Tag Archive for: hot takes in a cold place

Hot Takes in a Cold Place: Something Smells Fishy in Southcentral Alaska

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Have you ever attended a public comment meeting that didn’t want the public to comment? 

I have. 

Six, actually. 

All in one week!

The owners of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project held information–erm, “public comment”–meetings last week in Palmer, Anchorage, and Eagle River. 

They were certainly “informational,” to say the least. Charts, numbers, and graphics, oh my. Cherry-picked information to intentionally mislead information could be found throughout, such as:

  • Intentionally skimming over the fact that sockeye will be unable to spawn and rear their young in the lake with the current proposed plan
  • Claimed to restore 99.6% of habitat (below the dam – failed to mention the miles of potential habitat above the dam).
  • Pointed out that 11 out of 12 miles of river will be restored. Which sounds pretty good, if you forget that this is only about 1/3 of historic fish habitat destroyed by the dam.
  • Failed to mention that the dam currently supplies just about 2-3% of electricity on the grid. They’d rather mention the percentage that it makes up of their renewables portfolio – why is that, you might ask? Well, potentially because they’ve refused to build their renewables portfolio for so long. But what do I know?

Perhaps the most important thing that the project owners (represented by an out-of-state consulting group…) failed to mention is the century of cultural harm that this dam has inflicted upon the Native Village of Eklutna. 

They were, however, eager to mention the negotiation meeting they held with the Native Village of Eklutna in December.

The negotiations meeting… from which NVE’s position was not taken into account in the project proposal. 

And I forgot to mention; the Native of Eklutna, on whose land the dam was installed without consultation nor consent, did not get a voice at the meeting. The project owners, quite literally, refused to give the Native Village of Eklutna a seat at the table. 

After stripping them of their fish and river for one hundred years, after Eklutna, Inc. has provided land for schools, power plant sites, and utility easements, and at a time in which the country is finally recognizing the need for reparations and tribal sovereignty. 

They couldn’t find the time, nor humanity, to give Eklutna people an effective voice in the decision-making about their traditional Eklutna River salmon resources. 

Not one chair. 

Shameful, rises to mind. A few other words too, but I won’t include those here. 

These were not public comment meetings. Sure, they had a table (out of the way of their posters and presentation and scientists) to receive written comments. But the public was not allowed to voice their concerns in a forum for others to hear. When folks did begin to ask questions or provide comments in a public forum, as is typically allowed at a public comment meeting, representatives from MEA and CEA shut them down and directed them to talk with one of their “experts,” in private. 

Shameful. Shady. Something smells fishy in Southcentral Alaska. It’s not the Eklutna River.  And it doesn’t seem like it will be, anytime soon. 

Unless we take action. Join me in telling the project owners what we think about their plan, and their treatment of Eklutna people.

Eklutna, Inc. continues to take the stance that fishing access will be open to all Southcentral anglers once the fish return. Together, we can make this change for the better. For the future.

The most impactful thing you can do right now is submit a unique comment. If you don’t have time, here’s a prefilled comment.

The fish still have a chance. The Native Village of Eklutna still has a chance. Justice still has a chance. 


In solidarity for justice and the Eklutna River’s future,

Julian Ramirez, Salmon and Clean Water Organizer

The Alaska Center

A special step towards a better future

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What if Alaskans have the power to change the trajectory of our entire nation? We know that might sound like pie-in-the-sky dreaming or potentially the ramblings of an overly optimistic team committed to our climate future. But honestly, right now, this special election could influence national politics more than you may realize.

Recently we had the chance to vote in our special runoff primary, and we have three candidates to choose from in the August special election. These 3 candidates show us three routes our state could take depending on who rises to the top in the next Ranked Choice election. We could be looking at an extremist conservative candidate with a history of abandoning our state in times of need. We could have an even more extreme candidate who wants to remove bodily autonomy and destroy the EPA. Or we could make another choice, and the seat left open by Don Young could be filled with a progressive candidate who has shown their commitment to protecting our salmon, our communities, and our way of life in Alaska.

