Articles written by j. p. tangen
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Enviro-con industry scores pyrrhically
The Chuitna coal project has long been on the kill list for the environmental conflicts Industry. Litigation against the government is among the Enviro-Cons' favorite tools. For reasons that... — Updated 1/28/2018
Reporter offers disappointing biography
Tom Kizzia has written a biographical account of the life and times of Robert Hale, who some folks will recall was a high-profile figure in the fight of in-holders to secure their statutory right to... — Updated 1/28/2018
Comparing mine, fishing jobs tells tale
Although in my judgment it is premature for little green people to write the obituary of the Pebble Project, undoubtedly it is high-centered for the nonce, (however long a nonce may be); but that shouldn't prevent us from reflecting on some of the... — Updated 2/23/2014 Full story
Be very afraid for three more years
As a co-chairman of the Federal Oversight Committee of the Alaska Miners Association for the past many years, it is interesting to me to see how the flow of new tinkering with the conduct of local affairs ebbs and flows at various stages of an... — Updated 1/26/2014
Supreme Court asked to quench the fire
On the theory that making the loser pay for at least a portion of the fees and costs associated with litigation lacks merit, the Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure recite that on application and subject to judicial oversight, the prevailing party may... — Updated 12/22/2013
Court upholds river arrest by Park Service
At the end of October this year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska handed down a case brought by Alaskan John Sturgeon, as another in a long list of decisions upholding the federal government's power to circumscribe our rights to... — Updated 11/24/2013 Full story
Debate turns to production royalties
Many concerned Alaskans may have read former State Senator Clem Tillion's op-ed piece in the July 2, 2013, issue of the Alaska Dispatch concerning the royalty that might be paid to the people of... — Updated 7/28/2013 Full story
Senator Begich, don't prejudge Pebble!
Here's an open letter to Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska: Dear Sen. Begich, Last week, I had the privilege to sit in on a constituent teleconference with you concerning a number of issues confronting... — Updated 6/30/2013
Spring is in the air, let's go mining!
Each year about this time, the sun begins to shine like never before, the rivers rise and the ice melts, the daylight hours grow longer, and miners across Alaska bend their shoulders to their... — Updated 5/26/2013 Full story
For Alaska, the only constant is change
About 2,500 years ago, Heraclitus of Ephesus observed that the only constant is change. Looking out the window on a snowy Alaska April morning brings this observation home once again. It is amusing... — Updated 4/28/2013 Full story
Interior designate Jewell has a choice
It has been a long time since we have had a president who has hailed from a public lands state and, even though we have had some secretaries of the Interior from the West, they have ranged from the... — Updated 2/24/2013
Alaska miners reading the tea leaves
With the re-inauguration of the President, Alaska's miners are being forced to hunker down and withstand yet another election cycle wondering what gifts the federal agencies will bestow upon us... — Updated 1/27/2013
Alaska's miners lose a valued friend
There are those who walk among us who move the earth with a simple smile. One such being was the late David Stone, whose untimely passing on Nov. 20, 2012 leaves us with a hole in our hearts.... — Updated 12/30/2012 Full story
I wonder what the king is doing tonight
For reasons that escape me at the moment, the re-election of President Obama brings to mind another fairy-tale administration that led our nation barely 50 years ago. To be sure, it was a different... — Updated 11/18/2012 Full story
MSHA reports record drop in mine deaths
On Oct.15, 2012, Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health announced that "recently finalized data shows that in 2011, fatality and injury rates were the lowest in hist... — Updated 10/28/2012
Upcoming elections may end coalition
Among the many blessings the founders of our Republic bestowed upon us is the incredibly good idea of having our national executive isolated from the legislative and judicial branches. In most... — Updated 9/30/2012
Where were you when the lights went out?
Perhaps it's just me, but this year's election cycle seems to have an uncharacteristically high level of venom and spleen, at least at the national level. The words "hate" and "liar" seem to have all of a sudden become politically correct in a... — Updated 8/26/2012 Full story
EPA pushes error-riddled assessment
The very founding of our country was premised upon resistance to governmental excesses. Authors and movie producers from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged ("A government is the most dangerous threat to man's rights: it holds a legal monopoly on the use of... — Updated 7/29/2012
Administration adrift but water is clean
On May 18, 2012, the EPA released for public comment a draft scientific study of the Bristol Bay watershed and its natural resources. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA claims the authority to perform s... — Updated 5/27/2012 Full story
'We gotta get out of this place,' again!
In the waning days of the Vietnam Mistake, the popular lyrics of the Animals' most famous hit were in the hearts and on the lips of every soldier. The nation was divided. It seemed like we couldn't... — Updated 4/29/2012 Full story
Who will be the next DOI secretary?
For the past however many months we have been enduring the Republican presidential nominating process, which has winnowed the field from eight to four candidates. Of the four, former Gov. Mitt Romne... — Updated 3/25/2012
The more we dig, the more we all learn
Once upon a time, not so many years ago, mining was a laudable calling. As a child I tapped my foot as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang about mining "16 Tons" of coal a day, and Jimmy Dean serenaded us... — Updated 2/26/2012
Mining critics call for reform - again
It is axiomatic that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and we who stand watch over America's mining industry know all too well that there is little the Detractors would rather do than to shut down this and all other basic manufacturing... — Updated 1/22/2012
A timely wish: Gold bless us, every one
As probably everyone who follows this column realizes, I spend most of my life looking at the world through the wrong end of the telescope. On the other hand, with apologies to Dr. Seuss: "Oh, the... — Updated 12/25/2011
