SPRING 2016

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not our first rodeo Learn about our experience with the Tongass Land Management Plan.

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in this issue:

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we eat fish! Fish Consumption Rate and why we need to tell the State that “We Eat Fish!”

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voices from the tongass Profiles on some Tongass heroes.

our angles on water An update on our Inside Passage Waterkeeper program.

Emily Ferry Acting Director

Meredith Trainor Incoming Director

Buck Lindekugel Grassroots Attorney

Guy Archibald Waterkeeper Coordinator

Edie Leghorn Waterkeeper Organizer

Danielle Redmond Alaska CAN Organizer

Margaret Friedenauer Online Organizer

Thomasina Andersen Office & Operations To protect the special places of the world’s largest temperate rainforest, promote conservation, and advocate for sustainability in human use of natural resources. Inspired by the land, wildlife, cultures, and communities of Southeast Alaska, seacc strives to ensure this interconnected whole exists for future generations.

Clay Frick President, Juneau

Marian Allen Secretary, Sitka Steve Lewis Tenakee Springs

Stephen Todd Wrangell

Bart Koehler Juneau

Bob Schroeder Treasurer, Juneau

Eric Kocher Vice President, Haines

Victoria McDonald Ketchikan

Wayne Weihing Ketchikan

Ray Sensmeier Yakutat

Zach Brown Gustavus

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council224 Gold St | Juneau, AK 99801907-586-6942 www.seacc.org www.insidepassagewaterkeeper.org

The Ravencall is a publication of SEACC.

Printed on 30% recycled PCW paper.

editor: Margaret Friedenauer

designer: Lee House

cover: An assembly of photos celebrating

the rich beauty of our Tongass National Forest

from mountains to estuaries. Main photo near

Wrangell by Freddie Muñoz

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Juneau Road Extensionin this case, no news is good news. Over the past six months the Governor has not indicated that he supports constructing the 50-mile road extension to the Katzehin River, nor has the Alaska Department of Transportation included significant funding in its budget for constructing the half-billion dollar-plus project. The folks at the Ketchikan Ship Yard continue to construct two new Alaska Class Day Boat Ferries to run in Lynn Canal starting in 2018 (this $120 million investment in Lynn Canal transportation improvements is happening regardless of whether a road moves forward.)

We will likely see a final decision on the road extension later this spring. The sooner the state officially decides to cancel the project the better, given that Alaska continues to pay rent to store steel piles in Seattle purchased for the road project over a decade ago by Governor Murkowski. Officially cancelling the project could also free up millions of dollars in state general funds that could go to any number of our region’s pressing needs. And perhaps most importantly, putting this divisive issue behind us could allow the region to unite around a reliable Marine Highway System.

Alaska CAN! Climate Action Network

here in southeast, climate change impacts are part of our daily lives, from backyard glaciers receding to ocean acidification and warming. We are spurring public discussion, connecting folks to the movement, and promoting concrete solutions.

The good news is that there are many renew-able energy solutions right in our own backyard. Heat pumps are a great example. The Juneau airport, the pool, the Foodland grocery store, and more than 150 residents have recently installed heat pumps and cut their heating bills in half. Heat pumps don’t use fossil fuels and are three times more efficient than electric resistance baseboards.

Alaska CAN! is also working to bring these issues home. Roger Munro, an energy efficiency expert and Alaska CAN volunteer, is helping to green SEACC’s own operations. He recently stopped by the SEACC house and made a plan for sealing up the cracks. Thanks Roger!

Check out Roger’s suggestion and find out how you can take action at alaskaclimateaction.org or drop us a line at akclimateaction@gmail.com. Alaska CAN! is part of SEACC’s Tools for Change program which provides support for citizen-lead grassroots initiatives.

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Let’s do for water what we’ve done for land!

earlier this year many of us were horrified to learn about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The community was poisoned by their own tap water after state and federal government officials okayed using the polluted Flint River to supply the community’s drinking water.

How could this happen? And how can we keep this type of thing from ever happening again, here in Southeast or anywhere?!

Of course, with a long history of heavy indus-trialization, Flint Michigan and its river are much, much different than the wild lands and clean water of Southeast Alaska. But, the clean water we are so proud of here in Southeast is protected by the same law that allowed the Flint mishap to happen: the Clean Water Act.

