RDC Action Alert:
Oppose Board of Fish Proposal 13 to establish a
fish refuge in Southwest Alaska

Public hearing was December 5, 2009

Overview:

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is considering Proposal 13, which would establish a fish refuge in Southwest Alaska. The proposal would affect land management decisions throughout the Bristol Bay region and significantly impact potential mining activity on state land specifically designated for resource development. The proposal would also jeopardize other economic development projects in the region. In short, Proposal 13 is yet another effort to prevent responsible resource and economic development opportunities from navigating the permitting process, denying local residents potential jobs. It will strike a blow at efforts to diversify the region’s economy and deny local government the potential revenues needed for funding public services. Local governments that would be directly impacted by this action, the Lake & Peninsula Borough and the Bristol Bay Borough, are on record opposing Proposal 13.

Action Requested: 

Please attend a public hearing this Saturday, December 5th at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. Doors open at 8 a.m. Public testimony begins at 10 a.m. You must sign up before 10 a.m. in order to testify. Testimony is limited to three minutes.

Public hearing was December 5, 2009

General points:

• Alaskans vigorously support adequate protection for salmon and water resources in Bristol Bay, and throughout Alaska, which is reinforced by our extensive and effective regulatory framework. Therefore, Proposal 13 is not necessary.
• Proposal 13 seeks to add additional, undefined regulatory protections with no defined outcome, adding uncertainty to well established, existing permitting and regulatory structures.
• Nearly 70 percent of the land base in Southwest Alaska is in a protected classification – approximately 53 million acres of a total 76 million acres. This includes the largest state park in the nation, Wood-Tikchik State Park and several federal parks and refuges.
• The Bristol Bay Borough and the Lake and Peninsula Borough are opposed to Proposal 13. These represent the local governments that a proposed refuge would encompass. A change in land classification could impair their ability to diversify the economy and to enhance the public infrastructure.
• Other private land owners and village corporations in the region are also opposed to Proposal 13 as land designation changes could foreclose future responsible use and economic opportunity from their land.
• Proposal 13 may present a takings issue, which could require the State of Alaska to compensate the affected land and/or mining claim owners.
• This is not the appropriate venue for debating the merits of the Pebble Project or any other responsible resource development opportunity in the region. There is a well established and understood permitting process that provides multiple opportunities for discussing these potential projects.

Public hearing was December 5, 2009

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