Saving Seafood

Congress considers millions in West Coast fishery disaster relief funds

August 3, 2017 — Congressional appropriation committees are considering whether to provide millions of dollars in disaster relief funds to West Coast fishing fleets as part of the 2018 federal budget.

The amount of funding being considered has ranged from $20 million recommended by the House Appropriations Committee to a failed proposal to allocate $150 million to fishermen, according to officials following the proceedings.

California 2nd District Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said last week that the $20 million proposed won’t make up for the financial losses experienced by the nine declared West Coast fishery disasters in Alaska, California and Washington. The disaster declaration made in January by then-U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker includes California’s Dungeness and rock crab fishery as well as the Yurok Tribe’s Klamath River Chinook salmon fishery.

“But it’s better than nothing and we’ll keep working on it,” Huffman said of the $20 million proposal. “… We’ll have to take a look at just how inadequate whatever comes out of Congress is. If it’s woefully inadequate to meet the needs, we may need to work on supplemental disaster relief. The Senate will have a say in this, too. I think you can look at it as good news that there is some money in the House bill.”

Huffman and other West Coast representatives had introduced a bill last year that called on Congress to appropriate $130 million to aid the West Coast fleets.

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Executive Director Noah Oppenheim said Wednesday that there were hopeful signs during the Senate Appropriations Committee budget review in July that the Senate would support disaster relief funds.

Oppenheim said Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in particular advocated for an amendment to the Senate committee’s 2018 budget recommendation that would have added $150 million in relief for the fleets. But Oppenheim said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) did not support the amendment, and it did not make it into the final recommendations.

Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard

Ryan Zinke, Trump’s Cowboy Enforcer, Is Ready for His Closeup

July 31, 2017 — He raised eyebrows for his threats against Senator Lisa Murkowski after she voted to block the Republican health care bill; he raised ire for slashing Obama-era environmental protections. And all the while, Ryan Zinke—a former Navy SEAL Commander tapped by Trump as Secretary of the Interior—has been raising his own profile. Is there room for another star in Trump’s Washington?

It was almost parody, the way he rolled in, Ryan Zinke’s six-foot-four frame hunched in the bucket seat of a black SUV. The tires sent up dust as they stopped, and out stepped the secretary of the interior, his gold “MONTANA” belt buckle glinting in the sun. He palmed his cowboy hat onto his head slowly, deliberately, and beheld the horse before him. “Hello, Tonto,” Zinke said, his voice as deep as you might expect from a former SEAL commander who fancies himself a kind of latter-day Teddy Roosevelt. Tonto blinked.

Though Zinke may have looked the part of the Western cowboy, he is in fact a big player in Donald Trump’s Washington. That much was made clear last week when—despite the many chores that keep him busy at the Interior Department—Zinke decided he wanted a piece of the healthcare debate, too. He rang up Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, urging her to fall in line on the White House-backed effort to repeal Obamacare, and threatening to compromise energy projects important to her state if she didn’t. The move no doubt endeared him to Trump, but it sparked the ire of House Democrats, who now want the incident investigated. (“The call was professional and the media stories are totally sensationalized,” Zinke’s spokeswoman tells me.)

Moments like these can make Trump’s D.C. feel like a stressful place—a hive of murky gamesmanship and scrambled moral calculating. And a horse can help soothe some of that. I found Zinke and his mount, that Saturday morning not long ago, near the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, where the U.S. Park Police houses its horses. As interior secretary, Zinke administers almost all of America’s public lands, including Washington’s various monuments and the National Mall, where he’d invited me to join him for a ride. (He’s also the boss of the Park Police officers, which means that when he refuses to wear a helmet, they have no choice but to indulge him.) So we set off down the Mall, the secretary wearing a blue checked shirt and white-stitched cowboy boots, like a wannabe Wayne for our hero-less times.

The 55-year-old likes to ride here every few weeks, to “get out in the field, like a commander should,” as he puts it. It’s also a fine way for a politician like him to glad-hand with sightseers—though none has any idea who Ryan Zinke is.

“You must be here from Texas!” one man shouts to the secretary.