Here’s the key: the Clean Water Act, passed into law in 1972, was written to include enforce-ment by citizens, a role that is increasingly important in a time of declining agency budgets.

If we want clean water, we are required to play an active role in deciding how it is managed, and holding agencies and industry accountable for keeping their end of the bargain. We cannot sit back and assume the professionals have it all figured out. The drafters of the Clean Water Act knew that the people who would do the very best job standing up for clean water are the citizens who are drinking, fishing, and swimming in that water.

And that is why we launched the Inside Passage Waterkeeper program. In this issue of the Ravencall we feature our proactive We Eat Fish! campaign which, in addition to stating the obvious about Alaskan’s seafood-ladden diet, aims to increase the standards protecting our state’s water quality. We also report on some disheartening news that Greens Creek Mine – a facility that has been heralded as one of the cleanest in North America – is affecting the water, sediment, shellfish, and marine mammals in the outflow areas in some very disturbing ways. And we’ll fill you in on efforts to prevent British Columbian and Alaskan mines from polluting our waters in the future.

In March we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Tongass Timber Reform Act –a testament to the power of people who passionately care about and are willing to stand up for the land they care about. Now we must do the same thing for our water. In solidarity,

emily ferry

emily ferryActing Director

Staff Changesthis spring we are sadly saying goodbye to Hannah Wilson and Seth Ballhorn who will be spending their summers exploring and guiding others through the Tongass (who can blame them!) Hannah has been the glue keeping our office together and running smoothly while Seth led the effort to implement the Tongass Blue-print, our vision of sustainable forest manage-ment. We are grateful for their efforts, and know their passion for this place will continue to make a difference far into the future. This summer Meredith Trainor will take over the Executive Director role. With a stellar background in forest policy and experience heading up a mining reform campaign in British Columbia, Meredith will be an excellent fit to lead the SEACC team. And we’re happy to report that Malena Marvin, who stepped down last fall to give all her energy to battling breast cancer, is happy and healthy back in Petersburg where she and her partner Eric are growing their direct marketing fish business.

hannah wilson

seth ballhorn

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watertransboundary: interna-tional joint committee (ijc)At long last the world seems to be awakening to the threat that the largest proposed open pit mine in North America – and nearly a dozen others – could pose to the Stikine, Unuk, and Taku Rivers. The modern-day bonanza across the boarder in British Columbia is bad news for Alaska’s clean water and wild fish. We are working every avenue possible to protect Alaska’s priceless resources. The most promising strategy is to invoke an International Joint Decision to enforce the Boundary Waters Treaty, which was signed in 1909 to resolve these types of issues between the US and Canada. For more on this issue check out our Fall 2015 Ravencall or www.insidepassagewaterkeeper.org.

Alaska holds 40 percent of the nation’s fresh water resources and more coastline than the Lower 48 states combined. The state remains home to some of the cleanest waters, healthiest salmon runs and most wild and abundant seafood left in the world. These resources, at the heart of our economy, cul-ture, and way of life, are what make Alaska strong. There are a number of different tools we can use to protect Alaska’s water; here we describe a few that we’re working on.

tier 3 watersThe Clean Water Act gives states tools to protect their water. One option is to designate rivers and lakes as Outstanding National Resources Waters. These are waters that have unique characteristics that need to be preserved (e.g., waters of exceptional recreational, environ-mental, or ecological significance.) This designation (also known as Tier 3) protects the water quality from being lowered or degraded except on a short-term basis. For example, boating and fishing would be allowed but an industry such as mining would have to assure that existing high quality water is maintained and protected.

So far the state has received four nomina-tions for this special protective status for portions of the Chilkat River near Haines, the Yakutat Forelands, the Koktuli River and the

a model mine?The deal that created Admiralty Island National Monument in 1981 also sanctioned development of the Greens Creek Mine, with the caveat that the silver mine would meet high standards and thereby preserve the island’s rich ecosystem and opportunities for the people of Angoon to continue traditional and cultural practices. Unfortunately, a seal recently harvested in Hawk Inlet, where mine wastewater is discharged and ore is loaded on barges, was found to have among the highest levels of mercury ever recorded in Alaska. As a result of this and other troubling findings, Angoon’s leaders have warned people against collecting traditional foods, like seaweed, clams, and seal in the area. More information is needed to fully understand the connection between the contaminants and the mine. The Inside Passage Waterkeeper continues to work with Friends of Admiralty Island and residents of Angoon to call on state and federal agencies to repeat a 1981 pre-mine baseline study, develop better monitoring, and ultimately, clean-up a legacy ore spill in Hawk Inlet.

