Fall Campaign Update: Notes from D.C. and Southeast Alaska

It has been a really busy and productive summer for the Salmon Beyond Borders campaign crew - a lot has happened since we last provided you with a full update earlier this spring! 

We’ve just returned from visits to Petersburg, Wrangell, Ketchikan, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. and have some big campaign updates for you...

We are excited to share that the hard work each and every one of you has put in over the past 5 years of this campaign is working! Your voices have reached community leaders and lawmakers at every level - elevating the need for binding international protections and financial assurances for our shared transboundary salmon rivers, jobs, and way of life. 

On the heels of our meetings in Washington, D.C. last week, it is now more clear than ever that the pressure from communities and lawmakers throughout the U.S.-B.C. transboundary region is driving this issue.

This NEW action will go directly to Secretary Pompeo and Minister Freeland prior to the upcoming semi-annual meetings between the Department of State and Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa. 

Updates from Washington, D.C.

• In February 2019, Senator Murkowski secured additional funding in a package for the Fiscal Year 2019 for transboundary water quality monitoring and the continued work of the interagency working group convened in 2017 by the EPA, State Department, and USGS to address concerns related to B.C. mining activity in shared U.S. watersheds. Our Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana Members of Congress are working to ensure funding for this very important work continues for the Fiscal Year 2020 budget. 
• In May 2019, nine members of Washington state’s congressional delegation, called for the U.S. Department of State to intervene in the growing dispute with Canada over Imperial Metals’ (owner of Mt. Polley and Red Chris mines) proposal for exploratory mining in the headwaters of the WA-B.C. Skagit River.
• In June 2019, Senator Murkowski led a letter with Senator Sullivan from the U.S. delegations of Idaho, Montana, and Washington to Premier John Horgan of British Columbia (B.C.), urging attention and action on key issues related to transboundary mining practices, including encouraging standards of oversight and accountability for B.C. development projects in U.S.-B.C. transboundary watersheds. Read some of the news coverage from this unprecedented effort here. 

Add your name to the Thank You letter to all 8 senators from the 4 states bordering B.C. here! 

• In August 2019, Senator Murkowski invited new members of the International Joint Commission to visit Southeast Alaska to experience and better understand this iconic region. The Senator, along with Senator Sullivan, held a roundtable discussion with federal, state, tribal, and local leaders; Salmon Beyond Borders was at the table.                                                                            Read more about the transboundary roundtable meeting here.

Updates from Southeast Alaska

• We loved connecting with so many of you during our visits to Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan this past month. Thanks to Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission and Ketchikan Indian Community for joining us in Wrangell and Ketchikan!                                                                              
• As momentum builds around the transboundary issue at the federal and tribal levels, we must continue to work together to build awareness and take action in our communities at home. If you would like to be more involved with the Salmon Beyond Borders campaign and take on a leadership role within your community, sign up for our Community Ambassador program here.                                                                                            
• Will you be at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle in November? Come find us and stay tuned for our annual expo event! Keep an eye out for emails and social media updates and stay up to date on our NEW SBB Community Calendar and Events Page. If you have an event happening in the transboundary region that is related to wild salmon and the transboundary issue, please send us the details and we will do our best to include it in our calendar.                       
• Protect what you love. Celebrate World Rivers Day and show your support for our wild salmon rivers: tell the U.S. Department of State to secure binding, enforceable protections and financial assurances for our transboundary rivers, jobs, and ways of life. 

We’ll leave you with a recent statement from Senator Murkowski:  
“Alaska is a resource state. We are blessed with abundant fish, minerals, timber, oil, gas, and wildlife. As Alaskans, we take seriously our responsibility to manage these incredible resources so that the livelihoods they support can coexist in harmony. My longstanding concern is that our neighbors in British Columbia are not meeting a similar high standard with regard to the impacts of hard rock mining on other resources and livelihoods in transboundary watersheds –especially the downstream fisheries that support tribes and coastal communities in Alaska.”

We’re all in this together.
Sincerely,
The SBB Crew