Read the full story at GQ Magazine

Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan say no to Coast Guard cuts proposed by White House

March 13, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Alaska’s Republican senators won’t support proposed major budget cuts for the U.S. Coast Guard, they told the White House Office of Management and Budget in a letter following reports of major cuts in President Donald Trump’s draft budget.

Several national outlets have reported on a draft White House budget request to Congress that includes $1.3 billion cut from the Coast Guard’s $9.1 billion budget. The Coast Guard cut is reportedly aimed at helping pay for a wall on the southern border shared with Mexico.

Alaska Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker were the only three Republicans among 23 senators to sign the letter. The rest were Democrats.

Cutting into the Coast Guard budget could mean a far lower chance of bolstering the dwindling U.S. fleet of icebreakers, at a time when shipping traffic is increasing in the Arctic. Senators warned this is not the time to “kick the can down the road” on the Coast Guard’s aging fleet.

“We strongly urge you to refrain from any such cuts. The Coast Guard budget has suffered a steady decline since 2010, which resulted in negative impacts to Coast Guard missions, infrastructure, delays in necessary recapitalization efforts, and has generally constrained Coast Guard operations,” the senators wrote in a letter to OMB Director John Mulvaney.

Sullivan’s office was involved in crafting the letter, which was ultimately released by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News

Alaska Longline fleet awaits word on fishing season start

February 27, 2017 — Commercial longline fishing fleets in Alaska are awaiting word about whether the season for halibut and black cod will actually start on March 11th. That’s the date voted on for halibut fishing by the International Pacific Halibut Commission in January. Typically the National Marine Fisheries Service also opens long-line fishing for black cod on the same day. This year that’s all up in the air.

The reason for the uncertainty is an executive order from President Trump in January requiring for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination. Trump also issued a 60-day freeze on new and pending regulations until they had been reviewed by the head of an agency appointed by the president.

The start dates for the fishing seasons require the publishing of regulations in the Federal Register. As of late February those regulations had not yet been published. During a recent stop in Ketchikan, Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said she’s trying to get to the bottom of what the president’s executive order means for Alaska fisheries.

“While I like the idea of eliminating some of the regulatory underbrush I think we recognize that in certain areas and this is exactly one of those we count on our agencies to be prompt and diligent in laying down these regs so that people can engage in their business and their livelihood,” Murkowski said. “We need to make that happen.” Murkowski said she didn’t yet know about whether the season would be able to start on March 11.

Read the full story at KFSK Community Radio

Alaska’s US senators push Trump nominees to guard fisheries, rural areas while cutting regulations

January 23, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan pressed Cabinet nominees to consider Alaska’s uniqueness, the difficulties of rural areas and the nation’s largest fisheries at a spate of confirmation hearings this week.

Senators can publicly question President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections when they sit on the committee holding a confirmation hearing. For Murkowski, that means the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which held the first of two confirmation hearings for Health and Human Services nominee Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., on Wednesday, and a hearing for Education nominee Betsy DeVos on Tuesday night.

For Sullivan, that meant a hearing for Commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, and the Environmental Protection Agency administrator-to-be, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Several of those nominees faced controversy and opposition from Democrats. Hallways were packed with supporters and protesters Wednesday in a Senate office building where three hearings were happening simultaneously.

Murkowski pressed her nominees on how they would adjust some their conservative stances to meet her needs for rural and Native populations in Alaska. Sullivan focused on the state’s fishing industry. Both urged peeling back regulations they said are onerous and often a barrier to economic growth or healthy public services.

Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch News

26 Senators Introduce Bill to Reform Monument Designation Process

January 10, 2017 — The following was released by the office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today reintroduced the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act, a bill to facilitate greater local input and require state approval before national monuments can be designated on federal lands and waters.

