Never a dull moment

As Charlton Heston’s character stated in the movie “Mountain Man,” some people “don’t have the brains God gave geese.”

I saw this same situation when I worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) Sport Fish Division (SFD) Access Program. The sad part is that there are only a small minority of brain-dead vandals who ruin things for the rest of us.

What am I ranting about? Some trigger-happy vandal(s) shot up and destroyed an interpretive panel located at Reflections Lake in the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge at the Knik River Access off the Glenn Highway. This panel is part of an informational kiosk that was constructed by a local Boy Scout as part of his Eagle Scout project. The kiosk and panel have been in place for maybe four months. This was one piece of several improvements recently made around Reflections Lake. Several hundred feet of boardwalk were built and the trail was improved all the way around the lake.

Plans for this upcoming summer involve building a 95-foot-long footbridge over the lake outlet and installing restrooms, benches, picnic tables, interpretive panels, an elevated viewing tower and other items to upgrade the site. It would be a wayside for the Glenn Highway Scenic Byway.

Funding options are being explored to upgrade and pave the rest of the frontage road and parking lot at the river and improve that area for boaters who are primarily duck hunters and anglers.

The kiosk was vandalized sometime between Jan. 16 and Feb. 12. If you have any information regarding this vandalism, you can call Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers at 745-4247 or e-mail the information to www.matsu-crimestoppers.org. The Alaska Wildlife Troopers case number is 10-12303. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward if their information given leads to an arrest or grand jury indictment of a felony offender.

This sort of senseless vandalism has always bothered me. Finding dollars to do this sort of work can be difficult and the funds usually are limited. There are no deep pockets with unlimited resources available for public facility improvements. Often, volunteers from the local community who appreciate the publicly accessed site end up both funding and making the improvements to a lot of these lesser-known locations.

On another topic, the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) will meet in Anchorage starting Tuesday for its Statewide Finfish meeting. There are something like 35 proposals on which deliberations and final actions will be taken. Four days have been set aside for that work. Currently, two days at the end of the meeting have been set aside to deal with the Chitna dipnetting situation, but board members have already been warned that an extra day might be needed to resolve this issue.

For the main meeting, in addition to the published proposals, a couple of emergency petitions will most likely be presented. One of those deals with how ADF&G manages the Northern District sockeye salmon escapements.

There are several proposals that could be of interest to valley residents. One looks at banning the use of felt-soled wading boots because of the possible introduction and spread of diseases and parasites. Another asks that no dipnetting be allowed in a river system until that system’s escapement goals have been met. A related proposal asks to eliminate the requirement of having a sports fishing license in order to fish in a personal use fishery.

One proposal asks to eliminate the maximum 58-foot length limit of salmon seine vessels. Another attempts to define an electric fishing reel and whether it will be legal to use. There is a proposal to establish the definition of an artificial fly and one which would allow crew members on sportsfishing charter boats to fish for and retain personal fish while paying clients are on-board and fishing.

The Chitna “meeting within a meeting” came about as the result of a lawsuit filed against the BOF by the Chitna Dipnetters’ Association. They want to see the Chitna dipnet fishery classified as a subsistence fishery instead of its current personal use classification. When the court handed down the ruling on the lawsuit, the state prevailed on every issue except having a definition of the “subsistence way of life.” The court ordered the BOF to develop a definition of that term and then go back through the process of reviewing the Chitna dipnet fishery in light of that definition to determine how the fishery should be classified.

As you can see, there are multiple topics the board will take action on that could affect Valley residents. If you have the time and the inclination to make your voice heard, or at least listen in on the discussions during this BOF meeting, the fireworks will occur at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Anchorage. Work will get under way every morning starting at 8 a.m. I’m not sure when the cut-off times are to sign up for public testimony, so if you can make the first day’s meeting, you’ll hear the announcement.

If it isn’t vandals, it’s legal definitions — there’s never a dull moment when dealing with outdoor topics in Alaska!

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.