She also hoped to forge a working relationship with recently elected Gov. Sarah Palin over those issues and others, such as tourism, education, global warming and natural gas supplies.

Gregoire acknowledged recent disagreements between the symbiotically linked states over salmon fisheries, cargo taxes and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“Everybody remembers a time when our relationship was really quite positive and some things have gotten in the way of that, but there is a clear desire to return to the positive relationship,” Gregoire said after meeting with business leaders in Anchorage June 4.

Alaska and Washington have long tussled over king salmon fisheries. Many of the fry released from hatcheries in Washington swim north to feed in the rich waters of the Gulf of Alaska, and end up in the holds of Alaska's fishing fleet instead of returning to their home waters to spawn. Washington has demanded that Alaska fishermen reduce their fishing quotas to allow more salmon to return and Alaska has complied, said Dave Bedford, head of the Department of Fish and Game.

With the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada up for renewal this year, Gregoire wants to make sure Alaska and Washington work together during negotiations.

The Pacific Salmon Treaty was written to prevent the overfishing of Pacific salmon and to determine how the harvests should be divided between individual states and Canada.

One of Gregoire's main reasons for coming to Alaska was to meet Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and to establish a personal relationship with her. Efforts to arrange a private meeting were initially foiled by Palin's busy schedule, but the two governors finally met at a dinner with a small group of others.

Upon her return to Washington, Gregoire said that for the first time Alaska and Washington had a common goal in the talks. “We need to focus on sustainability, not allocation issues. It is what now sets up apart from the other U.S. fisheries,” she said.

As for the port issue, Gregoire spent much of June 4 reassuring shippers and other Alaskans that a cargo tax, proposed and later abandoned in Washington's legislature earlier this year, would not be revived. It would have added a fee of $100 or more on shipping containers carrying freight in and out of that state.

Ninety-seven percent of Alaska's goods pass through Washington, 70 percent through the Port of Tacoma and the rest through Seattle and private docks. Twenty-five percent of the goods sent through Tacoma are bound for Alaska..

“If you sit on it, eat it, wear it, it probably came through Tacoma,” said Timothy Farrell, the port's executive director.

If you set aside the aerospace industry, Alaska is Washington's fifth largest trading partner,” Gregoire said. “Our relationship with Alaska is deep, long and strong, and Alaskans have fond memories of it.”

One Alaska legislator, Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, had referred to the container tax bill as “an act of aggression from our southern neighbors.”

“Nobody had any intent on hurting the economy of Alaska, or raising prices on the people of Alaska,” Gregoire said. “It was all about trying to fund our own infrastructure for our container ports and it wasn't intended to send a negative message, which I fear was received here.”

“I didn't like the container tax anyway,” she added.