Alaska Board of Fish live blogging – part two

Good Morning All-

We are due to start again this morning at 8 AM AK time.

Yesterday afternoon was interesting, at least from my point of view, to listen to how each BOF Board Member worked to both get questions answered but also to get his thoughts and/or issues out and onto the public record.

As frustrating as this might be to many fishermen or those who try and watch, in my opinion it is one of the things that Alaska seems to get mostly ‘right’.

The public is involved basically at all steps of the process. The proposals can be submitted by anyone from staff to just the general public, even out of state people are able to.

If you feel there needs to be a change in or a new fishing regulation you can get involved.

They are not screened or gone through before being published and distributed to the public.

Then as we get ready for the meeting, every three years for your area, there is an opportunity to submit comment of support or concerns to be included.

Many times this is evidence to back up a proposal or disagree.

Then during the meeting time you can come and go through giving public testimony. Submit more written comments (RCs), discuss in a committee that is set up by part of the board and all those who are interested in a group of proposals.

A few more back and forth times and you get to where we are yesterday and today, deliberations and voting.

I am hoping that some of the Yukon area people, or those who work with that part of the state, will comment on yesterday before I jump in a do a recap.

Today we should be dealing with a group of proposals that deal with the area JUST south of Bristol Bay Area and could be pretty hot, at least in the audience :-) Although they will restrain themselves at least until they get out in the hall way as you can’t be disruptive. Quickest way to be asked to leave!!

Overall the main concern seems to be the ability for village fishermen to fish pretty much ‘in their front yards’ and not HAVE TO travel up to hundreds of miles because of a management style that allows the fish to be intercepted before they can get into their ‘home’ or terminal rivers.

Not only our area villages but also one south of us and then still another one that is technically in the Area M territory feel their fish are being intercepted before they get to their terminal rivers.

This is a case of economics of who can afford to continue to live in their villages, children not being able to participate in something families have been doing for generations, and families that are struggling in all sorts of ways due to the changes in their villages.

Businesses that are closing up, homes being sold and all the issues that come with a village that is losing members.

We will not even get into the good management practices many feel this style is not following, the issues of is it REALLY true that our runs are sustainable, and finally if fishing as we know it is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

I will check in just before 8 AM.

Thanks for checking in and being interested, it is appreciated.

~ Victoria Briggs

Victoria is live blogging from the Alaska State Board of Fish meeting today, 2/6/10

Vic has been in Anchorage this week attending a variety of meetings and also peaking in on the Alaska State Board of Fish,  BOF.

She is going to do some live blogging throughout today while the Board goes through its last phase, called deliberations on the proposals that have been brought before them.

This particular meeting is for Western Alaska (all areas are on a once every three year cycle)  the area that includes the end of the Alaska Peninsula. Think of it as that long skinny part of Alaska that goes out to the Aleutian Islands.

It includes both the Pacific Side, the side Kodiak is on, and then as it wraps around to the Bristol Bay side.

It does not include the actual Aleutian Islands.

This is important for both the Yukon area and Bristol Bay. The salmon travel up and around this area on their way to both the Yukon and Bristol Bay.

There is a possible issue with creating some policies to help the Yukon Chum or Keta runs, that are becoming an increasingly important salmon species for the fishermen and villagers there due to issues with the Chinook.

It also addresses some issues for our Pilot Point and Ugashik villages. There is a river in the Bristol Bay area that is under concern also thus the Bristol Bay regions is concerned in how this area is managed.

As things progress during the meeting Vic is going to try and give some update comments to keep all in touch.

Victoria Briggs: Predator Control

Alaska Game Board shoots down predator control provision

This issue is one that is hard for many of us to wrap ourselves around as not only Alaska residents but also as US residents.
First off this decision involves only an area that the ANCHORAGE Fish and Game Advisory had made a recommended an action on. This is NOT for the entire state.

I believe it is an allocation issue as it is between the user groups of the hunters of the area, then Alaskan residents hunters and finally as US residents hunters who come up to hunt.
I also agree that predator control and allocation are both issues that need to be taken on a case by case basis.

The residents and the state need to make a concerted effort, in my view, to bring all the stake holders to the table to work out a plan for each area that manages for a healthy stock resource, then the rest of the issues will fall into place.

Putting revenue generating above anything else is a short term effort and one the state should trend lightly with.

Alaska Game Board shoots down predator control provision

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Board of Game has shot down a provision that would have prevented nonresidents from hunting in predator control areas where subsistence needs aren’t being met.

The seven-member board voted against the proposal Monday brought to the board by the Anchorage Fish & Game Advisory Committee.

Click HERE to read the whole story in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Ann Strongheart: rural vs. RURAL!!

So as I am going about my day today I get an IM from Vic.  She’s attending an Economic Development workshop that’s emphasis is Rural Development.   Vic is telling me about her class throughout the day because they had internet access in the room they were in.  It was kinda like she was live blogging the day.

Here’s what Vic is telling me…

We had as one of the main speakers today a lady who has an extensive resume that also includes living in what she is calling a rural area.  This lady is from an area that both Vic and I are quite familiar with in Washington.  Where it can be hours to drive to a city over 10,000, get a decent outift for a special event or even get certain speciality items in the grocery store.  

Here is a picture of where this lady was from that she calls "Rural".

This lady is thinking it is pretty rural, and probably pretty similar to much of Alaska, cause they do not want to drive an hour and half for a business class, they are getting an influx of people from bigger cities who want highspeed Internet and Vic is trying not to burst out laughing.

This lady doesn’t REALLY know rural, does she?  

Now here's what I call "Rural" this is a picture of Nunam Iqua from a plane. The arrow is where my house is.

This to me shows how little understanding that people have about what life is like in “Bush Alaska”.  I told Vic that I hoped that she set this lady straight and also that maybe she should give her the link to my shopping day story.  But when I started thinking about it I realize that Ugashik is even more remote/rural than Nunam Iqua. 

Here's another picture of Nunam Iqua taken from the Yukon River last winter.

Here in Ugashik if I were to tell a story about getting groceries this winter it would NOT include a snowmachine ride.  Rather it would include one of two things… A plane or my laptop even with the laptop a plane would still have to be worked into the equation.

So let’s look at what it takes to get groceries and supplies here in Ugashik.  Can’t just jump on a snowmachine b/c the closest decent store is 80 miles away in King Salmon.  Not that it would even be remotely safe to travel that distance via snow machine this winter.  Most winters here in Ugashik  do not allow the various lakes, rivers or creeks to freeze well enough to ensure safe travel of any great distance.   Mostly creeks that don’t freeze well enough so local knowledge is critical and for people to remember it is a active volcano area and the heat has to go somewhere if not out a mountain top. 

