Juneau, Alaska – The Alaska Legislature Wednesday voted to add their voice to local opposition to an East Coast special interest group’s attempt to turn a vast area of the Bering Sea and North Pacific into a national marine sanctuary.
The Senate unanimously passed Bush Caucus Chair Bryce Edgmon’s House Joint Resolution 7, which lays out the reasons why the Legislature is angered by the move spearheaded by the Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER.)
“This truly is our Alaska,” said Edgmon, D-Dillingham. “Once again, this is a classic example of people in D.C. not consulting our communities before making plans for the state. PEER’s proposal would harm our communities and our economy. There is already an extraordinary amount of conscientious and effective environmental stewardship in the Aleutians. The PEER nomination was completely without justification, and was against the wishes of every community I’ve been in contact with in the region.”
While in late January the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) informed PEER that its nominating petition was not sufficient to warrant further action, the agency also invited PEER to revise and resubmit a proposal. HJR7 therefore opposes any such similar nomination for the creation of a sanctuary in the region.
PEER called for more than 554,000 nautical miles surrounding the Aleutian Islands – an area nearly equal to the entire land mass of Alaska – to be set aside as a new national marine sanctuary. Local governments and organizations including the City of Adak, Sand Point, the Aleutians East Borough, Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove, and Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference all oppose the petition.
Copies of HJR7 will be sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan and Alaska’s congressional delegation.
