04/21/1994 09:01 AM Senate CRA

 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS brought  HB 259(title am)  (LAND GRANT FOR             
 LAKE & PENINSULA BOROUGH) before the committee as the next order of           
 business, stating that testimony would be taken over the                      
 Legislative Teleconference Network.                                           
                                                                               
 Number 100                                                                    
 JEFF PARKER, representing the Anchorage Fish & Game Advisory                  
 Committee, Alaska Sport Fishing Association and Trout Unlimited,              
 said the question of what lands should be retained for the public             
 is the first issue that should be decided.  He directed attention             
 to a petition containing over 430 signatures, an economic study by            
 the Hotel-Motel Association, the Alaska Professional Sport Fishing            
 Association and the Alaska Sport Fishing Association and various              
 other pieces of data which he had forwarded to the committee.   He            
 said the borough has no data to support its argument that it is               
 feasible, economic, or practicable to introduce expansion of large            
 industry in this region, and all this data indicates otherwise.  He           
 urged the legislation not be moved out of committee.                          
                                                                               
 Number 195                                                                    
                                                                               
 MARK LACROSSE, a member of the Lake & Peninsula Borough Assembly              
 and Planning Commission, said there is a perception that the land             
 selection has not involved an intensive public process, when, in              
 fact, borough land selection has been two years in the making and             
 public notices have been issued and posted in all of the                      
 communities.  In these land selections, it is their desire to                 
 ensure the economic viability of the borough as state dollars                 
 continue to shrink.  He noted that they have added the Bristol Bay            
 Coastal Management Plan in the makeup of their own coastal                    
 management plan.                                                              
                                                                               
 Number 226                                                                    
                                                                               
 WALT REEDE, Manager of the Lake & Peninsula Borough, echoed the               
 previous speaker's comments.  He said he knows there has been a               
 fair amount of opposition to HB 253, but they are working with Fish           
 & Game, DNR and some of the villages in trying to work out some of            
 the problems that people perceive with the bill.  He offered his              
 assurance that the people in the borough are very sensitive to                
 habitat values in the region and have no intention of doing                   
 anything that would jeopardize those resources.                               
                                                                               
 Number 252                                                                    
                                                                               
 ALICE RUBY, testifying on behalf of the Bristol Bay CSA Board,                
 reiterated her previous testimony on HB 253 that people in the                
 region had virtually no opportunity to find out about the bill and            
 its implications.  The legislation will have a major affect on                
 their area, and they believe the Legislature needs to consider the            
 bigger picture of what this legislation means, particularly its               
 effect on the commercial fisheries, subsistence and recreational              
 activities.  Concluding her comments, she urged the committee delay           
 its action until next session.                                                
                                                                               
 Number 303                                                                    
                                                                               
 GINGER TORNES, a commercial fisherman in the Bristol Bay area,                
 stated the grant of 187,000 acres is more than 16 times the amount            
 of land the borough is entitled to under current state law, and she           
 expressed her concern that it would set a dangerous precedent.  She           
 is concerned that much of land that has been identified is                    
 important wildlife and recreation land.  She does not believe that            
 the Lake & Peninsula Borough needs to increase their tax base.  She           
 urged defeat of HB 259.                                                       
                                                                               
 Number 335                                                                    
                                                                               
 MARK BELL, a resident of Soldotna, voiced his opposition to HB 259            
 and urged more input by the agencies involved and by the public.              
 He said the area does not need more lodges and public access which            
 would put additional pressure on their resources.                             
                                                                               
 Number 360                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHRIS GOLL, a twenty-eight year Alaska resident residing at Rainbow           
 River Lodge located near Iliamna and a former two-term member of              
 the Alaska Board of Fisheries, voiced his opposition to HB 259.               
 The fisheries resources, as well as the wildlife resources that               
 exist in the area are already totally utilized by the Alaska                  
 peninsula users, the subsistence users and the commercial                     
 businesses that exist there.  Speaking to the priority subsistence            
 issue, he said the federal government has indicated, through Judge            
 Holland, that they are going to be taking over management of                  
 subsistence out there and will be utilizing the resident stocks, as           
 well as the anadromous stocks, thereby further complicating the               
 problem.                                                                      
                                                                               
 Number 404                                                                    
                                                                               
 RAY PETERSON of Anchorage voiced his opposition to HB 259.  He                
 noted he has contacted many of the Alaskan operators of sport                 
 fishing operations that use these lands in question, and they are             
 unanimously opposed to the land grant.  He expressed his concern on           
 whether the borough can be trusted to maintain the free and open              
 access that the residents of the area now enjoy.  He asserted the             
 only people in favor of HB 259 are the ones who run the borough.              
                                                                               
 Number 425                                                                    
                                                                               
 ANGIE GERKEN of Homer stated her support for Mr. Goll's and Mr.               
 Peterson' comments.  She said she does not want to see the state              
 make a short-term decision that will be a detriment to all Alaskans           
 and will have little benefit for the villages in that area.  She              
 urged the legislation be held in committee.                                   
                                                                               
 Number 465                                                                    
                                                                               
 FRED NISHIMURA of Dillingham, informed the committee that he is the           
 manager of three village corporations in the Nushagak Bay drainage            
 that are also involved in a lawsuit with the Lake & Peninsula                 
 Borough and the Local Boundary Commission over the drawing of the             
 northwest boundary.  He said these villages are very concerned                
 about HB 259, because it disregards the concerns that people have             
 who live outside of the LPB boundary; concerns such as their                  
 lifestyles, their own lands, their use of the land and resources.             
 They believe the bill exemplifies natural resource management at              
 its worst and that it should not be passed.                                   
                                                                               
 Number 506                                                                    
                                                                               
 LAMAR COTTEN, representing the Lake & Peninsula Borough, said the             
 borough has held over 20 meetings on the land grant issue, and they           
 have documentation showing that public notice was given for those             
 meetings.  In addition, all residents received at least three                 
 newsletters concerning this issue, along with a series of other               
 reports that went to interested parties.  He also said the Lake &             
 Peninsula Borough has no interest in obtaining or proposing lands             
 in the disputed area until that issue has been resolved by the                
 court.  The borough has worked with DNR and Fish and Game and                 
 explained that they have no problem with access.  He pointed out              
 these are proposed selections, and they still need to go through a            
 series of public hearings and a public hearing process working with           
 DNR.                                                                          
                                                                               
 Number 533                                                                    
                                                                               
 TOM GREEN, Chairman of the Planning Commission for the Lake and               
 Peninsula Borough, agreed with Mr. Cotten's comments on the                   
 meetings held by the borough.  He said the bill only allows the               
 borough an entitlement and does not allow them any lands they have            
 specified.  They have backed away from obtaining land in the areas            
 of the Mulchatna, the Nushiak, and the northwest boundaries.                  
                                                                               
 Number 567                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS closed the public hearing on HB 259, stating           
 that it would be back before the committee at its next meeting.