Memories with President Carter in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

By Debbie S. Miller

In the spring of 1990, I finished my first book, “Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” based on 14 years of wilderness adventures in our greatest wildlife refuge. I was a 38-year old mother with two young daughters.

You can imagine my surprise when I received a phone call in Fairbanks from a documentary producer in Atlanta who told me that President Carter had read my book and wanted to meet me during his upcoming June trip to Alaska. The filmmakers planned to create documentary about Carter’s life that would include a segment on Alaska and Carter’s leadership in the passage of the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), or the Alaska Lands Act.

“Really?! He’s read my book?” I asked in disbelief.

In addition to writing more than 30 books of his own, my favorite being “Hour Before Daybreak,” Carter was a voracious reader, passionate to learn details about any subject of interest. He clearly cherished the unique wildness of Alaska along with the more than 100 million acres of public lands and waters protected under the Alaska Lands Act. The Arctic Refuge was a place on the map that Carter wanted to experience.

President Carter, first lady Roselynn Carter and the film crew wanted to come to the Arctic Refuge and wondered if I might be camping there. As it turned out, we had planned a trip that summer with my sister and daughters, camping on the Okpilak River near the base of Mount Michelson, a glaciated mountain that I once climbed and became spellbound by the forever views of the Brooks Range, coastal plain and Beaufort Sea.

After camping for ten days, there was no certainty that the Carters would arrive until we heard the helicopter coming. Nervous that we didn’t have any fresh food to serve, the pilot called on the air-to-ground radio announcing that the Carters had brought lunch in a big cooler full of fresh fruit and country-fried chicken.

Soon we were all sitting on the tundra sharing stories. The two Secret Service members commented that it was a much easier job to be in the Arctic Refuge. They just had to watch for bears. My 4-year old daughter, Robin, showed President Carter how to fish with her two-foot long Mickey Mouse pole. Carter cheerfully went along with the lesson pretending he had never fished. The Carters were gracious, down-to-earth and lovely people. What an honor to spend time with them in the wilderness of the Arctic Refuge.

During our visit, I asked President Carter about the highlights of his administration. In terms of domestic policy, he said enthusiastically that he was most proud of the passage of the Alaska Lands Act, the largest expansion of conservation lands and waters in U.S. history. This single act doubled the size

President Jimmy Carter spends time with Debbie Miller’s daughters, Casey, then age 1, and Robin, then age 4, during Carter’s 1990 visit to Alaska.

COURTESY DEBBIE S. MILLER

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of our national parks, created or expanded 16 national wildlife refuges, designated 26 wild and scenic rivers, and added more than 56 million acres of magnificent wilderness. A lasting gift for the world.

Carter said he enjoyed pouring over Alaska maps in the Oval Office with then-Secretary Cecil Andrus, sometimes on their hands and knees. He studied the boundary lines, mountain ranges and rivers. He met with Indigenous leaders, hunting and fishing guides, and other stakeholders to learn about the concerns of Alaska residents. He recognized the importance of subsistence hunting and fishing and traditional cultures, values that were protected under the Alaska Lands Act. Deeply respected, Carter was adopted by the Lingit Deisheetaan clan of Angoon and given the Lingit name Nahoowoo.

We hiked to Okpilak Lake where the Carters went fly fishing for Arctic grayling, beside Robin who had never witnessed “catch and release.” When Carter released his caught fish back in the lake, Robin exclaimed “President Carter, what are you doing? We like to eat the fish!” Carter laughed and gave Robin a piggy back ride back to camp. This was a fishing excursion our family would never forget.

Walking along the river, we watched nesting redpolls and yellow warblers flitting in the willow bushes, and a golden plover standing proudly on a tussock. We talked about phenomenal bird migrations, and the beauty and wonders of the Arctic Refuge.

The Carters were incredibly lucky. The next day they were surrounded by a herd of 100,000 caribou, moving in procession across the coastal plain. President Carter later reflected on that unforgettable experience noting that it would be a tragedy to consume such a landscape with a web of drilling rigs, roads and industrial facilities, especially in light of the Gwich’in people of Alaska and Canada who are strongly opposed to development. The Gwich’in consider the coastal plain a sacred birthplace for the Porcupine Caribou Herd, a herd that they have depended on as a cultural resource for thousands of years.

After a day of hiking, fishing and visiting, we said our goodbyes with hugs that felt like old family friends. The Carters headed to the waiting chopper. As President Carter was about to board, he suddenly stopped, turned around and walked back to me.

“I forgot to tell you one thing,” he said. “Keep doing what you are doing. It’s important to do the work you are doing,” he said in a serious voice.

It was though God had spoken. I hung on every word. Those words have encouraged me in countless ways and we corresponded about Alaska issues for decades. Thank you, President Carter, for your visionary leadership in protecting the best of Alaska for our residents, our millions of visitors, the rich diversity of wildlife, and for the precious wilderness itself. And thank you for inspiring me to keep doing the work as a writer, and to help protect all that Alaska embraces.

Debbie S. Miller has lived in Alaska for 50 years and written many books about Alaska’s extraordinary world. She is a co-founder of The Alaska Wilderness League, a national conservation organization where President Carter served as Honorary Chair for three decades. To learn more about the League visit www.alaskawild.org. If you would like to write a condolence or tribute to President Carter, the Carter Center encourages you to sign the virtual condolence book at www.jimmycartertribute.org.

From left, Debbie Miller, first lady Rosalynn Carter and President Jimmy Carter are seen at the Okpilak River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1990.

COURTESY DEBBIE S. MILLER