Here's just one of the many active volcanos in the area. You can see the steam coming outta the top.

So that limits travel via snowmachine during the winter.  You could easily travel 20 miles and then drop into a creek that wasn’t as frozen over as you thought and then you are stuck. 

Well that rules out my shopping via snowmachine what next?  Oooh yes planes.  I can always call the Alaska Commercial Company in King Salmon and ask them send out some groceries and then have to pay the airlines 87 cents a pound to get them here.  Or friends who have planes are usually happy to bring stuff with them if they are in the area visiting.  Especially if you bribe them with the promise of coffee and fresh made fry bread. 

Fresh Fry Bread mmmm who wouldn't wanna come visit for some?

But realistically ordering from King Salmon is expensive and the selection is limited so what next?  The internet!  Let’s see we have several options there.  There are many online grocery sites that you can order from.  Some where you can pay a higher price and order regular quantities of groceries as if you were right there in the grocery store shopping.  Then there are the stores that offer bulk sales. 

Today I shopped at Span Alaska Sales.  They offer grocery items in bulk.  So for instance if I need pilot bread.  I couldn’t just order a single box instead I had to order a case.  So that’s 12 boxes of pilot bread/crackers for $81.99 or I wanted tea so again I had to order by the case so I now have 6 boxes of tea for $17.98.  So I ended up with 22 cases of food for a little over $900.  But with Span Alaska the postage is included.  But my entire order will come via mail so it could take as little as a week to get here or as long as a month.  Plus then you have to take into consideration that we only receive mail here in Ugashik twice a week so that tends to make the wait longer.

As you can see it doesn’t take long to spend a whole lot of money.  Thankfully, Rollie and Vic have a warm room in their warehouse which makes it possible to make large orders like this.  If I were still in Nunam Iqua I could never place this type of order because I simply would not have anywhere to put everything.

Now in the late spring, summer and early fall some grocery shopping can be done via boat or when we are flying fish out then we can have huge bulk orders flown in.  Remember our Feeding the Crew post?

Well there you have it MY definition of RURAL vs. what others might consider rural.  I can honestly admit that I used to have the same idea as that lady when it came to rural UNTIL I moved to Bush Alaska! 

Maybe I’ll go make some fry bread and see if I can get some fresh veggies flown in :-D  Which is actually a very difficult thing to do because it’s hard to keep things from freezing in the winter even in a plane.  Which would be one advantage to getting icecream in I suppose!   There’s a thought icecream in the winter in Alaska…hmm maybe not.  LOL 

Well I hope you enjoyed this post about Rural.  I won’t even go into the many other things that I could continue to point out about the differences between rural vs. RURAL (hmm gas prices…law enforcement….fire departments….cars..heck we don’t even have roads in some of the villages…restuarants….movie theaters…hair salons…etc….etc…etc..)

Hollywood Came Calling and We…..

Checked it out!!

The board at AB got an email forwarded to us today from another blogger. She had gotten an inquiry from a Hollywood research person who was looking for people who lived a ‘different’ life or ‘off the grid’ as they called it.

It included a little recap of what they were looking for, a link to see what the show was about and then a return email to contact them if we were interested.

After some discussion and research amongst ourselves Vic bit on the bullet to see what all they had to say.

She included a tiny bit about us but did not list our last names, location or the blog. Just things we did on an every day way and a little about our surroundings.

Believe it or not they got back to her in just a hour or so!!

This time it was from a producer and she wanted to talk!

Vic sent a phone number off to her and then got busy with the day.

Damn as she wasn’t sitting by the phone or computer the producer came right back with a suggested time to call that Vic missed by hours :)))

It seems running for the mail and getting chickens fed were just higher on the list today!

Vic shot off a short email letting the producer know a good time for tomorrow and figuring things would have to wait until then.

AGAIN, back came a quick reply asking if Vic had time this evening.

She did.

After about a 20 minute call and much from Vic explaining that the time of year they wanted to shoot, May was just about the most boring time when all we do is slop around in the mud and melting snow and wait for spring.

The discussion included them looking for families that do things like going hunting, participating in a steam bath, maybe a town gathering, home schooling, etc. All things that Vic and I felt were pretty ‘normal’ even for many others who do not live “off the grid”.

The premise of the show was to have them come out over the course of about 5 days, observe what we do on a day to day basis and then also have the host be “inserted into our daily lives” to offer some ‘comic relief’.

We will not share the hosts name but it is a well known comic and former host of shows that are family oriented.

Think along the lines of America’s Funniest Home Videos and you might be pretty darn close :-)

So after a short, OK VERY short, review both of us decided that we are not made of the ‘insert host for comic relief’ type of Alaskans. We will do a nicely worded, thanks but no thanks and wish you the best of luck email to the producer.

You never know but it looks like we will have to bypass this call from Hollywood and wait for…… (it might be a VERY long wait:-))

Ann Strongheart: Life in the Bush A New Topic: Violence

Well yesterday I was online…big surprise…. don’t recall if I had my PJ’s on at the time LOL  Anyway I was online and I wandered over to my Facebook Page.  I am noticing everyone’s status messages and then I see one from my friend a teacher in Nunam Iqua. 

It said something to the effect of….We are in lockdown because someone shot someone in the head and we are waiting for the troopers. 

They were having Saturday school to make up for a missed day earlier and the entire school had planned on going out on the Yukon ice fishing for the day.  Instead they are locked in the school, no one allowed in or out.  So I IM’d her and asked what was going on.  In the meantime I grabbed my headset and tried to call my sister-in-law Savanna assuming that she was probably the health aide on call and I was worried about her.  No answer.  So I try calling my brother-in-law.  Yes…He answers his cell phone. 

I asked him what was going on and found out that a couple of guys shot at another guy.  The bullet just grazed his head and he was fine.  My brother-in-law, who also works at the school, tells me that the AK State Troopers haven’t arrived yet and that the school will be in lockdown until they arrive.  I asked him if Savanna was ok and he said she was. 

I then tried calling Savanna again and she was at home and we chatted.  She was in fact the health aide on call.  She was still a little shaken by what had taken place and had gotten very little sleep that night.   We talked for a bit and she put my worries to rest and I gave her an update on GG and CC and what we’d been up to. 

Today, Sunday, I got an email from my brother-in-law telling me that they had caught the one responsible for the shooting after he’d tried to runaway upriver to Alakanuk and hide.  This also happens to be a man who has been causing all sorts of problems recently ranging from harassment to contributing to a minor to assault and rape of a woman to now I am assuming attempted murder.

