Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205

02/18/2008 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES


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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= HB 165 BIG GAME GUIDES AND TRANSPORTERS TELECONFERENCED
Moved HB 165 Out of Committee
*+ SB 176 ACTIVE GAME MANAGEMENT/AIRBORNE SHOOTING TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSSB 176(RES) Out of Committee
= SB 253 BOARD OF GAME
Moved SB 253 Out of Committee
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
        SB 176-ACTIVE GAME MANAGEMENT/AIRBORNE SHOOTING                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HUGGINS announced the consideration of SB 176.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:30:45 PM                                                                                                                    
DOUG LARSON, Director, Division  of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska                                                               
Department of  Fish and Game,  said he was present  for questions                                                               
on SB 176.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
KEVIN  SAXBY, Senior  Assistant Attorney  General, Department  of                                                               
Law, said he  has been assigned to the Board  of Game since 1992.                                                               
The  bill was  produced  to  keep a  commitment  to  a number  of                                                               
interested legislators  back in  the Murkowski  administration to                                                               
harmonize  the existing  intensive  management  law and  same-day                                                               
airborne  law.  The  two  laws are  contradictory.  It  has  been                                                               
suggested  that the  bill  is an  attempt  to circumvent  current                                                               
litigation, and that  is not true. The bill  predated the current                                                               
litigation,  but the  ongoing legal  challenges  since 2003  have                                                               
highlighted  the   weakness  in  these  two   statutes,  and  how                                                               
difficult it  is for game managers  to follow both laws.  This is                                                               
the first comprehensive effort submitted  to the legislature from                                                               
the people who have to obey these two statutory mandates.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:33:11 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  SAXBY said  Sections  1  and 2  don't  make any  substantive                                                               
changes.  Sections  3 to  5  are  substantive. They  rewrite  the                                                               
intensive management  law. "We are simplifying  what is currently                                                               
a  relatively complex  and circuitous  process down  to its  bare                                                               
essentials - down to essentially three steps."                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
He said the  first step is that the board  must identify the game                                                               
populations  to  be  managed  intensively  and  set  harvest  and                                                               
population objectives. The second is  to meet those objectives at                                                               
all  times,  and  to  continue   to  manage  it  intensively  for                                                               
abundance.  The third  step is  if the  objectives are  not being                                                               
met,  the  board  must take  positive  action,  including  active                                                               
management if it becomes necessary.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Section 3 sets  up the obligation to identify  the deer, caribou,                                                               
and moose  populations that  are important to  manage for  a high                                                               
level of human use. It requires  the board to set the objectives.                                                               
This is  already required under  existing law, but this  bill was                                                               
"putting   it   front   and  center."   He   expects   that   the                                                               
identifications that  the board has  already made over  the years                                                               
would be ratified if this bill passes.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
He  said that  Section 4  requires the  department to  manage for                                                               
abundance, and  if objectives are  not being met, the  board must                                                               
take action.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:35:46 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  noted that Sections  (e), (f) and  (j) were                                                               
deleted and asked if that was changed a couple of years ago.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY replied that the original  versions of (e), (f) and (j)                                                               
were  adapted in  1994/95  and  amended in  1998.  What they  are                                                               
looking at is the 1998 version.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said  the current law talks  about the Board                                                               
of Game adopting regulations to  provide for intensive management                                                               
programs and  sets out three  scientific principles and  asked in                                                               
what  situations   those  scientific  principles  would   not  be                                                               
utilized.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:37:11 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  SAXBY replied  that Senator  Wielechowski over-simplified  a                                                               
little  bit. Sections  (e)  and (f)  have  two separate  triggers                                                               
under existing  law for intensive  management; the  first trigger                                                               
is if the game population is depleted.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  said he understood  that and asked  what is                                                               
wrong with  the current  statute that lays  out three  things the                                                               
board has  to look at relying  on science. What's wrong  with the                                                               
current principles that we have?                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY replied that those  goals are not scientific principles                                                               
