July 24, 2013
Wednesday

The Western Federal Lands Highway Division has released its Draft Purpose and Need Statement of the Kake Access Project. The Statement and public meeting comes at the worst possible time -- at the height of seasonal commercial fishing activities, and signals predictably negative consequences for the three directly affected Southeast communities and the region as a whole.

The stated Purpose and Need, like last years vote of the state legislature to fund the Northern Route with $40 million dollars, consistently refers to a road from “Kake to Petersburg.”

This, of course, is a geographic impossibility which literally “misses the boat” on many levels.

The missed “boat” in this case is the shuttle ferry required to get to Petersburg. Also missing, are two new shuttle ferry terminals -- even when a ferry terminal already exists in Petersburg. The Draft Purpose and Need Statement also misses mentioning the community most profoundly impacted by the project, and where the other shuttle ferry terminal must be built.

That unmentioned community of course, is the City of Kupreanof, whose residents have steadfastly defended their quality of life by passing ordinances to remain a designated roadless community, and proud gateway to the Petersburg Creek Wilderness Area. The thousands of tourists which have hiked their trails and residents alike, know too well of the impacts of parking lots, high voltage wires buzzing overhead, highways, crime, pollution, and fatalities brought on by drunk drivers.

With the legislature’s $40 million dollar appropriation, the state not only reneged on the vested rights of citizens’ self determination but set in motion an intent to impose eminent domain on the City of Kupreanof. With that vote, the state legislature dictated to the people of the region, the Northern Route for the road, the Northern Route for the electrical intertie, and a revamped shuttle ferry concept which has been a demonstrated operational failure.

The state did this rather than risk a different outcome of an open, honest, public process, where the people actually had a meaningful role in deciding their transportation policy, economic policy, and the fate of their communities.

In order to impose this ultimatum, the state legislature deliberately missed another boat. The boat of public process filled with requests to restore the funding of the basic social services expected of any civilized state government. Instead of answering the many impassioned pleas for adequate funding, the state legislature chose to divert $40 million to perpetuate their failed economic, energy, and transportation policies. They did this by ignoring historic, well-reasoned public opposition to those policies which has proven to be absolutely on target.

There are many examples of the public wisdom of rejecting what the state calls, ”a robust network of surface transportation corridors linked by shuttle ferries.” Take for example, the South Mitkof Island ferry terminal, which hasn’t seen a shuttle ferry for many years. The public concerns over rising fuel and maintenance costs and insufficient ridership fell on the deaf ears of DOT yet nonetheless proved to be true. What followed was a pattern of managerial failures to foresee cost overruns, and the consequences of discontinuation of service due to lack of ridership and revenues to cover even basic debt obligations, operation, and maintenance costs. The M/V Prince of Wales remains idle, and has been tied to the dock with a “for sale” sign for the past year.

With just one InterIsland Ferry Authority (IFA) shuttle route remaining, connecting Ketchikan, a city of over 8000 residents, with 12 individual communities of Prince of Wales Island, the IFA manager reported last year that the IFA, “struggles to stay in business,” relying on state and federal bailouts and further accumulation of public debt.

So precisely how can the shuttle ferry of the Kake Access Project connecting the City of Kake, population 550, with Petersburg -- with about 3000 residents -- be expected to be a viable or sustainable transportation plan? All the historic evidence and common sense demonstrates otherwise.

The residents of Kake and Petersburg have also historically opposed the road connections between their communities because of concern for increased access and competition for dwindling subsistence resources such as deer. This public concern backed up by warnings from state and federal biologists has also proven to be valid. Recently, an emergency action to reduce the local deer season to just 14 days and bag limit of just one buck will force Petersburg hunters elsewhere to find their deer. A shuttle ferry system to Kake will no doubt carry more displaced Petersburg hunters.

Impacts to subsistence resources take a huge toll on the ability of families to remain in rural communities. These impacts are well-documented by peer reviewed sociologists such as Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, who lived with residents of Kake and other native villages and documented these consequences in his dissertation, Against Culture: Development, Politics and Religion in Indian Alaska.

The Kake Access Project purpose is claimed to reduce travel costs and improve convenience and reliability, but make no mistake, it not only misses the boat, it is a Trojan Horse. The Kake Access Project as proposed, perpetuates failed energy, transportation, economic, and social policies which must be opposed.

David Beebe
City Councilman
Kupreanof, Alaska

Representations of fact and opinions in letters are solely those of the author.
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