MEMORANDUM

TO: William Popp, Assembly President

Members, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly

FROM: Drew Scalzi, Assembly Member

DATE: February 3, 2000

SUBJECT: River habitat protection ordinance

The protection of salmon streams in the Kenai Peninsula Borough is important to the economy and enjoyment of fish and river resources by the borough's citizens. Currently KPB 21.18 protects the Kenai River, an important salmon stream within the Kenai Peninsula Borough. One of the assembly's goals when adopting KPB 21.18 in 1996 was to extend the application of the ordinance to the Kenai River's tributaries. This ordinance proposes amending the Kenai River Habitat Protection ordinance to include anadromous tributaries of the Kenai River. It also extends the ordinance's application to the larger and more significant salmon streams on both the east and west sides of Cook Inlet. The information for determining the inclusion of anadromous streams is taken from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game publication, "Atlas and Catalogue of Waters Important for Spawning, Rearing, or Migration of Anadromous Fish."