- science  is only  one of  the criteria under  (f). It  also has                                                               
whether it would be detrimental to subsistence uses.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said you are taking that out.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY said  this mandates intensive management  unless one of                                                               
those three  criteria are met.  Those aren't standards to  be met                                                               
to allow intensive  management; those are the  only grounds under                                                               
which you can avoid intensive management.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:38:35 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  why Alaska  wouldn't want  a program                                                               
that is  achievable as in  current statute.  Why get rid  of that                                                               
provision?                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY  replied they  don't want a  check list,  because every                                                               
time  you create  a  checklist, "you  create  an opportunity  for                                                               
people to argue that you haven't jumped through proper hoops."                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
The simplification  language simply  says that  the board  has to                                                               
take  whatever  action it  deems  appropriate,  and there  is  no                                                               
scientific standard in the existing law; it's just a checklist.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him for  an example of when they would                                                               
not  want feasibly  achievable utilizing  recognized and  prudent                                                               
management techniques. Give an example.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY said, "You're not quite reading it right."                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  said  he   is  reading  exactly  from  the                                                               
statute.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.   SAXBY  said   the  statute   requires  adopting   intensive                                                               
management  unless it  is not  scientifically  achievable. It  is                                                               
very  difficult   to  prove   something  is   not  scientifically                                                               
achievable; so  that obligates mandatory intensive  management in                                                               
virtually  every  situation.  They  are  actually  reducing  that                                                               
standard, but not the scientific  standard. That standard doesn't                                                               
say: you  may do it  if it's scientifically achievable;  it says:                                                               
you must do it unless it's not scientifically achievable.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  said  he   would  rephrase  the  question.                                                               
Section  3  deletes from  the  intensive  management statute  the                                                               
provision  that  intensive  management  programs  apply  only  to                                                               
depleted  moose  and  caribou   populations  or  those  with  low                                                               
productivity. He  asked, "Why would  you want to  apply intensive                                                               
management programs,  like predator control, to  populations that                                                               
are not depleted or those with high productivity?"                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:40:56 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  SAXBY   replied,  "Because  if  it's   a  population  that's                                                               
important  to manage  for high  levels  of human  harvest, it  is                                                               
always important  to do  so." A  good example  would be  Unit 20a                                                               
moose;  those moose  are not  depleted, but  they are  over their                                                               
objectives.  But it  is  necessary to  reduce  the population  in                                                               
order  to  avoid overgrazing  the  range.  Even though  it  isn't                                                               
depleted it  is still important  to management it  intensively or                                                               
actively.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  said Section  3 also deletes  the provision                                                               
that intensive  management programs  must be  feasibly achievable                                                               
utilizing  recognized and  prudent  active management  techniques                                                               
and asked why that is taken out.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:41:46 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. SAXBY  answered, "We're not  removing any... all  we're doing                                                               
is simplifying  it down to  its bare essentials. And  that's only                                                               
one of  the two triggers."  The trigger  if it's depletion  is in                                                               
Section (e);  Section (f) has  another trigger which is  when the                                                               
board acts  to significantly reduce  the taking of the  species -                                                               
then it is  obligated to undertake intensive  management as well.                                                               
There is no requirement in that  case for it to be scientifically                                                               
achievable.  The two  are being  meshed into  a single  trigger -                                                               
that being if objectives aren't being  met, then the board has to                                                               
take action.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked if it  would be possible  under these                                                               
changes,  that  there would  be  an  imprudent active  management                                                               
technique.  In  other words,  current  law  requires that  it  be                                                               
feasibly achievable  and utilizing recognized and  prudent active                                                               
management techniques. Would  it be a violation  of this proposed                                                               
language  to  use  imprudent or  unrecognized  active  management                                                               
