the proposal for a national recreation area was in part a response to concerns that national monument designation would prohibit sport hunting. an early version of the alaska national interest lands conservation act (anilca), introduced in 1977, addressed the hunting issue by proposing a national monument in the core of the area around the caldera and a national preserve, which would allow sport hunting, in adjacent areas. by late 1978 the bill had become stalled in congress. with a deadline approaching for the disposition of the lands, president jimmy carter was compelled to act.