October 18, 2018 — Opinions on the salmon habitat initiative officially dubbed Ballot Measure 1 are about as diverse as Alaska’s fisheries.
About the only thing uniform in the environmental policy debate is the resource development industry’s collective opposition to it.
Nearly, but not all, of the 12 Alaska Native regional corporations oppose it; Bristol Bay Native Corp. has maintained a neutral position on the voter initiative for most of 2018 after CEO Jason Metrokin originally said the company was against it.
Commonly known as the Stand for Salmon initiative, Ballot Measure 1 is seen by many as a way to stop the controversial Pebble mine in Western Alaska, which BBNC has long and vigorously opposed.
The initiative seeks to overhaul Title 16, the Department of Fish and Game’s statutory directive on how to evaluate development projects in salmon habitat.
Current law directs the Fish and Game commissioner to issue a development permit as long as a project provides “proper protection of fish and game.”
The sponsors contend that is far too vague and an update is needed to just define what “proper protection” means.
The initiative would, among other things, establish two tiers of development permits that could be issued by the Department of Fish and Game.
“Minor” habitat permits could be issued quickly and generally for projects deemed to have an insignificant impact on salmon waters.
“Major” permits would be required for larger projects such as mines, dams and anything determined to potentially have a significant impact on salmon-bearing water.