There is NO law enforcement in Nunam Iqua similiar to many other villages throughout bush Alaska.  Nunam Iqua does not have a VPSO (Village Public Safety Officer) or a VPO (Village Police Officer) or any type of Tribal Police.  They must rely on the AK State Troopers to respond when there is a problem.

In my opinion, the Alaska State Troopers are so understaffed that they won’t respond unless someone is killed or a child is involved.  But even if a child is involved usually it’s the Office of Children’s Services that comes out.  Again that’s just my opinion, I know most people don’t even bother to call the Troopers because they know they won’t do anything.

So now here’s some million dollar questions….

What can we do to address violence in our bush villages?  How can we keep not only our children safe but also our residents?  What are the contributing factors that lead to such violence?  How do we bring public safety to the forefront of our village issues?  Etc.

I don’t have any answers to those questions.  I can speculate on some of them though…

First I am going to speculate on what I think are some of the causes of violence and domestic violence in bush Alaska. 

Where to start?  How about simply struggling to survive?  Lack of employment?  Substance Abuse?  When it comes to DV is it being passed down from one generation to the next in a vicious circle?  Do children see their parents abusing each other and assume it’s ok and thus continue the same conduct when they grow up?  Is it lack of education and retention in our schools?  Lack of law enforcement.  What about simply feeling like there is no one to help them if they can’t get the AK State Troopers to respond and there is no other law enforcement available?  Who is going to help??  How can we stay safe?

Then we throw in other complications.

Let’s say that I am a VPSO in the village.  I get a call that so an so is beating up his girlfriend.  I respond.  It’s my cousin.   Her boyfriend is drinking and they got in an arguement about how they are running out of money and don’t know how they are going to feed their 4 small children.   She begs me not to take her boyfriend in.  He has to go to work tomorrow, they can’t afford child care for her to work so if I take him in they will lose their only source of income.  The boyfriend is sincerely apologetic and swears that he won’t do it again and wants to go sleep it off at his mom’s house. 

What would you do??  Would you haul the boyfriend in?  Let’s add to our pretend call the fact that the boyfriend is also the son of the Tribal President….my pretend boss!!  Now do I not only put this family’s financial well being in jeopardy but also risk bringing the wrath of the Tribal President down on my head to keep this family safe??  My cousin says she won’t press charges.  What do I do??

Here’s another complication being a VPSO also makes me a mandated reporter.  Are the kids safe if mom and dad are fighting and dad is drinking??  No so now I have to call in OCS.  This could easily result in their children being removed.  If I call OCS right then they might advice me to immediately remove the children…now I have to find a family member or emergency foster home for them until OCS can fly in.  Let’s say it’s 2 a.m. now I am calling half the village trying to find someone to take these children for the night.  Plus I have to find a guard to go to the jail and watch the boyfriend.

I could go on and on.  These are just a few of the challenges that we face in bush villages.  I don’t have any answers.  It’s no wonder why it’s so hard to find people to be VPSO’s and VPO’s would you want to have to make those decisions??  If you decide to just give boyfriend a warning what will that lead to?  Next time will he beat not only her but also the children?? 

So many questions.  So many problems.  What is the solution?

Happy Anniversary Anonymous Bloggers! Looking back at our first Year…

 

Anonymous Bloggers

Working together to bring relief to our fellow Americans!

 Wow, has it really been a year since Jane started this site?  So much has happened.  We went from just a few of us who pretty much used AB as a place to gather and exchange ideas on how best to bring relief to rural Alaska to having hundreds of people visiting here every day brainstorming short and long term solutions to the issues that face rural Alaska.   

I can remember in the beginning when we first discovered our statistics here at AB that we were getting excited when there would be more visitors than AB staff.  Now we have someone visiting AB every 6 minutes.  OK or as Rollie (who I asked to double check my math) said a hit every 5.9 minutes or every 354 seconds.   To which I replied….ROUND UP ALREADY!!! Every 6 minutes :-D 

So what has brought nearly 100,000 people to Anonymous Bloggers this first year?  Let us review.  Now obviously I am NOT going to review every single post but will give you a time line of this past years major events here at AB.  Please feel free to wander the side bar and the archives to see everything we’ve done.  

Quyana Jane for all of your hard work!  Here’s the timeline Jane made with a lot of hard work and patience, I just added the pictures for this post.  Which I might warn y’all is by far the longest post AB has ever had!!

Anonymous Bloggers our 1st year…a review…..

Well Jane actually started AB on January 21st, 2009  BUT we need to go back a few weeks before that to get a full understanding of why she made this decision. 

Nicholas Tucker, Yup'ik Elder, Emmonak, Alaska

January 9, 2009

The crisis in rural Alaska came to light when Nicholas Tucker presented a letter to Fuel Summit Participants sharing the stories of people in his village who were suffering. His story was picked up by regional news outlets and eventually became headline news in Alaska 

Emmonak man seeks food airlift to combat economic crisis 

A combination of extreme cold and high fuel prices has created a humanitarian crisis for the village of Emmonak, according to resident Nicholas Tucker. 

January 14, 2009

 

 

Prominent Alaska blogger AKM brought the crisis in rural Alaska to the attention of hundreds of readers on her blog, TheMudflats, and asked for donations to send a filmmaker to Emmanok to document the situation. The footage eventually appeared on CNN. 

A Cry for Help from Rural Alaska. Is Anyone Listening? 

The Mudflats 

January 14, 2009 

One of our local progressive media heroes, Dennis Zaki of The Alaska Report, is stepping up trying to raise money to get to Emmonak and other villages to put a camera where it needs to be. Many national and international media outlets are interested in seeing footage. Flights are not inexpensive, and he’ll be traveling on his own dime. If you want to help put a spotlight on this issue as it relates to Emmonak and ALL Alaska’s rural villages in crisis, consider donating with the Paypal button below. 

*** 

 

Emmonak’s Nicholas Tucker interviewed on KUDO. 

Hope Coming to Emmonak and Beyond? 

The Mudflats 

January 14, 2009 

If you didn’t get the opportunity to hear Nick Tucker talk to CC on KUDO, he had a message for all those who have stepped up to help rural Alaskans who are having to make the choice of whether to keep their children and elders warm, or fed. “It’s a blessed day. It’s like angels have landed on Earth.” 

January 16, 2009

 

Ann Strongheart left this comment on TheMudflats: 

 

January 17, 2009 

Enough money to pay for Dennis Zaki’s flight has been raised and he is set to depart the following day. 

