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Thursday
June 02, 2011
River Otter: Ready for Lunch
Front Page Photo By MIKE SMITH
Alaska: DOI Reverses Position on “Wild Lands” Designations – U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Director Bob Abbey confirmed Wednesday that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in a memo to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reversed his order allowing the Bureau of Land Management to set aside federal acres as "Wild Lands” and outlined how the Department will work in collaboration with Members of Congress, states, tribes, and local communities to identify public lands that may be appropriate candidates for congressional protection under the Wilderness Act.
“The protection of America’s wilderness for hunting, fishing, and backcountry recreation should be a unifying issue that mobilizes us to a common purpose,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
“We will focus our effort on building consensus around locally-supported initiatives and working with Members to advance their priorities for wilderness designations in their states and districts. Together, we can advance America’s proud wilderness legacy for future generations,” said Salazar.
In the memo, Secretary Salazar directs Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes to work with the BLM and interested parties to develop recommendations regarding the management of public lands with wilderness characteristics.
Noting the longstanding and widespread support for the designation of wilderness areas, Salazar also directed Hayes to solicit input from members of Congress, state and local officials, tribes and federal land managers to identify BLM lands that may be appropriate candidates for Congressional protection under the Wilderness Act. Hayes will deliver a report to the Secretary and Congress regarding those areas.
Regarding Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s decision to reverse his order allowing the Bureau of Land Management to set aside federal acres as "Wild Lands", Alaska Governor Sean Parnell said in a prepared statement, “I’m pleased the U.S. Department of the Interior has heard Western states’ concerns and stepped back from its unprecedented attack on states’ resource-based economies."
Parnell said, " Although it is too early to say how the Administration will view future land use, we will continue to make the case at every opportunity that resource development can be done responsibly."
" We will continue to push for drilling access in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, which we have maintained is exempt from federal wild land set asides. And, we will continue to oppose wilderness or other land designations that kill jobs and prevent responsible economic development,” said Parnell.
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Regarding Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a prepared statement, “I appreciate Secretary Salazar’s commitment to me that the BLM will not pursue wild lands designations in Alaska.”
Murkowski said. “Both the Senate and the House have been clear that Congress retains sole authority and responsibility to designate lands for inclusion in the National Wilderness System. That’s how I believe it should be and I will work to ensure that the current ban on creating wilderness – by any name – unilaterally by the administration is continued in the next budget resolution.”
Murkowski is the ranking member of both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee.
“I am pleased to see Secretary Salazar’s decision, as this is the position I have advocated for since the beginning of this discussion. Particularly, I was concerned this could impact oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska," said U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) in a prepared statement. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2011
Ketchikan: King Salmon Limits Increased in Ketchikan Sport Fishery Areas -
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish recently announced that the bag and possession limit for king salmon in two Ketchikan terminal sport fishery areas from June 1 through July 31, 2011 is six (6) king salmon of any size. King salmon harvested in the terminal harvest areas by nonresidents DO NOT COUNT toward the nonresident annual limit.
The Alaska Board of Fisheries authorized the department to use its emergency order authority to open terminal harvest areas to target surplus Alaska hatchery king salmon. The areas opened by this emergency order will allow anglers to target Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon originating from four hatcheries (primarily Neets Bay, Deer Mountain, Whitman Lake, and Tamgas) in the Ketchikan area. Projected returns to these facilities will exceed broodstock needs, thus a surplus of hatchery fish are available for harvest by local sport anglers.
The Ketchikan terminal sport fishery areas are as follows: - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2011
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Alaska: New report highlights diversity & value of Alaska's coastal forests - A new report published by the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station presents summaries of current southeast and south-central Alaska forest topics, ranging from carbon and forest products to lichens and invasive species.
The report, Forests of Southeast and South-Central Alaska, 2004-2008, highlights key findings from the most recent data collected by the station's PNW Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit. The report was written by a group of 15 scientists from the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain Research Stations, State and Private Forestry, and the Chugach National Forest, as well as researchers from The University of Montana and The Nature Conservancy. The report is divided into 6 chapters and 14 summaries.
"Land managers, decisionmakers, and the general public will all find this report very useful in understanding the scope and magnitude of Alaska's coastal forests, especially their value as a resource to communities at local, regional, and national levels," said Charles Peterson, manager of the station's FIA unit.
Among the key findings: - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2011
National: FAA to Impose Civil Penalties for Pointing Lasers into Cockpits – U. S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt announced Wednesday that the FAA will begin to impose civil penalties against people who point a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft.
“Our top priority is protecting the safety of the traveling public. We will not hesitate to take tough action against anyone who threatens the safety of our passengers, pilots and air transportation system,” said Secretary LaHood.
“Shining a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is not a joke. These lasers can temporarily blind a pilot and make it impossible to safely land the aircraft, jeopardizing the safety of the passengers and people on the ground,” said FAA Administrator Babbitt.
The FAA released a legal interpretation, which finds that directing a laser beam into an aircraft cockpit could interfere with a flight crew performing its duties while operating an aircraft, a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations. In the past, the FAA has taken enforcement action under this regulation against passengers physically on-board an aircraft who interfere with crewmembers. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2011
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the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
THE 400 By David G. Hanger - According to CNN reports on February 20, 2011, four hundred individuals in this country now earn more than the combined earnings of half the people. In other words 400 self-proclaimed living ‘gods’ earn more than 160 million Americans combined. A few tens of thousands earn much of the rest. ‘Earning’ is a relative term in this respect, for much of what is being “earned” is via deceit, graft, and corruption. - More...
