Issue Position: Stand for Salmon

Issue Position

Every Alaskan cares about salmon. They are the lifeblood of many communities and are important to Juneau's commercial fishing and tourism economy. When the Coastal Zone Management program expired in 2011, local people lost a voice in coastal development. Recently, the Alaska Supreme Court removed some of the more restrictive provisions of the initiative. If passed, the initiative would assume every stream has migrating fish and requires each project, including citizen homeowners, to do its own "mini environmental impact" analysis with hired experts, adding costs to each project. I think habitat management should be reviewed and upgraded but believe legislation, with an accompanying legislative process that will include public input, would be a better path for this needed effort. No matter what, I will work to protect fish habitat and make sure all the stakeholders, including scientists and those with traditional knowledge, are involved in the process of updating habitat protections.

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