Last Tuesday the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly heard arguments against funding a non-profit organization to repair culverts near anadromous stream crossings.
The ordinance sought to fund the Kenai Watershed Forum with $100,000 for those culvert projects critical to fish migration.
Two residents testified against the ordinance, one of whom said the borough shouldn’t be giving money away to non-profit organizations.
Don’t listen.
While we could argue both sides of that sentiment, we have to remember what we are talking about here — not an organization receiving taxpayer funding for its own benefit, but rather an organization wanting to put our tax dollars to work at a 2-to-1 ratio.
Watershed Forum executive director Robert Ruffner explained that means residents will get $300,000 worth of work from a $100,000 investment, all of which will go toward borough land and not the organization.
Let’s not forget the bottom line — healthy fish. The Kenai Watershed Forum has a great track record and there is no other organization we’d rather have at the forefront of protecting our anadromous streams.
Spending $100,000 for the health of our fishery is a no-brainer. Even though it might not put more sockeye, coho or kings up the Kenai River next summer, everyone eventually benefits from a healthy, Peninsula-wide salmon run.
Sure, that is a good deal of money. But it’s an investment we’ll argue for every time.
Comments (1)
Add commentCulvert repairs
The culverts must be repaired in order to maintain healthy fish stocks. As one fisheries biologist put it "Habitat degradation affects the fish every time ocean conditions have a down turn. The only constant is healthy freshwater habitat." Bad culverts caused the loss of an awful lot of spawning habitat in the Lower 48 and is a lesson that can be applied to Alaska.
If a non profit organization wants to do the work and donate their time and labor then let them. It makes more sense than having public employees doing it on the borough's dime.