techniques.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:43:17 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. SAXBY replied "I don't think so."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if  they would  then  be giving  the                                                               
board  unfettered discretion  to do  imprudent active  management                                                               
techniques.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY  replied that he didn't  think the board has  ever used                                                               
its discretion to do that.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  stated that  they  were  giving the  board                                                               
unfettered discretion.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY  responded   that  this  law  gives   the  board  more                                                               
discretion, but  not in  the area  that Senator  Wielechowski was                                                               
positing.  They are  getting more  discretion to  take a  broader                                                               
approach to  active management rather  than being forced  into it                                                               
every time they  reduce a season or a bag  limit. "Now they won't                                                               
be forced into it." They will be  able to look at a broader range                                                               
of activities. That is the whole underlying intent here.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  said as  he reads this,  the board  will be                                                               
able to  do anything it wants,  even if it is  not scientifically                                                               
based.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY replied  that they  should understand  that the  board                                                               
already had  all that authority  to do intensive  management. The                                                               
law  was  adopted  to  force  the board  to  do  it  in  specific                                                               
instances  because  it hadn't  been  active  enough. The  broad's                                                               
authority to conduct intensive management  in any situation where                                                               
it thinks  it's warranted.  The standards  are being  changed for                                                               
when the board is absolutely obligated to do it.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:45:22 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR GREEN  said she thought  they were overlooking  the broad                                                               
authority  of the  Board of  Game and  what it  is charged  to do                                                               
overall.  "You  would not  repeat  that  you will  act  sensibly,                                                               
reasonably,  prudent, good  management, good  biological material                                                               
in each  and every  chapter. That's  the overriding  principle of                                                               
what  they   do."  That   is  why   the  members   are  reviewed,                                                               
interviewed, voted upon and then can be removed.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HUGGINS said that is an excellent point.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:46:02 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  SAXBY   added  that  the   board  does  a  number   of  very                                                               
controversial things like adopt Tier 2  hunts when there is not a                                                               
harvestable surplus to provide for  all subsistence uses. None of                                                               
those  other  statutes  have  a check  list  like  the  intensive                                                               
management law.  "Apparently the legislature trusts  the board to                                                               
make  very  controversial  decisions in  other  situations  about                                                               
this."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:46:38 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GREEN  asked  on  page  2, line  20,  Section  4,  about                                                               
populations  not meeting  established  objectives  and the  board                                                               
shall adopt  regulations. She  asked if  the adoption  is delayed                                                               
until after  the disaster occurs, so  that it can be  tailored to                                                               
that  particular   hunt  area  versus   a  statewide   policy  on                                                               
identifying  low   objectives  on  meeting  the   guidelines  and                                                               
population figures.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:47:19 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. SAXBY replied  each set of regulations will  be tailored. The                                                               
very  first step  is to  identify the  specific populations  that                                                               
this law requires intensive management  of. That is only a subset                                                               
of moose and  caribou populations. The board  has only identified                                                               
half of  the moose deer and  caribou populations in the  state as                                                               
being  important  to  manage  for  high levels  of  use.  Do  the                                                               
objectives are  set for  each of those  populations and  if those                                                               
are not being  met (either over or below), you  would be required                                                               
to take steps under this bill.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
He said:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     For  the   first  time   we're  applying   the  mandate                                                                    
     throughout the  lifespan or the  lifecycle of  the herd                                                                    
     in question. In  other words, it isn't just  when it is                                                                    
     depleted  that you  act to  meet your  objectives. It's                                                                    
     also  when it's  overpopulated  that you  have to  meet                                                                    
     your objectives.  If it is  important to manage  it for                                                                    
     high levels  of human  use, it  is always  important to                                                                    
     manage it for high levels of human use.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referred to  deleting section (f) which says                                                               
