“Let Them Cut Wood” in the Forests of Western Alaska.

The legislative session ends today, but the fun continues right to the bitter end. Residents of rural Alaska were interested to note that Rep. Mike Kelly (R) from Fairbanks (who won the election by one vote), is irritated with the idea of appropriating state energy assistance money to rural Alaska and suggested that people shouldn’t rely on state aid, but instead should “cut wood.” If you are picturing the rural villages of Western Alaska with dwellings nestled among stands of large hardwood trees and dense foliage, you may now disavow yourself of that supposition.  In places like Emmonak, which has a few scrubby alders,…