State Rep. Bill Thomas, RHaines, said he would try to
insert $80,000 in the Division of Parks budget in the coming days to start planning a
solution to management issues along the Chilkoot River corridor.
Residents can testify in support of funding by calling in during
legislative budget hearings beginning 10 a.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Monday. The toll-free
number to call is 1-888-295-4546.
Division of Parks director James King told last week’s meeting of
the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council that if Chilkoot were a pressing
concern to the community, council members should write to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"You need to elevate the argument," King said. "The
governor needs to hear it. Somebody’s going to get creamed out there, and it’s
the state who’s gonna pay."
Dealing with public safety and human-bear interactions at Chilkoot is
an issue of jurisdiction and funding, King said. "DOT manages the right-of-way, Fish
and Game manages the river, and Parks manages the park."
He said a letter to the governor requesting "her team talk to each
other" would put the issue on the administration’s radar. State agencies have
their own priorities statewide, King said, and people and bear management at Chilkoot
didn’t have recognition as an urgent priority. "Somebody has to tell us to work
together."
Chilkoot planning money was not included in the budget Parks submitted
to Palin, but Thomas said that with agency support, he would try inserting the money
during budget committee talks. He said he wasn’t sure other legislators would go
along with the funding, citing odds of 50-50. "We’ll try to get it in there.
I’ll make the plea for it."
Once the money is in the budget, however, it should be safe from
getting pulled the way some Haines projects were vetoed last year, Thomas said. "If
Parks supports it, it’ll stay there."
The road along the salmon-rich Chilkoot River has become an attraction
to as many as a dozen bears in recent years, drawing crowds of onlookers on late summer
evenings. Several close calls have been reported and the unregulated site was listed in
Alaska magazine last year as one of the state’s best spots for bear viewing.
At last week’s preserve council meeting, preserve council member
Kimberley Strong asked if a letter from the council would be effective, as the road along
the river was outside preserve boundaries.
King said that communication from a governor-appointed committee, who
were also concerned residents and constituents, would be helpful in getting the management
problems at Chilkoot recognized.
Council member Gary Hess said the heads of all three state agencies
told him the situation at Chilkoot was "not their problem." Hess said he would
bring the idea of addressing a letter to Governor Palin before the Fish and Game advisory
committee Feb. 22.
Haines Borough last fall wrote a letter to assistant area wildlife
biologist Ryan Scott lamenting the lack of wildlife management at Chilkoot. Borough
manager Robert Venables said because the road, fish and bears fall under the state’s
jurisdiction, the borough has limited authority at Chilkoot.
Mike Eberhardt, area superintendent for Southeast parks, said in an
interview last week that $80,000 in planning money, if approved by the Legislature, would
give the different agencies incentive to initiate a planning process.
He said writing a letter to Gov. Palin also could be useful in urging
planning because each agency has a tight budget. "We all will defer responsibility
until somebody from above delegates that we do something."
Eberhardt was unsure how far the money would go toward a final plan,
but said it would allow a process to begin. He said he viewed Chilkoot as a matter of
people management, not bear management, which he said was a strong argument for Parks to
manage the corridor. "At this point, it’s in our area of expertise."
In other business, Eberhardt said Parks was meeting with Fish and Game
to work out a map of the upper Chilkat Valley delineating areas off-limits to commercial
jetboat tours.
Eberhardt said demarcation options included GPS coordinates, physical
descriptions and creating a "fair and reasonable" map.
