2004-11 Population of Northern Sea Otter in Western Gulf of AKKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
RESOLUTION NO. 2004 -1 1
Introduced by: Manager Carlson
Requested by: Assemblymember Bonney
Drafted by: House Resources
Committee
Introduced: 04/15/2004
Adopted: 04/15/2004
A RESOLUTION OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH ASSEMBLY
RELATING TO RESEARCH INTO THE DECLINE OF THE
SOUTHWEST ALASKA POPULATION OF THE NORTHERN
SEA OTTER IN THE WESTERN GULF OF ALASKA
WHEREAS, the Southwest Alaska population of the Northern Sea Otter in the western
Gulf of Alaska may have declined as much as 65 percent since the mid- 1970s; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Alaska population of the Northern Sea Otter is found in the
nearshore water of the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Kodiak Archipelago;
and
WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed to list the
Southwest Alaska population of the Northern Sea Otter as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act; and
WHEREAS, commercial fishing activity in the western Gulf of Alaska may be restricted if
the Southwest Alaska population on the Northern Sea Otter is listed under the Endangered
Species Act; and
WHEREAS, coastal communities of western Alaska, and the State of Alaska, as a whole,
are heavily dependent upon the revenue generated by commercial fishing in the adjacent
near shore water of the western Gulf of Alaska; and
WHEREAS, Kodiak, a major commercial fishing port of the United States, is located in the
western Gulf of Alaska, the area of the sea otter population decline; and
WHEREAS, the cause of the decline in abundance of the Southwest Alaska population of
the Northern Sea Otter is unknown; and
WHEREAS, Tong -term studies are necessary to assess changes in the population of sea
otter off Alaska and to determine the extent of variability in sea otter population levels; and
WHEREAS, previous surveys of sea otter population levels off western Alaska have been
sporadic and asynchronous;
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. 2004 -11
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND
BOROUGH that the Kodiak Island Borough respectfully requests that the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service and the United States Congress provide $5,000,000 a year over the
next five years to conduct research into the abundance of the Northern Sea Otter and the
cause of the decline of the Southwest Alaska population of the Northern Sea Otter in the
western Gulf of Alaska; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kodiak Island Borough respectfully
requests that research regarding the Southwest Alaska population of the Northern Sea
Otter be centered in Kodiak with field stations located in the coastal communities of
western Alaska where the Northern Sea Otter occurs; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution shall be sent to
the Honorable Gale Norton, United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Steve
Williams, Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; the Honorable
J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Ted
Stevens, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and member of the Alaska delegation
in Congress; and to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don
Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
THIS FIFTEENTH DAY OF APRIL 2004
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
Gabrielle LeDoux, Borough
ATTEST:
,e04. (
udith Nielsen, C , Borough Clerk
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. 2004 -11
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