Bristol Bay watershed. However, none of these nominations have moved forward because the state lacks a process for approving these nomina-tions. Gov. Bill Walker put forward a bill this spring that proposed turning over the decision to the legislature, unnecessarily turning the issue into a political football. We believe the designa-tions should be made using clear, science-based criteria, and that it should be just as easy for citizens to protect water as it is for companies who apply to the state for permits to pollute water. After tremendous public outcry Gov. Walker said recently he wants to “press the reset button” on the bills. With the legislation stalled, we can continue to work with the governor and state to develop a non-partisan and fair evalua-tion process for Tier 3 water nominations.

below: Chad from Kake, AK hangs halibut in the smokehouse during the summer Culture Camp. photo by: lee house

left: Todd Bailey hauls a crab pot off of Admiralty Island. photo by: lee house

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We Eat Fish! filmmaker, Kendall Rock, films Jesse from Kake, AK as he shows the smokehouse.

left: Todd Bailey hauls a crab pot off of Admiralty Island. photo by: lee house

Is it safe to eat Alaskan fish? Yes! Despite the low Fish Consumption Rate used by the Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska has some of the cleanest water and healthiest fish in the world. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has done detailed chemical analysis on the tissue of over 600 samples, and concluded that Alaska fish remain safe and beneficial to human health to eat. What is a fish consumption rate (FCR)?

Fish Consumption Rate is the term the Clean Water Act uses to describe the average amount of fish a person eats per day. The theory goes that if a population eats more fish, lower levels of pollutants should be allowed into the waters from which communities harvest, eat, and drink. It should also be noted that “fish” here refers to any species harvested from the aquatic environment including seaweed, finfish, shellfish, and marine mammals. Why is Alaska’s FCR so low when Alaskans eat so much fish?

Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation has acknowledged that a Fish Consumption Rate of 6.5 grams/person/day is too low. Yet the agency has stated that it won’t be making any changes to the policy for another three years, claiming it needs to study the issue further. Delay benefits polluters. Strong citizen involvement can help counter industry pressure to keep the FCR low and encourage the State to administratively raise the Fish Consumption Rate to EPA recommended minimums while the agency studies the issue further. What can I do?

Log-on to our website to view the video, sign the petition and share with friends. Want to host a video viewing party in your community? Let us know and we’ll send you a DVD and action kit.

Find out more at www.insidepassagewaterkeeper.org info@insidepassagewaterkeeper.org or (907) 586-6942

frequently asked questions

The State of Alaska estimates this is how much fish you eat per day.

we eat fish!Do you eat more than a forkful of salmon in one sitting? Do you eat more than one chunk of halibut with your fries? More than half a crab leg at dinner? So do we! But guess what — the State of Alaska estimates residents eat about as much seafood as the size of a small strawberry per day. And that crazy, inaccurate measurement — the lowest of any state — is used to decidehow clean to keep Alaska’s water.

So we’re telling the state “We Eat Fish!”

a numbers game

Another tool available under the Clean Water Act is the Human Heath Criteria, which sets out a formula that limits the levels of bioaccumlative toxins that can be dumped into fresh and near- shore waters. A key factor in the formula is how much seafood a state’s residents eat. The more seafood a population eats, the theory goes, the more protective the water quality standards should be.

The State of Alaska unfortunately continues to use a Fish Consumption Rate that is far too low. In fact, the figure the State currently uses in the formula – 6.5 grams of fish per person per day

– is among the lowest in the nation. Other states including Washington and Oregon have or are in the process of adjusting their fish consumption rate to a more realistic 175 grams/person/day. Some Alaska Native communities have found that 250 grams/person/ day is a more accurate estimate of the amount of fish they eat.

Raising Alaska’s Fish Consumption Rate to 175 grams/person/day and changing the

“acceptable cancer rate” used in the Human Health Criteria formula from one case of cancer in 100,000 to one in one million will help protect our clean water.

