I listened to the last borough assembly meeting and heard some really inflammatory, untrue comments about Lynn Canal Conservation.  How sad that some people who love this valley so much are so derogatory towards folks who support LCC’s efforts.  Lighten up, will ya?  LCC is not a group of “extremists,” but rather Haines residents and neighbors who have supported this community in many ways for over 50 years. 

Yes, I agree all of us are stakeholders in the Lutak Dock process but there is a class of stakeholders that Nicols and Moffet are talking to separately.  Why should LCC be included as a stakeholder?  Here’s why. LCC has been in the Chilkat Valley for over 50 years, longer than some business interest stakeholders.  It is precisely because  LCC does not represent a business interest that LCC’s concerns need to be included.  LCC speaks for the bears and the fish. No other stakeholder groups are doing that.   LCCs mission statement is to “promote ecosystem integrity, protect quality of life and foster environmental awareness in northern SE Alaska.”  No other stakeholder has that mandate. 

If you look around Haines, you will see plenty of things LCC has long supported: Haines Friends of Recycling, Chilkoot Corridor agreements, kids’ playgrounds, KHNS, Mosquito Lake Victory Garden, healthy fisheries, Takshanuk Watershed Council, Chamber of Commerce, the library, the museum, local wood products and  timber operators, the bald eagle preserve,  shop local and the Haines State Fair. Thanks for all the support Haines!    

Scott Carey