Former Senate President Rick Halford and former Fish & Game Commissioner Frank Rue warn against weakening Alaska's commitment to fish first

Dunleavy Administration proposes new hurdles for defending salmon waters

JUNEAU, Alaska — SalmonState and experienced State of Alaska leaders today criticized proposed changes to Alaska's water reservation regulations, warning that the measures would make it difficult and expensive for Alaska to uphold its constitutional obligation that directs the state to protect water needed to sustain salmon streams, healthy fisheries, and Alaska's way of life from being appropriated to private users. The proposed regulations would require applicants seeking reservations of water — prohibitions on water being removed from important places wild salmon need — to pay for additional studies, data collection, and analyses required by the state. Water reservations are one of the few tools available to ensure rivers and streams retain enough water to support fish habitat, wildlife, recreation, and other public uses when industry is seeking to extract that water. The proposal continues a troubling Dunleavy Administration trend of making it easier for industrial interests to appropriate public resources for private gain while making it harder for Alaskans to ensure those resources are around for future generations.

"Our constitution states that uses of water are all subject to the general reservation of fisheries and wildlife.” Said Rick Halford, former Senate President.  “This requires that resources be managed for the maximum benefit of the people. Healthy salmon runs provide enormous economic, cultural, and nutritional benefits to Alaska. We should be making it easier to keep water in streams for fish, not creating new obstacles."

Halford continued, “There is nothing broken about the water appropriation and reservation system currently in our constitution, laws, and regulations except this administration's neglect and refusal to balance interests fairly.” 

Former Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Frank Rue said the proposal comes at a time when competition for Alaska's water resources is likely to increase."Water left in streams isn't wasted water," said Rue. "It's the foundation of our fisheries, our subsistence traditions, our sport fisheries, and thousands of jobs. Alaska's water management system should make it easier to protect water for fish, not harder.""The future debate isn't going to be whether Alaska faces competition for water resources — it's how we respond when that competition arrives," Rue added. "With proposals for energy projects, mining developments, and potentially large data centers on the horizon, now is exactly the wrong time to make it harder to reserve water for fish. Salmon can't hire lobbyists, but they depend on us getting these decisions right."SalmonState noted that salmon support commercial, sport, personal-use, and subsistence fisheries across Alaska and remain one of the state's most valuable renewable resources."Alaskans know that we need to balance competing uses of our resources," said Lindsey Bloom of SalmonState. "But fish don't get a seat at the negotiating table. Reservations of water are one of the few tools available to ensure that enough water remains in rivers and streams to support healthy salmon runs for future generations."

SalmonState is encouraging Alaskans to ask the Department of Natural Resources to extend the current comment period, as this is a major change at the last minute of a closing administration during the time of year when Alaskans are out enjoying our bountiful waters, lakes, streams and healthy salmon runs. 

"Healthy rivers are not an obstacle to prosperity," Halford said. "They are the source of it."