Quotations

«For a few years now, [the nation's] main concerns have been protecting ourselves from terrorism. Now, the question is, what are we willing to do for a major American city that has some warts and has some challenges.»

«Alaska is a land of great opportunity for scientific research.»

«Detailed planning will follow if the forecast for success in program growth is positive.»

«Some of the reason levees aren't as high as they're designed to be is because they sink. We don't have a good enough handle on the rates of subsidence, and it doesn't subside everywhere at the same rate.»

«The USGS presence and efforts in Alaska, while significant, are clearly not adequate to meet the growing needs of a frontier area that will see major growth as our need for resources increases and tourism continues to surge. There are many competing priorities in the lower 48 states.»

«Re-evaluation doesn't guarantee program growth. But because of this history of cooperation between USGS and partner scientific organizations, Alaska presents an ideal situation for further development of an integrated science approach to understanding complex resources and environmental systems. These factors, combined with the critical need for scientific information to support far-reaching resources and environmental policy decisions in Alaska, clearly merits a new look at our efforts there and an assessment of the willingness of those who control the purse strings to support more work.»

«While the USGS presence and efforts in Alaska are significant, they are clearly not adequate to meet the growing needs of an area that will see major growth in tourism and resource development.»