The following senators are original cosponsors of the bill: Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Shelley Capito (R-W. Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R- Fla.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

The bill requires, before any national monument can be declared on public land or within the exclusive economic zone, that the following be met:

  • Specific authorization by an Act of Congress;
  • Approval by the state legislature, and for marine monuments, approval by each state legislature within 100 miles of the proposed monument; and
  • Certification of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

“President Obama has locked up more acres through monument designations than the previous 18 presidents combined,” Murkowski said. “His unilateral withdrawals have routinely come with complete disregard for local concerns and opposition, threatening energy, mining, fishing, ranching, recreation, and other reasonable uses of public land and waters. At this point, we have no choice but to reform the Antiquities Act to ensure that the people being impacted by these designations are heard and respected.”

“After President Obama abused the Antiquities Act worse than any president in history, now is the perfect time for some common sense public lands reform,” Lee said. “This bill would take power from the federal government and give it back to the people where it belongs.”

“I’ve long advocated for extensive consultation with the communities most affected by federal land management decisions,” Flake said. “By requiring state and congressional sign-off on all future national monuments, this bill will ensure that local stakeholders finally have their voices heard in the designation process.”

“This legislation would allow for greater transparency in the monument designation process and would allow Idahoans to have greater input on monument proposals,” Risch said.“Further, congressional authorization would be required before any national monument can be declared on public land, which would prevent the president from designating a monument based on the administration’s agenda.”

“As a fifth generation Montanan and avid sportsman, I know how important it is for Montanans to play a strong role in the management of these precious parts of our state,” Daines said. “Any designation should be driven locally, not by out-of-state Washington, D.C. bureaucrats.”

“For too long, Utahans and Westerners have been the victims of unjustified federal land grabs,” Hatch said. “The President’s recent designation of Bears Ears National Monument goes well beyond the original intent of the Antiquities Act, which was intended to give presidents only limited authority to designate special landmarks, such as a unique natural arch or the site of old cliff dwellings. The President was never meant to set aside millions of acres through the Antiquities Act. I believe we can strike a balance—through Congress—that allows us to maintain our rural towns and communities and also protects the cultural integrity of our lands.”

“Last month, with the quick stroke of a pen, Nevadans watched as this Administration locked up millions of acres of public land in Nevada and nearby Utah,” Heller said. “These types of unilateral federal land grabs by the executive branch should not be allowed. As an advocate for public input and local support to the decision-making process of federal land designations, I’m proud to support Senator Murkowski’s effort to legally require local approval of future designations.”

“I am proud to cosponsor this legislation that would reform the monument designation process, a process particularly important to Arizona,” McCain said. “The proposed Grand Canyon Watershed Monument in Arizona will threaten hunting, grazing, water resources and wildfire prevention in one of the most celebrated and enjoyed regions of my home state.”

The Antiquities Act provides the president with authority to create national monuments, but explicitly requires the reservation of “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” This has not been the case with designations in recent years, however, as the Antiquities Act has become a tool to sidestep Congress and create sweeping conservation areas despite opposition from local residents. The Obama administration alone has now designated a total of 554 million acres—equal to 865,625 square miles, an area five times the size of California—onshore and offshore as national monuments.

Murkowski is chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. She sponsored the previous version of this bill, S. 437, in the 114th Congress. In July 2016, the committee held a field hearing to examine the impacts of large-scale monument designations in Blanding, Utah, which was chaired by Sen. Lee. Audio and background from that hearing are available here.

See the press release at Sen. Murkowski

Alaska Senate candidates meet to debate fisheries issues

October 13th, 2016 — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski cast herself as a champion for Alaska’s fishing industry Wednesday, while independent Margaret Stock questioned the pace of progress by Alaska’s congressional delegation on several issues during a Senate debate in Kodiak.

The fisheries-focused debate, which was broadcast on public radio, also featured Democrat Ray Metcalfe and independent Breck Craig.

Libertarian candidate Joe Miller was absent, on a swing through southeast Alaska instead, according to his campaign. Miller spokesman Randy DeSoto has said Miller plans to visit Kodiak later.

Murkowski, a Republican, defended her record, including in drawing State Department attention to concerns raised by conservationists and fishermen about the impact of Canadian mining activity on waters that flow across the border into southeast Alaska. She said headway is being made but it’s been difficult because the State Department hasn’t seen the issue as warranting urgent attention.

