OPINION: Alaskans support restoring the Eklutna River

All five species of salmon once called Eklutna River, Eklutna Lake and the surrounding streams home. Since 1955, the Eklutna Lake dam has diverted all water and blocked salmon from migrating into the lake and its upstream tributaries. Today, salmon return in a small fraction of the numbers that they once did.

An overwhelming number of Alaskans want that to change.

In February, Alaskans were asked to provide input on the dam owners’ legally required Draft Fish and Wildlife Program. The Draft Plan would leave a mile of the river dry, release a small trickle of water down the remaining river, and continue to block fish migration in and out of the lake.

Most Alaskans who participated in the public comment period did not support the proposed Draft Plan. Instead, four out of five Alaskans said they want water and salmon returned to the entire length of the Eklutna River. The Draft Plan goes against what the public has asked for while still costing ratepayers $57 million.

Unfortunately, the dam owners are hearing a different story.

In a presentation on Feb. 28 to the Chugach Electric Association board, the contractor hired by the dam owners to manage the public review process claimed there was public support for the Draft Plan. However, their analysis misrepresents the data. Most significantly, they ignored the input of 531 Alaskans. Many Alaskans, because they are busy with life, use form letters to comment on complex issues that are important to them. Form letters are an important and valid measure of public opinion and are widely accepted in other comment periods hosted by federal and state agencies. Discounting the input of 531 Alaskans who are invested in Eklutna and have a right to speak up for its future is an inaccurate portrayal of public input.

Sadly, this is not the first time the process run by the utility’s contractors suppressed input from Alaskans. At “public meetings” held this winter, there was no input from other experts and the communities most likely to be impacted. Furthermore, the utilities did not give community members time to offer comments or testimony in front of the audience. Instead, there was a table to the side where people could write or record their comments alone.

This process goes against the standards for public comment periods set by state and federal agencies. Many people who attended were disappointed, because they wanted to hear what fellow community members had to say. There was little way to gauge the pulse of public opinion in each meeting, and the utilities are still trying to suppress the true narrative of what the public wants for the river.

However, the numbers don’t lie. An audit of all the public comments posted on the official Eklutna Fish and Wildlife Plan website revealed 874 individual Alaskans commented between December 2023 and February 2024. Of the 874 Alaskan commenters, 80% want water flowing from the lake down the entire Eklutna River. Notably, 54% of the commenters asked for dam removal.

The dam owners are required to make up for the damage that was caused to the river and its fish when the dam was built. Fish experts have suggested many good options for fixing the river and bringing fish back, but the Draft Plan isn’t one of them. The public is unquestionably clear that they want a healthy river back. The question, however, remains: Will the Eklutna dam owners listen to what Alaskans want for the future of the Eklutna River and revise their Fish and Wildlife Plan before submitting it to the governor later this spring? I sure hope so.

Nelli Williams is the Alaska director of Trout Unlimited, which is a member of the Eklutna River Restoration Coalition and participated in the two-year Eklutna study conducted by dam operators.

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