00SENATE BILL NO. 77                                                                                                      
01 "An Act relating to intensive management of identified big game prey                                                    
02 populations."                                                                                                           
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that providing for high                                   
05 levels of harvest for human consumptive use in accordance with the sustained yield principle                            
06 is the highest and best use of identified big game prey populations in most areas of the state                          
07 and that those identified big game prey populations should be managed accordingly.                                      
08    * Sec. 2.  AS 16.05.255(e) is amended to read:                                                                       
09  (e)  The Board of Game shall adopt regulations to provide for intensive                                               
10 management programs to restore the abundance or productivity of identified big game                                     
11 prey populations as necessary to achieve human consumptive use goals of the board                                       
12 in an area where the board has determined that                                                                          
13   (1)  consumptive use of the big game prey population is a preferred use;                                             
14   (2)  depletion of the big game prey population from historic high levels                                           

01 or reduction of the productivity of the big game prey population has occurred and may                                   
02 result, or has resulted, in a significant reduction in the allowable human harvest of                                 
03 the population; and                                                                                                     
04   (3)  enhancement of abundance or productivity of the big game prey                                                   
05 population is feasibly achievable utilizing recognized and prudent active management                                    
06 techniques.                                                                                                             
07    * Sec. 3.  AS 16.05.255(g)(2) is amended to read:                                                                    
08   (2)  "intensive management" means management of an identified big                                                    
09 game prey population to enhance, extend, and develop the population to maintain high                                    
10 levels or provide for higher levels of human harvest, including control of predation and                                
11 prescribed or planned use of fire and other habitat improvement techniques, but not                                    
12 including restrictions on methods or means of taking game, access to game, or                                           
13 human harvest of game.                                                                                                 
14    * Sec. 4.  AS 16.05.255(g) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read:                                              
15   (3)  "harvestable surplus" means the number of animals that is equal to                                              
16 the number of offspring born in a game population during the year less the number of                                    
17 animals in the population that die during the year from all causes other than predation                                 
18 or human harvest;                                                                                                       
19   (4)  "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of one-third or                                                 
20 more of the harvestable surplus of a game population for human harvest;                                                 
21   (5)  "sustained yield" means the achievement and maintenance in                                                      
22 perpetuity of a high level of human harvest of game on an annual or periodic basis.                                     
23    * Sec. 5.  AS 16.05.255 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                               
24  (h)  The board shall manage game populations for which human use is an                                                
25 important use so as to provide at least one-half of the harvestable surplus for human                                   
26 harvest.