Isn’t it about time an Indigenous woman represents our state? Isn’t it about time we let our leaders know that the attacks on our bodily autonomy, environmental protections, and accessible voting are not just decisions Alaskans will sit idly by and watch? Isn’t it time we show the rest of the nation what change can look like and what we need leadership to be?

Sure this special election is for a limited term, but this first special election has the ability to set the stage for an election season where Alaskans say we want progressive leaders to make effective and long-lasting policy decisions for the country. Decisions that can help turn the direction of our climate and our country’s future.

And while this special term is only a few months, whoever gets elected has a much stronger chance of being elected in November. When people turn up to vote, the political infrastructure (campaigns, parties, and political spenders) listens. This is an opportunity for Alaskans to influence bigger and broader elections.

This election is a chance to show up and move the needle for our climate and our communities. When we show up at the polls, we show leadership that we are active and will stay engaged. Our numbers in elections can set the tone, and our leaders can expect to be held accountable for the length of their term.

This year, Alaskans have a lot of elections, and each of them holds the power to make a significant change in our state and our country. This special election can be more special than we may even know. Don’t forget this Sunday is the Voter registration deadline for the special house election.

Keep your eye on the prize, and together we can build a future for all Alaskans.
The Alaska Center

Fair Maps and Power Grabs

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New legislative district boundaries are drawn every ten years based on the most recent census data. In 2021 the Alaska Redistricting Board adopted a final redistricting plan for Alaska, which delineates the districts legislators will represent. The politics of redistricting are rife with power grabs, and the maps are almost always litigated.

The balance of power in the Legislature is closely divided between Republicans and the Tri-Partisan coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The Redistricting Board is composed of a majority of Republicans, and the outcome was a map that was challenged in court on numerous fronts. The central point was that the state Senate district pairing part of east Anchorage and Eagle River constituted an “unconstitutional political gerrymander.” The court agreed and gave the Redistricting Board until April 15 to revise its maps.

Each Senate District contains two House districts. In the case of the Eagle River/East Anchorage gerrymander, the Redistricting Board adopted a Senate District that, instead of combining the two staunchly conservative Eagle River House districts, merged one of the conservative Eagle River districts with a more moderate Muldoon district. Notably, that district in question has a much greater BIPOC population than Eagle River. Should the courts have left the Senate district in place, the effect would have been a district that watered down the voting impact of Muldoon residents. There was intense disagreement from Melanie Bahnke and Nicole Borromeo, the only two redistricting board members not appointed by staunch Republicans–and the only two Alaska Native women on the Board. Ms. Bahnke and Borromeo stood up to the rest of the Board when this plan was adopted on a majority line vote, and their fight for fair representation ultimately prevailed.

The Alaska Redistricting Board has been required by the courts to revise their maps so that Alaskan voices are more equitably represented. The Redistricting Board will take public testimony tomorrow (Saturday, April 2) at 2:00 p.m. To participate in:
Anchorage, call 907-563-9085
Juneau: 907-586-9085
Other: 844-586-9085.

This Saturday is a critical opportunity to submit comments to the Redistricting Board. If you cannot be at Saturday’s meeting, you can also submit written comments in advance at https://www.akredistrict.org/map-comment/

The main talking points are:

The Board should act immediately to comply with the court’s requirements and minimize confusion if this process is dragged out. It is in the public interest to swiftly adopt a map with final senate pairings so that voters can familiarize themselves with their new districts, precincts, and voting locations, on top of a new election system (RCV) and an unprecedented special election. The redistricting Board has an obligation to the public to resolve this quickly to avoid voter confusion and disenfranchisement.

In Anchorage, the Board should adopt the Senate pairings proposed by Redistricting Board member Melanie Bahnke instead of coming up with new pairings. These pairings, proposed by Melanie Bahnke, have been presented and considered on the record and were informed by public input and testimony. These pairings do not change districts’ underlying deviation and uphold the one person, one vote principle. In addition, they are the common-sense geographic and socioeconomic pairings (keeping Muldoon w/ Muldoon, West Anc. w/ West Anc, Eagle River w/ Eagle River, etc.).

Plan to participate and help secure Alaska’s more just and equitable redistricting map.

Thank you!
The Alaska Center