Alaska’s Rural Villages in Crisis – Update. 

The Mudflats
January 17, 2009 Thanks to generous contributions to the effort, many coming from Mudflatters, Dennis Zaki of The Alaska Report has raised enough money to pay for travel to Emmonak and other remote villages, to talk to locals on camera, and capture footage for use by the national media. Dennis needed $2000 for his ticket, and will distribute the rest for energy relief when he arrives in the bush. As of this writing, there is $6283. in the account! 

***

 

Ann Strongheart left a comment on Margaret& Helen’s blog (a blog that went viral in the fall when Helen made one of many on-target assessments of Sarah Palin’s character) saying that the crisis was more widespread. More people jumped into help. 

By: Struggling in Nunam Iqua 

January 17, 2009 at 4:45 PM 

Hi everyone, 

I was asked to come here and blog. I have been blogging on themudflats.net about how it isn’t just EMMONAK that is struggling. 

It’s not just Emmonak that is struggling it’s the entire Yukon Delta. I live in Nunam Iqua, a village that is 25 miles south of Emmonak. Not only are we faced with the same issues as Emmonak but also our crisis is harder because we no longer have a store here. Our trading post colapsed several months ago, so we have no place here to get groceries. 

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January 21, 2009

The attention the crisis in rural Alaska was receiving in the comments section on Helen & Margaret’s blog caused complaints by some who thought the conversation was to far off-topic. Information about ways to help were strewn across the comments section of a number of blogs – it need a clearinghouse. 

 

We our started our Facebook group and registered our domain name on Jan 21, 2009 

 

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January 23, 2009

The first boxes arrive in Nunam Iqua and we started our blog! 

First boxes of aide arriving in Nunam Iqua.

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January 25, 2009

The first, and maybe only, story in the main stream print media about the crisis was published in the Los Angeles Times on January 25, 2009. 

In rural Alaska, villagers suffer in near silence 

By Kim Murphy 

January 25, 2009 

Reporting from Tuluksak, Alaska — As the temperature plunged to minus-40 degrees last month, Nastasia Wassilie waited. 

The 61-year-old widow had run out of wood and fuel oil, and had no money to buy more. Nor was there much food in the house. 

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February 5, 2009

 

Almost a month after the crisis in Alaska made news there, CNN brought it to national attention 

In rural Alaska villages, families struggle to survive 

By Mallory Simon 

CNN 

(CNN) — Thousands of villagers in rural Alaska are struggling to survive, forced to choose between keeping their families warm and keeping their stomachs full, residents say. 

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February 6, 2009

Victoria Briggs first reported that the suffering extends to the Alaska Peninsula. 

Letter: Hardship exists on the Alaska Peninsula, too 

Victoria Briggs Ugashik February 6, 2009 at 1:28PM AKST 

Before you read any farther please realize we are not putting our hand out for assistance, but certainly do need it! I am a resident in a village that is very small, 10-12 full time residents, that face many of the same issues that the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta does. 

*** 

 

Ann Strongheart – A Proud Yupik Mom! 

Ann begins introducing us to her family, her village and her life in Nunam Iqua. Her accounts of Shopping Day in Nunam Iqua and Life Without Running Water brought us all a closer insight into what people who choose to live in the bush are up against. 

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February 13, 2009

Food and donations from far-flung relief efforts begin to make a difference. 

Worldwide donations find way to lower Yukon 

A wave of donated food and cash has swept into lower Yukon River villages over the past month, with more than 19,000 pounds of supplies and $13,000 landing in Emmonak alone. 

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February 17, 2009

The first boxes of food arrive in Ugashik/Pilot Point 

 

ugaVic Says: 

February 18, 2009 at 3:47 pm 

Update – the first food reached us yesterday, thanx Seattle and MO (forgot the town – is written down – will fill in later) We got a box of food out to each of our most needy households yesterday. Since we hadn’t really said much about what we were doing until we had our food show up, they were surprised, overwhelmed and just so grateful my words can’t say enough. All of you who are working on this have them so surprised that someone actually cares – I can’t tell you the impact that has already made. 

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February 19, 2009

Sarah Palin announces plan to visit rural villages on February 20. 

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February 20, 2009

Sarah Palin Visits Russian Mission with Samaritan’s Purse 

 

Video of Sarah Palin, upon leaving Wasilla with Samaritan’s Purse personalities to deliver faith-based aid to the villages of Russian Mission and Marshall. She states government is not the answer, faith-based organizations can help in the interim, but suggests young people should consider leaving their villages to find temporary work and return to the villages with the salaries the have earned to take part in the subsistance living skills they are trying to preserve. 

 

Nicolas Tucker Sr., the brave villager from Emmonak who brought this crisis to our attention, flew to Russian Mission to speak with Sarah Palin. View a video of their conversation. 

 

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March 2, 2009

Sustainable Gardening Becomes a Topic 

The last few weeks in February brought some lively chatter in our Cold Weather Gardening threads. We were looking for sustainable solutions to life in the bush and got plenty of ideas and suggestions. Victoria answered many questions about garden tunnels and potatoes as a traditional staple; her growing season and tomatos and the 90 one-day-old chicks she was raising for summer egg production. 

She told us privately she had been trying to get funds from the Ugashik and Pilot Point Village Councils to attend a sustainable gerdening conference in Fairbanks to help start a community garden in Pilot Point but had not been successful. 

We asked you to come up with creative ways to get her there. 

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March 6, 2009 

Victoria Will Travel to the Sustainable Gardening Conference in Fairbanks: 

Thanks to all of you I am going to the sustainable/gardening conference!!! 

L.Gardener stepped up and offered, Saturday I believe, have lost track of time:-), to pay for my plane ticket so it would be a ‘for sure’ thing. Then as people contributed we could gather funds and reimburse her. That is now done with a number of people from all over jumping in to help defray the cost. She shares some of the things she learned in her garden journal. 

Victoria is a powerhouse! This post is a must-read to get an idea of her energetic enthusiasm in pursuing a more stable and richer life for Native Alaskans. By the end of it she’s already talking about her next project – the salmon bycatch issue! 

*** 

Emmonak’s Nicholas Tucker rips Sarah Palin for “disrespect” 

Emmonak’s Nicholas Tucker wrote to AlaskaReport.com editor Dennis Zaki and asked him to print his letter about his dissatisfaction with Governor Sarah Palin’s slow and lackluster response to the food/fuel crisis plaguing the villages of Western Alaska. 

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March 17, 2009 

Salmon Bycatch in the Pollock Fisheries 

Our first post about the devastating effects salmon bycatch in the pollock fishing industry was having on the the salmon fisheries rural Alaskans depend on for winter sustenance. 

