In one of his first executive actions of the new year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy dissolved the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council in the name of the “best interests of efficient administration.”
The Legislature has 60 days to undo the action, based on state statute.
The advisory council was established in 1982 along with the preserve itself, which followed years of wrangling between timber, conservation, and Native interests.
The preserve attracts visitors from around the world each year, who come to watch 1,000 congregate each fall to take advantage of warm upwelling in the Tsirku and Klehini rivers.
The council is made up of 12 members appointed by the governor, including representatives from the Haines borough government, U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, and local tribes. The board hasn’t met since 2022, according to a state meetings database.
The dissolution of the board is one of about a dozen Dunleavy took during the first day of the legislative session on Jan. 16. Others eliminated occupational advisory boards or put more appointment power in the hands of the governor’s office. Wood-Tikchik State Park Management Council was also dissolved. One of the orders creates a new board for the Alaska Energy Authority.
Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Lorraine Henry,” wrote in an email that Dunleavy’s executive order will result in “more effective program oversight and increased accountability for the preservation, protection, and management of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.”
Henry noted that any changes to the management plan for the preserve would still have to go through “robust public process.”
Haines Mayor Tom Morphet, who is a board member, said he would fight the move.
“To me it’s kind of boldly anti-democratic,” said Morphet.
He said the advisory council not only saved the state work, but also provided crucial local knowledge and perspective to Juneau administrators for the last 40 years.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, who represents Juneau and Haines, also said he had serious concerns. He said legislative leaders directed lawyers to look into the constitutionality of the order, which strikes portions of state statute about the park. The constitution allows the governor to change laws related to the executive branch if they deem it “necessary for efficient administration.”
Kiehl said he is still gathering information from constituents, but was concerned that the governor made the move apparently without consulting locals. He said he wasn’t sure if the legislature would muster the will for a joint session to overturn the order.
“I don’t yet know what the prospects are,” Kiehl said. “We’re doing the homework now.”
Morphet pointed to the ongoing Haines Highway rebuild project as an area where the advisory council could pass knowledge to bureaucrats.
The advisory council votes are non-binding. The Division of Parks would still be required to consult with tribes, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other agencies before taking actions, under the new order.
Morphet said that the recreational and subsistence importance of the area made the council invaluable. The council’s recent actions include a vote to devise a way of assessing impacts on fish habitat from commercial permittees in the preserve in 2022. In 2020, the council voted to draft a request for immediate lifting of a ban on gun use within a half-mile of a developed facility in the preserve. In 2018, the council opposed logging by the University of Alaska within the preserve.
“This council helped work out issues so the state didn’t have to work them out,” Morphet said.
Morphet said the lapse of meetings is a result of a vacant staff position of the state parks ranger in Haines.
“Typically, it was the rangers job to call the meeting and the rangers stopped calling meetings,” he said.
Morphet said he would present a resolution at the next assembly meeting to oppose the governor’s decision.
Current members of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council:
- Tom Morphet: Haines Borough (Chair)
- Stephan B. Lewis: United State Fish and Wildlife Service
- VACANT: Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee
- Brian Willard: Chilkat Indian Village
- Bill Thomas: Klukwan Inc.
- VACANT: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
- VACANT: Business and Industry
- Les Katzeek: Chilkoot Indian Association
- Gabe Thomas: Haines Borough Assembly
- VACANT: Conservation Organization
- Greg Palmieri: Division of Forestry, DNR
- Preston Kroes: Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, DNR
This story was updated with new information on Jan. 25, 2024.