An excited crowd of volunteers, supporters and spokespeople gathered at the Division of Elections office early this morning as Yes for Salmon – the group behind a ballot initiative that would update the state’s law governing development in salmon habitat – submitted 49,500 signatures to Division of Elections, more than enough to qualify the initiative to appear on the ballot in this year’s election cycle.

“This is a promising moment for all Alaskans,” said Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, Yes for Salmon ballot sponsor and director of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “Tens of thousands of Alaskans from Nome to Ketchikan, from every single legislative district, have said that we want the opportunity to update the laws to reflect a true balance between responsible development and protection of salmon.”

“Good-intentioned, yet irresponsible, development in the Lower 48 wiped out wild salmon populations,” said Gayla Hoseth, another Yes for Salmon ballot sponsor and Second Chief of the Curyung Tribal Council. “This is our chance to make sure Alaska does not repeat that history.”

Initiatives are required to have signatures cover 32 of the 40 house districts. Yes for Salmon is the first initiative in recent memory to submit signatures representing all 40 house districts, underscoring Alaskans’ widespread support for strengthening salmon habitat protections by encouraging responsible development.[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]“Now the Legislature, led by some thoughtful salmon champions, will have one more chance to address this issue and pass HBB 199 in this session,” said Ryan Schryver, campaign director for Stand for Salmon, one of the organizations working to update this particular law. “Otherwise, these signatures mean that establishing responsible development standards around salmon streams will be up to the voters.”

The initiative proposes updates to a 60-year-old law that guides development projects in salmon habitat. Currently, Alaska Department of Fish and Game assesses these development projects based on what the law calls “the proper protection of fish and game.” But without clear guidelines on what “proper protection” is, the standards for permitting are vague. The initiative defines what “proper protection” is, creating clear guidelines that would bring certainty and stability to development projects.

Once signatures are verified by the Division of Elections, the initiative will be bound for one of the state’s upcoming elections.

Yes for Salmon is a diverse group of Alaska-based individuals, businesses, and organizations dedicated to passing a ballot initiative that updates Alaska’s law governing development in salmon habitat. For more information, visit www.yesforsalmon.org.

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