Stock suggested that more could be done. Some of those concerned about the mining activity have urged the involvement of an international commission. Requests for the commission’s involvement must come from the national governments.

The delegation has raised that issue. The State Department, in a recent response to a delegation letter, said it planned to broach options for addressing the concerns with Canadian officials later this month. Murkowski called that “somewhat assuring.”

Lobbyists circle shark-finning bill

October 12th, 2016 — Shark-fishing houses are banding together to fight a bipartisan bill that would ban the trade of shark fins.

The ad-hoc Sustainable Shark Alliance last week registered to lobby with the sole goal of defeating the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. -Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Del. Gregorio Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), seeks to expand on Congress’s ban on shark finning, in which fishermen cut off the fish’s fin and return it to the ocean, usually to die.

Supporters say finning is cruel and has decimated populations of shark species, including endangered ones. The bill has dozens of co-sponsors, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). It was introduced at a news conference with actor Morgan Freeman.

But the shark industry, which supports the ban on finning, says the bill would shut down much of the industry.

Domestic fisherman use more than just the fin, but the fin — usually exported to China for use in soup and other culinary purposes — represents about half the monetary value of the fish, said Shaun Gehan, the lobbyist for the ad-hoc coalition.

Read the full story at The Hill 

Will Obama look north for his legacy?

October 3, 2016 — These are the days when a president turns to thoughts of legacy.

As the months tick down on this administration, President Barack Obama has created a marine national monument off New England and last month vastly expanded one near Hawaii.

Alaska interest groups are working to get his attention, too.

Some want him to take bold action in the 49th State before he leaves office, and others are urging him to resist those calls.

A TV ad ran in Washington, D.C., this month that flashed footage of oil tankers bathed in the golden light of a Valdez sunset, an offshore drill rig and Alaska Natives on the tundra.

Its call to action: “Tell the White House to keep the Arctic in the next off shore leasing program. It’s the right thing for Alaska. It’s the right for our nation.”

That’s part of a six-figure ad campaign by a coalition that includes the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, unions and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

They took out a full page ad in the Washington Post, too.

Meanwhile, environmental groups are working just as hard to make sure Obama knows how much they want the Arctic ocean tracts removed from the off-shore leasing plan, due out this fall.

That’s one way the president might choose to leave his mark on the 49th state.

Or he could do something really dramatic, like use his powers under the Antiquities Act to declare a national monument in Alaska, or off its shores.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski dreads a White House announcement like that, which she believes would diminish Alaska’s opportunities.

“We’ve seen some indication that he doesn’t plan on any ocean protection designation,” she said. “But until we’re on the last day of the administration, I’m not going to rest and believe that’s the case.”

Read the full story at KTOO

Alaska lawmakers on guard for new marine national monuments

September 26, 2016 — WASHINGTON — Alaska lawmakers are on the lookout for potential presidential decrees that could block fishing and drilling in the state’s ocean waters.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski and others have introduced legislation that they hope might stop future presidents from using a 110-year-old law — the Antiquities Act — to carve out lands and waters for new environmental protections. But the chance for new federal legislation to curb executive powers during President Barack Obama’s term has all but passed.

Now, with Obama’s recent expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument in Hawaii and designation of the first-ever marine monument on the East Coast, worries about a surprise Alaska announcement have arisen again.

“It seems like we read about a new designation every week — that’s probably an exaggeration, but it just seems like that,” Murkowski said Thursday. The Obama administration has used the 1906 Antiquities Act “as a tool to both sidestep and threaten Congress,” Murkowski said.

“I don’t have anyone in my office talking about monuments in Alaska,” Neil Kornze, who heads the Bureau of Land Management, assured Murkowski at a hearing Thursday.

“I can’t tell you what the president is or isn’t thinking, but in terms of my interaction with these issues, I’m not aware” of any potential new monuments in the making, he said.

Asked by Murkowski if he was aware of any “conversations outside of your particular office where there is discussion about designation, either onshore- or offshore-monument designation in Alaska,” Kornze said “no.”

Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch News