S.E.A.L.

On July 19th, 2013, in a letter to the Alaska Department of Transportation and PublicFacilities(ADOT&PF) the Municipality of Skagway opposed the “use of herbicides and pesticides as a maintenance tool for vegetation control measures” on lands owned or leased by ADOT&PF within the Skagway Borough. The letter, signed by Mayor Stan Selmer, followed on the heels of an announcement by the state agency that it no longer needed a permit or a public comment period to spray herbicides or pesticides on state land or in right of ways.

   The Mayor's letter pointed out that roughly 27% of the land in the Skagway Borough is state-owned and managed. “The care and maintenance of these areas is integral to the viability of the community and this maintenance has the potential to affect not only Skagway’s quality of life but also the health of its citizens and natural surroundings.” The Mayor urged the continued use of alternative methods such as brush cutting as a means to “substantially reduce the negative effects known to be caused by the use of herbicides.”