If you hunt, fish, run a boat, snowmachine, hike, pick berries or cut firewood between 10 Mile Haines Highway and the border, your voice on management of those activities by the State of Alaska is in jeopardy.
Act today to defend it.
Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy has issued an executive order to abolish the local advisory council of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, 48,000 acres of land, river and lakes that comprise the heart of our back yard, including the upper Chilkoot River Valley.
For nearly 40 years, this 12-member council based in Haines has kept the peace between diverse users of the preserve while protecting bald eagles and ensuring traditional uses, including subsistence and sport hunting and fishing, snowmachining, firewood cutting, commercial guiding and others.
Dunleavy’s reasoning is “to increase efficiency” by having decisions about the preserve made solely by his Department of Natural Resources in Juneau.
The council gives our community a voice in preserve management but also provides the state with the expertise of local users who know the preserve, its history, wildlife and uses. By serving as the preserve’s eyes and ears, by bringing together users and by making knowledgeable recommendations, the council smooths management and saves the State of Alaska money, time and grief.
The council has 12 members, each representing one of the 12 factions who came together in a hard-fought compromise in 1982 to create Alaska’s only wildlife preserve. Council members include federal and state biologists, representatives of Chilkoot Indian Association, Chilkat Indian Village, Klukwan, Inc., Haines Borough, plus seats for business and conservation groups.
Please step forward and tell the Alaska Legislature to keep a local advisory council for the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The Haines Borough needs as much testimony as possible from the public that the council is important to us.
Consider testifying at a hearing of the Senate Resources Committee beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2. (by phoning toll free 1-844-586-9085) or by writing, as soon as possible to Senate.Resources@akleg.gov. Ask for a special concurrent resolution. Also, emails and letters must be sent to House.Resources@akleg.gov, requesting a public hearing in the state House (House Resources Committee), plus a special concurrent resolution.
Oral testimony Friday will be limited to 2 minutes.
Our community has until mid-March to block this ill-informed decision by the state. We’ll need many people working together in the next six weeks to win this battle. Call Mayor Tom Morphet at the Haines Borough, 907-303-3193, to find out how you can help.