"this  subsection does  not apply  if the  board determines  that                                                               
intensive  management would  be ineffective  based on  scientific                                                               
information,  inappropriate due  to land  ownership patterns,  or                                                               
against  the best  interests of  subsistence uses."  He asked  if                                                               
they aren't  giving the  Board of  Game unfettered  discretion to                                                               
create an intensive management program  that is ineffective based                                                               
on   scientific   information,   or  inappropriate   or   against                                                               
subsistence uses.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY  replied that the  board is being given  the discretion                                                               
to  find that  it isn't  appropriate  for more  than those  three                                                               
listed reasons.  He reminded them  that the  intensive management                                                               
law  requires  intensive management  unless  one  of those  three                                                               
conditions is met.  By taking those conditions out,  the board is                                                               
required to do  something, but it isn't  necessarily required to,                                                               
for example, adopt a wolf control  program unless it can find one                                                               
of those three conditions is  met. Instead it has more discretion                                                               
to decide  when or what  action is appropriate. It  isn't limited                                                               
to only three reasons to avoid intensive management.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR   WIELECHOWSKI  said   the  constitution   requires  that                                                               
wildlife  be  managed  on  the  sustained  yield  principle.  The                                                               
legislature is  the body that  has the  constitutional obligation                                                               
to oversee  the management of  Alaska's wildlife. This  turns all                                                               
of that  responsibility over to  a board  saying go ahead  and do                                                               
what you  want. It doesn't  have to be  based on science,  or the                                                               
best  interest   of  subsistence  uses.   It  can  be   based  on                                                               
inappropriate use of land ownership  patterns. What concerned him                                                               
is  that it  is a  drastic change  to give  the board  unfettered                                                               
discretion and  going away from  scientific principles.  There is                                                               
no  accountability. He  asked if  any other  board has  that same                                                               
discretion.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:51:01 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. SAXBY  replied that the  board already has the  discretion he                                                               
is talking  about. The  intensive management  law does  not limit                                                               
the  board's ability  to conduct  intensive  management. It  only                                                               
limits  the  occasions  when  it  is  required  to  do  intensive                                                               
management.   The  board   has   the   authority  under   general                                                               
authorities  to adopt  laws that  include  predator control,  for                                                               
example  (before Sections  (e),(f),  (g) and  (j).  The Board  of                                                               
Fisheries has the same broad authority.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY  said the intensive  management law  is not a  grant of                                                               
authority and this  bill isn't a grant of  authority either. That                                                               
authority   exists   elsewhere   in  statutes.   The   underlying                                                               
assumption of this bill is  that the legislature still intends to                                                               
require  the board  in certain  circumstances to  adopt intensive                                                               
management  programs. That  being the  case, they  are trying  to                                                               
meet that requirement and make  it a more defensible requirement.                                                               
"This is not an additional grant of authority."                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY said Section 5 reduces  the definitions to just two. It                                                               
eliminates   the   problematic   ones.  There   was   problematic                                                               
"harvestable surplus" and "sustained  yield" definitions. Both of                                                               
which  were contradictory  with  current  governing principle  of                                                               
game management  or with existing  case law. The  term "intensive                                                               
management"  is being  changed  to  "active management",  because                                                               
active  management is  generally  viewed by  game  managers as  a                                                               
broader term  encompassing more than predator  control or habitat                                                               
manipulation. The  current definition has  "intensive management"                                                               
defined as active  management anyway, so the middle  term is just                                                               
being cut out.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
They are retaining the definition  of "providing for a high level                                                               
of  human harvest,"  because that  is  the core  of the  mandate.                                                               
Sections 6 and 7 are just  conforming changes, but Sections 8 -10                                                               
are the same-day airborne law.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:54:05 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked  if under Section 4 the  board will be                                                               
required to make written findings justifying its decisions.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY answered  when  the board  adopts  a predator  control                                                               
implementation plan, it  adopts written findings; but  if it sets                                                               
objectives under  Section 3, those  go into regulations,  so they                                                               
are in writing, too. When  the board identifies populations those                                                               
go into regulations, so those are in writing.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if those  determinations in Sections 3                                                               
and 4  would be required  to be based  findings must be  based on                                                               
science.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY replied  that it will be required to  base those on the                                                               
total  record before  it, just  like all  other decisions.  Every                                                               
time a proposal  comes before the board,  the department presents                                                               
the best  available data and  the best available science  that it                                                               
has.  Members  of  the  public   testify  and  opposition  groups                                                               
testify.  The  board   is  required  to  consider   all  of  that                                                               
information  under the  Administrative  Procedures  Act and  then                                                               
make a reasoned  decision based on all of  that information. That                                                               
requirement won't change.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  asked if  they  will  be required  to  use                                                               
science.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:55:34 PM                                                                                                                    
Mr. Saxby said they will  be required to use whatever information                                                               
comes to them. They need to use all.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI stated that  Section 5 defines providing for                                                               
high level  of human harvest by  hunter demand and asked  if that                                                               
includes hunter demand from outside  hunters or just residents or                                                               
both.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY replied  that  it  includes all  hunter  demand as  is                                                               
required under existing law.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI said  if you  get 12,000  requests for  the                                                               
Nelchina herd  which is obviously  more demand than  supply, does                                                               
that mean you eliminate all the predators.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY answered  no, because of carrying capacity  and a great                                                               
many  other factors  matter as  well the  board has  to set  both                                                               
population and harvest objectives.  The definition just lists the                                                               
factors  that the  board needs  to consider  when doing  that. It                                                               
doesn't mean that  hunter demand is the  only controlling factor.                                                               
Biological  capabilities of  the  herd and  habitat and  historic                                                               
hunter demand are important, too.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:56:53 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. SAXBY  said Section  8 takes  the existing  same-day airborne                                                               
law  and  for  the  first  time  meshes  it  with  the  intensive                                                               
management law. As  historically worded, they have  been at cross                                                               
purposes. It adds brown bears  to the class of protected animals.                                                               
Currently  there is  no prohibition  against hunting  brown bears                                                               
the  same  day  as  airborne.   They  have  been  added  to  that                                                               
prohibition because they are slow  breeders and deserving of that                                                               
protection.  Wolverines  and  brown  bears  are  added  into  the                                                               
exceptions if it is necessary.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY explained,  "I guess  our thinking  has been  that the                                                               
essence of  the same-day airborne  law has always been  a general                                                               
prohibition  on  same-day  airborne   hunting,  coupled  with  an                                                               
exception  for predator  control when  necessary." The  standards                                                               
have  varied  over  the  years.  The exception  for  when  it  is                                                               
necessary  to mesh  with the  intensive management  law is  being                                                               
changed. So  if the board  determines that its  objectives aren't                                                               
being met and  active management is necessary, it  may then adopt                                                               
a  predator control  program. The  other  exception is  if it  is                                                               
conducive to the  health of a predator  population, for instance,                                                               
the lice infestations in moose.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if  he said  this  law will  protect                                                               
brown bears.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY replied yes, for the first time.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked if  a person  can aerial  shoot brown                                                               
bears now.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY  answered  no,  because there  is  a  regulation  that                                                               
forbids it, but it is not in statute.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said you can't  aerial-shoot brown bears now                                                               
and asked if you could under the proposal.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY  replied  only  in  the case  of  a  predator  control                                                               
program.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said let's be realistic with the public.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     You are  not protecting  brown bears with  this. You're                                                                    
     putting it in statute that  they are protected and then                                                                    
