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Contact: Megan Richotte, Public Information Officer, (907) 644-3639
Anchorage, AK – The National Park Service dedicated the Jay S. Hammond Wilderness Area yesterday in a ceremony that celebrated Governor Hammond’s contributions to Alaska and the Hammond family’s legacy at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Former First Lady of Alaska, Bella Hammond, her daughter Heidi Hammond, and granddaughter Lauren Stanford attended. National Park Service Regional Director Bert Frost, Deputy Regional Director Joel Hard, Superintendent Susanne Fleek-Green, and Park Historian John Branson presented Mrs. Hammond with the first map bearing the name “Jay S. Hammond Wilderness Area.”The Park’s 2.6 million acres of designated wilderness was officially named after Governor Hammond through a bill sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski that passed this spring. In the legislation, Congress recognized Governor Hammond’s importance to Alaska, strong conservation legacy, dedication to the Bristol Bay fishery, and his home on Lake Clark.
“This was a long time coming for a deserving man and his beloved wife, Bella and their family. There isn't a better place on the planet to bear the Jay S. Hammond name and his enormous conservation and service legacy,” said deputy regional director Joel Hard.
Governor and First Lady Jay and Bella Hammond have a long connection to Lake Clark. They built a home on Lake Clark in the early 1950s. Throughout his governorship from 1974 to 1982 the Hammonds spent time at their homestead on Lake Clark and returned to live there full time after he was governor. Jay Hammond was a long time aviator flying as a fighter pilot for the US Marine Corps, conducting wildlife surveys for the US Fish and Wildlife Service throughout the territory in the 1940 and 50s, working as an air-taxi and pilot-guide, and flying for personal hunting and fishing trips following retirement. Governor Hammond knew the Lake Clark country intimately and was dedicated to its protection and the public’s ability to enjoy its spectacular wilderness. Governor Hammond is buried on the family homestead on the shores of Lake Clark and Mrs. Hammond continued to live there full-time through 2017.
John Branson, long-time friend of the Hammond family and historian for Lake Clark National Park noted today, “Jay Hammond welcomed the National Park Service to Lake Clark. I personally sat with Jay and Bella while they graciously hosted the first rangers with tea and cookies at their table.”
Jay and Bella were genuinely interested in helping the first employees of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. They shared their knowledge and support in the late 1970s and throughout the creation of the Park. In 2005, at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act that established many national parks and wildlife refuges throughout Alaska, including the wilderness area that would come to bear his name, Governor Hammond introduced President Carter at a luncheon in the Egan Center remarking, “…ANILCA, deemed by many to be the most significant environmental legislation in history. Over 150 million acres locked up? On the contrary. Over 150 million acres of Alaska locked open to those who have the wisdom and sensitivity sufficient to understand the need to occasionally immerse oneself in the healing balm of natural areas.”
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve was established in part to protect the clean, clear, cold water of the headwaters of one of Bristol Bay’s most productive salmon runs in the Kvichak River. The Hammonds have had life-long involvement in the salmon fishing of Bristol Bay with a family setnet site at the mouth of the Naknek River in Naknek, AK. They spent their lives fighting for the health of the fishery and the health of the rivers that feed Bristol Bay.
As park superintendent Susanne Fleek-Green handed Mrs. Hammond the map bearing her husband’s name she reflected, "It is a privilege to present the Hammond family with the first official map of the Jay S. Hammond Wilderness Area that will forever honor his legacy to our state and public lands. This wilderness area is appropriately the headwaters to the Bristol Bay sockeye run, so the waters running through the Hammond Wilderness Area will go on to nourish the salmon his he and his family cherish so much."
Yesterday’s dedication ceremony recognized the importance of Governor Hammond to Alaska’s history, conservation legacy, and personal connection to Lake Clark.
Last updated: September 7, 2018