Redzone

Welcome to Redzone - Virtual Home of Eyak Preservation Council

The Eyak Preservation Council (EPC) Redzone network name was chosen shortly after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill because we wanted to highlight endangered wild red (sockeye) salmon, Indigenous people and sacred places in peril. Redzone is the virtual home to Chinook, Sockeye, Coho, Chum and Pink salmon that have been part of the Eyak people's way of life on the Copper River Delta and in eastern Prince William Sound for over 3,500 years, and counting. Our still intact thriving ecosystem, with its wild salmon returning annually to spawn in their millions, is home to eagle, bear, beaver, wolves, moose and millions of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.

Our mission is to preserve, restore and celebrate wild salmon culture and habitat through awareness, education and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods within the communities of the Copper River and Prince William Sound watersheds of Alaska.

EPC's work ensures that the salmon will continue to return to their birthplace and nurture the ecosystems of which they are a fundamentally important species. Also, that the community of local subsistence and commercial fishers in the region will continue to flourish. Essential to local economic sustainability is bioregional conservation, and our little corner of the world is a microcosm baseline model for the planet. This is one of the last wild places on planet earth where we still have a chance to get it right, by leaving it alone- wild and thriving. Please use this site to investigate and propagate our message. Learn more

The Redzone Column: Thoughts, Updates, and News

Friday, 28th of September, 2012

Bioneers: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
The Story of Salmon: A Native Salmon Workshop, Feast & Experience

Join us for a full-day immersion into the science, knowledge, stories and practices of California and Alaskan Natives working to protect their traditional salmon cultures, populations and habitats. Participants and students will receive an intimate educational experience with tribal cultural leaders imparting Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practices of Bay Area and Alaskan Native salmon cultures.

Click here for the flyer (PDF)

Tuesday, 14th of February, 2012

PRESS ADVISORY

CONTACT: Gwen Dobbs, Alaska Wilderness League, 202-266-0418

Should the President Trust Shell to Drill in the Arctic Ocean this Summer?

Join the boat tour to see the drill rig

SEATTLE – As President Obama makes his way to Seattle this week, Alaska Wilderness League is inviting all interested press to jump onboard a harbor tour of the Kulluk, the floating drill rig that Royal Dutch Shell plans to drill in the Beaufort Sea right off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer.

Tour participants will travel via boat to Vigor Shipyards in order to view the Kulluk – which Shell has proclaimed is in drill-ready condition, despite obvious signs of corrosion, a lack of necessary upgrades and little public information about the ship’s current condition. Meanwhile, on board, experts will be available to discuss why President Obama must stop Shell from moving forward with drilling in the Arctic’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – home to the Inupiat people, polar bears, ice seals, walrus, millions of birds and much more.

Despite reports of numerous upgrades to prepare the Kulluk for drilling in the Arctic’s extreme conditions, Shell has failed to make any of this information public. Tour participants will have an opportunity to see for themselves: Is this monstrous rig, that hasn’t drilled a well in 18 years, ready for sea ice up to 25 feet thick, hurricane-force storms and sub-zero temperatures?

The Obama administration has made a series of decisions to allow Shell to move forward with the most aggressive Arctic drilling plan in history, without a proven plan to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic’s extreme conditions, and with limited information about this abundant, fragile marine environment. However, President Obama still has the ability to stop the next oil spill disaster by not allowing Shell to drill this summer.

WHAT: Boat Tour to view the Kulluk Drill Rig

WHO: Members of the press, Captain Jerry Adams, Layla Hughes, Senior Program Officer – Oil, Gas and Marine Shipping for the World Wildlife Fund-US Arctic Program

WHERE: Bell Harbor Marina, Bell Street Pier/Pier 66, 2203 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121

Meet at the fountain that is shaped like a fish, which is directly outside of the marina’s gate. The gate will be locked and Captain Jerry Adams will meet the tour’s participants there to let the group in.

WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 2012 from 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: Closest parking garage is located at Pier 66 Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal Parking, 9 Wall Street, Seattle, WA 98121. There is also metered parking available in front of the marina. Directions to the marina are available online here.

OTHER: Rain or shine – please bring rain jackets and warm hats.

Friday, 20th of January, 2012

Marine Stewardship Council losing ground with wild salmon fisheries

by Margaret Bauman

Eight major primary processors of wild Alaska salmon are phasing out their financing of the Marine Stewardship Council salmon certification program, prompting a decision by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation to continue its support only through Oct. 29.

Read more...!

Friday, 23rd of September, 2011

Share your Voice! Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) - Public comment period is open until November 15, 2011 - http://arctic.fws.gov/ccp.htm

The most useful comments will be specific to the CCP and will avoid general statements. Tell them what you do or do not like about a particular part of the plan. If there is something you do not like, please let them know how you would change it. Be specific! List important points they may have missed.

Submit comments to arcticrefugeccp@fws.gov

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Arctic NWR - Sharon Seim

101 12th Ave., Rm 236

Fairbanks AK 99701

or by fax to 907-456-0428

Friday, 5th of August, 2011

Regarding the decision to allow Shell's exploration and drilling in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, here's a quote from our fav attorney working on the case for the opposition, Peter.

"...So this is the big vision of our leaders – take action that won’t have any meaningful influence on gas prices even if oil gets produced in a decade or two, and rally for more risky, polluting fossil fuel jobs. Yeeha, let’s rally around that!"

He also underlines this horrifying truth:

"Neither Shell nor the United States is prepared for the consequences of drilling in the Arctic. Shell’s spill response plans are not even close to sufficient, and everyone knows it. As the USGeological Service confirmed, and all the experts worth their salt admit, we don’t have enough information to make informed decisions about the consequences of drilling in the Arctic. We don’t even have baseline info to know the full scope of what is at risk.

N.Y. Times Article

Wednesday, 27th of July, 2011

URGENT UPDATE | Shepard Pointless!

Yet again we must alert the local and regional community which has come out time and time again against this proposed bad port project.

During our ongoing due diligence, we recently found a new twist has been thrown into the mix. The Native Village of Eyak jumped over the government agencies it had been working with (Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Transportation) and has begun working with a division of Department of Transportation called the Western Federal Lands Highway Division.