     in another  section you're  saying you  can go  out and                                                                    
     aerial shoot  them. Let's be  up front with  the public                                                                    
     about what we're doing here.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
5:00:06 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  SAXBY  differed saying  there  is  no statutory  prohibition                                                               
against taking brown bears from the air for any reason.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  said there are regulations  against it, and                                                               
he was  attempting to override  those with a statute  by allowing                                                               
them to be shot in  another section. "That's not protecting brown                                                               
bears, Mr. Saxby."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY responded that regulation  currently allows brown bears                                                               
to be taken from the area  in a predator control program. So, the                                                               
general prohibition is in regulation as well as the exception.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HUGGINS asked him to continue with his testimony.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SAXBY  stated that  Section  9  adds another  exception  and                                                               
explained  that  the  general  prohibition  doesn't  apply  to  a                                                               
department employee in taking wolves,  wolverines or brown bears.                                                               
It  includes  taking  nuisance wildlife  and  to  protect  public                                                               
safety. A public  employee flying out to kill an  animal would be                                                               
illegal.  Section  10 makes  it  clear  that  dart guns  are  not                                                               
included. The remaining sections are transition dates.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
5:01:54 PM                                                                                                                    
WADE WILLIS,  representing himself,  said he  is amazed  that the                                                               
Department  of  Law thinks  this  will  help  the Board  of  Game                                                               
institute  predator control  programs.  "That's  just a  stunning                                                               
twist and  an obvious smoke  screen." Meshing regulations  into a                                                               
single trigger  reduces game  management to  the opinions  of the                                                               
members of  the Board of Game;  they would need science  or proof                                                               
to verify predator control is needed.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
The  department, for  the first  time,  will be  allowed to  kill                                                               
bears for the first time. Arial  shooting of bears has never been                                                               
in the law or  available to the Board of Game.  This issue is the                                                               
most highly contentious  issue in Alaska where it  has been voted                                                               
on  three   times.  He  said   57,000  people  signed   the  last                                                               
initiative.  Further he  said, the  Board of  Game represents  15                                                               
percent of  Alaska residents,  85 percent of  which do  not hunt.                                                               
Not  one representative  on the  Board of  Game is  from that  85                                                               
percent that doesn't hunt.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. WILLIS  accused, "You  are giving  unfettered access  to this                                                               
contentious issue to a special  interest group, the hunters.) You                                                               
cannot protect  the wildlife of this  state or manage it  in that                                                               
way. This  bill is not  a simplification of the  regulations, but                                                               
an attempt  to remove all  the essential elements of  the public,                                                               
the  courts and  scientific community's  ability to  require that                                                               
intensive  management  techniques,   especially  aerial  predator                                                               
control  are  carefully  supported  by scientific  data  and  the                                                               
public.                                                                                                                         
5:05:06 PM                                                                                                                    
VIC VANBALLENBERGHE, Wildlife Biologist,  Anchorage, said he is a                                                               
former  three-term Board  of  Game member  and  that he  strongly                                                               
disagreed  with the  notion  that  SB 176  is  an improvement  to                                                               
current intensive  management and the same-day  air-borne hunting                                                               
statutes. The guidelines that would  be deleted by this bill were                                                               
placed in  statute by previous  legislators after a good  deal of                                                               
input  from biologists,  DOL, and  interested parties.  This bill                                                               
deletes  those in  one  fell swoop.  Those  guidelines have  been                                                               
characterized  as a  checklist  to guide  the  board in  adopting                                                               
intensive management programs.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
He suggested  if they  are going to  amend existing  statute, the                                                               
state  should add  to the  checklist, not  delete it  or subtract                                                               
from  it. It  is  not as  if  the board  has  been restrained  in                                                               
adopting intensive  management programs  by those  guidelines. He                                                               
said the state  already has five active programs  to reduce bears                                                               
and wolves to increase prey.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. VANBALLENBERGHE  said the most  objectionable thing  he finds                                                               
