The Chilkoot Corridor Working Group needs broad representation.
Borough manager Alekka Fullerton was tasked with naming members to the group. She appointed the following:
Tourism Director – Reba Hylton
Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Hannah Manninen
Alaska State Parks – Jacques Turcotte (or other Parks designee)
Chilkoot Indian Association – Zach Wentzel
Representative fishermen – Greg Schlachter
Tour permittee representative with experience – Sean Gaffney
This group is heavily weighted toward tourism and leaves out local residents who hike, bike, photograph, boat, enjoy viewing bears and other wildlife, and residents of Lutak who experience the impacts of tourism.
There needs to be an avenue for a broader representation of locals to have their voices heard on this committee and to better understand their perspectives and concerns. To that end Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) voted at their Nov. 19 meeting to request the assembly to direct the manager to give PRAC a seat on this group.
Urgent issues include public safety, human/bear interactions, park permitting, management, staffing and overlapping jurisdictions. Education and guidelines for independent visitors speaking multiple languages and ignoring signs. Congestion at the bridge area. Parking. Walkways. Declining pink salmon populations and their redds being trampled by guided fishing tours. Impacts to Lutak residents.
Hopefully, the community and the Assembly will weigh in on this issue at the next Assembly meeting and respond to PRAC’s request and others’ concerns.
Chilkoot is our community’s crown jewel and thorny issues in this popular, widely used, valuable area need broader representation and public involvement.
Kathleen Menke