Bring it on, 2018

In a year that otherwise felt politically divisive, Alaskans spoke with one voice on the issue of upstream Canadian mines threatening shared AK-B.C. transboundary salmon rivers. 
 
We ended 2017 with a long-awaited letter from the State of Alaska and the entire Alaska congressional delegation to the U.S. State Department - an unprecedented and powerful show of unity on behalf of our rivers. Thank you for making this a reality. In their official response, the U.S. State Department acknowledged the concerns of Alaskans and outlined the steps they are taking to address those concerns. This international problem requires international solutions and with your help, we will hold them accountable to ensure these steps become real action.
 
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In 2017, we had the chance to meet with many of you in person. You told us how important wild, healthy salmon and their productive habitat are to your way of life, and we heard through your stories the love you have for these rivers. It was only with your support that we all achieved so much last year, including...

• Joined forces with colleagues in Montana facing similar downstream threats from British Columbia: Together in Washington D.C., Alaskans and Montanans requested federal enforceable protections from congressional members, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Interior, and the Canadian Embassy.


• Hosted a transboundary water quality workshop and public event: “Ecological Nexus" brought together scientists, Tribal leaders and staff, state and federal staff, and NGO leaders from Montana, B.C., and Alaska and resulted in a new level of partnership and engagement among participating organizations that will benefit us going into 2018. 
  
  
• Summer Salmon Kickoff: We held our annual “Summer Salmon Kick-off” at the Juneau Yacht Club, which was attended by over 100 supporters who received a campaign update and delicious grilled salmon, provided by Alaska Glacier Seafoods. This event helped launch our 2017 focus on local governments in Southeast, and brought us closer to our goal of bringing the State of Alaska to the table (no pun intended). This event is a great volunteer opportunity - let us know if you want to help out this year! 

Southeast Feast: Taku Tuesday at Amalga Distillery - photo by Art Sutch

• Southeast Feast: Taku Tuesday: This sold-out event celebrated the bounty of our transboundary rivers and featured local business partners, including: Amalga Distillery, In Bocca al Lupo, Barnacle Foods, Ka'wuu Oysters, Taku River Reds, and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Cheers to resilient communities!


• Southeast Alaska community tour - resolutions & public events: SBB Worked with municipal governments in Juneau, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Sitka to unanimously pass new resolutions or re-confirm previously passed resolutions in support of enforceable protections for our transboundary rivers. We worked closely with the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission to host public events at which we provided an issue update (including sharing Garth Lenz's amazing photos) and the opportunity to hear directly from you about what these rivers mean to your way of life.


• Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle: We reconnected with many of you at "Fish Expo," the largest commercial fishing and marine tradeshow on the West Coast. We had great prizes from Xtratuf and Grundens for our booth visitors and we collected hundreds of signatures to deliver to Secretary Tillerson.


• State of Alaska and Alaska congressional delegation issue joint letter: Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Mallott, Senator Murkowski, Senator Sullivan, and Congressman Young joined with thousands of Alaskans by sending a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, requesting an international solution to this international problem. This was an unprecedented show of unity and power by Alaska leaders on behalf of our salmon rivers.


• U.S. State Department responds to joint letter with action: The U.S. State Department responded to the State of Alaska and outlined concrete steps they are taking to address Alaska, Montana, and Idaho concerns - including the formation of an inter-agency task force to address transboundary water quality issues.

 
In 2018, we’re going to keep pushing. We will travel to D.C. and B.C. to work with government leaders and to keep the heat on. We will continue to amplify this issue through our partnership with other states, including Montana, Washington, and Idaho, and our partners in B.C. And most of all, we will continue to work closely with you to defend our shared rivers, jobs, and way of life.
 
We want to hear from you! Please take our one-minute survey to help us keep you up-to-date: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N8XR279