We called for people to write letters to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which would be meeting in Anchorage April 1-7, demanding they call for a lower bycatch number than the one they were considering. We posted a petition and collected signatures from people from across the US and Canada and as far away as Germany who endorsed a lower bycatch. They were delivered by hand before the March 25 deadline for comments. 

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March 31, 2009 

Victoria to Attend the NPFMC Salmon Bycatch Meeting in Anchorage 

Victoria, in an update, reported that she and Ann had been invited to attend the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting to speak before the council about the effects salmon bycatch is having on rural Alaska. Ann was suffering from a persistent bug (could it have been GG?) so Vic attended the meeting in Anchorage. 

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April 5, 2009 

Victoria Live Blogs From the NPFMC Salmon Bycatch Meeting 

Victoria wrote about her first two days at the NPFMC meeting and continued to live blog through the rest of the conference. Sadly, the 68,392 limit was adopted, not the 32,500 that we had been urging, but Vic gave it all she had on behalf of all of us. 

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April 16-27, 2009 

Unusually early break-up on the Ugashik River 

Normally it is right around the very end of April or the first of May before we start to see holes in the ice or the river flowing. 

We usually go through days or even a week or more of open holes and areas of water. Then some breaking up of the river. We woke up Sunday morning, after a night of some winds in the 20-30 knot range and the river was flowing some. 

COULD NOT believe it. Hubby, who grew up in the village does not ever remember it going from basically solid to flowing like this. 

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April 24, 2009 

First the bad news… 

Out of Fuel in Nunam Iqua 

Ann reported that Nunam Iqua’s fuel/stove oil tank had run dry. This happened because the early fall freeze in 2008 prevented their last fuel order from being delivered. 

The next day, with the food drive slowing down, she and Victoria gave us a detailed update on the situations in their villages. This post offers another glimpse of the monumental task Ann and Vic undertook to help their fellow villagers and the extent to which people from all over pitched in to help. 

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April 25, 2009 

Then the good news… 

New Pajama Clad Anonymous Blogger/Mudpup expected to arrive mid November! 

Yep, that’s right! I am pregnant :-D a lil over 10 weeks now. Approximate due date: November 21, 2009! 

Awwww so that’s why I have been having problems keeping up with posts and updates. Due to first trimester pregnancy problems ie: morning sickness and extreme exhaustion I am using all my energy just trying to keep up with my rambunctious toddler Cecelia and keep my house. 

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May 6,2009 

Segundo, Ann and CC are moving to Ugashik for the summer! 

Ann wrote: 

One day I was talking in an IM with Victoria in Ugashik. She made a comment about how busy she was getting ready for the upcoming fishing season. Victoria also mentioned that they needed to find another fisherman to come and work the summer with them. Jokingly I replied… I know Segundo, CC and I can come down for the summer and Segundo can be your fisherman! That was several weeks ago and after hearing how the commercial fishing here on the Yukon would be pretty much nonexistent AGAIN this summer Segundo and I decided to take up Victoria and her husbands offer. After many emails, IM’s and phone calls it’s all set. 

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May 9,2009 

‘Tsunami’ Of Ice Wreaks Havoc On Alaskan Town

 

Breakup brought it’s own challenges on the Yukon, especially in Eagle Village which was flattened by an ice flood. FEMA stepped up to the plate this time and a plan for sensibly rebuilding the town using kit homes with the help of volunteers from the US, Canada and beyond was completed before winter set in. Bloggers worldwide contributed by donating money and supplies. 

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May 18-27,2009 

Watching and Waiting for Breakup on the Yukon 

As breakup continued down the Yukon, communities along the way kept close watch on the flood warnings. 

Bloggers waited anxiously for news from Ann in Nunam Iqua at the rivers mouth. She sent updates on May 18, May 19, May 22, May 23, May 26 and on May 27 when she reported that planes were able to land in Nunam Iqua and that her family would be leaving for Ugashik the next morning., 

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May 28, 2009 

The Stronghearts Arrived in Ugashik 

Over the next few weeks Ann put up a series of posts illustrating life in Ugashik including Cecelia making friends with Vic’s dogs and chicks, cooking in Vic’s modern kitchen and bathing in the land of running water. See them here, here, here, here here and here. 

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June 28, 2009 

Palin tweets that Emmonak residents are meeting subsistence needs 

by Channel 2 News Staff 

Sunday, June 28, 2009 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — According to Gov. Sarah Palin’s posts on Twitter, half of the people in Emmonak have met subsistence needs and the other half believe they can do the same. Palin says her rural advisor, John Moller, recently returned from Emmonak and those were his findings. 

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June 30, 2009 

Emmonak villager demands apology from Palin camp 

Posted by thevillage 

Posted: June 30, 2009 

What was that good news? I asked Palin’s spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, today in an e-mail. 

“The good news – At the Federal Subsistence meeting in Emmonak last week, Nick Tucker reported that 50 percent of the residents have met subsistence needs and other 50 percent are confident they will meet their needs,” Leighow replied. 

(Tucker drew statewide and national attention this winter when he wrote a letter describing a food and fuel crisis on the lower Yukon.) 

Here’s where it gets complicated. Tucker says he never said that and is demanding a public apology from the governor’s camp. 

“I want them to take it back,” Tucker said in a short phone interview today. 

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July 3, 2009 

John Moller: I talked to many, many people over those two days 

The Alaska Daily News rural blog, The Village, interviewed John Moller, Sarah Palin’s rural advisor, on Wednesday. They we’re specifically interested in the display of civil disobedience in Marshall but, since Moller was just back in the office after being out of cell phone range while fishing, he couldn’t address that so they talked about other rural issues including the Governor’s tweet about Emmonak. 

*** 

Governor Palin Resigns – Ann Asks What That Will Mean for Rural Alaska 

After all the time we Alaskan Natives have been dealing with both the Palin administration’s actions and inactions toward the plight of our rural people, we now find ourselves asking a lot of questions. When I look at where we’ve come from and what I want for my people in the future, I find myself contemplating right now: What does this new leadership mean to bush Alaskans? Fisheries? Subsistence? etc etc 

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July 11, 2009

Vic Took a Time Out to Give Us a Glimpse of Summer in Ugashik

So much of this time of year in Alaska, at least the western parts that fish, is rush, rush, rush!! You do any projects that need decent weather, earn most of your yearly income in a few short weeks and, if you can, get the relatives up to visit when it isn’t below freezing.

In the past few weeks I felt you needed to see part of what we try to sandwich in all this work, work and more work.

