KODIAK, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska Native tribe in Kodiak has raised questions about a proposed land exchange between the federal government and a private owner.
A representative of the Sun’aq Tribe said its tribal council will discuss the merits of a swap of privately owned Ayakulik Island off southwest Kodiak Island for federally owned tideland in Womens Bay south of the city of Kodiak.
Ayakulik Island is valuable habitat but remote, said Thomas Lance, the tribe’s natural resources director. Womens Bay is important for fish and migratory waterfowl, he said.
“The Sun’aq Tribe has been very protective of anything that goes on in Womens Bay,” he said. “That’s where people subsist. They practice fishing.”
The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports a Coast Guard funding bill includes a rider introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, for the trade.
“I look forward to enactment of this legislation that will turn a trafficked bay into an economic driver for Kodiak, while giving the (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) some property they value for conservation purposes,” Sullivan said in a letter April 2.
Ayakulik Island is a nesting place for red-faced cormorant, a bird native to the Aleutian Islands but seen infrequently Kodiak. The Kodiak Borough assesses the island’s value at $37,500.
The proposed Womens Bay development would be on about 11 acres (4.45 hectares) from Lash Dock to Shannon Point, according to Lance and a representative of the Kodiak Audubon Society. The bill, however, includes a provision that the U.S. Secretary of the Interior can change the boundaries before the exchange.
Ayakulik Island is partially owned by Jim Jansen, chairman of Lynden Inc., a shipping and logistics company.
The Kodiak Audubon Society supports the deal, said spokeswoman Stacy Studebaker, but she expressed concern about the effects of development on a habitat for wintering emperor geese.
“We had concerns but we realized it’s not a huge impact, and the mitigation for the red-faced cormorant is good for us,” she said.
Womens Bay supports Matson shipping company port and Coast Guard operations. Studebaker said the land swap has raised concerns about barge traffic.
“If there’s more barge traffic, that means potentially more problems with the Coast Guard getting their ships in and out,” she said.
The Coast Guard has final authority on development in the region and can place “operational restrictions on commercial activity” in the area, the bill states.
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Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com
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