Grateful for Input 

Editor:

Nordic Aquafarms has been working on the Samoa Project for over three years and looking forward to being before the Humboldt County Planning Commission this week ("Quantifying Impact," July 14). Being transparent and readily available to the community has always been at the core of NAF's work on the Samoa project. NAF has held many stakeholder meetings, open office hours, presented to over 40 organizations, site tours, public information meetings and responsive to all media requests.

With each step forward, we will look to continue that open dialogue and strengthen our relationship with the Humboldt community. Sharing the vision of a resilient food system with sustainable, environmentally friendly practices is what moves us toward the common goal of positive progress. The input from the forward-thinking individuals and organizations that have contributed to the EIR is pivotal in how we work together as a community. Our greatest chance of success is collaboration and for that, you have our gratitude.

With this partnership, our hope for the future is that we have students and employees who are excited about new possibilities, and that we have clean, healthy fish on the market.

The NAF land-based facilities are designed to sustainably farm in a way that addresses many of the environmental impacts associated with more traditional fish farming methods in open water. It is our goal that the community has access to accurate information on the proposed facility throughout the permitting process. We hope that when people form an opinion on the project, they do so with an understanding of what we are proposing and why. The final EIR is available on the county website at www.humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/108020/Nordic-Aquafarms-Final-EIR and is the best source for information. See also www.nafnewsdesk.com for information.

Please reach out to us anytime: Community Liaisons Stacy Atkins-Salazar ([email protected]) and Jacki Cassida ([email protected]).

Jacki Cassida, Belfast, Maine