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33-year-old eagle still gives data
CIA sweeps Ninilchik
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CLARION
Sun and snow 40/13 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 128
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Alaskans weigh in for federal fisheries hearing
Question Do you think Alaska’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage should be repealed? n Yes; or n No. To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
Senate draft of act due out in March By Molly Dischner Alaska Journal of Commerce
the last time the code was revised was twenty years ago and that many of the specifications are out of date or are not flexible enough to allow for positive city development. Dixson outlined some of the changes to the code for the council. He said previously the code did not state that alleys are not city maintained, so that prevision was added. Residential streets were changed to local streets because local better defines the streets that provide direct access to
Subsistence and recreational fishers asked for a louder voice in the fishery management process at a congressional hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Act today. The Senate’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held a hearing on Alaska and North Pacific perspectives on the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization currently underway. The act, or MSA, regulates management of federal fisheries from three miles to 200 miles offshore. It was implemented in 1976, and most recently updated in 2006. Now it’s up for reauthorization, with amendments likely part of the process. The Feb. 27 hearing in Washington, D.C. was one of several held in both the House and Senate on possible changes. Commercial representatives, the environmental sector, and fishery managers also participated in the hearing, talking about what is working — and what isn’t — from their perspectives. Sen. Mark Begich, who chaired the hearing, offered a perspective on how the MSA is working so far, and said a Senate draft of the act is in the works. He was careful to refer to all three sectors, not just commercial users, when talking about who relies on fisheries in Alaska. He also noted the value of recreational fisheries to coastal economies, particularly anglers targeting halibut and salmon. He also referenced the longhistory of subsistence fishing. “Managing all these fish and all the users is never easy,” he said. As-is, the MSA largely addresses commercial fisheries management. The House Natural Resources Committee released their draft in December. Begich said the Senate draft could be out near the end of March, but that the committee wanted to gather as much input as possible before working on the legislation. Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Ricky Gease was one of several fishing industry representatives to participate in the hearing. He spoke largely about the recreational sector, and what is needed in the next iteration of the MSA. In terms of commercial management, he said, the MSA is being polished, and in terms of conservation efforts, the law is being further developed. “I think for the recreational fisheries in this country, we’re asking to be in stage one in this reauthorization process, where we get the basic definitions, characteristics and tools in the toolbox for regulators and managers to realize the full economic and social values
See STREETS, page A-10
See FISH , page A-10
In the news House moves school zone cell phone ban
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House Community and Regional Affairs Committee unanimously moved a bill Thursday that would allow municipalities to ban cellphones in school zones and on school property. Sen. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, sponsored the bill allowing school districts discretion for setting up rules regarding cellphone use in and around schools and school zones for public safety. The committee moved the bill Thursday. “The Anchorage Assembly worked on this for a long time before realizing there needs to an enabling act from the state Legislature allowing them to do this,” Meyer said. Rep. Lora Reinbold, REagle River, suggested that parked cars be exempted because many parents park their cars near schools and call or text their children for pickup after school. Reinbold’s request was attached as a note to the bill. Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, asked how municipalities could realistically enforce such a measure. Meyer said crossing guards have told him they are able to go up to honest parents and ask them to turn off their cellphones while in a school zone and they will comply. “I don’t like to tell people how to live their lives,” said Meyer. “But in this case, we’re not setting the law here.” The bill goes to the House Judiciary Committee.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................B-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics.................. C-7
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Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Monica Zappa, of Ninilchik plays with three of her sled dogs Tuesday Feb. 25, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska. Zappa plans to race her team on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for the first time this year.
