SitNews (Ketchikan, Alaska)  [Printer-friendly version]
March 31, 2006

BROAD COALITION FORMED TO OPPOSE AERIAL PESTICIDE SPRAYING PERMIT

[Rachel's introduction: "DEC has selectively ignored credible, peer-
reviewed scientific evidence that these chemicals are harmful to
people's health and that children are particularly vulnerable. They
are serving the interests of the corporation and not fulfilling their
mandate to protect public health." -- Pam Miller, Executive Director
of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.]

Ketchikan, Alaska -- Today, along with 46 concerned organizations and
individuals, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) filed a
request for an adjudicatory hearing with the state Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC), opposing the aerial pesticide
spraying permit granted to Klukwan, Inc.

The broad coalition of interests includes city governments, federally-
recognized tribal councils, Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian
Tribes of Alaska, Grand Camp of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and
Alaska Native Sisterhood, commercial fishing groups and businesses,
conservation organizations, the Alaska Nurses Association, and
individual health care practitioners and subsistence users. This wide
spectrum of interests has expressed strong concerns about the effects
the pesticides will have on human health, fish, and wildlife.

In Ketchikan, Susan Walsh, R.N., of the Alaska Nurses Association
said, "Many pesticides have proved toxic to human health, so the
Association has adopted a 'precautionary principle' toward them. That
means DEC needs to prove beyond any doubt that these pesticides will
not harm human health. The agency hasn't done that."

On March 1, 2006, DEC issued a permit to Klukwan, Inc. to spray
pesticides by helicopter to kill "unwanted" alder and salmonberry in
previously clearcut land owned by the Native corporation. Klukwan,
Inc. plans to spray pesticides Accord (glyphosate) and Arsenal
(imazapyr) over 1,965 acres on Long Island, near Prince of Wales
Island. Two other chemicals, Competitor (a surfactant) and In-place (a
drift inhibitor), will be mixed with the pesticides. The corporation
received a similar permit last March, but withdrew the project after
DEC put its decision on hold and granted a hearing to resolve
widespread public concerns.

Opponents say the studies DEC used only examine the effects of the
chemicals individually, not in a cocktail mix as Klukwan, Inc. will
actually spray them. Opponents assert the mixing could cause
unanticipated and unstudied effects on people, fish, and wildlife and
could harm the traditional and commercial uses of the areas on and
near Long Island.

"DEC has selectively ignored credible, peer-reviewed scientific
evidence that these chemicals are harmful to people's health and that
children are particularly vulnerable. They are serving the interests
of the corporation and not fulfilling their mandate to protect public
health," states Pamela Miller, Executive Director of Alaska Community
Action on Toxics.

According to Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, many people feel
DEC has brushed aside their concerns. The agency refused to hold a
public hearing in Ketchikan, even though 84 people signed a petition
requesting one. Over 99% of the 1,298 total comments DEC received for
this permit (918 comments) and the previous permit (380 comments)
opposed spraying.

Tom Morrison, Mayor of Hydaburg says, "People are worried. DEC has
totally neglected an overwhelmingly negative response, and hasn't
answered valid, concrete questions. Nobody has ever come up and said
'this is good for people and good for Alaska.""

Mayor Morrison said the Haida people in the area have hunted, fished,
and gathered traditional foods and medicines on Long Island for
generations. There are options for clearing the alder and
salmonberries other than spraying pesticides, such as mechanical
thinning.

Rob Sanderson, a Haida who lives in Ketchikan and President of the
Ketchikan chapter of Central Council Tlingit and Haida, said "The
Haida have strong ancestral ties to Long Island. It is a place our
families used for generations past and that we use now, yet DEC
refuses to listen to our concerns about how spraying pesticides where
we get our food will affect us. It's a hideous plan. Why can't they
put a thinning crew out there?"

Kimberly Strong, Tribal Council President of Chilkat Indian Village of
Klukwan, said "This permit goes against traditional tribal values of
mutual respect for people and their traditional use areas."

"I have grandchildren, and my concern is for children and the
elderly," says Joe Hotch, a Klukwan Village tribal judge and elder.
"They are victims of something they don't have any control over. We
wouldn't want people spraying pesticides here where we get our
traditional foods."

Another unifying concern is the precedent this permit sets to allow
aerial spraying of chemicals for forestry vegetation management
purposes near salmon streams, hunting areas, and locations used for
gathering traditional foods and other resources.

Buck Lindekugel of SEACC says "This permit opens the door for aerial
spraying on private clearcut lands all over Southeast and the rest of
Alaska. Spraying pesticides where people fish and gather food would
poison the lifestyle and livelihoods many Alaskans treasure."

Hearing Requestors:

City of Hydaburg;
Hydaburg Cooperative Association;
Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan;
Klawock Cooperative Association;
Organized Village of Kasaan;
Craig Community Association;
Ketchikan Indian Community;
Organized Village of Saxman;
Organized Village of Kake;
Petersburg Indian Association;
Hoonah Indian Association;
Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska;
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council;
Alaska Native Brotherhood & Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp;
United Fishermen of Alaska;
Alaska Trollers Association;
Seafood Producers Cooperative;
Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association;
Alaska Wild Salmon Company;
United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters;
Alaska Community Action on Toxics;
Prince of Wales Conservation;
Tongass Conservation Society;
Naha Bay Preservation Coalition;
Tongass Cave Project;
Lower Chatham Conservation Society;
Sitka Conservation Society;
Lynn Canal Conservation;
Cook Inlet Keeper;
Kachemak Bay Conservation Society;
Alaska Youth for Environmental Action;
Alaska Nurses Association;
Michael W. Tobin, M.D.;
Myron Fribush, M.D.;
Anya Maier, M.D.;
Adam Grove, N.D.;
Birgit Lenger, N.D.;
Jeri Rosenthal, R.N.;
Andre LeCornu, R.N.;
Jenny Pursell, L.C.S.W.;
Mike Sallee;
Dave McFadden;
Robert Sanderson;
Carrie L. James;
Joe Hotch;
Reverends Val and Sal Burattin;
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

Related Information:

DEC Long Island Trust Pesticide Permit Application for Aerial Use of
Pesticides for Forestry Vegetation management -- Decision Document
Dated March 1, 2006