Board members from the Kenai River Special Management Areaare again floating the idea of a “sockeye salmon stamp” — a surcharge on sport fish licenses to fund infrastructure improvements on the Kenai River.
The board hasn’t ironed out details. But President Ted Wellman said a stamp would help with much-needed repairs to well-worn facilities.
“We’re talking about boat launches. We’re talking about fishing platforms," he said. "We’re talking about all of the ways in which people access the Kenai River.”
The state already has a stamp for king salmon anglers, which adds $10 to a resident license and $100 to a nonresident license.
The proposed sockeye stamp would work similarly, for Kenai and Kasilof river anglers who plan on catching sockeye.
The Legislature considered a statewide sockeye stamp in 2015. That plan saw a lot of support from local charter operators and anglers, but ultimately didn’t pass. Wellman said the KRSMA board rescinded its support for the proposal when legislators moved to exempt personal-use fisheries from the stamp.
But it’s been on the board’s priority list for a while. Wellman said the need has become greater as angler numbers have risen and department budgets have dwindled.
“The funds that are available to the Department of Natural Resources Parks Division are simply not there to take care of the deferred maintenance," he said. "And many of the facilities are so old, are falling — literally falling apart — and providing less access when the demand is much more.”
Board members also suggested putting funds toward river regulation enforcement.
Ideally, Wellman said, the Department of Natural Resources would oversee the fund while the advisory board would advise where money should go. In a memo, he suggested charging residents between $5 and $15 a stamp.
It will be a while before a plan is finalized. Wellman said different committees within the advisory board still have to work out legal and logistical details.
He said he’s again expecting support from constituents.
“And we have not received any feedback from anybody that they’d be unwilling to pay a reasonable fee, as long as the money gets used to improve the resource," he said.
He said it’s important to make sure the money would go to local projects and not a general fund.
Separately, the Legislature is considering a surcharge on sport fish permits that would fund sport fish hatcheries around the state. That bill is now in the House Finance Committee.
