Born and raised Alaskans dont appreciate Alaska like a NR does

[kgpcr]

Let me explain that one. My buddy moved up to AK 30 yrs ago to teach in Anchorage. He still marvels at moose. He has them in his back yard all the time but they are so special to him. Residents grow us with them and moose are like deer to me here in MN. Yes many born Alaskans truly appreciate AK with all the splendor, scenery, fishing and hunting but its all they know. If you come from a place that has none of those its just that much more special. AK has ruined me to a degree. A 20" walleye just does not mean what it did to me compared to a red on the Kenai or a silver in the salt. I saw a 55-60lb king that was caught and released on the Kenai and a 30lb fish kept. That walleye though fun just does not stack up to them. To see a moose calf so freakin ugly and akward they are cute as he&* is a sight i relish. To look at the color of the Kenai is like looking into a jewel. To not grow up with what you have up there and to leave it after only a few weeks makes me appriciate it all that much more. So why am i writing this here in this forum? Well i read an article about how they have a handful and i mean under 50 sockeye returning to Idaho where there were once many hundreds of thousands and they are excited about the few that are coming back. i saw a documentary about all the dams on the rivers and how they literaly ship smolt down on barges as the dams would beat them up on the way to the ocean and most would die. What you have in AK is so very precious and fragile. EVERY inch of salmon stream needs to be protected. EVERY INCH. a mine will only last just so long then its time to shut it down and the rivers are gone forever. a few dams here a little destruction there and pretty soon the salmon are all gone. I just cant see how some of the projects i read about that would harm streams are even being considered. When you hit the river this year stop and take a good look at it. One day it could all dissapear if not protected. The resource much come first last and always. This summer i hope to bring my 25yr old son up with me to take it all in and catch some salmon. If we take care or the resource our grand childrens grand children can do the same. if we dont some who read this will talk of the good old days that were and wish they did something about it. OK i am done but man what you have is priceless!!!!!

[AlaskaHippie]

OK i am done but man what you have is priceless!!!!!

I agree completely, and great post.

Sadly many folks here remind me of the type that take a family heirloom to the pawn shop. They give a rat's ass about Priceless, or Heritage, they just want enough cash to hit the meat rack......

[alexander]

Couldnt say it any better kgpcr! We have way too much too lose and we are behind the eight ball cuz it's all about politics and not what is right. Doesn't the legislators in our great state have a state constitution to uphold?

[Akres]

I think a lot of Non-Residents and people living in Anchorage would find words such as written here quite easy to write, read and even in their hearts maybe believe...but there are some eeking out a living in Alaska that don't support the anti-development mindset. Some of us actually believe we need development to realize our dreams. That is why the debates rage on and on. Mining imo is not the greatest threat to our fisheries...Foreign Fleets and the Pollak Draggers are the Elephant(s) in the room...That NOBODY likes to talk to. Most don't even see him.

[alexander]

Your right Akres, Foreign fleets are our biggest threat now! What about later? Sorry I'm just not willing to gamble our fisheries with a mining company from somewhere else. Just dont trust big bussiness anymore. I live in the bush and rely on the land and what it gives. Cant eat a gold nugget but I can eat a fish!

[Akres]

Your right Akres, Foreign fleets are our biggest threat now! What about later? Sorry I'm just not willing to gamble our fisheries with a mining company from somewhere else. Just dont trust big bussiness anymore. I live in the bush and rely on the land and what it gives. Cant eat a gold nugget but I can eat a fish!

I don't trust Miners a bit more than I trust Commercial Fishers or visa versa...I trust the rules and laws we have in place to curb their greed and ignorance. No one can eat a gold nugget but one can feed a lot of mouths with what it will buy. For every dollar spent in exploration and development in Alaska, that same dollar gets to change hands around 7 times before the bankers carry it outside....I want to be one of the 7 and you to be one of the remaining 6.

[sayak]

I have lived here nearly my entire life, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't marvel at the beauty of Alaska. Even when the weather is rainy or stormy or cold as can be, this place is majestic.

However, we who choose to live here year-round, realize that Alaska cannot be a giant natural playground for visitors. Development of various kinds needs to take place. We have learned plenty from our own past and the experiences of other places that this development must occur carefully and be of low impact. We have mechanisms in place to ensure that such development takes place.

Some of us take issue when outsiders demand that Alaska stay pristine so that they can experience it the way the idealize it. We also take issue when people who make their living by selling Alaska experiences to outsiders demand that everything remain just the same as they found it so that they can continue to make their living.

