Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 124
02/15/2006 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB300 | |
| HJR14 | |
| HB324 | |
| HCR29 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 300 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 324 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HJR 14 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | HCR 29 | ||
HB 324-BAN ORANGE HAWKWEED/PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE 2:10:42 PM CO-CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 324, "An Act banning the importation, transfer, and cultivation of orange hawkweed and purple loosestrife." SUZANNE HANCOCK, Staff to Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, presented HB 324 on behalf of Representative LeDoux, sponsor. She said the bill bans the exportation of orange hawkweed and purple loosestrife in response to concerns from constituents. These invasive plants are devastating because they crowd out native plants in the wild and cultivated plants in residential gardens. She noted that purple loosestrife is a threat to wetlands and waterfowl, and volunteer groups in Kodiak have been pulling out and disposing of orange hawkweed. She said the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would have jurisdiction, and the bill has the commissioner adopting regulations to prevent further propagation. She said statute currently lists many weeds, but it has not kept up with new species. The bill only applies to those who knowingly plant these weeds, and it will be a class A misdemeanor, but the intent is not to have weed police, but to provide education. Representative LeDoux sponsored the bill because it is good public policy. 2:13:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD noted that the two species in the bill have been listed as the worst offenders. He said there is a large list of other noxious weeds, so why stop at these two. MS. HANCOCK said eventually DNR will update the list, but this is a rapid response to two weeds that are causing serious problems. She said these weeds are especially pernicious, and she compared them to kudzu. She added that purple loosestrife is now choking Chester Creek in Anchorage, and orange hawkweed is a problem in Kodiak and Yellowstone Park. She noted that DNR has not been able to keep up, "and these two are...sort of the poster children of bad weeds." REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said dandelions and vetch can't be controlled at this point, so "can we control these two species?" MS. HANCOCK said prevention is part of the goal, and education of the problem is key. She said communities are destroying the weeds as a community effort. REPRESENTATIVE GATTO again asked if the weeds can be stopped. MS. HANCOCK said it is difficult, but the plan is to get ahead of it. She noted that many states are spending millions of dollars to eradicate the weeds as well as spending money to replant areas with native species. 2:17:31 PM CO-CHAIR SAMUELS asked about the penalty on page 2, line 4. MS. HANCOCK said it is a class A misdemeanor. CO-CHAIR SAMUELS asked about adding the word "knowingly" on page 1, line 7, regarding the importation language. He suggested that seeds may be accidentally brought in. MS. HANCOCK said that could happen. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX said she doesn't have a problem with that change. She said the intent is not to be the weed Gestapo. But in any criminal law she assumes it has to be knowingly. CO-CHAIR SAMUELS asked about page 1, line 10, regarding the language "to another person." 2:19:37 PM KATE TROLL, Executive Director, Alaska Conservation Alliance, said HB 324 is a good start for Alaska. She noted that orange hawkweed can harm wildlife and riparian areas, and purple loosestrife aggressively out-competes native wetland plants. She noted that there are other invasive species, and that being proactive can save millions and billions of dollars. She said in solving one problem it is important not to create another problem, which would be the use of pesticide, so she asked the committee to offer an amendment. She suggesting adding: "In developing these regulations, emphasis should be placed on using the most strategic and least toxic method of eradication." She said that wouldn't eliminate the use of pesticides, "but it just talks about it in the proper context." 2:23:21 PM ERIN WHIPPLE, Kodiak, said she works for a Native corporation and strongly supports the bill because it is a huge step forward in preventing the importation of noxious and invasive species. She has seen what orange hawkweed can do; it is only 10 inches high but it can out-compete six-foot [indecipherable] until it becomes the only species in a field. It serves no purpose, whatsoever, for native animals, and it out-competes plants that wildlife depend on. She said Montana has identified 8.2 million acres infested with noxious weeds, and it will take $47 million to implement a weed management program "that slows weed spread and reduces current infestations by 5 percent." She noted that it will cost billions of dollars considering Alaska's vast acreage, "if we don't take these first steps now." 2:26:15 PM BLITHE BROWN, Noxious and Invasive Plants Coordinator, Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District, said she is also a volunteer for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. She noted that the Karluk Lake area is Kodiak Island's most productive salmon and bear habitat, and orange hawkweed is showing up there. Kodiak has made some headway with volunteer efforts, and has taught people to stop sharing certain plants between gardeners and to quit planting troublemakers. She said the problem is larger than Kodiak, and a small community effort might not be enough. She added that a major method of spread of the plants is people. Japanese knotweed and spotted knapweed need to dealt with too. She said the state needs to tie this bill to a species list that can be changed without a new law or regulation. She pointed out that current weed laws in Alaska are agricultural seed laws. The agricultural community is taking care of their weeds, "but now the rest of Alaska needs to realize that they too are part of the problem and can be part of the solution. Orange hawkweed and purple loosestrife do invade undisturbed habitat; they are not just common garden weeds." 2:28:29 PM VARSHA MATHRANI, Environmental Health Coordinator, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, said her group approves of the bill. CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said the committee has the letter that she is reading from and asked her is she would like to add anything. MS. MATHRANI emphasized the importance of prevention and education about invasive plants and finding integrative, non- toxic biological and mechanical strategies to eradicate them. 2:30:20 PM JANICE CHUMLEY, Master Gardener, said she has seen the problems of plants running amok, including a Homer cemetery that went from one small orange hawkweed plant to the entire cemetery being nothing but hawkweed in 15 years. She said she is concerned about preserving Alaska's wildlands, and she wants HB 324 to be part of an invasive species list that can been grown without additional legislation. She noted that one small plant can change fishery and wildlife habitat in the entire state. DOUG WARNER, Manager, Inspection/Marketing Services, Division of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, said HB 324 may not be necessary because "it would seem that we have existing statutory authority to implement some of the regulations necessary to control it. As this bill moves forward, we begin the process of updating regulations to include provisions for the control of weeds" and maybe with a broader perspective where weeds could be added and taken off a list. He said DNR would support a more comprehensive package that allows the process of adding weeds. He said DNR introduced a zero fiscal note because staffing would remain the same, but he said he doesn't know how effective DNR can be with a zero fiscal note. JAMIE SNYDER, Invasive Plants Program Assistant, Cooperative Extension Service, said prevention is extremely cost efficient-- much cheaper than treatment and restoration after-the-fact. "This is a great first step to address these two species of concern while we cross our fingers and hope that state agencies can develop a functional state noxious weed list." 2:35:18 PM CO-CHAIR SAMUELS said in order to make the bill consistent "and so we do not become the weed police," he offered Amendment 1 as follows: Page 1, line 7, before "import" Insert "knowingly" Hearing no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. 2:36:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX moved to report HB 324, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. Hearing no objections, CSHB 324(RES) moved out of the House Resources Standing Committee. The committee took an at-ease from 2:37:02 PM to 2:38:55 PM.
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