Featured Press Release
Tribal representation & comanagement, comprehensive habitat protection in the face of climate change, need for trawl bycatch reduction take center stage during Senate testimony
BETHEL, ALASKA—On Friday the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation hosted more than one hundred Alaska Native leaders and community members in the main meeting hall of the Bethel campus for a field hearing held by the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Senator Lisa Murkowski chaired the meeting as invited expert witnesses and community members spoke on the record about the deeply felt impact of wild salmon declines along Arctic, Yukon, Kuskokwim Rivers. They emphasized the importance of giving salmon every chance possible to rebound, Tribal representation and comanagement in all fisheries management regimes, and the need for immediate action to address declines.
Pebble Mine’s supply camp destroyed by wildfire; mess on state land highlights risks and liabilities of proposed project
HOMER—On June 30, the proposed Pebble Mine’s supply camp at headwaters of Bristol Bay burned to the ground in a wildfire, leaving a charred mess of melted metal on state land. Meanwhile, July 11, Bristol Bay’s fishing fleet broke its harvest record, reaching 46,564,310 sockeye salmon harvested. The total Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run record is expected to be broken this week, but as of July 11, it was 61,043,165. The contrast between the charred mess of the proposed Pebble Mine’s helicoptered-in materials and the sustainable, record-breaking, world treasure of the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run could not be more clear.
Climate adaptation legislation is important, but Alaskans need carbon reductions now
HOMER, ALASKA— SalmonState thanks Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Chris Coons for their introduction last Thursday of the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act (NCARS), a bill aimed at streamlining and strengthening the federal government’s ability to adapt to climate change. But SalmonState also calls on that same leadership team, including Senator Murkowski, to also support reductions in carbon emissions, without which Alaska will continue to see increased wildfires, changing weather patterns, unreliable winter ice, and suffering salmon runs.
SalmonState welcomes the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act as a first step towards addressing devastating salmon declines
JUNEAU—On December 17, U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski introduced the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act which, if passed, would form a panel of salmon stakeholders and experts to assess current salmon research and develop recommendations to guide future salmon research and management.
SalmonState on CODEL’s roundtable: These actions will help wild salmon
JUNEAU—Alaska’s Congressional delegation will host a salmon roundtable tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Thursday, December 9, beginning at 12:30 p.m. AKST both days.
SalmonState praises Biden Administration for prioritizing sustainable uses of the Tongass National Forest by reinstating Roadless protections
JUNEAU, AK — Tonight, SalmonState commends the Biden Administration for its decision to reinstate protections for road-free areas of the America’s largest and wildest national forest. The Roadless Area Conservation rule, in place for two decades, was rolled back by the Trump Administration. That move proved wildly unpopular within the region and across the nation.
With today’s move into the 21st century, the Tongass timber wars are over
JUNEAU—Today’s U.S. Forest Service announcement ending industrial-scale old growth logging, moving toward restoring Roadless Rule protections, and prioritizing the sustainable uses of the Tongass National Forest is a long-overdue move to shift management of America’s largest national forest into the 21st century.
Alaska’s Bristol Bay and Tongass are ideal beginnings for 30×30
JUNEAU— SalmonState is excited to see the release of the Biden Administration’s initial report on the potential of the 30x30 initiative — a bold and necessary effort to protect 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. While there are multiple ways to reach these goals, two landscapes in Alaska offer a critical mass of support for 30x30-scale protections: Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest. Protecting Bristol Bay and the Tongass will provide huge positive impact now and light the way for successful efforts elsewhere.
Alaskans ask Biden Administration to Move Quickly to Protect Critical Alaskan Salmon Watersheds, Make 30×30 a ‘Reality’
Juneau, AK – Yesterday, President Biden released his plan to address climate change, including a ‘30×30’ provision that calls for conservation of 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030. “Coming on the heels of an alarming report from the State of Washington showing salmon on the brink of extinction with climate change being a major factor, we need to take bold steps right now if we are going to have a fighting chance to preserve the healthy wild salmon runs many of us take for granted,” said SalmonState executive director Tim Bristol.
State of Washington Report Predicts the Extinction of Wild Pacific Salmon
Juneau, AK: On January 20th, Washington State’s Recreation and Conservation Office and the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office released a sobering report warning that Washington’s wild salmon populations are “teetering on the brink of extinction” with the majority of their runs in threatened or endangered status. In the report, habitat loss and climate change are identified as major challenges facing wild salmon and the authors call for Washington to choose a path to recovery that “recognizes salmon and other natural resources as vital to the state’s economy, growth, and prosperity.” The State’s conclusions sent shock waves across news outlets, including the New York Times and US News and World Report.
Over Tribal, resident, widespread objections, U.S. Forest Service to finalize politically-driven Tongass plan
JUNEAU, AK— The U.S. Forest Service today announced that its politically-driven plan to open 9.3 million currently protected acres of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska to industrial development, including clearcut logging of temperate rainforest old growth, will become official tomorrow, October 29, when the Record of Decision will be published in the Federal Register.
Forest Service confirms plan to strip Roadless protections for the Tongass, steamrolling Alaskans
JUNEAU, AK—SalmonState condemns the U.S. Forest Service’s announcement today, in a press release, that it will open more than 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest to taxpayer-subsidized old-growth logging and industrial development. The Forest Service said it is forging ahead with a full exemption to the Roadless Rule, something Alaska’s Congressional Delegation and governor have pressed for despite overwhelming testimony from Alaskans asking for protections to remain in place. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the decision will be released tomorrow, September 25, with a Record of Decision coming as early as October 26.