First-timer racing for Bristol Bay By Dan Balmer Peninsula Clarion
The road to her first Iditarod has been full of obstacles, but for Monica Zappa of Kasilof, she has too much on the line to quit now. Zappa, 30, is one of 16 rookies in a field of 69 competing in the 42nd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which begins with the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage Saturday and restarts in Willow Sunday. As a member of Osmar Racing, under the leadership of 23-time Iditarod racer Tim
Osmar, Zappa said if she was going to make the journey to Nome, she wanted her first race to stand for something. So, she dedicated her race to the preservation of salmon in Bristol Bay. “I wanted to mush for something,” she said. “If I was going to commit full on I wanted it to be for a bigger purpose.” Zappa has worked as a commercial fisher for the past four years and her partner Osmar has been a commercial fisherman his entire life. The last two years Osmar Racing has toured the lower 48, sponsored by Trout Unlimited, to spread
awareness of the effects the proposed Pebble Mine could have on one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world. Zappa said half of the salmon in the United States comes from Bristol Bay. Losing that resource would be detrimental for many Alaskans and have a widespread impact on the rest of the country, she said. Zappa grew up around dog mushing in Wisconsin. It wasn’t until she moved to Kasilof in the fall of 2010 to work as a dog handler and teamed up with Osmar See MUSH, page A-10
Early run of Kenai kings closed ADFG announces first preseason king closure in 49 years By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
For the first time since 1965 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced a preseason closure of fishing for Kenai River early run king salmon. A preseason forecast for the run estimated 2,230 fish to make a run on the river, less than half of what is needed to reach the lower end of the ADFG optimum escapement goal of 5,300 fish. The early run sport fishery for kings will be closed beginning May 1 through June 30 from the Kenai River mouth upstream to Skilak Lake and the Moose River from its confluence with the Kenai river upstream to the northern edge of the Sterling Highway bridge. Kings may not be targeted or retained. Initially, area managers said they would
likely start the 2014 king salmon fishing season on catch-and-release fishing — similar to the 2013 season. Currently ADFG estimates about an 8.25 percent mortality rate on kings caught and released. Last year, catch-and-release fishing on the early run of king salmon resulted in a catch of fewer than 80 fish and ADFG managers estimate a mortality of about five fish, said Robert Begich, ADFG area management biologist, during a February presentation to Alaska’s Board of Fisheries. “It provides opportunity and it doesn’t kill a lot of fish,” said assistant area management biologist Jason Pawluk. Managers can also use inseason creel data, or angler surveys, as a tool to corroborate data coming from the inriver sonar used to count the kings by comparing it to reports coming from fishers on the river.
However, the idea of any kind of fishing on the ailing early run did not sit well with some members of the Board of Fisheries. Chairman Karl Johnstone said he had a “hard time understanding” how any mortality was acceptable to area managers. “Why would you do that? Why would you consider having any fish killed at the beginning of this season?” Johnstone said to Begich after the biologist’s presentation. In 2013, the preseason forecast for early run kings was 5,300 fish, but the final escapement estimate was 2,032 fish according to ADFG data. “You have an estimate, a forecast of 2,230 king salmon which is about twofifths of the required minimum escapement and if you’re close to what you did last year, you could be off again,” Johnstone See KINGS, page A-10
Commercial traffic restricted in Soldotna Council says city streets off-limits, state highways still available By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
After multiple postponements following its October introduction, the Soldotna City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting commercial vehicles on city streets Wednesday. The ordinance calls for a $100 fine from violators but allows for exceptions when vehicles are making deliveries, pickups or providing services that require travel on a city street. The ordinance originally called for prohibiting commer-
cial vehicles from certain city streets, however it was determined city code would need to be updated for the ordinance to be accurate. The council postponed the ordinance to allow for code updates to street definitions to be made, which the council also did when it passed a separate ordinance to amend city code for streets, sidewalks and public places at its meeting. “What we finally ended up doing with the ordinance is just prohibiting all commercial traffic on all city streets,” City Manager Mark Dixson said.
“Simply because when you get into city streets, there are not arterial streets that we have that are actually city streets.” He said the only arterial roads, which have high traffic volumes, in city limits are state roads — the Kenai Spur Highway, Kalifornsky Beach Road and the Sterling Highway. Dixson said enforcement of the ban would most likely be complaint driven by residents. The second and last public hearing item the council took up was an ordinance to amend the city’s street codes. According to the ordinance, C
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