Time to view all the flowers, well some call them weeds, that spring up and give us color. Even 2 year olds of all species enjoy them!

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August 2, 2009

Ann Strongheart Aired Rural Woes Internationally

Monday, August 3, 2009 – Salmon Ban on the Yukon River: (listen)

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has banned commercial fishing for king salmon along the Yukon River and is limiting subsistence fishing. The ban is in response to the state not meeting their treaty agreement with Canada for the past two years to deliver 45,000 kings via the Yukon. But groups of Native fishermen are ignoring the ban – facing possible jail time, heavy fines and equipment seizure. How will village residents make it through another tough winter if they’re not allowed to fish this summer? Guest is Ann Strongheart (Yu’pik) from the village of Nunam Iqua.

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August 5, 2009

Ann Writes an Open Letter to Rural Advisor John Moller

…During the program, moderator Harlan McKosato mentioned that he put in a call to you before the show but never got a call back.

Because rural Alaskans are openly voicing their serious fears about the coming winter, we were disappointed that you were not involved in the conversation with Ann and Nick on the air. Rural Alaskans need to know advisors have the ear of Governor Parnell and need to believe that the governor realizes today that things may be even worse this winter for rural Alaskan villages than the previous one….

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August 7, 2009

Alaska’s Governor Parnell Urges Disaster Relief for Yukon Fishery!

In a letter today, Governor Sean Parnell asked Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to declare a fishery disaster in the Yukon River Chinook salmon fishery.

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August 9, 2009

Cecelia Strongheart Turns Two! Ann looks back…

Daddy and Mommy bring out CC's birthday cake.

Wow where have the past two years gone? Can’t believe my baby girl is two years old already. Hmm terrible twos…sigh.

Thinking back to two years ago is kind of scary right now because as all mothers do, I think they do anyway, we start thinking about going into labor. The pain, the fear, the joy. But now when I think about that I think holy $h!+ I am going to be going through all of that again in a couple of months. Hmmm, glad this will be the last time I go through labor.

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August 10, 2009

Legislature overrides Palin’s stimulus veto By SEAN COCKERHAM

scockerham@adn.com

Published: August 10th, 2009 02:31 PM

Last Modified: August 11th, 2009 06:25 PM

The Alaska Legislature voted Monday to override former Gov. Sarah Palin’s veto of $28 million in federal stimulus money for energy cost relief. But it was as close as a vote can get.

(snip) Palin vetoed the appropriation of $28 million in federal energy stimulus cash in May, two months before she resigned as governor.

She kept up her fight against the money by posting a message on her Facebook page Sunday.

“As governor, I did my utmost to warn our legislators that accepting stimulus funds will further tie Alaska to the federal government and chip away at Alaska’s right to chart its own course.

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August 11, 2009

Wise Words from Respected Elder Nicholas Tucker

From a letter to a tribal administrator…

…I want you, your children and grandchildren to get education. We’ve always been strong, intelligent, and wise, particularly our culture precious with values and teachings. Take that for our next generations. But, keep your heads up, your whole generation. We will have been a forced to be reckoned with, because I think, many of us are beginning to turn to God, and we might just rule with justice, goodness, fairness, and generosity again, but educated…

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August 12, 2009

Obama’s Rural Tour Visits Bush Alaska

By KYLE HOPKINS

khopkins@adn.com

Published: August 12th, 2009 10:42 PM

Last Modified: August 13th, 2009 06:20 PM

BETHEL — Four of President Obama’s cabinet members whirled through a pair of remote Alaska communities Wednesday to hear an earful about the state’s novel needs and the borderline third-world conditions in some villages.

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August 14, 2009

Ann Writes an Open Letter to Governor Parnell, John Moller and others

…Although with another non existent salmon fishing season on the Yukon and winter fast approaching I am worried that this winter will in fact be worse than last winter. I was happy to see that Governor Parnell made a disaster declaration for the Salmon Fisheries on the Yukon, although I fear that this will not be enough

We at Anonymous Bloggers have been trying, in vain, to find out if the rural villages have enough fuel for the winter. We have contacted, with little to no response, the Rural Advisory Panel and the Rural Sub cabinet and Rural Advisor Moller and the Attorney General and I could keep going and going with our attempts to get answers…

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August 16, 2009

First Nations Call for Zero Bycatch

More than 65 first nations in Alaska and the Yukon are asking the United States’ Secretary of Commerce to ban the pollock industry’s bycatch of chinook river salmon.

At its annual meeting held recently at Lake Laberge, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) voted in favour of a resolution urging Gary Locke, the U.S. commerce secretary, to invoke his emergency regulatory authority and order the pollock industry to reduce its annual bycatch to zero.

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August 18, 2009

RIP Segundo Strongheart – Nov. 27, 1970 – August 18, 2009

We were all saddened by the unexpected death of Segundo Strongheart on Tuesday, August 18. He suffered a massive heart attack in the early morning hours and despite immediate attempts to resuscitate him including use a defibrillator under the guidance of medical professionals by telephone, he passed away at 6:00 A.M.

Doctors assured the family that if Segundo had been in the world’s most well-equipped hospital, the heart attack would have taken him. It was just too severe.

Click through the “Next Post” links at the top of this post to follow Segundo’s journey home to Nunam Iqua.

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August 31, 2009

Ann Strongheart Continues the Fight for Her People

…Well now, as much as I would like to just curl up and only mourn the loss of my beloved Segundo and just let everything else go and become self centered and only think about Cecelia, this unborn and myself that isn’t going to happen. OOOH sure I could use this as an excuse to stop fighting for my people and rural Alaska. (LOL Which I am sure there are certain Government Officials hoping that I would do just that!) But then I think back on conversations with Segundo and how much he wanted me to keep fighting and just know that I can’t quit. Heck like I could anyway, I feel even more compelled and motivated now. PLUS..winter is fast approaching and we need to make certain that all rural Alaskans are NOT forced to choose between feeding their families or keeping their houses warm this winter like they had to last winter.

So now I continue on fighting for my people…Segundo’s people… rural Alaska…Natives! But now there seems to be more of a driving force because I am now doing it for Segundo, in memory of my Segundo…

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September 4, 2009

Another Open Letter From Ann to Governor Parnell, John Moller and Others

…Not only is the lack of both subsistence and commercial fishing, greatly diminishing our ability to put away fish for the winter but also the lack of funds brought in from commercial fishing is now making it hard, if not impossible, for rural Alaskans to put away other subsistence game.

