The Chuitna River, home to all five species of wild Pacific salmon, needs your help. Between Feb. 23 and Mar. 10, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will accept comments from the public about Chuitna Citizens Coalition’s applications for Water Reservations for Middle Creek. Middle Creek is an important salmon spawning tributary of the Chuitna River in Upper Cook Inlet, where PacRim Coal proposes to strip mine through nearly 14 miles of wild salmon stream to send coal to Asian markets. We have a small window of opportunity to stop this now, once the first project is allowed it opens the door for many other projects, meaning many more miles of salmon bearing streams destroyed.
The public comment period is only open for two weeks, and I hope that you will join me in asking Gov. Walker and DNR to protect water in streams for salmon and reject coal strip mining through salmon streams. Submit written comments by email (kimberly.sager@alaska.gov), fax (907‐269‐8904), or deliver to the Department of Natural Resources, 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1070, Anchorage, Alaska 99501‐3514 by March 10, 2015, before 5:00 p.m. to be considered. Keeping water in streams for salmon is important for subsistence, recreation, the commercial fishing industry, our economy, and our way of life in Alaska.