Giving away the farm By Rick Gustin December 09, 2013
Is it a bill that will help provide Alaskans with long term good paying resource development jobs, or will it be an end to decades and decades of fishing industry jobs, subsistence harvests, and clean water for households as well as fish spawning and rearing habitat? How does putting immense power in the hands of an unelected commissioner of Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources to decide the fate of documented salmon streams, while at the same time stripping Alaskan citizens of their right to public notification and comment on these water/fish habitat altering decisions benefit the people of Alaska? How is this public servant working for Dept. of Natural Resources serving the public? Isn’t a law like this serving big (sometimes multinational) corporations that want to develop our resources ( our being all Alaskans) rather than serving Alaska’s citizens themselves? These are momentous decisions which will affect all of us for many years to come and yet we are not even being allowed to comment at town hall meetings sponsored by DNR because we are told there isn’t enough time and money to do this. How is this serving the public? Some meetings are being held by publicly elected officials involved with this bill. But many are unaware of the impact this law has on our constitutional rights. Once stripped away we will not get them back. If HB 77 passes many prior laws passed to protect important fish, wildlife, and water resources will be overruled. This bill was rammed through the house last session and now sits on the senate floor waiting to be passed into law at the next session in January 2014. Please contact your representatives and senators and find out why they are giving away the farm with no promises of jobs or guarantees of good stewardship of the land and resources for future generations of Alaskans to come. Please call them today. Rick Gustin Received December 07, 2013 - Published December 09, 2013 Related Viewpoint: Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
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