ConserveOnline - Alaska's Salmon Protection Program, by Frank Rue

You are here: Home → workspaces → Alaska Salmon Habitat Prediction Workshop → Session I: Alaska's Wild Salmon Program → Alaska's Salmon Protection Program, by Frank Rue

Alaska's Salmon Protection Program, by Frank Rue

By Web Admin on 6/1/2007 | Keyword(s): Session i: alaska's wild salmon program

The Anadromous Fish Act (AS 41.14.870) provides the most significant protection for freshwater anadromous fish habitat in Alaska. The Act is administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It requires that certain activities and uses that may impact anadromous fish habitat get a permit form DNR before proceeding. Conducting these activities without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Because the statute requires a permit before certain activities can occur, and failure to get the permit is a criminal offense, the legislation requires DNR to identify the streams and lakes where the law applies. DNR does this by adopting the Anadromous Waters Catalog (Catalog) by regulation. ADF&G is responsible, in consultation with DNR, for determining which streams in Alaska qualify as anadromous and thus can be in the Catalog. ADF&G requires that anadromous specie(s) be identified by a qualified observer before it will include a stream or lake in the Catalog. ADF&G estimates that less than half the anadromous streams in Alaska are currently in the Catalog, the others are yet to be field verified as anadromous. ADF&G believes a model predicting the presence of anadromous salmonids will, among many other benefits, make it far more efficient to do the necessary field work to verify the presence of anadromous salmonids and thus bring more streams under the protections of the Anadromous Fish Act.

ConserveOnline is a part of the Conservation Commons. Some content may be subject to Creative Commons licenses.
© ConserveOnline.