is  SB 176  is  the  provision in  Section  8  that modifies  the                                                               
airborne shooting  act such that  the board would no  longer need                                                               
information from  the Alaska Department  of Fish and Game.  It is                                                               
important language and  should be restored. He  added, "Of course                                                               
we would  want to  document that  reducing predation  would solve                                                               
the problem."                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
5:08:29 PM                                                                                                                    
ANDREA  VEACH, representing  herself,  said  Alaskans have  twice                                                               
voted in 1996  and 2000 against aerial shooting of  wolves by the                                                               
public. The voters  have been disregarded by  the legislature and                                                               
the  board.  Native  subsistence hunters  did  not  traditionally                                                               
depend  on aerial  elimination of  their competition  to gain  an                                                               
advantage and she asked why they  think that is necessary now. If                                                               
anything has changed, it's that  there are more hunters expecting                                                               
more than the land can provide.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. VEACH  said historically the  predator most dangerous  to the                                                               
environment in  the balance of nature  is man, and we  need to be                                                               
managed.  The human  population is  now 6.5  billion; wolves  and                                                               
bears can be  counted in the thousands. Where will  the wolves go                                                               
when  the human  population reaches  9.3 billion,  she asked  and                                                               
said "This is our challenge and that should be our priority."                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Most of  the world  has decimated  their wildlife  and it  is now                                                               
time to  accommodate it. The  Board of  Game sees the  animals as                                                               
something to  kill and  consume and  the state  needs a  Board of                                                               
Wildlife to mitigate  that single narrow view.  In Denali, seeing                                                               
human  visitors appreciating  this  smallest  opportunity to  see                                                               
animals.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
5:11:33 PM                                                                                                                    
MS.  VEACH  concluded  that  SB 176  could  be  called  appeasing                                                               
outside hunters.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
5:12:08 PM                                                                                                                    
PAUL  JOSLIN,  retired  Wildlife Biologist,  Anchorage,  said  he                                                               
strongly opposes  SB 176, because  it would make legal  the same-                                                               
day shooting of wolves, bears,  and wolverines on a whim. Looking                                                               
at ADF&G information  would no longer be  required and department                                                               
employees  wouldn't  be able  to  adhere  to a  management  plan.                                                               
Airborne shooting is highly controversial,  so common sense would                                                               
be to  make sure  you have a  solid case before  you do  it. This                                                               
bill will  do the opposite.  It will allow  the Board of  Game to                                                               
engage in  predator control with  only flimsy  justification, and                                                               
the  key  words  are  "conducive to  achieving  the  objectives."                                                               
Reasonable certainty is not needed, just a mere hunch.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
VAL GLOOSCHECNKO, Biologist,  federal agency, said she  is on her                                                               
own  time and  backs up  previous testimony  in opposition  to SB
176. The  changes proposed are  not housekeeping items;  they are                                                               
drastic.  It would  open  the door  to  increase killing  wolves,                                                               
wolverines  and bears  statewide  without  necessity or  science.                                                               
This is outside the pale of any wildlife management principles.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
5:15:48 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. GLOOSCHECNKO  said the  Wildlife Society  met recent  and had                                                               
several  presentations unanimously  against  this. She  concluded                                                               
that  this  bill  is   not  scientifically  defensible.  Wildlife                                                               
belongs to all Alaskans.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
JERRY McCUTCHEON said  he has watched this "stuff"  for 60 years.                                                               
Gone are the days of bands  of sheep and herds of caribou roaming                                                               
the foothills of Mt. McKinley -  sheep so numerous and thick they                                                               
would  not move  out of  the  way of  oncoming dog  teams of  the                                                               
trappers and miners. Sheep in front  of the dogs would jump up on                                                               
the backs  of other sheep  and fill back  in as the  dogs passed.                                                               
Imagine  a  dog   team  totally  surrounded  by   sheep.  It  was                                                               
spectacular, but he never got to see it. No one else will.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Every  time he  met up  with Carl  Logsfeld, who  was a  dog team                                                               
driver and  later a miner, in  a bar, he would  insist on telling                                                               
him the trail on  which the dog races were held  was not the real                                                               
Iditarod.  The real  one  went through  McKinley  Park. The  Park                                                               
Service took  man out  of the hunting  and trapping  equation and                                                               
