena By Alden Lee
Assistant Features Editor
Photo by Krystal Garrison/TNL
The area set aside for new sports complex now remains cleared of trees.
Photo courtesy of Google Earth
Screen shot of forested area between Providence Hospital and the University Lake Building, prior to clearing.
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UAA campus is an everchanging entity. The past four years have seen the construction of the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building in 2009 and the Health Sciences Building last year. Now the university is gearing up for a new addition: the 2014 arrival of the Seawolf Sports Arena. The past week has seen an explosion of activity as construction crews begin clearing out the designated arena land to the side of North Hall housing. Fourteen acres have been set aside and subsequently deforested, leaving the smell of pine hanging over the entire campus housing area. For any who have seen the operation in progress, the change in sight has certainly been dramatic. The area, located on the corner of Providence Drive and Wellness Street, is now cleared save stumps and woodpiles from Providence Hospital to the University Lake Building on Elmore Road. Backhoes and temporary huts dot the churned up area. UAA has been recognized with the One Tree Campus USA award for the past two years, which acknowledges the university’s dedication to forestry
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management and environmental stewardship. There is no requirement to avoid cutting down trees in order to maintain the award, but the university has to report the amount of trees cleared and why, according to Paula Williams, UAA Sustainability Office director. The once-forested area held an estimated 445 trees per acre, according to Facilities & Campus Services — in the 14 acres cleared,
“When you’re wanting to put in a big arena, you’re going to have to take down some trees. No way around it.”
–Dr. Steve Cobb, Athletic Director
approximately 6,230 trees have been felled. The entire project is expected to total $109 million. With the arena construction alone projected at $80 million, the deforestation, land clearing and further arena additions fill out the remaining $29 million. “It’s really sad for me to see those trees go,” said Williams. Sports
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“This is a large impact on the campus’s environment. The university has acted in the most sensitive way possible — they made sure to take down the trees before most birds’ nesting seasons. But there are still a lot of creatures out in those trees; the chickadees nest all year round. People don’t realize how populated those woods are.” This area was not the complex’s original slated location, however. The new sports arena has been in the talks for over ten years, with a parcel of land across the road from East High and bordering APU land designated on UAA’s original master plan. Concerns over losing swathes of trail system through this forested area forestalled the development, and the Board of Regents eventually decided to move the arena to a more centralized and less disputed location on campus. Both the Athletics Department and the Facilities and Campus Services (F&CS) Department were consulted to give their recommendation for the arena’s official placement, but final decision rested with the Board of Regents. “We were consulted but had no final say in the matter. That
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