Project Jukebox

Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program

Project Jukebox Survey

Help us redesign the Project Jukebox website by taking a very short survey!

Bob Howe

Bob Howe

Bob Howe had a long career with the National Park Service. He entered the Service in the 1940's, working in various parks around the country, and came to Alaska during the period when new park areas were being established after passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. Throughout his tenure with the Park Service, Bob developed a reputation for getting along with people and knowing how to get around in the backcountry. He was a member of the Park Service's Alaska Task Force, was involved with conducting field investigations and ground-truthing of resources in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, and his last assignment before retiring was superintendent of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Al Hensen then asked him to take on one more assignment to do some on-the-ground checking of resources in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. He and Rick Caulfield teamed up in the early field investigations of Yukon-Charley. In the early 1990s, Bob was living in Gustavus and on the San Juan Islands, where he enjoyed his retirement by fishing, walking on his property, and reading.
Bob Howe appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Bob Howe and Bill Brown, Part 1

Bob Howe and Bill Brown were interviewed on May 6, 1991 by William Schneider at Bob's house on the Salmon River in Gustavus, Alaska. This was a small log cabin set in a field abutting a cow pasture. The living room looked out on the river. Bookshelves were numerous and contained such titles as, Does One Way of Life Have to Die So Another Can Live, Barry Lopez's new book Crossing Open Ground, and Walden II. Directly in back of where Bob and Bill were seated hung a picture of a Russian Orthodox Church. Over the door was a pair of snowshoes. A radio tuned to marine weather, binoculars, and a bird identification book on the table pointed to Bob's orientation as an outdoorsman. In this first part of a two part interview, Bob and Bill talk about their experiences working for the National Park Service in Alaska where they worked together on park planning related to new conservation units established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980. They focus on their experiences with Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. They discuss relationships with the local people in the Yukon-Charley area, doing field work to survey the area, and working with National Park Service employees and politicians. They also talk about changes to park units in Alaska and trying to work with or change existing National Park Service policies and regulations.

 91-22-01 Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve May 6, 1991
Bob Howe and Bill Brown, Part 2

This is the continuation of an interview with Bob Howe and Bill Brown on May 6, 1991 by William Schneider at Bob's house on the Salmon River in Gustavus, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, Bob and Bill continue to talk about their experiences working for the National Park Service as new park units were being established after passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. Specifically, they discuss working in the Yukon-Charley Rivers area where they tried to establish good relationships with the local people who were concerned about preserving their subsistence-based lifestyles and historic cabins in the area, and getting the National Park Service to incorporate this local knowledge into their planning process.

 91-22-02 Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve May 6, 1991