Alaska has many resources which can be developed in a responsible manner. I am not talking about any particular resource or project when I say that either. For instance, I don't see Pebble taking place as originally planned, nor other mineral development for that matter. But I do hope to see people in rural Alaska have the opportunity to partake of some industry so that they can realize self-determination and pull away from reliance upon government assistance. As to whether that disturbs guides and lodge owners... well, I'm not particularly concerned about them because most of them are not full time residents anyway.

[kgpcr]

Sayak i am all for developing resources anywhere it makes sense. I am a hard core capitalist but some things need to be protected. What ALaska does is up to Alaska not me. I dont have a voice in it being a NR. I will say this. there is NO reason to turn AK salmon into another west coast scenario. Many Alaskans make their living off of them

[alexander]

Akres, I see your point very much. Jobs for Alaskans are a good thing. However I worked in the oil industry for 27 years in Alaska and the last thing I trust is the rules and laws in place to curb their greed and ignorance. And besides in all those years on the slope most crews I was on at least half if not more of my crewmembers were from out of state. Some even had phony mail boxes here to collect a PFD.
I am not against Development at all and know that it can be done right but worry in todays world of pr talk that it wont happen. Just becuase you spend millions on tv ads dosn't make you responsible! I am niether an outsider or someone who make his money off of outsiders, tourism, or fishing. I am just a longtime Alaskan who isnt willing to gamble one resource for another!

[Akres]

Economic Diversity is our only salvation as a people. We have all watched the Boom Bust Boom Bust faillures of our past. It is preventable. To worry about a mine...Pebble, Chuit or any other destroying our fisheries is ludicrous...pure hype and histeria generated by they Anti's. All the while we sit back and WATCH the fisheries being decimated by Foreign Fishing Fleet and Factory Processing Ships and 16 mile long nets Dragging our seas for anything and everything that can be ground up and made into a patty. If we can't mine Pebble and can't drill ANWAR...Where then? Where can we develop the resources? We can't mine for gold or drill for oil where it ain't...

[Akres]

Sayak i am all for developing resources anywhere it makes sense. I am a hard core capitalist but some things need to be protected. What ALaska does is up to Alaska not me. I dont have a voice in it being a NR. I will say this. there is NO reason to turn AK salmon into another west coast scenario. Many Alaskans make their living off of them

Lots of reasons why PNW Salmon are in the shape they are in...Actually little to nothing to do with dams, spawning beds and inland habitat...Alaska is now feeling those same effects to a huge degree...Salmon stocks across the Bering and Pacific are being decimated...on the high seas....but, way easier to take on Alaskan's than the Japanese, Russians, Koreans ... I suppose.

Alaskan Economy....Actually there are more people now making their money Phishing,exchanging trivial information than there are fishing. Most Alaskans have never had a net in their hands or even been on a fishing boat. We could more effectively, more precisely, more environmentally friendly fish by eliminating the boat fleets and simply employ terminal fisheries techiques...but then we would not be able to intercept one anothers fish...so that won't work eh.

[alexander]

I dont believe any ones hype just know from my own conclusions and experience that mining can be harmful to fisheries in worst case scenerios. You are 100% right when it comes to foreign fleets and the netters. I suppose that what we should be doing is concetrating on the present and worrying about the future later. Greed is ruining our fisheries here in the Susitna Basin and has been for years. So what do we do about the Commercial fishing industry running amok, hire lobbyist like they do to fight them?

[sayak]

Sayak i am all for developing resources anywhere it makes sense. I am a hard core capitalist but some things need to be protected. What ALaska does is up to Alaska not me. I dont have a voice in it being a NR. I will say this. there is NO reason to turn AK salmon into another west coast scenario. Many Alaskans make their living off of them

And therein lies the rub: What happens to Alaskan is not really up to Alaskans. In fact, every time a project comes up, even as a concept, seemingly endless numbers of environmentalist concerns step into the ring to file lawsuits and restraining orders. They have been emboldened by this particular federal administration and have quickly taken control.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Cook Inlet in regard to its new designation as critical habitat. The enviros smell blood in the water, and it ain't beluga blood. And as for the state F&G... well, about all they can do is stand back and watch. Must be frustrating when they know that the population of belugas is slowly rebuilding after having been over-hunted into this decade, and that it was not container ships and oil rigs which caused the demise as the greenies would have everyone believe.

[alexander]

Iv'e heard that the Alaskan commercial fishing industry is mainly a Seattle venture with mainly crews from outside is that right?

[Akres]

Iv'e heard that the Alaskan commercial fishing industry is mainly a Seattle venture with mainly crews from outside is that right?

Yes and Processors as well...but it isn't something new.