Misguided attempts to “conserve wild salmon” are an attack on tribal sovereignty and come at a huge cost to Indigenous culture and livelihoods.
The Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) has petitioned the federal government to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To be clear, this organization does not represent the interests of Indigenous nations in Alaska or in Washington, and it has no place interfering with fisheries management.
An ESA listing would shift management of the fishery from the state of Alaska to the federal government and could lead to significant harm to Alaska’s fishing communities. WFC is attempting to bypass the state’s existing process, which brings together stakeholders and managers to make wise use decisions about natural resources management.
Our federal trustee, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), failed to follow its own tribal consultation policy when it accepted WFC’s petition to list this population under the ESA.