HB 414: "An Act relating to management of game and to the duties of the commissioner of fish and game."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 414 01 "An Act relating to management of game and to the duties of the commissioner 02 of fish and game." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 05 (1) the state has a duty to its citizens to manage its renewable natural 06 resources, such as game, to maintain the quantity of those resources so they remain available 07 for use by residents of the state; 08 (2) rural and nonrural residents of the state have expressed, in legislative 09 hearings and other public forums throughout the state, concerns about the decline of game 10 populations and the loss of the opportunity to successfully participate in hunting activities; 11 (3) the loss of opportunity to hunt successfully in hunting areas contributes to 12 increased friction and tension between user groups; 13 (4) an abundant supply of game is essential to continuance of the subsistence, 14 personal use, and general hunting lifestyle in the state;
01 (5) an abundant supply of game to provide food for human consumption is 02 essential for residents to maintain their traditional reliance on wild food sources and is best 03 achieved by active scientific management of game populations and habitats; 04 (6) chronically low populations of moose in Interior Alaska have placed 05 economic stresses on residents of the region who have traditionally relied on moose as a major 06 food source; some populations of moose in the Interior region of the state are reported to be 07 only a fraction of the population levels that existed in the 1960s and early 1970s; 08 (7) moose populations in game management units 12, 19C, 19D, 20C, 20D, 09 20E, 20F, 21, 24, 25, and 26 have been reduced to the extent that the welfare of residents of 10 these units and the economic health of these areas have been adversely affected; 11 (8) at the time of statehood for Alaska, the Steese-Forty Mile caribou herd 12 numbered over 60,000 animals and sustained a harvest of thousands of caribou each year; at 13 the present time, the herd numbers about 22,000 animals and has a maximum human harvest 14 allocation of 150 animals each year; 15 (9) the Steese-Forty Mile caribou herd is not able to provide for the needs of 16 Alaska residents while the herd is present in Alaska and is rarely available for harvest by 17 humans in the Canadian portion of its range; 18 (10) modern scientific management must be implemented to restore the 19 biological health of the state's game resources. 20 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.255 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 21 (h) The Board of Game shall establish population and harvest objectives and 22 adopt other regulations to promote a high level of harvest by humans of big game prey 23 populations. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.270 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 16.05.270. Delegation of authority to commissioner. (a) For the 26 purpose of administering AS 16.05.251 and 16.05.255, each board may delegate 27 authority to the commissioner to act on [IN] its behalf. 28 (b) If a board delegates authority to the commissioner to act on its behalf, 29 the commissioner shall cooperate with and assist the board by implementing 30 regulations, management plans, and other management programs as requested by 31 the board.
01 (c) If there is a conflict between the board and the commissioner on proposed 02 regulations, public hearings shall be held concerning the issues in question. If, after 03 the public hearings, the board and the commissioner continue to disagree, the issue 04 shall be certified in writing by the board and the commissioner to the governor , who 05 shall make a decision. The decision of the governor is final. 06 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 7 to read: 07 Sec. 16.05.911. Preferences among beneficial uses of game. The highest and 08 best use of game is personal and family use for human consumption. The other 09 beneficial uses of game, in order of preference, include 10 (1) commercial use, including trapping and guiding; and 11 (2) nonconsumptive use, for commercial and noncommercial purposes.