The Kachemak Bay State Park Advisory Board held their regular meeting on Wednesday night at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in Homer.
The board opened the meeting by taking public comment on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s proposal to repeal its ban on personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay and Fox River Flats Critical Habitat Area. Currently there is a boundary from Anchor Point to Point Pogibshi which personal watercraft may not cross .
By the advisory board’s count, 32 people who provided public comment were opposed to repealing the ban. Six people spoke in support of the repeal.
KBBI's Kathleen Gustafson attended the meeting. Click on the audio to hear comments beginning with Advisory Board Chair Robert Archibald calling on KPB Assemblymember Willy Dunne.
After public comments, the board worked and amended a draft letter to ADF&G Special Assistant Rick Green, asking that the department suspend work on rescinding the repeal until ADF&G can provide a science-based explanation for the repeal and schedule a more thorough public comment process. In the draft letter, the board points out that the proposed rule contains no fiscal note for funding of additional enforcement of the current ban on personal watercraft in state park borders.
To read the proposed changes go to the state’s online public notices at aws.state.ak.us/
