Coalition Asks Forest Service To Acquire Salmon Habitat In Copper River Delta

A coalition of Alaska fishing community members have called own the U.S. Forest Service to acquire coal rights in an area along the Copper River Delta that is prime salmon habitat but could be threatened by developers.

Here’s the Salmon Habitat Information Program letter addressed to USFS Alaska Region forest chief David Schmid:

Please accept this letter supporting the Alaska Region of the U.S. Forest Service’s application for competitive national funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire the coal rights held by the Korea-Alaska Development Corporation (KADCO) on the last unprotected 11,920 acres of the Bering River coalfields. 

This potential purchase is a tremendous opportunity to protect a critical sub watershed in the greater Copper River Delta, the largest contiguous wetland on the West coast of North America and critical habitat for wild salmon and other anadromous fish, terrestrial wildlife, and migratory birds. In addition, this area is the ancestral homeland of the Eyak people. 

The Bering River coalfields total 73,000 acres, of which KADCO holds the coal rights to the last unprotected 11,920 acres. The KADCO coal rights have the potential to produce up to 60 million tons of coal. Development and extraction of Bering River coal resources could negatively affect air and water quality, fish habitat, ecosystem function, and economic stability within the Copper River Delta region. Conserving the coalfields will keep an estimated 100-185 million metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. 

The Bering River is a key contributor to overall Copper River Watershed productivity which provides critical salmon spawning habitat for all five species of Pacific salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout, and grayling. Harvest of the area’s salmon supports approximately 500 commercial fishing gillnet operations and several hundred purse seine fishing operations, numerous fish processors and important sport and subsistence fisheries. The wild salmon harvest of the Bering-Copper River watershed is one of the most significant in the State of Alaska. The 10-year average commercial harvest for this region is 1.95 million. 

The area’s world class renewable resources also support a thriving tourism industry and provide both residents and visitors nearly unlimited recreation opportunities including bird watching and hunting. The Bering/ Copper Delta is also the home to eight percent of North America’s breeding trumpeter swans, and each year, during what is the largest gathering of shorebirds anywhere in the western hemisphere, the wetland is host to an estimated 12 million birds. This region has long been recognized for its tremendous fish and wildlife resources. Congress, with the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act(ANILCA) stated: “The conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitat shall be the primary purpose for the management of the Copper River-Bering River portion of the existing Chugach National Forest.” 

Securing funding for the purchase of the KADCO’s coal rights would build on previous conservation efforts and would protect the river from headwaters to ocean. Previous agreements with Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC) protected their 62,000 acres and created the largest carbon-offset deal in Alaska’s history. It is critical to secure the final piece of this conservation and climate resiliency puzzle. Otherwise, the potential to develop KADCO’s coal could jeopardize the integrity of the surface estate subject to the carbon offset agreement. 

Finally, this purchase would make a meaningful contribution to President Biden’s America the Beautiful Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, by conserving land and resources, stopping negative impacts to biodiversity and climate change, and protecting public health and local economies.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment in support of this tremendous conservation opportunity.