COEUR d'ALENE - Medimont author Chris Carlson will release his newest book Monday detailing his former boss' role in establishing the historic 1980 Alaska Lands Legislation.

His new book, titled "Eye on the Caribou," was named in part after former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus' favorite catchphrases: "Keep your eye on the rabbit," Carlson said.

Carlson's newest release is the third book he has published in the last six years.

"It's kind of like every two years I get a book cranked out," he said.

Carlson tells the tale of when he was the press secretary for Andrus, who was Secretary of the Interior from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter.

"I don't think anyone in Alaska is aware of how this got started," Carlson said, explaining the early work that was done to preserve major swaths of Alaskan wilderness. "The main reason I wrote this book is because I don't think Andrus got the full credit he deserved for his role in passing the legislation."

Carlson said he recalls flying to Alaska with Andrus in 1979. They were staying at a remote mountain lake, and he woke up one morning and saw Andrus at the end of dock, waiting for a fishing guide who eventually arrived via float plane.

Carlson said he learned later the fishing guide was Alaska's Gov. Jay Hammond.

"The two of them flew off to fish all of Hammond's favorite spots and that's where they discussed the boundaries," Carlson said. "Sure it was secret meeting, but it was an important one."

Carlson wants the historical record to reflect Andrus' role in helping to pass one the greatest pieces of conservation legislation in the history of the U.S., he said.

"This was well over 100 million acres of land," Carlson said, explaining how the legislation certainly had some adverse impacts as well.

It doubled the size of the U.S. Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service at the time, according to Carlson. But it also added about a dozen wild and scenic rivers.

"The last chapter of the book is pretty interesting," he said, explaining there were a number of people in the Alaska Coalition who Andrus gives credit to for their support, but they didn't always support the legislation. "They didn't want to accept the deal or accept what Sen. Ted Stevens got passed through the Senate."

Carlson said the opposition stemmed from side deals Stevens cut to get the legislation through. He said there was a $40 million per year subsidy for the Tsongas National Forest, a guarantee that 400 million board feet of lumber could be harvested on the protected lands and not enough wilderness refuge for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"That issue is still being debated today," Carlson said, referring to drilling for oil on the ANWR.

Carlson said the book is full of the politics behind getting the legislation through. He details a massive crossover vote in the state of Alaska in 1980 that finally allowed for the legislation to pass.

"I don't believe many people in Alaska know about that massive crossover," Carlson said.

In the book, Carlson also talks about a float trip Andrus took with President Carter down the Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River. They spent four days fly fishing and devising a fall-back strategy if the legislation failed to make it through Congress.

The plan was for Carter to use his powers under the Antiquities Act to make one of the largest national monuments in history, and that brought the Alaskan delegation back to the bargaining table to remove some of the more restrictive forms of protection under the Antiquities Act.

Carlson also weaves a story throughout the book that focuses on the adverse impacts the act had on Spokane exploration geologist Wallace McGregor, who had a properly proven mining claim on some of the property.

"To me it helps people understand that legislation like this really does have an impact on people," Carlson said. "What happens in Washington, D.C., can make a real difference in people's lives, and it's not always positive."

Carlson said he doesn't fault the Parks Service for its role in shutting down the mine because it was trying to compensate McGregor and his partners, but he added there was an element of greed that got in the way.

"Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is almost 40 years have gone by and McGregor and his partners still have not seen one dime for what was a de facto taking of a private property," Carlson said. "And that goes against our constitution."

Carlson said McGregor cooperated with him while writing the book until he started getting the Parks Service's side of the story.

"I wanted to maintain some objectivity in the book," he said, explaining how McGregor made a great investment.

Carlson said McGregor bought the property for $25,000 and wanted $45 million from the government for rendering the property useless. The Parks service offered $450,000 for the mine property.

"To me, it's an illustrative story about how he, in a very calculated manner, framed his arguments in a constitutional manner," he said, referring to when McGregor took the Parks Service to court and lost.

Carlson said the book also explains why the 1980 Alaska Lands Legislation was important to get through as a political quid pro quo for the development of the Alaskan Pipeline at the time.

"Eye on the Caribou" hit the shelves on Monday and it's Carlson's third book. In 2011, Carlson wrote "Cecil Andrus: Idaho's Greatest Governor" and in 2013 penned "Medimont Reflections," which is a collection of essays on some of the political issues and people he had worked with over his 40-year career in public policy.