Udall’s would-be successor as secretary of the interior was none other than Alaska governor Walter J. Hickel. Even before his nomination was confirmed, Hickel boasted that he could undo anything that Udall had done during his final weeks. That proved a mistake. As his nomination came under fire from environmental groups, Hickel desperately looked around for support from any and all corners, including that of the Alaska Federation of Natives, which not surprisingly had withheld its endorsement. The end result of several weeks of intense negotiations was that Hickel promised to keep the land
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