Potential Changes to Alaska’s Fish-Friendly Water Laws

We Should All Be Paying Attention to Potential Changes to Alaska’s Fish-Friendly Water Laws. Changes could impact waters across Alaska.

Story by Dave Atcheson & Photos by Trout Unlimited

It seems like a pretty simple idea. Fish need an adequate supply of water to not only thrive but, at the very least, to survive. The Alaska State Constitution makes it clear that water is a public resource to be managed for our benefit. Our current laws are some of the most fish-friendly in the country and work to balance the needs of fish and wildlife with industrial needs. Alaskan law allows individuals, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies to apply for rights to both use water and reserve water in place.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is considering changes to that system that could make it harder to keep water in Alaska rivers, streams, and lakes for fish and wildlife, recreation, and navigation. The changes that DNR is considering, and private industries are advocating for, could tip the scale in favor of industrial and commercial uses that remove water from our rivers, streams, and lakes at the expense of other publicly beneficial uses.

Balancing Industrial and Public Water Needs

While most of Alaska’s rivers, streams, and lakes remain healthy, changes to these regulations could compromise existing uses such as fishing, hunting, fish production, recreation, and transportation. Maintaining a strong water-reservation system will help ensure water remains in our rivers, lakes, and streams to support the Alaskan lifestyle and recreational opportunities we know and love.

So, what exactly is a water reservation? It is simply a certificate administered by DNR to maintain a certain flow in a section of river or water level in a lake, for a use that benefits the public. They are usually sought for the protection of fish and wildlife. Currently a water reservation can be applied for by groups, tribes, individuals, and municipalities. They are, however, not easy to obtain. An application requires a great deal of corroborating scientific data on a waterbody’s physical characteristics, flow regime, and importance to fish and wildlife. If the waterbody is in a remote location, as they often are, then collecting scientific data can be very expensive and can take years to collect.

Alaska’s fish-friendly water laws are some of the best in the country. Let’s keep them that way.

Challenges in Obtaining Water Reservations

Reservation applications are often tied up in the review process for years. For example, Trout Unlimited submitted applications over ten years ago, and these applications are still tied up in government limbo. In contrast, applications granting a water right or temporary water-use permit to take vital water out of a stream, need only provide minimal information and require no data to demonstrate that water withdrawals will not harm fish and wildlife habitat or other uses beneficial to Alaskans who use the stream. Currently there are no statewide requirements that mandate retaining sufficient water in our lakes and streams for salmon or other fish species when a company wants to remove or use that water for private purposes.

Despite all these obstacles, Nelli Williams, Alaska Director for Trout Unlimited, says that Trout Unlimited will continue to go through the rigorous process of applying for water reservations. “Currently it’s the only way to ensure salmon or trout have sufficient water in a stream or lake,” she says. “Alaskans, including many of our members and business supporters, live here because of our healthy fish and wildlife populations, abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, and clean water and good fishing—all of which is made possible by having adequate water in our rivers, lakes, and streams.”

Potential Weakening of Water Reservation Laws

Water reservations help ensure rivers have enough water to allow navigation.

In the past, DNR has proposed severely weakening the ability for Alaskans to apply for water reservations, allowing only the Department of Fish and Game to apply for and hold these permits. Williams holds out hope that these changes don’t happen.

“While it’s easy to dismiss this situation because Alaska enjoys an abundance of water,” she says, “I think we’d regret losing a water-reservation system that Alaskans can engage in. It’s safe to assume that the use of and demand for Alaska’s abundant water will only grow in the coming years and having a strong water-reservation system recognizes that leaving water in rivers and lakes is extremely beneficials for Alaskans. Can you imagine your favorite river or lake with half the water in it? How many spawning beds would no longer be viable? Would your boat be able to access your cabin? Is there enough water to dilute wastewater to make it safe for downstream communities? If the DNR proposes any changes, they should expand and encourage the ability of the public to apply for, obtain, and hold a water-reservation certificate that is beneficial for Alaskans.”

The Need for Stronger Water Protection Policies

Many believe the DNR should even go beyond simply maintaining or even expanding the water-reservation process; they should implement a system that maintains a baseline amount of water necessary for fish and wildlife and other publicly beneficial uses and require those who want to take water out of our streams to have the responsibility to prove they won’t harm existing uses.

“We should look at other states and see what they might have done right and more importantly learn from what they’ve done wrong,” suggests Austin Williams, Trout Unlimited’s Director of Federal Relations. “If you look at many western states, for instance, they are competing for every last drop of water. In the Colorado River basin, every bit has been appropriated to where there’s very little opportunity to consider the needs of fish and wildlife. It’s different here. Because of our physical uniqueness, the importance of salmon to our economy, and because we’re a young state, we have the opportunity to do things differently. Water reservations can and should be a key component of that.”

Being a young state, we have a chance to prevent the mistakes other states have made regarding protecting water levels in rivers, lakes, and streams.

Protecting Alaska’s Salmon and Way of Life

Most Alaskans choose to live in this amazing land because of the truly unique lifestyle it affords us. It’s something most people living outside of Alaska can only dream of, and it is made possible by our intact rivers, wetlands, forests, and tundra. Yet, we have also seen in recent years the unfortunate and alarming decline of many species of salmon throughout the state, a precipitous drop in chum salmon in western Alaska, and Chinook in just about every watershed; and in many cases we are now adding coho salmon to this ominous list. It’s a wake-up call that we need to proactively address and do whatever we can to help, not harm, the resources these fish need to survive.

Wild salmon help define who we are as Alaskans; they shape our cultures, they feed our families, and they support many of our local businesses. At these critical times for our fisheries, shouldn’t we be doing all we can to help them? This lifestyle, which we cherish so much, and which is available to all Alaskans, depends on healthy and intact waterways. It’s why those with foresight put forth the very idea of reserving water in our lakes, streams, and rivers in the first place.

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Trout Unlimited’s mission is to protect, reconnect, and restore North America’s cold-water fisheries and their watersheds. Learn about our work in Alaska at prioritywaters.tu.org/alaska. Dave Atcheson is Special Projects Assistant for Trout Unlimited Alaska. He is also the author of several books, including Hidden Alaska, Dead Reckoning, and Canoeing Yaghanen.

For more conservation reading, check out Fish Alaska’s Conservation Blog for more.