Moose season is now. The birds are flying now. Now is the time to be out hunting for seals and whales. All of these types of game are critical for us to survive this winter. If we cannot purchase gas to go out and hunt then I fear this winter we will have a crisis of much greater proportions than last winter. Last winter we were able to depend a little bit on other game that we had put up for the winter since we were lacking fish.

It looks like this winter that option will not be available to many rural Alaskans because they simply cannot afford the gas and other necessities required to go out hunting…

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October 23, 2009

Pres. Obama Reaches Out to American Indian Tribes

By KYLE HOPKINS

khopklins@adn.com

Published: October 23rd, 2009 11:03 AM

Last Modified: October 24th, 2009 04:19 PM

The Obama administration is launching a rapid, sweeping review of the way the federal government manages subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska, Interior Department officials said Friday.

“The system, frankly, today is broken,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in a video shown at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention in downtown Anchorage.

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November 5, 2009

President Obama delivers remarks at White House, Tribal Nations conference

Pres. Obama delivered the opening remarks at a White House Tribal Nations Conference and participated in a discussion with leaders from the 564 federally recognized tribes. The conference is addressing issues facing American Indian tribes such as economic development, housing and education. This is the first such meeting since 1994. Washington, DC.

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November 12, 2009

Welcome Glenna Gabriella Kegginacengaq Strongheart!

8 pounds 11 ounces, 21 1/4?, at 10:08 PM on THURSDAY, Nov 12, 2009

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November 18, 2009

In Ann’s Words – The birth of a Strongheart!

Well Glenna Gabriella, GG, is now 5 days old. She began her life in Dillingham, Alaska. We have since come home to Ugashik and are settling in here. So much has happened this year it’s all very overwhelming. From food/fuel drives to food drops to making 100’s of new friends to new jobs in new places. From the death of my beloved Gundo to the birth of beautiful GG. A lot of happiness and hard work mixed with a lot of pain and loss…

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November 26, 2009

Fall Sea Ice Flood in Nunam Iqua Leave Residents Struggling

Ice piled up during the Fall Flood at Nunam Iqua 11/11/09

This is due to the fact that on November 11, 2009 Nunam Iqua experienced a Fall Flood. As you can see from the picture above and the one below this flooding wreaked havoc on the Yukon River ice. The flooding brought in massive amounts of sea ice from the Bering Sea that unfortunately is still clogging the Yukon. Several people lost their fishing nets they had set under the ice and a couple of families even lost their boats during the flood.

With all of this sea ice still in the Yukon River at Nunam Iqua it has caused a hardship on the residents. Normally during the winter families will go out onto the river and place fishing nets under the ice to catch fresh fish. But due to the mess of sea ice currently in the Yukon this has become very difficult if not impossible to do now. Fresh fish caught under the ice with nets is a large staple for families during the winter.

Since Ann is spending this winter in Ugashik she will not be able to have a food drive and will be unable to accept flat rate boxes like last year to distribute to the needy families. So instead she is gathering information to start adopting needing families. Like last winter she will comply a list of family names, addresses, family size and specific needs. Once this list is complied individuals/families will be able to contact her and adopt a family to send food to directly. Ann will keep y’all updated and let you know when the list is available and families are ready to be adopted.

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December 3, 2009

Bright Outlook for Winter in Ugashik

There is some better news this year coming from Pilot Point and Ugashik when it comes to our ability to deal with our winter conditions.

Our fishing season was much better this year than last on our main season of Sockeye salmon, although the Chinook/King returns continue to be dismal.

This allowed for most everyone to either work in the industry if they wanted/needed to and also to get fish put up for the winter…

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December 14, 2009

Rollie Briggs’ Energy Ideas for Rural Alaska

Roland Briggs watches new technology, guess it might be the Mechanical Engineering part of his background which keeps him “tuned in”, and he wants to share some of what he sees as exciting. As things cross his path and they look like they might have use in Alaska you will see him post on his new page in our Energy Section.

January 7, 2010

Alaska Federation of Natives calls for Native and rural subsistence priority on all Alaska lands

By Alex Demarban

The Arctic Sounder

The Alaska Federation of Natives lays out an ambitious agenda that seeks to expand hunting and fishing rights for Alaska Natives as part of the first-ever review of the federal subsistence program in Alaska.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar offering ways to improve the program, the statewide Native organization draws on historical arguments and legal precedent to make the case that all Natives, as well as rural residents, deserve priority over other hunters and fishermen.

Salazar announced the review in October.

The Jan. 7 letter, signed by AFN President Julie Kitka, also asks that the rural subsistence priority be applied to all land and waters in Alaska as Congress originally intended.

Read the story

January 15, 2010

FEDS DECLARE YUKON FISHERIES DISASTER

January 15, 2010 by alaskapi

From Governor Parnell’s news release:

State of Alaska > Governor > News > News Details Federal Fisheries Disaster for Yukon Chinook Printer Friendly FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 10-010

Secretary Locke Declares Federal Fisheries Disaster for Yukon Chinook January 15, 2010, Anchorage, Alaska -

Governor Sean Parnell today welcomed a decision by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke finding that a disaster has occurred with the 2009 Yukon River chinook salmon run, opening the door for federal aid to the area. “I appreciate Secretary Locke’s recognition of the severity of the situation along the Yukon River and the dependence of Alaskans on these salmon runs,” Governor Parnell said. The federal disaster declaration is in response to requests made by Governor Parnell, the Association of Village Council Presidents and the Alaska Federation of Natives. The request detailed the biological and economic situation on the Yukon River and the impacts of the reduced chinook runs. The declaration does not bring immediate aid to the affected area. The congressional delegation must still secure a federal appropriation. Federal aid, once secured, could be used for relief programs, stock research, training programs, fisheries infrastructure, or other regional projects.

Here's a copy of the actual letter from Sec. Locke to Gov. Parnell

Well there ya have it!!   A summary of events of Anonymous Bloggers first year!  One year down!!  Many, Many, Many more to come!!

Quyana Cakneq for y’all’s support and help in making AB!!! 

YES WE CAN!!!!

Disaster Declared now what??

Here's a copy of the actual letter from Sec. Locke to Gov. Parnell

Here’s what AB has so far….

We were able to reach Senator Begich’s office this week and speak to a Legislative Aid who is familiar with the declaration and the process.

Part of the reason the actual declaration took so long is that there is not a set group of procedures or real “rules” for how this process is suppose to work. NOAA wanted to sit down and make some rules, as any good government should, so that there would be an outline to follow. Most of the funding after requests were formulated has then been handled via ‘ear marks’. This is a process the federal administration has declared that they want to get rid of.

