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FY2007-08 Urging the Federal Subsistence Board to designate Kodiak RuralKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH RESOLUTION NO. FY2007 -08 Introduced by: Mayor and Assembly Requested by: Mayor and Assembly Drafted by: Mayor Selby Introduced: 09/072006 Adopted: 09/072006 A RESOLUTION OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH ASSEMBLY URGING THE FEDERAL SUBSISTENCE BOARD TO DESIGNATE KODIAK RURAL WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed into Law, in 1980, Title Eight of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in order to protect the subsistence rights of rural Alaskans, by making subsistence a priority use of federal lands and waters for rural Alaskans; and WHEREAS, Congress indicated in Title Eight that protecting subsistence was essential to Alaska native culture and a rural lifestyle, and that Congress was applying its trust responsibility to Alaska natives in requiring a subsistence priority; and WHEREAS, the federal government assumed authority over subsistence management on public lands in Alaska because they determined that the State of Alaska was not in compliance with Title Eight of ANILCA; therefore the federal government through the Federal Subsistence Management Board is responsible for protecting subsistence and implementing the congressional intent of Title Eight; and WHEREAS, Congress recognized that an Alaskan community with a population of more than 7,000 can be rural if it possesses significant characteristics of a rural nature, and this recognition is documented in federal regulations; and WHEREAS, both the Federal Subsistence Board and the State of Alaska determined that the City of Kodiak and the adjacent road system had significant rural characteristics and therefore was designated rural for State and Federal purposes in the early 1990s; and WHEREAS, the Federal Subsistence Board is required to review rural determinations every ten years to evaluate changes within a community that justify changing its rural status; and WHEREAS, the Federal Subsistence Board has recently recommended that Kodiak be changed from rural to non -rural status, thereby eliminating Kodiak's qualification for the rural subsistence priority; and WHEREAS, the Federal Subsistence Board appears to be basing its recommendation for changing the status of Kodiak primarily on the basis of an aggregate road system population exceeding 7,000, which was true when Kodiak was first designated rural; and WHEREAS, the basic nature of Kodiak Island as an isolated island in the North Pacific that sometimes has no transportation on or off the island for several days due to weather makes it a very rural community; and Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2007 -08 _. Page 1 of 3 WHEREAS, there has been an approximately 10 percent decline in the City of Kodiak's population between 1990 and 2005 (from 6,787 to 6,088) moving the City of Kodiak further away form the benchmark population of 7,000 people and no other community has more than 400 people, and the other communities on Kodiak Island have all lost population since 1990 contributing to the Kodiak Island Borough population decline since 1990; and WHEREAS, the City of Kodiak and the Kodiak road system continues to possess significant characteristics of a rural nature, including a remote location, cultural and geographical isolation, a high cost of living, and limited access to goods and services; and WHERAS, the entire population on Kodiak Island has both a historic and current dependence on fish and wildlife for family food sources and this use has increased since 1990 due to the economic down turn of the Salmon fishing industry, two of the four largest stores went out of business and the cost of food continues to increase; and WHEREAS, the United States Coast Guard Base does not eliminate or reduce the rural nature of Kodiak, since the Base functions as an independent community, located well outside the boundaries of the City of Kodiak with its administrative authority based in Alameda, California; and WHEREAS, the City of Kodiak, along with each of the individual road system neighborhoods have individual and unique characteristics that define them, including separate service area boards, and they should not be "lumped" together for rural designation purposes, in an effort to establish a "community" population greater than 7,000 people; and WHEREAS, the Kodiak Island economy has seen significant decline in the villages which impacts the entire Island economy which has demonstrated no overall growth and there has been no infrastructure expansion of new roads, water, or sewer projects in the last ten years; and one of the significant carriers of goods, the Western Pioneer, discontinued service to Kodiak with no replacement carrier; and WHEREAS, the Halibut/Black Cod IFQ program significantly reduced the number of halibut fishermen and now the Gulf rationalization program could significantly reduce the number of fishermen again; and WHEREAS, the City of Kodiak serves as a hub for outlying villages, whose elders often spend their winters and latter years living in town, returning to the village during the summer; and WHEREAS, many hundreds of Alaska natives reside in Kodiak and are strongly dependent on subsistence for their cultural and nutritional survival, as are many more residents of the community, due to their economic status or lifestyle choices; and WHEREAS, the subsistence characteristics of Kodiak have not significantly changed, since Kodiak was originally designated rural, to the point where Kodiak residents should be denied their cultural heritage and access to subsistence resources; and WHEREAS, if there has been a change, it is toward increased dependence on subsistence since 1990; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH strongly opposes the preliminary recommendations of the Federal Subsistence Board that Kodiak be changed from a rural to a non -rural community and urges the Board to make a final decennial determination that Kodiak is rural; and Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2007 -08 Page 2 of 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Kodiak's significant rural characteristics have not changed since 1990 and that Kodiak should remain a rural community for subsistence purposes; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH requests the Federal Subsistence Board hold its final December hearing in Kodiak, Alaska, for the purposes of listening to local residents' testimony concerning the importance of confirming Kodiak's rural status. ATTEST: ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH THIS SEVENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2006 KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH 1- 1 ome M. Selby, Borough . Javier, CMC :orough Clerk Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2007 -08 Page 3 of 3