We recently released, “We Eat Fish!” a short film explaining the important role the metric of Fish Consumption Rate plays in protecting our waters. Featuring stories from communities around the region, this film celebrates our world class water-based resources, and the unique opportunity we have to preserve their pristine condition far into the future.

View the film at insidepassagewaterkeeper.org/weeatfish

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how’d we get here?

The Tongass Land Management Plan outlines how the US Forest Service manages our largest (and we like to think, most special) National Forest. SEACC members have been weighing in on these plans for more than four decades. The latest plan amendment was kicked-off in 2010 when Forest Service officials announced the goal of “transitioning from timber harvesting in [Tongass] roadless areas and old-growth forests.

Several years ago the Forest Service hand- selected a small group known as the Tongass Advisory Committee or TAC to help guide development of the plan amendment. The group, which included no wildlife biologists or other scientists, could only focus on timber manage-ment. The TAC issued their recommendations in May of 2015. In November of 2015 the Forest Service released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and its preferred alternative for public review. The 90 day public comment period resulted in over a quarter million comments on the proposed plan amendment; the vast majority calling for a faster transition from old-growth clearcut logging than proposed. Thanks to all who weighed in – your support for a thriving Tongass landscape was incredible!

the good, the bad, the ugly

The preferred alternative, Alternative 5, finally takes old-growth in salmon strongholds like Port Houghton, Poison Cove and Ushk Bay, Castle River, Broad Finger Creek, and East Kuiu (No Name, Reid & Alvin Bays) off the chopping block in the near term.

However, the proposed plan continues contro-versial clearcutting of valuable old-growth forests over the next 15 years! It calls for logging more old-growth in the next decade than was cut over the last decade. Our Tongass is the only National Forest that still allows clearcut logging of irreplaceable old-growth forests.

roadless rule reigns

On february 28, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a last-ditch effort by the State of Alaska to exempt America’s largest national forest from the national roadless rule. This ruling is good news for Southeast Alaskans who use and depend on the Tongass’ outstanding natural values, as well as visitors who come to see America’s last great rainforest, teeming with fish and wildlife that thrive in its undeveloped roadless areas. Little practical change is expected, since even when the Bush-era exemption was in effect, cost and controversy kept almost all logging out of roadless areas. Special thanks go out to Tom Waldo at Earthjustice and the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Niel Lawrence for their stalwart advocacy on our behalf.

not our first rodeo

These last couple months we’ve been busting butt on the latest proposal to amend the Tongass Land Management Plan, also known as TLMP. This isn’t our first rodeo;

SEACC has reviewed every Tongass plan since the first draft appeared in 1975.

Stay tuned to our website, facebook page, and your email for updates and action alerts on all of these issues.

photo: Fairweather Skiworks handcrafts skis sourced sustainably from our local rainforests!

The Forest Service also proposed wide-spread changes to the existing forest-wide Habitat Conservation Strategy developed for the 1997 Revised Tongass Plan. With no supporting scientific evidence or credible scientific review, the Preferred Alternative weakens the strategy by reopening important wildlife and salmon habitat areas to commercial logging of young growth, including beach fringe, riparian areas, and old-growth reserves. These alterations may threaten the ecological integrity of the Tongass and clash with USDA’s goals for an “ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable” transition.

keep it local

The Tongass is the only National Forest that allows the export of round logs without local processing. In 2007, for the first time since World War II, the Alaska Region adopted a blanket policy allowing the export of up to half the unprocessed Sitka spruce and western hemlock logs cut on the Tongass.

This “clearcut and export” business model requires no long-term investment in Southeast Alaska, employs comparatively few Alaskans, and does nothing to develop a skilled workforce. Liquidating Alaska’s precious old-growth for export forecloses future opportunities for local wood manufacturers to make high-value products like guitar tops and skis. Check out the “Alaskan Wood, Alaskan Jobs” videos at www.seacc.org/tongass to view some of the inspiring uses of Tongass timber.

This spring SEACC and eight other organiza-tions challenged the Regional Forester approval of the export policy.

