Part 3 of a 4 part series
by
Les
Palmer
(Editor's note: This is the third of a series of four columns on the
controversial subject of subsistence fishing on the Kenai Peninsula.)
Sign beside the Sterling Highway: "Welcome to Ninilchik, the heart of
recreation."
I like knowing that subsistence, which is mainly about food, has a
preference over other uses in remote parts of Alaska. That said, the idea
that the residents of Ninilchik, Hope and Cooper Landing have been given a
federal subsistence priority for fishing on the Kenai River makes my blood
boil.
It makes absolutely no sense to establish divisive subsistence fisheries
in growing, road-connected areas. And to add another user group to the
conflict-ridden circus that is today's Kenai River is just ludicrous. Is it
any wonder U.S. citizens have lost confidence in their government?
The feds' narrow view doesn't consider rapid population growth. From 1970
to 2000, the population of the Kenai Peninsula jumped from 16,000 to almost
50,000. Cooper Landing grew ten-fold, from 31 to 369. During the same
period, the population of Hope tripled, from 51 to 137. Ninilchik's
population expanded by almost six times, from 134 to 772. Even if these
communities qualify as "rural" now, the designation won't remain sustainable
for long.
Does Ninilchik need more fish, as a few of its residents claim?
Ninilchik, about 40 miles south of Soldotna, is best characterized as a
"fishing town." Deep Creek Custom Packing is its largest employer.
Forty-nine of its residents hold commercial fishing permits. A greater
number are saltwater sport-fishing guides, who make a living taking anglers
out on Cook Inlet to fish for salmon and halibut. Because they live in a
federally designated "rural" area, Ninilchik residents have a subsistence
priority for halibut. The Ninilchik Tribal Council has an educational permit
to fish a set net off the beach in front of Ninilchik. Ninilchik residents
can fish in nearby Deep Creek, the Ninilchik River and Cook Inlet. They are
as close to Homer as they are to Soldotna. Their access to prime fishing
water is better than anywhere in Alaska. And yet some of them want more.
Subsistence fishing on the modern-day Kenai River is a gross departure
from common sense.
No matter how inconsequential it might seem in the beginning, it would
expand, as all fisheries do, and eventually lead to restrictions on other
users, which include sport, commercial and personal-use fishermen. How could
the Federal Subsistence Board find that Ninilchik had customary and
traditional use for the Kenai River?
Not without a major stretch of the definition. Subsistence, to make
sense, must be done by efficient means. One of the eight federal criteria
for "customary and traditional use" is "A pattern of use consisting of
methods and means of harvest which are characterized by efficiency and
economy of effort and cost, conditioned by local characteristics." Another
criterion is "The consistent harvest and use of fish or wildlife as related
to past methods and means of taking; near, or reasonably accessible from the
community or area." Ninilchik residents would have a hard time keeping a
straight face while claiming that an hour-and-a-half drive through Clam
Gulch, the Cohoe Loop area, Kasilof, Soldotna and Sterling to their Kenai
River subsistence fishery is "characterized by efficiency and economy of
effort and cost."
It makes no sense for people from Ninilchik to have a special right to
catch salmon, rainbow trout and other species in the Kenai River, as some of
them have proposed. By determining that they have customary and traditional
use of these fish, the feds have erred spectacularly.
How soon might subsistence fishing on the Kenai River occur?
The next step in this convoluted process is a meeting of "stakeholders"
in the Kenai-Soldotna area, probably during the week of Jan. 29, 2007,
according to the Office of Subsistence Management. Following that, the
federal subsistence advisory council for Southcentral will meet Mar. 13 -
16, at which time council members — who overwhelmingly support the idea of
subsistence fishing in the Kenai and Kasilof rivers — will create and vote
on recommendations for proposals to the Federal Subsistence Board. At its
May 2007 meeting, the federal board will decide whether, what, where, when
and how subsistence fisheries will occur on the Kenai River and other Kenai
Peninsula lands and waters under federal jurisdiction. Subsistence fishing
on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers by people from Hope, Ninilchik and Cooper
Landing could start as early as June of this year.
Truly, this is a sad state of affairs. A handful of people from Ninilchik
who have no consideration for other Kenai Peninsula residents have been
empowered by a poorly crafted federal law. Led by a determined lawyer and
encouraged by a pro-subsistence advisory council, they are intent upon
shoving this law down our throats.
For Web surfer-friendly answers to questions about subsistence:
www.subsistmgtinfo.org/index.htm
Les Palmer lives in Sterling, a federally designated
"non-rural" community.
Part 4 - Forces Prepare for Fight |