Thursday PM - June 02, 2011
8th grade class of 2011 By
Judith Green - The 8th grade class had their "Continuation Ceremony" tonight in their new school building auditorium - KAYHI. They move from being Knights to being Kings - as SBA president, Brendan Stanton, mentioned in his welcome to the new freshman class. - More...
Thursday PM- June 02, 2011
Education Funding is Astonishing By Agnes Moran - Alaska Statute 14.17.410(b)(2) requires the Borough to make a local mandatory contribution to schools of $5,281,288 for FY2012. The Borough could walk away at this point, consider its education funding obligation fulfilled and go on to other business. But it doesn t. The Borough will grant an additional discretionary cash contribution of $3,368,712 to the school district for operating costs in FY2012. - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Ketchikan School Budget By
Chris Elliott -
I'm astonished that Mr. Jaqua doesn't know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. The national debt is $14 trillion, a little over $42,000 for each of us. When you speak only of the local contribution and act like the federal contribution is pennies from heaven, you're forgetting something. As US citizens, we pay for everything, including the federal contribution to our schools and to schools across the nation. It's out of one pocket or another. - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Sealaska Lands Bill: Senate Bill 730 Should End By
Greg Petrich - The Sealaska lands bill, S.730, has drawn considerable controversy in southeast Alaska. Concerns have also been voiced state-wide because certain aspects of the bill could easily unbalance the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) leading to new claims across the state; complicating development, conservation management, and public access to resources. - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Recall of Kyle Johannsen By
Trapper Bishop -
I would like to take a moment to voice my opinion on the recall campaign of Kyle Johannsen. I was recently asked by someone, "Where do you stand on the recall of Kyle Johannsen?" I said to this person, "I strongly favor it." She said, "Really? I think District 1 Republican's campaign for recall is just a waste of time." - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Open letter to Senator Bert Stedman and Representative Kyle Johansen: E-Verify By
Byron Whitesides - Why? Why is Alaska not implementing E-Verify? WHY are you against requiring businesses in Alaska to use E-Verify? WHY are you against punishing repeat offenders by taking their business license away? - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Condolences By
Joey Garcia - I wish to convey my condolence to the family of the late Jack Estipona who passed away last week. Being a pioneer frontman of the Trident Seafoods Inc. in the Tongass facility, Jack has been a man who makes people laugh with his jokes, even in times of helping fellow Filipino-Americans in need of assistance not only in his workplace but in the City of Ketchikan as well. - More...
Tuesday - May 31, 2011
Timber Sale Misinformation By
Larry Edwards - This month an editorial and a news story in the Ketchikan Daily News have repeated significant misinformation about Tongass timber sales that came from a press release by Governor Parnell. After over two weeks the Daily News has not published a short letter I wrote to inform Ketchikan residents of the error, so now I use this forum. - More...
Friday - May 27, 2011
Also Astonished! By
Mark Jaqua - I share Ms. Plenert's sense of astonishment regarding the KGBSD budget, however, my friend; I'm not so sure you are as good at math as you propose. The FY2011 Expenditure Authority Request, (available right next to your letter in Sitnews under School Board Packets -- see Meeting Materials, May 11) shows a total operating budget of about $36.6 million. I'm perplexed where your number came from. - More...
Friday - May 27, 2011
School Budget By
Laura Plenert - First of all, thank you Agnes Moran for caring and asking questions about OUR school budget. The first thing that struck me in your letter to Sitnews was the figure of $40,472,050.00 in the budget to educate 2100 students. Being a math lover, I immediately had to do the division. The answer to my question (how much per student) is $19,272.40. OVER $19,000.00 PER STUDENT PER YEAR. Does it strike anyone besides me that the cost per student exceeds what some of those student's parents make per year, more than many of our fellow citizens make per year. That alone is staggering. I would like someone to factor in the drop out rate and how much money per year is thrown down a rat hole because the school system can't seem to keep students until graduation. - More...
Wednesday - May 25, 2011
GIVE KETCHIKAN A CHANCE By
Joey Garcia - The influx of tourists docking along Ketchikan ports is something to behold and the brisk revenues seemed to give Ketchikan something to reckon with. I have observed, in my opinion, that dock stores peddling tourist crafts are not Ketchikan owned. Rather, it is sad to note that when the cruise ship season ends, traffic along Ketchikan ports goes to school youths flying on their skateboards, and OT's (old timers) stroll the ports with their leased dogs, children strolling with their folks, and what is left for OT's, again is succumb to the norms of high prices from stores, if they are open. - More...
Wednesday - May 25, 2011
Sealaska bill and fisheries By
Paul Olson - I am writing regarding the Sealaska bill and the misrepresentations about how it reduces impacts to fishery habitat. The legislation establishes “conservation areas” and adds a temporary increase in buffer size. These measures are superficial and do nothing to offset the prospective impacts of this bill on fishery habitat. - More...
Monday - May 23, 2011
Sealaska Bill Bad for Commercial Fishermen By
Mickey Knight - One aspect of the Sealaska Lands Bill (S.730) that has garnered little attention on this website is a discussion regarding Senator Murkowski's hollow attempt to gain the support of commercial fishermen. - More...
Monday - May 23, 2011
Deja-Vu-Roadless Rule By
A. M. Johnson - Well, Déjà-Vu on the "Roadless Rule" controversy. Nice to see Senator Murkowski voice her wonderment at the continued and long standing decline in the "Thread Hanging" timber industry. - More...
Monday - May 23, 2011
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