By Editor, on October 19th, 2011 By Andrew Halcro
October 19, 2011: After the ballots had been counted Monday evening, and it appeared voters of the Lake and Peninsula Borough had narrowly approved a controversial anti-mining initiative, the look on Bob Gillam’s lawyers face said it all; they had their lunch eaten.
Even though the measure passed, and even though Gillam appeared to be rewarded for his half million dollar campaign investment, the narrow 34 vote win represented a huge loss for Gillam and his anti-mining crusade and a huge win for the Pebble Partnership.
Read full opinion in AndrewHalcro.com.
By Editor, on September 28th, 2011 By Becky Bohrer | AP
JUNEAU — A Superior Court judge in Anchorage has sided with the state in a legal battle over the Pebble Mine project.
Judge Eric Aarseth, in a written ruling Monday, found that the state was not required to give public notice before issuing exploratory permits for the project site. He also found the state didn’t need to study the potential impacts of the activity first.
The plaintiffs, who include a coalition of Alaska Native village corporations, said they are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on September 15th, 2011  Google Earth rendition of the Chilkoot Valley, looking north from Chilkoot Lake, showing Connelly Lake. Notes by Roger Maynard HAINES has an energy crisis. A little town in the middle of coastal Alaska with high mountain lakes and running water everywhere, we should be rolling in surplus hydroelectric power, but we’re not. Instead, we periodically burn diesel to smoke up our valley at a premium cost to consumers. Even without the diesel surcharge, electrical (IPEC) business customers in the upper Chilkat Valley are getting soaked up to $0.61 per kilowatt hour. Read more->
By Editor, on September 15th, 2011 By Richard Mauer | ADN
After the state lost in two courts, the Parnell administration said Wednesday it would prepare a new environmental impact statement for a 50-mile road from Juneau to a proposed ferry terminal near Haines and Skagway rather than appeal again, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state announced its decision to go back to the planning process two months after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of a federal judge in Alaska, who said the original environmental impact statement for the Juneau Access Project, from 2006, was inadequate.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on September 12th, 2011  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Lisa Murkowski will be a leader of the new bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus when it assembles for the first time tomorrow, with the remaining co-chairs to be named at the event. “It’s an honor to be a leader of this caucus, on behalf of the only state bordering two oceans,” said Senator Murkowski. “The oceans are more than beautiful and important natural gifts, they are our farms, our factories of growth – and our future.” Read more->
By Editor, on September 7th, 2011 Press release:
JUNEAU–Building on his commitment to revitalize Alaska’s timber industry, Governor Sean Parnell today signed legislation nearly doubling the size of the Southeast State Forest. The forest was created by the passage of Governor Parnell’s legislation in 2010. Lands added to the state forest will continue to be open for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat and harvest, mining and recreational activities. Read more->
By Editor, on September 3rd, 2011 Alan Bailey | PETROLEUM NEWS
ANCHORAGE–Much has been said and written about the causes and consequences of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and about the scramble to respond to an oil spill that no one appeared adequately prepared to deal with. However, the U.S. Coast Guard’s incident report, known as the Incident Specific Preparedness Review, or ISPR, provides some fascinating insights into lessons learned from how the response was conducted, and how those lessons might be applied to planning for some future oil spill contingency.
Read more in the Petroleum News.
By Editor, on September 2nd, 2011 By Dan Joling | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Federal fisheries managers should weigh the economic impact before approving a Pacific halibut allocation plan that could reduce the number of fish caught by sport anglers on charter boats, an Alaska lawmaker said Thursday.
Read the full story in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on September 2nd, 2011 By Dan Joling | ASSOCIATED PRESS
An investigation of a federal scientist in Alaska whose observations of drowned polar bears spurred national publicity on climate warming was started after allegations made by another Interior Department employee.
Read full article in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on August 31st, 2011
HAINES–On Thursday, August 25, Delta Western, Inc. and Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization (SEAPRO) conducted a joint training exercise in the Haines small boat harbor. Read more->
By Editor, on August 26th, 2011  State of Alaska press release
ANCHORAGE–The State of Alaska filed an appeal challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2008 listing of the polar bear as a threatened species. The state seeks to overturn a June decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that upheld the listing. Read more->
By Editor, on August 20th, 2011 Wesley Loy | PETROLEUM NEWS
WASH D.C.–The federal rollout of a draft management plan that could lead to huge new sections of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge being designated “wilderness,” including the potentially oil-rich coastal plain, drew immediate disdain from top Alaska politicians.
Read more online in the Petroleum News.
By Roger Maynard, on August 17th, 2011  Thistles are just blooming at several locations in Haines. This would be good time to put some effort into eradication before they go to seed. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is an invasive plant found throughout much of the United States and Canada. Its common name is deceptive, as it is native to Europe and was introduced to North America in the early 1600s.
Farmers have long recognized it as an aggressive weed, even in its native range. The State of Vermont legally listed Canada thistle as a noxious weed in 1795. Canada thistle is listed as a noxious weed in at least 35 states and much of Canada, and is on Alaska’s prohibited noxious weed list. Read more->
By Editor, on August 15th, 2011 By Jonathan Grass | JUNEAU EMPIRE
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases its revised draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today.