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rich gordon dedicated much of his life to studying and advocating for the natural world of Southeast Alaska. He was one of the original Tongass Rangers. Rich helped found the Alaska Wilderness Council in 1969, and its offshoot, SEACC. He was instrumental in stopping the largest-ever timber sale on Admiralty Island and helped identify new national parks, preserves, and monuments for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. In 2005 he was awarded the Celia Hunter Award for Volunteer Contribu-tions by the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Rich was well known on Juneau’s trails where he spent most of every day birding and contem-plating nature. Now in his mid-eighties, he continues to average five miles a day on the trails near the Florida retirement community where he is in assisted living.

Rich decided many years ago to leave much of his estate to SEACC. At the suggestion of his friends Lynn and R.T. “Skip” Wallen he decided not to wait; in October 2015 his home was sold with all proceeds donated to SEACC as an unrestricted gift.

We are so grateful to Rich and the Wallens for facilitating this gift, which helps keep SEACC stable and nimble and ensures that we will continually have Tongass Rangers looking out for those favorite wild places far into the future.

You too can contribute to the Tongass Ranger Fund by making a legacy gift. This could include naming SEACC in your will or naming SEACC as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy.

zach brown

rich gordon

i grew up in gustavus. When you walk out to the Gustavus beach and gaze out to the South, there’s Pleasant Island. When you turn westward, there’s Lemesurier Island, and if you squint your eyes – and the day isn’t too socked-in– beyond that are the Inian Islands. All of these were designated Wilderness under the Tongass Timber Reform Act (TTRA).

Then, if you look farther through the passes of Icy Strait towards Chichagof Island, you’ll see Point Adolphus, Mud Bay, Idaho Inlet, and Lisianski Strait aroundthe corner.

All of these were legislated LUDII under the TTRA. All of these places were within the 50-year contract area of Alaska Pulp Corporation, and all were slated to be logged, but instead, all of them were saved. Now, I wasn’t paying too much attention, because I was 5 years old when the TTRA was passed. I was more interested in toy trucks than conservation. But I grew up as the beneficiary of these amazing public lands.

And then, like so many, I went down south to get educated – but I came back. And I came back because Southeast Alaska is still ALIVE. Nowhere in the world is it more clear that a robust economy is synonymous with a robust ecology – that what’s good for these lands and waters is good for us.

I am so grateful to all of the Tongass warriors near and far, dead and alive, for making the TTRA happen.

And I know that the battle never ends. So in the tradition of my father Bill Brown and my Uncle Greg Streveler, I am honored to join you as SEACC’s newest board member. And I will work hard to live up to that honor.

What the Tongass Timber Reform Act meant to a 5-Year-Old

An Original Tongass Ranger

Bart Koehler leads a crowd of a hundred-plus people singing a tribute to the wilderness.

this march we hosted a celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of the passing of the Tongass Timber Reform Act. Without the land-mark legislation, Southeast Alaska was headed for the same intensive level of clearcutting that has fractured the coastal temperate rainforests to the south. And without the people who gave their time, energy, and passion to the cause, the legislation never would have passed congress nor been signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

Bart Koehler, who was SEACC’s director and lead architect of the legislation, dubbed these stalwart defenders of the forest the Tongass Rangers (a nod to the rough and tumble Texas Rangers who were featured in the Lonesome Dove mini-series popular at the time.)

To honor Bart and all of the original Tongass Rangers, we will be creating a Tongass Ranger Fund. The goal is to ensure that all of those rich watersheds protected by the Tongass Timber Reform Act as Wilderness or LUD II (a.k.a. Land Use Designation II –a special designation that allows slightly more intensive use than

“Wilderness” but prohibits clearcutting) always remain a protected and part of the Tongass National Forest.

We will use the Tongass Ranger Fund to fund staff and support volunteers working to safe-guard these places. But first, we have to create the fund. Over the next year we’ll be sharing ways that you can help ensure the legacy of the original Tongass Rangers lives long into the future. Stay tuned...

bart koehler

Taking Time to Celebrate

will you leave a legacy?

For more information about all the ways you can have a lasting impact, contact Emily at Emily@seacc.org, 907-586-6942

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Southeast Alaska Conservation Council 224 Gold St, Juneau, AK 99801 | (907) 586.6942

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photo: Hannah Wilson heads into the hills and to new adventures. photo by: lee house

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