Juneau Independent
December 14, 2025
Linda Behnken
On Dec. 5, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation director Randy Bates wrote an opinion piece arguing against Salmon Beyond Borders and the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association's (ALFA's) assertion that, 10 years after the Walker administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with British Columbia, the Dunleavy administration is "leaving Alaskans in the dark." Reading Mr. Bates' opinion piece you would not realize that commercial fishermen have also expressed strong concerns about the state's lack of action to protect the Taku, Stikine, Unuk, and Salmon Rivers from the B.C. polluting mining boom upstream.