Resolution 15-042 Supporting Salmon Habitat Buffers on Lakes and Streams in the Kenai Peninsula Borough

CITY OF HOMER

HOMER, ALASKA

Lewis

RESOLUTION 15-042

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, SUPPORTING SALMON HABITAT BUFFERS ON LAKES AND STREAMS IN THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH.

WHEREAS, Wild Alaskan salmon define who we are as Alaskans; salmon provide countless jobs in our community, they support our local and state economies, they shape our culture and they feed our families; and

WHEREAS, Alaska’s Sustainable Salmon Policy states "salmon habitats should not be perturbed beyond natural boundaries of variation; . . . all essential salmon habitat in marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems and access of salmon to these habitats should be protected; … [and] salmon habitat in fresh water should be protected on a watershed basis;” and

WHEREAS, Article 8 of the Alaska Constitution defines our water and salmon resources as public resources belonging to all Alaskans, to be managed for the maximum benefit of current and future generations; and

WHEREAS, The importance of salmon habitat protection has been apparent for many years on the Kenai Peninsula; in 1996 the Kenai Borough put forward riparian protections around the Kenai River, in 2000 it expanded those safeguards to larger salmon streams, and in 2011 it approved protections for all waterbodies where wild salmon spawn and rear in the Kenai Borough; and

WHEREAS, Habitat protection buffers around streams and lakes are well-known by scientists, managers and developers alike to provide important safeguards for wild salmon, especially during the early stages of their lifecycles, and such safeguards have been shown to also increase property values and reduce property damage caused by flooding; and

WHEREAS, The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s jurisdiction extends only to the mean high water mark of lakes and streams, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s habitat buffers provide vitally important protections for the banks of such waterbodies.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of Homer, Alaska, does hereby support 50 ft. habitat protection buffers on the lakes and streams supporting wild Alaska salmon in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Homer City Council on this 15th day of June, 2015.

                                                                                                         CITY OF HOMER

                                                                                                         ____________________

                                                                                                         MARY E. WYTHE, MAYOR

ATTEST:

___________________________

JO JOHNSON, MMC, CITY CLERK

Fiscal Note: N/A