Alaska Ag: The Prop 90 assault

2016 is not shaping up to be any kinder to Alaska Agriculture than 2015 was. 

The selection process for the new Director of the Division of Agriculture, is nearly complete. Two names are slated to be forwarded to the Commissioner of DNR.   One has Alaska experience, and the other has political ties.  Arthur Keyes is the son in law of Ben VanderWeele, who sits on the BAC, and is the Palmer power broker when it comes to the ARLF.  Young Mr. Knowles...is, well you guessed it-a Knowles. 'Nuff said. Has less direct Alaska farming experience than yours truly, but of course, yours truly does not have the correct genitalia for consideration. 

So whichever of these two is selected for this plum, no one expects significant change. Yes, the MMM&S issue will no doubt be resolved in the state's favor-and that's a good thing. But when even state employees cannot be truthful to inquiries about board vacancies...expect the same cronyism that has plagued Alaska Ag since day one. One thing we can grow very well here, is that.

As to other assaults on the future of Ag, there is an item that recently came to attention. received via email, and I urge you consider carefully the ramifications:

Proposal to remove sheep and goats from the "clean list"

Our local hunters, via the Alaska Wild Sheep Foundation, is placing before the Board of Game, a proposal to take local Alaskan sheep and goats off the clean list. What does this actually mean? Well, it's one of those feel good notions with huge unexpected consequences.  Because there is an outbreak of (unspecified) disease in Big Horn sheep in the L48, the hunters up here want to prevent that. Sounds great, right? Except that they want  EVERY Alaskan who owns one or both, obtain a *permit* (forms, with fees no doubt) within one year of implementation-and yes that means every single backyard doe, ram, wether. They must also be contained within a Department approved facility (Money for inspections) that are at least double fenced-which equals a substantial amount of money for every hobbyist and rancher in the State of Alaska. Completely throwing out the current disease monitoring which is conducted by the State already...and the hard work and sacrifice of dozens of small livestock producers to maintain and test their entire herds year after year. 

But the most crucial, and overlooked component is this: That any person with possession of said animals *within 15 air miles Dall sheep habitat* must comply with the above rules.

Have you taken a good look at a map of Southcentral Alaska recently? Please note that it doesn't say "known range" or "current range" or even known habitat-that is, where a person might typically find them. Nope, just habitat. That would include nearly all of the Anchorage Borough, and a very big swath of the Mat Su Valley as well.  This proposal will likely get a serious look, and may even pass because people in the livestock community are completely unaware. Won't they be surprised when they discover that they live within that 15 mile boundary...and must rebuild their fences, buy a permit and pay for inspections? And suffer the unspecified consequences if they do not comply?

Because those female Dall sheep do bring their babies down to the lower meadows to forage in the summer months. I know this for a fact as I used to see them as a child growing up in the Interior-right through the kitchen window with Dad's telescope.  I've been told the same can be found in the Hatcher Pass and Chugach range area too.  Even if the "habitat" is restricted to the treeline and above...the impact area will be enormous. Hello, Municipality of Anchorage! Eagle River, Girdwood, Chugiak, Palmer, Wasilla, Talkeetna, and on into the Interior as well. Every community and homestead between Palmer and beyond the Matanuska Glacier will fall under this proposal as well. 

The next Board of Game meeting is in March. 

You can find the Alaska Board of Game website here: Board of Game  

On the list of action items in the white box, click the link for the 2016 Proposal Book. 

Once that page loads, click the link to the innocuous "miscellaneous permits". 

Scroll down a few pages and read 90 carefully. 

This is not the time to blow it off, it is the time to get involved. I do not have goats or sheep, but I will be making what effort I can to squash this right away. I encourage others to do the same, because sheep and goats raised locally are an integral part of Alaska's food security.