There was continued urging to make the declaration and work on the rules alongside or later. Sooo….realize it could have been a longer wait.

With the declaration there is now the work to decide what types of aid and programs should be requested. There has already been work started on this task by the various agencies and organizations that deal with Yukon area issues.

The Senator’s office will continue to work with them until a complete plan is formed. It will most likely be run through one of the more umbrella groups serving the Yukon region and its people.

Everything from research, economic development, to direct aid will be discussed and a plan draft formulated.

It then will be presented to Congress for funding. The push is to try and include it in this round of budget talks.

There is also a state component, due to the federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), of a need to match the aid with 25% of our monies. This will take coordination with the state legislate and Governor’s office.

We will continue to work to find out what is being worked on, what is suggested and how the timeline is progressing.

Ann Strongheart: HELP ME, help you, to help Nunam Iqua!

Greetings Y’all!!!

Well the holidays have come and gone.  We have all survived although probably with more gray hairs and thicker waist lines but a joyous time nonetheless.

Now it’s time to head back to work here at AB.  As you may have noticed we are diving head first back into fishing issues.  You know what they say….There are two seasons in Alaska….Fishing Season and Getting Ready for Fishing Season.

So now you are probably wondering about the title to this post?  Yes I need help!  Yes I have learned how to ask for help!  And most importantly Yes! I will accept help!

What do I need help with you ask?  The adopt a family food drive.  Here’s what’s going on….

I have been receiving email after email after email asking me to contact families in Nunam Iqua to see if they’ve received boxes of food and supplies from wonderfully magnanimous people like you.   A legitmate request??  Yes and well NO too. 

Why?  here’s MY problem……  First off remember I am spending the winter in Ugashik and not in Nunam Iqua so I can’t just jump on the phone or 4 wheeler and go check on every household.    Secondly, pride!  It is very hard (believe me I now speak from experience) to ask for help.  So the thought of me calling and harrassing families every day to see if they have in fact received boxes just doesn’t sit well.  Nor is it possible while trying to take care of a two year old and a newborn. 

Further complicating the problem is I do NOT have a phone.  I have Skype and a broken headset that you have to hold together while making calls.  Said headset is currently being held together with medical tape.  Plus this headset has a cord that attaches it to my USB port on my laptop. 

Why am I babbling about my corded headset??  Because Cecelia knows EXACTLY how far I can reach when I have my headset on.  She has become an expert on staying just OUT OF my reach whenever I try to call anyone and get’s into immense amounts of mischief during those very infrequent attempts at phone calls.  Then you throw a newborn into the mix along with poor satelite connections and having to repeat myself over and over again and only hearing half of what the person on the other end is saying and …………………UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  Here are just TWO examples of Cecelia MISCHIEF MAKING!!!!!

Cecelia frosting her legs while I was changing GG's poopy diaper, CC was helping me make an anniversary cake for Rollie and Vic.

SILENCE IS NOT!!!!!! GOLDEN!!!!!!!!! CC pried 20+ keys off of my laptop, don't worry I fixed it and all is well now! But I now make certain that when I am doing housework that my lap top is WELL OUTTA her reach!!

So since it is impossible for me to contact 30+ households in Nunam Iqua every day to see if they did in fact get their boxes and what they liked and didn’t like and what they want and don’t want I would like to introduce our new best friend……..

DELIVERY CONFIRMATION!!!!!!!

What is Delivery Confirmation you ask??  Well let me introduce you….(cut and pasted right from USPS.com)….

Delivery Confirmation

	Know when it got there with Delivery Confirmation™.

Verify delivery with Delivery Confirmation. Our low cost Delivery Confirmation service gives you the date, ZIP Code™ and time your article was delivered. If delivery was attempted you will get the date and time of attempted delivery. You can easily access this information with our Track & Confirm tool.

Yes YOU TOO have now been introduced to Delivery Confirmation and now YOU TOO may start using this wonderful service.   For more information visit your local post office or go to http://usps.com/

Why would you want to take such an adventure and dare to use delivery confirmation you wonder??  Because if ya don’t I am going to go insane and have immense guilt at not being able to verify that each and every box did in fact arrive in Nunam Iqua.  Now what good would that do??  LOL

As far as further confirmation and information about your packages arriving and helping families in Nunam Iqua we all just need to have faith that they did and that they are being put to good use.  Giving of oneself should not include knowing where every penny was spent or what/how food was consumed. 

Quyana Cakneq for Helping ME, Help YOU, Help Nunam Iqua!!!!

 

Begich, Murkowski, Young: Next Step in Fishery Disaster – Recovery

In May of 2009, the Alaska Delegation signed a joint letter asking Sec. Locke to declare a fisheries disaster in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. All three praised the announcement by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to issue a Disaster Declaration for the Yukon River Chinook salmon fishery for 2008 and 2009:

U.S. Senator Mark Begich:

“I am very pleased Secretary Locke has answered our requests and those of Western Alaska fishermen to declare a disaster after complete fishery failures in 2008 and 2009. This declaration recognizes the hardships imposed on Alaskans in this region by the closure of commercial and subsistence fishing for Chinook for the past two years.

“My staff and I have worked closely with the Commerce Department for a number of months on this issue and I appreciate the Secretary’s recognition of the magnitude of the disaster.

“Residents who live in this remote region of our state face some of the highest costs of living in the nation. With heating oil at $8 per gallon this past winter, residents reported having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. The fishery collapse has made these already dire circumstances substantially worse.

“This announcement from Secretary Locke while visiting Alaska comes as great news. Our next step will be to move forward on funding to support the disaster declaration.”

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski:

“I am pleased that the Department of Commerce has determined a commercial fishery failure for the Yukon River Chinook salmon run. The poor runs in 2008 and 2009 have had a devastating impact on the commercial and subsistence fisheries and the declaration authorizes the Department to work to restore the fishery. I look forward to working with local communities, the State of Alaska and Commerce Secretary Locke to find resources to assist in the recovery and restoration of the Chinook fishery.”

U.S. Representative Don Young:

“I am very pleased Secretary Locke has answered the requests of the Governor, the Congressional delegation and those of the Yukon River fishermen to declare a disaster for the Yukon River King Salmon run,” said Rep. Young.  “This decision recognizes the suffering by Alaskans in this region caused by the low returns of King Salmon over the past two years.  I will continue to work with the delegation, along with the state, and the local community however I can, to assist in the recovery and restoration of the fishery.”

Thanks to all three for bringing national attention to the hardships the fishery failures have brought to the Y-K Delta. We’ll be looking forward to learning more about sources of funding to support the disaster declaration.