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Issues

Some of the on-going conservation issues we are working on include:

Roads and Ferries

The proposed road from Juneau to the Katzehin

The Alaska Marine Highway route from Juneau to Haines and Skagway is a spectacularly scenic and relaxing ferry ride along the Lynn Canal, a fjord that is as beautiful and pristine as any in the world.  Fjord walls steeply rise from sea level to 7,000 feet.  Road building would require blasting apart miles of steep mountainous terrain to create a horizontal roadbed, and is nothing short of madness.  The proposed road would cross 36 avalanche paths in 22 miles.  In addition to being life threatening, the road is predicted be closed for 34.5 days each winter for snowplowing, helicopter bombing of avalanches, and maintenance.  After predicting the amount of road closure time, the Alaska Department of Transportation commissioned a geotechnical report – the first on-the-ground analysis of this rugged terrain. In addition to the avalanches, the report identified 112 geological hazards, including falling rock, debris slides, landslides and areas of slope instability. Rockfall hazards include car to house-size "mega-boulders". 37 of the 112 identified hazards could be of sufficient volume to close the highway for weeks at a time. (View the report...)

If built, a road would cause major environmental damage to Berners Bay and the eastern shore of Lynn Canal, and could compromise a Steller sea lion haulout at Gran Point. The road would dead-end at the Katzehin mud flats – population zero - where a new ferry terminal would be constructed and passengers would be ferried to Haines and Skagway. This $500 million (and counting) boondoggle is a pointless 50-mile dead-end road extension to a new ferry terminal.

After participating in public hearings and submitting technical comments on project logistics, costs, and environmental consequences, LCC and five other groups filed a lawsuit, which has stopped road construction pending a new environmental review that fully considers ferry alternatives.  The state of Alaska is appealing this victory.

To view the potential Lynn Canal construction zone go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=fai9UT8ZRrk

See related Tee Shirt offer - "Stop the Dead End"

Sustainable Salmon

Protecting our Wild Salmon

Haines’ two pristine watersheds, the Chilkat and Chilkoot, provide outstanding habitat for all five species of wild Pacific salmon. Watershed protection is essential because human activities in Northeastern America and Northern Europe decimated wild Atlantic salmon populations and endangered wild salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest.  We cannot allow these mistakes to be repeated here.  Proposed hydro and mining developments, as well as existing commercial jet boat traffic and excessive logging threaten these resources. 

Commercial jet boat tours in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

High-powered commercial jet boats have been allowed entry into important salmon habitat, causing riverbank erosion, damaging juvenile salmon rearing areas, and increasing turbidity and sedimentation.  Large boat wakes likely cause egg and fry mortality.

Click to view  video and pictures of bank erosion on the Chilkat River inside the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

Sustainable Economies

The Marine Stewardship Council designated the Alaska salmon fishery sustainable.  Wild Alaska salmon are far healthier for consumers and the environment than the farmed fish alternative.

Commercial fishing is the sustainable driver of Southeast Alaska’s economy, and healthy and productive fish habitat is an essential part of our economic future. LCC works to protect the health of Alaska's fish and wildlife populations and to support regulations that promote clean water and stream protection for Southeast Alaskan watersheds.  We recognize the cultural significance of wild salmon to Southeast Alaska tribes, and the importance of subsistence harvests to rural coastal communities. 

Mining

The Kensington Mine

Over the years LCC successfully worked to prevent on-site use of cyanide and the dumping of marine tailings at Kensington, either of which could have harmed the Lynn Canal fishery. We opposed dumping mine wastes into pristine Lower Slate Lake as a violation of the Clean Water Act. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with us, but the U.S. Supreme Court did not. Click for more information

Constantine Metals Exploration

Constantine Metals is exploring what it terms “North America’s next major massive sulfide find.”  The ore is in the same geological belt as the Greens Creek Mine, which is currently leaching heavy metals into salmon habitat.  This type of acid producing mine at the headwaters of the Chilkat could pose a very serious threat to some of the most productive wild salmon spawning and rearing habitat in Southeast Alaska.

Forestry

LCC continues to work toward moving logging practices away from clearcutting and toward small-scale selective cutting and value added processing in the Haines State Forest. We successfully advocated for banning the use of pesticides, but were unable to stop overlogging of the Kelsall drainage, resulting in major loss of king salmon habitat in a once productive area.

Renewable Energy

Salmon-safe Hydro

Our local power provider supplies 95 to 100% of Haines and Skagway electricity with clean, renewable hydro power.  Alaska Power and Telephone recently received two Alaska Energy Authority grants to explore the feasibility of developing additional hydro sites at Connelly Lake and Schubee Lake.  While we fully support hydro development at Schubee Lake, we strongly oppose hydro development at Connelly Lake, which is located at the headwaters of the Chilkoot.  Hydro development in this sensitive habitat could threaten important Chilkoot sockeye and coho spawning and rearing areas.  This is an unacceptable and unnecessary risk because hydro can be safely developed at Schubee Lake, without impacting salmon habitat. Click for more information on hydro power.

We believe that wind energy and energy conservation have yet to receive adequate scrutiny to replace the diesel generation that provides up to 5% of current energy use.

Tourism and Wildlife Conservation

Helicopters and Wildlife

Every summer thousands of tourists helicopter into remote areas in Alaska, areas that provide critical habitat for mountain goats, bears, and other wildlife.  Studies show that helicopter overflights are more stressful to wildlife than fixed wing overflights at similar altitudes.  Some of the documented wildlife impacts of overflights include:

  • excessive arousal or stress
  • interference with raising young
  • evacuation of prime habitat
  • increased vulnerability to predation
  • reduced foraging efficiency

These physiological and behavioral responses can reduce an animal's overall fitness and ability to survive.

During winter and spring, helicopters transport growing numbers of skiers and snowboarders into mountain goat and denning bear and wolverine habitat.  At that time, female goats are in the third trimester and are more susceptible to stress, which can cause the fetus to be reabsorbed.  When disturbed, wolverines have been observed to abandon dens.  LCC continues to advocate for control areas where helicopters are not allowed to land, larger wildlife buffers, GPS monitoring for compliance, and a definitive wildlife study to determine science based guidelines for managing heli-tourism.
(See  related Tee Shirt offer).