Sen. Mark Begich cautiously weighed in on the revised draft in a Friday statement

Alaska Senator Mark Begich certainly is a fierce advocate for wild salmon stocks when it comes to the threat posed by genetically modified salmon

“Alaska has been supplying the world with nutritious salmon for decades,” Begich said. “We cannot afford to experiment with the world’s largest wild salmon stocks without the certainty that these fake fish won’t pose a serious environmental risk, especially to wild salmon and their habitat. I am introducing these bills to prevent against science experiments ending up on the plates of Alaska families.”

His fierce advocacy for wild salmon suddenly wanes when it comes to the latest EPA findings that the Pebble Mine would destroy 90 miles of streams and up to 4,800 acres of wetland salmon habitat.

“While I remain opposed to a pre-emptive veto of this or any other project, an open, public process that answers Alaskans’ questions and puts better science on the table is a good thing. I look forward to reviewing this assessment and hope it answers questions about whether this project can meet the high hurdle of developing a large-scale mine while protecting our renewable resources.”

This Week at Interior

Welcome to Washington!

LINK (via: EcoWatch)

To Our New Secretary Of The Interior

While the confirmation of new Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has been universally praised by a broad spectrum of outdoor advocacy groups, Dylan Tomine has some more specific thoughts for the new Interior Secretary.

Dear Secretary Jewell—

First of all, congratulations on your Senate confirmation. As someone who makes a living  in the outdoor recreation industry, I am excited to have “one of our own” making the tough decisions about how this country uses its public land and water. Though I’m sure you won’t lack for various interests expressing their hopes for your tenure, I thought here at the beginning, I might presume to offer a few thoughts:

Read the rest of Dylan's letter.

One of Dylan's thoughts concerns the disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking for oil and natural gas.

Coincidently one of Jewell's first tasks will be releasing the Interior Department's proposal to regulate oil-and-gas “fracking” on public lands.

The Boldt Decision - 39 years Later

On February 12, 1974, Federal Judge George Boldt issued his historic ruling reaffirming the rights of Washington's Indian tribes to fish in accustomed places. The "Boldt Decision" allocated 50 percent of the annual catch to treaty tribes and his ruling is still being litigated today in the court of public opinion.

Back to the River tells the story of the treaty rights struggle from pre-Boldt era to tribal and state co-management. The movie includes the voices and personal accounts of tribal fishers, leaders and others active in the treaty rights fishing struggle.

In 2004 the Seattle Times did story on the 30th anniversary of the Boldt Decision. The tag line on that piece was, the fish bonanza is over; now, preserving habitat is a paramount issue.

Nine years later and we're still in the same boat. 

House Republicans threaten subpoena over EPA Alaska (Pebble) mine study

Leave it to the Daily Caller to push all the pro Pebble talking points in this story about Republican push back on the EPA's Bristol Bay watershed assesment.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have sent a follow-up letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, demanding they provide more documents regarding the agency’s review of a potential mine in Alaska or face a subpoena to appear before the committee.

LINK

This drivel is in need of some comments, we just added ours.

The case has become the latest in a series of attempts to overturn the state’s stream access law

Conservative property rights groups and conservation organizations have become involved in the bitter, eight-year legal fight over access to Montana streams from bridges.

Two conservative groups – the United Property Owners of Montana and the Political Economy Research Center – have filed friend of the court briefs in the case between a sportsmen’s group and Madison County. In addition, Montana Trout Unlimited has entered the fray on the other side to support the Public Lands Access Association in the case.

LINK (via:The Missoulian)