The Curyung Tribal Council has worked diligently in applying for and documenting applications to the state of Alaska for in-stream flow water reservations to ensure the long term viability of necessary and irreplaceable wildlife habitat. HB77 would eliminate any Alaska tribe or local users ability to make these applications and restrict our options for protecting our renewable resources. It is baffling to us that Gov. Parnell’s administration seeks to break down collaborations between the state and the tribes, especially in light of budget crunches that have moved the state to undertake just such partnerships more and more in many areas, ie. road improvements, co-management of certain renewable resources, land use documentation, mapping, etc. The state of Alaska and the tribes of Alaska, even though the state does not recognize tribal sovereignty, have become partners in many areas. Over 40 Alaskan tribes and/or their representatives, who speak for thousands of tribal members have weighed in opposition to HB 77 yet the few committees to which this bill was assigned have all but ignored the valid and diverse concerns of Alaska’s first peoples. HB77 also erodes, almost eliminates, public input and public process. How can a government, "Of the People, For the People, and By the People" as mandated by our plenary federal government be adhered to when there is no or limited public input? We cannot afford to take the risk of a government "run amok" without a mechanism for public input, even in the sparsely populated state of Alaska.Get the Story:
Dorothy B. Larson: Proposed changes to Alaska land and water rules would silence local Alaskans (The Alaska Dispatch 3/9)
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