Commissioner discusses fish, game issues

December 9, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Frontiersman Valley Life editor

WASILLA - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game commissioner addressed numerous issues with a crowd of about 100 people Wednesday night at Wasilla High School, and touted a $1 million project to study fish stocks in the Susitna Valley drainage.

The meeting was an opportunity for the public to meet Commissioner McKie Campbell and ask questions about everything from hunter education issues to predator control in game management units.

Campbell said the fish-stock study, the department's top capital priority, will include DNA sampling and sonar counts that will target Valley sockeye, to see the effect interception by commercial fishermen in Cook Inlet has on the dwindling stock.

&#8220It is a serious problem. It is a serious problem that we are taking very seriously,” Campbell said. &#8220Obviously there is some interception involved with this, and we are going to find out how much.”

Sockeye returns on the Yentna River have dipped to record lows, shutting down sport-fishing opportunities throughout the drainage. Last year, fewer than 37,000 sockeyes were counted, less than half of the river's escapement goal.

Campbell said the proposed studies will be completed quickly, to evaluate what management needs to do to save the stock.

&#8220In fairly rapid fashion, we are going to be able to say to what extent interception of the Northern District is having. There is no doubt there is some,” he said. &#8220In every fishery in the state there is. We have to find out to what extent.”

Matanuska Valley Fish and Game advisory committee member Bruce Knowles encouraged the commissioner to study other salmon stocks as well, noting a dwindling chum population in addition to the sockeye problems.

&#8220No studies have ever been done. Why is that?” Knowles asked. &#8220Never.”

Much like the sockeye populations, moose populations were a hot topic during the three-hour meeting.

Advisory committee chairman Wayne Kubat said he was encouraged by the public's response to the commissioner's visit.

&#8220I think it went well. A lot of good information was presented. I think a lot of people wanted some hard and fast answers, but I didn't expect that to happen. I appreciated the commissioner's sincerity with a lot of the issues,” Kubat said. &#8220It was the first time we hosted something like that. The big plus is that it keeps some of the problems on the burner, and maybe we can get 30 or 40 people who were there to be more involved.”

The meeting also had a political feel to it, as &#8220the former administration” was blamed for fish and wildlife management issues on three different occasions, and Campbell repeatedly mentioned that he can't speak for the department's actions prior to his arrival as commissioner earlier this year.

&#8220We should have the best fish and wildlife department in the country, and right now, we have some problems,” Campbell said. &#8220We are working toward becoming the best fish and wildlife department in the country once again, like we were before.”

Contact Casey Ressler at

352-2265 or valleylife@

frontiersman.com.