Legislature(2009 - 2010)BETHEL
10/12/2009 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Current State of the Arctic/yukon/kuskokwim (ayk) Salmon Fisheries | |
| HB227 | |
| Current State of the Arctic/yukon/kuskokwim (ayk) Salmon Fisheries | |
| Energy Issues Including Transportation Corridor To/from Paimuit/kalskag | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
Informational hearing on HB 227 HOLITNA BASIN RESERVE 4:50:30 PM CO-CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the next order of business is an informational hearing on HOUSE BILL NO. 227, "An Act establishing state fish and game reserves; creating the Holitna River Basin Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping Reserve; and providing for an effective date." CO-CHAIR NEUMAN turned over the hearing to Representative Herron. 4:51:07 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON explained that establishment of the Holitna River Basin Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping Reserve has been proposed by the people in this region for several years, and the legislature is now moving forward with it. 4:52:13 PM GREG ROCZICKA, Director, Natural Resource Program, Orutsararmuit Native Council, first noted that Orutsararmuit Native Council is the tribal governing body in Bethel. He further noted he has been involved in the front lines of resource management issues at regional, state, and international levels for over 20 years and he served two terms on the Board of Game, including serving as chairman. He said the Holitna drainage has been recognized for its productive values and contributions to the Kuskokwim as a whole. It was initially considered for protection under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) as a National Wildlife Refuge or Wild and Scenic River, but it did not get included. MR. ROCZICKA related that area residents have been requesting the Holitna drainage be established as a refuge since the mid- 1980s. It is an extremely productive area of Western Alaska that has provided a large diversity of subsistence and other harvest opportunity ever since statehood. It is the largest drainage feeding the Kuskokwim watershed and is prime habitat for moose, bear, caribou, and furbearers. In addition, it is an important rearing and staging area for all species of salmon, including a unique species of river spawning and rearing sockeye not found in any other area of the state. Recent radio telemetry studies funded by AYKSSI monies - which have now been decreased by 400 percent - and the federal Office of Subsistence Management found that one-third of the Chinook Salmon, one-third of the Chum, two-thirds of the Sockeye, and one-fourth of the Coho running the Kuskokwim spawn in the Holitna drainage. He pointed out that the Kuskokwim drainage provides 50 percent of the total Chinook Salmon subsistence harvest for the entire state of Alaska. MR. ROCZICKA specified that the Holitna is also unique in that its productive habitat encompasses a wide area rather than being confined to a relatively narrow river corridor. He said the Holitna drainage is what can be called a breadbasket area. This concept could be transferred to other sub-regions of the state that have similar high quality habitat and productivity that would qualify them for an elevated level of management protection. He cited Game Management Unit (GMU) 20E and portions of GMU 13 as examples of other breadbasket subregions. 4:58:13 PM MR. ROCZICKA reviewed what HB 227 does not do. He said it would not preclude or prevent any of the activities currently allowed on state-managed lands. It would not override any existing management authorities of affected state management agencies. It would not prevent or preclude any existing access, conditions, or requirements. It would not change any existing hunting, fishing, or trapping regulations. MR. ROCZICKA pointed out that what HB 227 will do is create an elevated oversight and implementation of Alaska's Intensive Management Law to ensure maintenance of these activities into the future and prevent policy and administrative reluctance to conduct active management such as predator control programs. The legislation would close the loopholes that animal welfare organizations have used to stop [predator control] programs. It would do this by requiring the use of biological science as the burden of proof rather than political science. For example, he said the Holitna River used to be one of the most productive areas in the region for moose hunting and was utilized by 23 villages. However, in 2006, ten years after [Ballot Measure 3] shut down the [predator control] programs in that area, the Holitna River was entirely closed to hunting. 5:01:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON stated that in a meeting he had with them, both the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) supported HB 227. MR. ROCZICKA added that in 2006 or 2007 a proposal was in front of the Board of Game to make the Holitna a separate game management unit. At that same time, initial legislation was drafted, but due to political complications from other legislation and ballot initiatives it did not go forward. The record from that time includes formal statements of support from the Lower Kuskokwim Advisory Committee, Central Kuskokwim Advisory Committee, Stony-Holitna Advisory Committee, Anchorage Advisory Committee, Board of Game, and Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group. He said "Sleetmute and Orutsararmuit Native Councils" sponsored resolutions at that time which were unanimously supported by the Association of Village Council Presidents and there was also a letter of support from Calista Corporation. 5:02:51 PM MR. ROCZICKA pointed out that this proposal has undergone extensive public and administrative review and that that input has been incorporated. So far it has received very positive response, most of which has been primarily from the wildlife conservation side, but state agencies cannot officially support it until the administration does. Right now, there is formal support from the Board of Game. The Board of Fisheries has referred the issue to its habitat committee until such time as legislation is actually on the table. He will speak to the Board of Fisheries tomorrow during its work session, he noted. 5:04:37 PM GRANT FAIRBANKS stated he has lived on and worked on the Holitna River for 36 years. He said he has worked, as well, with the Sleetmute Traditional Council for 36 years trying to get the Holitna River the recognition it deserves. MR. FAIRBANKS, in response to Co-Chair Neuman, said the mouth of the Holitna River is located 250 miles upriver from Bethel. He recalled that in 1978 or 1979 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) included the Holitna River for designation as a Wild and Scenic River because studies showed it was a very unique part of the United States. At that time the State of Alaska and the federal government were battling over ownership of the Holitna River. The state took over ownership and since then the Village of Sleetmute and other people have been trying to get the state to recognize the Holitna for what it is and give it the protection it needs. He related that the Holitna River is a spawning area for all species of salmon, and that one-third to one-half of all the salmon spawn in the Holitna. MR. FAIRBANKS added that he has attended 11 hearings and 30 meetings over the last 30-some years trying to garner some type of protection for the Holitna River. He thanked Representative Herron for sponsoring HB 227 and Mr. Roczicka for writing the bill. This is not just about salmon, he pointed out. It is about moose. Many years ago when the state was writing the Kuskokwim Area Plan, a gigantic overlay was taken to all the villages in this area. Twenty-five villages indicated that their residents hunted moose up the Holitna. He recalled counting boats and moose hunters in the early 1980s and cited one hunting season in which there were 600 moose hunters and 300 boats, and the hunter success rate was 60 percent. There is no hunting there now, he continued, but the stocks are being built back up. This legislation is about salmon, moose, furbearers, and all the animals up there. He concluded, "We are just trying to get a bill passed that will give it some protection so that people in the state of Alaska will see that the highest and best use of that area is a ... breadbasket; it is a place where people can hunt and fish and trap and we need some type of protection for that so that we can quit going to all these hearings...." 5:08:38 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON described the Kuskokwim-Holitna area as being a piece of heaven. He said he will be requesting that HB 227 be scheduled as early as possible in January [2010] and the House Special Committee on Fisheries will be the first committee of hearing and the House Resources Standing Committee will be the second.
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