Digby has found another example of the militarization of government agencies – a water quality inspection team dressed up like a SWAT team to inspect mining claims in Chicken, Alaska.

The claim is that the EPA was told there was human trafficking and drug activity in the area, so they dressed for a possible hostile situation.

First off, they were dressed to die. Their body armor wouldn’t have stopped the guns everyone in the Alaskan interior has for hunting moose and caribou, as well as chasing off bears and wolves.

There is no abundance of humans or traffic along the Taylor Highway, which is closed in the winter. The area is just to the south of the Yukon Quest route. As for drugs, the problem drug in the Alaskan interior is alcohol, and it’s legal.

Chicken was founded during the glory days of the Yukon Gold Rush. There was a decent amount of gold in the area, so the town was born. They wanted to name it for the local bird, a type of grouse, that fit the place of the chicken in their diet, but they couldn’t agree on how to spell Ptarmigan, so they went with Chicken. The town dwindled with the gold. There is still gold in the area, but it isn’t easy to get and can’t support a big operation.

Checking the water quality in Chicken was a job for a summer intern from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks, not a pseudo-SWAT team. They would have probably had a rifle in their truck, but they wouldn’t have brought along an attitude.

Property Backlit

I’m bored …

[Editor: For reasons known only to her, Property decided to jump on the back of my computer desk and stare at me.]

Friday Ark