The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last week, Jan. 14, to discuss the potential establishment of critical habitat areas for humpback whales in Southeast Alaska.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association is proposing these habitat areas be set up all along the Pacific coastline, from Alaska to southern California. NOAA officials held a meeting in Petersburg on Jan. 6 to discuss this proposal. According to a report by the Sentinel's sister-paper, the Petersburg Pilot, these habitat areas are meant to protect the feeding areas for three distinct groups of humpback whales. Lisa Manning, with NOAA, said in the Petersburg meeting that the establishment of these habitat areas, covering 175,000 square nautical miles, would only affect federal activities. A full summary of NOAA's proposal can be found in the Jan. 9 edition of the Petersburg Pilot.
Wrangell resident Chris Guggenbickler was present at the Petersburg meeting, and shared his opinions on the proposal. A lot of people are concerned about how establishing these whale habitats could impact Southeast Alaska, he said, especially the fishing industry. He said that the whale populations NOAA is trying to protect do not really spend a lot of time in Southeast, and the populations that are struggling only spend a small percentage of their time in the area. The majority of humpbacks that feed in Southeast Alaska spend their winters around Hawaii, Guggenbickler said. However, there is also a population segment of humpbacks that winter in Mexico. This population is struggling, with numbers around 2,800, he said, and of these only a small percentage feed in Southeast.
"They figure about 2 percent of that population feeds in Southeast Alaska," Guggenbickler said. "So 2 percent of 2,800 animals that we're trying to protect that could potentially be threatened are here in the midst of, competing for food with these Hawaiian whales that are doing just fine."
On top of that, Guggenbickler added that many fishermen are concerned about the economic impact these habitat areas could have. While the habitats themselves would present a relatively low cost, according to Guggenbickler around $800,000 over 10 years, additional costs could trickle down to those trying to work in the area. There could be potential costs for trying to drive a piling, for example, or laying a hydropower line through these habitats, and it would just add to the burden of cost and red tape for those trying to make a living in the region.
Mayor Steve Prysunka added to this concern, saying that these habitats could impact more than just fishermen in the region. The establishment of these whale habitats could make important work for the Wrangell community that much harder.
"Fisheries is one element of this," he said. "There is an industrial component that is almost immeasurable."
After some minor discussion amongst themselves, the assembly decided to approve a formal stance opposing the establishment of these humpback whale habitats. A draft of a letter outlining the assembly's stance, attached to the meeting's agenda packet, states that the economic lifeblood of Southeast Alaska is tightly tied to the ocean, and urges officials to take a "common sense" approach to the proposal without any unnecessary regulatory burden on Southeast Alaskan communities.
Another topic brought up during the meeting, by Assembly Member Julie Decker, was a potential ban on plastic bags in Wrangell. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a serious issue, she said, and plastic bags make up a lot of it. The problem with plastic bags, she said, is that recycling plants do not accept plastic bags because they gum up their machines. With the ocean being so important to Southeast Alaska, Decker wanted the assembly to begin considering a plastic bag ban. Several other communities across the state have already implemented plastic bag bans of their own, such as Anchorage and Unalaska.
"I would like to consider looking at what other communities in Alaska have done, there's about eight or ten of them, that have either implemented or are working on implementing a single-use plastic bag ban in their communities," Decker said.
The assembly agreed that this was worth looking into, and decided to begin researching a potential bag ban. If the assembly decides it is worth going forward, Decker said she would like the item to be put on a ballot for the voters to decide on.
During the meeting, the assembly also approved of a resolution in support of community partnerships to strengthen Wrangell's "social fabric." According to the meeting's agenda packet, the Wrangell School District approached the borough back in December, concerned about students struggling with their mental health for various reasons. In response, the borough developed a calendar of activities for people to enjoy over the holiday break. A high turnout to these events highlighted the need for the Wrangell community to come together even more. They adopted this resolution to indicate their support for helping the school district, and other community stakeholders, in further collaboration to strengthen Wrangell's "social fabric."
"I think about what was pulled off in basically a week ... It was amazing how people came together. That's Wrangell, it really is." Prysunka said. "I agree that we need to open this wide open."
Among other topics covered in the meeting, the assembly approved a motion to join the Alaska Municipal League Investment Pool, approved the purchase of a dump truck at no more than $80,000, and approved the use of maintenance funding by the school district for brick work repairs at the cost of $9,500.
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