Tuesday, Mar 1 2011 9:45AM
Some rural Alaskan villages rely on the bypass mail system to fly in supplies like correspondence, food and clothing.
The future of Alaska's bypass mail delivery that serves remote areas of the state is safe, at least for now.
The U.S. Postal Service is attempting to cut $2 billion in spending, reported the Anchorage Daily News, leading some to wonder if Alaska's bypass delivery service — which costs the Postal Service tens of millions of dollars a year to support — would be on the chopping block.
The system pays air carriers to ship products to remote Alaskan communities at affordable parcel-post rates, allowing those residents to access goods that would normally be too expensive to order.
State lawmakers said the rural community development program will be safe from budget cuts, with Senator March Begich telling the Arctic Sounder the program is a way of life for rural Alaskans.
"It is more than just a mail service; it is food, supplies, and medicine for our communities. The Postmaster General and I talked about how to continue improving services for Alaskans including the importance of maintaining a viable bypass mail system," Begich said.
Approximately 225,000 people live in rural sections of Alaska, reported the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, making up about a third of the state's population.