Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

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Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates are available at the
ACV Legislation Page

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ACV Legislative Staff

Suzanne Bostrom
Communications &
Legislative Manager
suzanne@akvoice.org

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ACV- Juneau
419 6 th Street, #321
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 463-3366
(907) 463-2554 fax

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ACV- Anchorage
810 N Street #203
Anchorage, AK 99801
(907) 258-6171
(907) 258-6177 fax

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Web Resources

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Legislature Homepage
Find Your Legislators, member and party links, committee lists

State Homepage
www.state.ak.us
Links to state agencies, Governor

 ACV Homepage
www.acvoters.org

• ACV Endorsed Candidates Prevail
• Knik River Public Use Area Planning and Public Comment Period Has Begun

ACV Endorsed Candidates Prevail

While conservation may not have been a top issue in the recent election, we do know that conservation played a role in motivating supporters in key races. The victory of Joe Thomas over incumbent Ralph Seekins tops the list. Along with some familiar friends, Alaskans can expect to see some new faces down in Juneau.  The final votes for some districts are still being tallied, but ACV and Alaskans have already scored big with the return of one conservation seat in the Senate and the pickup of one new Senate and three new House pro-conservation seats!  Of ACV's 25 endorsed candidates, 18 (20 if Salmon and Doll hold their leads!) successfully defended or earned the title of Alaska State Legislator. 

Translation: conservation is firmly represented in Juneau!  With increasing numbers of pro-conservation legislators on both sides of the aisle, ACV stands ready to help Alaskans get more of what they want: clean water, healthy fisheries, renewable energy and a quality of life that is second to none! 

While the election of Sarah Palin to the Governor's mansion comes as a bit of a surprise, we are hopeful and excited to begin working with her.  The governor elect expressed an intent to work with the conservation community, and work we shall on issues like renewable energy, pebble mine and global warming! 

Below are some the election night V-I-C-T-O-R-Y highlights:   

In Fairbanks' Senate D, Joe Thomas soundly defeated incumbent Ralph Seekins while Scott Kawasaki faced down his opponent to win House District 9.  We look forward to working with both the Senator and Representative elect! 

Conservation champion Sen. Kim Elton easily won reelection in Juneau's Senate District B while newcomer Andrea Doll seems to have narrowly defeated her opponent to pick up another seat for conservation in House District 4!  We will be on the edge of our seats waiting for the tally of the final ballots for her District.

Bush Alaska made it loud and clear in House District 37: No Pebble Mine!  Anti-pebble candidate Bryce Edgmon handedly won his race after a coin toss determined him as his party's nominee.  The results are still out for House District 6, but Rep. Woodie Salmon is ahead after a tough fight.  Woodie, we're keeping our fingers crossed for you!

In Anchorage, Bill Wielechowski earned the trust of voters in Senate District J despite negative campaigning by his opponent.  Across town, Bob Buch picked up a former anti-conservation seat in House District 27 while Rep. Berta Gardner successfully defended her mid-town seat.  Nicely done gentlemen and lady! 

Knik River Public Use Area Planning Has Begun

HB307, which established the Knik River Public Use Area, passed the Legislature this last session in good shape. This controversial bill traveled a very rocky road but saw much in the way of improvement as ACV, local residents and users of this very special place worked closely with the sponsor committee by committee to improve the bill, beef up the fiscal note and look into additional funding options.

With the new land designation officially taking effect as of September 28, 2006, it is now time for the real fun to begin--the planning process. The management plan for the area will rely heavily on stakeholder review and comments. Public comments on the management plan are currently being accepted through January 7 and a website has been set up to accept comments and provide updates. Participation and comments at this stage in the process are vital, as they will help to set the stage for further versions of the management plan.

For those hoping to get any and all updates on the development of the new management plan, the Division of Natural Resources has set up a contact mailing list that can be subscribed to at the following address: http://www.knikriver.alaska.gov/subscribe/index.cfm.

For more information visit:

The Knik River Public Use Area Planning Webpage