Bruce Woods, the Service’s chief of media relations for the Alaska Region, said this is the regularly scheduled review process for refuges within the state. He said this revision was announced during the first public comment period in April 2010.
Read full article in the Juneau Empire.
More info:
U.S.F.W.S. full press release
Draft plan and related materials
By Editor, on August 11th, 2011 By Gov. Sean Parnell | ADN COMPASS Opinion
ALASKA–This spring, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers released a draft guidance document that will be used to decide which waters and wetlands will be protected by the Clean Water Act.
If allowed to stand, these guidelines could place an additional 40 percent of Alaska’s wetlands and non-navigable waters under federal jurisdiction. The proposed guidance is ambiguous, capricious and unlawful. It ignored using a cooperative process with the 50 states, as mandated by the Clean Water Act. And it skirted the formal rule making required by the Administrative Procedures Act.
Read the full opinion column in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on August 10th, 2011 Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Sen. Lisa Murkowski is using a historic gathering to make a simple point this week: Alaska is different.
Read full article in the News-Miner.
By Editor, on August 10th, 2011 The federal investigation into suspended wildlife biologist Charles Monnett has focused on the scientific merit of a 2006 article in which he and a colleague recorded their observations of apparently drowned polar bears in the Arctic, a watchdog group said Tuesday.
In the article, the ADN reports:
[U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., has] said that Monnett’s work has been cited by witnesses before his committee and provided “the foundation” for the government’s decision in 2008 to list the polar bear as a threatened species, the first with its survival at risk due to global warming.
“As a result, critical habitat for the polar bear was designated, which added additional layers of onerous regulations to oil and gas development in 187,000 square miles of land in Alaska,” he said, adding that accusations against Monnett’s work “could be serious and have far reaching consequences.”
Read the full article in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on August 3rd, 2011  The Fourth Southeast Alaska Integrated Resource Plan (SE IRP) Advisory Work Group met in Haines on Tuesday, July 26, 2011. The group, working under the authority of the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), is focused on development of a 50-year Regional Integrated Resource Plan (RIRP) for Southeast Alaska from Yakutat to Metlakatla. Read more->
By Editor, on July 30th, 2011 The federal agency that this month suspended a veteran scientist now says its case has nothing to do with an article he wrote about polar bears that apparently drowned, permitting issues or scientific integrity.
Read full article in the Alaska Dispatch.
Read Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility article with links to source documents.
By Editor, on July 28th, 2011  Becky Bohrer | ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal wildlife biologist whose observation in 2004 of presumably drowned polar bears in the Arctic helped to galvanize the global warming movement has been placed on administrative leave and is being investigated for scientific misconduct, possibly over the veracity of that article.
Charles Monnett is an Anchorage-based scientist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
Read full article in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.
By Editor, on July 26th, 2011  Governor Sean Parnell was joined by lawmakers, stakeholders and project leaders to provide an update on the Susitna-Watana hydro project. State of Alaska press release:
July 25, 2011, Anchorage, Alaska – Two weeks after signing legislation necessary to move the Susitna-Watana hydroelectric project forward, Governor Sean Parnell today said the state is recruiting its Susitna-Watana hydro project team and he expects first power from the major hydropower system on the Susitna River by 2023. Licensing the project is expected to take six years and construction will take five years. Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on July 20th, 2011 Hazardous Waste Collection Day:
HAINES–One of the big days of the year for folks who live here is the hazardous waste collection that occurs yearly. It’s our chance to get rid of old paints, solvents, oil and other stuff for which disposal is either difficult or expensive. This service is available to all households and government agencies.
This year’s hazardous waste collection, sponsored by the Haines Borough and Southeast Conference, will be on Friday, July 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until containers are full. Bring the material to the old Haines Public Works shop yard on Union Street between 5th and 6th avenues. Material should be in the original containers if possible. Read more->
By Editor, on July 15th, 2011 By Alexandra Gutierrez | kucb.org
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released their annual stock assessment report today. While the East Coast continues to struggle with overfishing, commercial stocks in the Pacific Ocean remain abundant and healthy overall.
Alaska’s stocks seem to be in particularly good shape by comparison. NOAA lists 40 stocks as subject to overfishing, and not one of those is in Alaska waters.
Read more at KUCB.org.
Read NOAA Press Release.
By Editor, on July 13th, 2011 By Jonathan Grass | JUNEAU EMPIRE
With Alaska’s oil reserves on the decline the question many face is how to prepare for lower levels of product flowing through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Alyeska’s comprehensive Low Flow Impact Study report concludes that the line can be safely operated at levels down to 350,000 barrels per day. This limit could only be a decade or so away.
Read full story in the Juneau Empire.
By Editor, on July 13th, 2011 CBC News
Canada is set to include the polar bear on its list of species at risk, but not as a threatened or endangered species.
The federal government gave notice this month that it intends to list the Arctic animal as a species of special concern — one level below threatened and two levels below endangered — under the Species at Risk Act.
Read full article at CBC.ca.
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| Nate Beeler
The Columbus Dispatch
May 16, 2012
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Lynn Canal Map & Marine Traffic (refresh for current ship positions)
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Haines, Alaska 99827
Editor:
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P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
editor@hainesnews.net
The Haines Alaska News is a public information service of the Alaska Alliance for Commerce, Inc., a grassroots movement organized to advocate for small business and a free market economy in Alaska.
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