wolves slowly destroyed  those great bands of sheep  and herds of                                                               
caribou to  the point that there  is little or nothing  left. The                                                               
wolves then  resorted to  killing and eating  each other  or left                                                               
the park  to go  where there  was still  game. Because  the state                                                               
killed wolves  from airplanes,  there were  more wolves  and more                                                               
game when the wolves were aerially  hunted. He is a firm believer                                                               
in aerial wolf hunting and "none of this land-and-shoot crap."                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR.  McCUTCHEON said,  "It's  not about  fair  chase; it's  about                                                               
predator control. No wolf hunting  or bear hunting by ADF&G. Just                                                               
raise  the bounty  until the  state  has an  active community  of                                                               
aerial hunters."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
5:19:21 PM                                                                                                                    
JOHN  TOPPENBERG, Alaska  Wildlife  Alliance,  Soldotna, said  he                                                               
wanted to  address one  aspect of this  bill, the  application of                                                               
any  requirement  that  biological  science  be  a  part  of  the                                                               
decision-making   process.   He   disagreed  with   Mr.   Saxby's                                                               
interpretation  and characterizations  saying the  Board of  Game                                                               
often  gives  minimal  deference  to available  science.  It  has                                                               
implemented  programs  that  have  caused  mainstream  scientists                                                               
serious  concern.   The  research  data  compiled   by  ADF&G  is                                                               
available to  any interested scientist.  Scientific organizations                                                               
opposed to  the existing programs  include the  National Research                                                               
Council  and   the  American  Society  of   Mammalogists;  others                                                               
scientists are against these extreme programs as well.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR. TOPPENBERG said  this bill would not only  eliminate the need                                                               
to consider  the inadequate scientific  standards the  board must                                                               
now give  passing consideration to,  but it would  also eliminate                                                               
any requirement  that predators are  the cause of the  decline or                                                               
low prey  numbers. This regressive legislation  should be opposed                                                               
by  anyone  supporting  moderate scientific  wildlife  management                                                               
concepts  and that  recognize that  healthy  populations of  both                                                               
predator and prey are necessary for healthy ecosystems.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
5:20:56 PM                                                                                                                    
JOEL  BENNETT, former  Board of  Game member  for over  12 years,                                                               
Juneau, said  he has been  an active  licensed hunter for  the 39                                                               
years he  has lived in Alaska.  He was the organizer  and sponsor                                                               
of each of  the initiatives in 1996 and 2000  and he is presently                                                               
co-sponsoring  the third  ballot initiative  on the  same subject                                                               
that has been certified for a vote next August.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. BENNETT  said he  wanted to  focus on  what he  considers the                                                               
guts of the  bill in Section 8. It makes  large scale changes and                                                               
the current  airborne hunting laws  the state has  been operating                                                               
with.  He was very surprised  that Mr. Saxby didn't describe what                                                               
was being deleted  from that statute, and that is  the whole key.                                                               
He said the  plan has to be based on  information provided by the                                                               
ADF&G and has  to tie in a causal way  predation either by wolves                                                               
or bears as  an important reason the  objectives aren't achieved.                                                               
If they don't know that wolves  or bears are causing the problem,                                                               
why would  they be shooting  them? Maybe habitat is  the problem,                                                               
not bears or wolves.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
His initiative  has 57,000  signatures and  the common  thread is                                                               
that the  board needs some kind  of minimal standard so  that the                                                               
department  bases  its   predation  control,  especially  through                                                               
airborne methods,  on bona-fide serious biological  problems. The                                                               
initiative uses the  same language that passed in  1996 by almost                                                               
60  percent of  Alaskans. It  also  says it  has to  be based  on                                                               
adequate scientific data,  a key element. It also says  it has to                                                               
be conducted  by department personnel,  because that is  the most                                                               
responsible humane and  efficient way to do  these programs. They                                                               
also say  it should be  confined to the smallest  geographic area                                                               
as  possible.  "We think  that's  what  the public  really  would                                                               
support and go along with in terms of predator control."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  BENNETT said  this  bill actually  takes  that standard  and                                                               
modifies to the point that there is no standard at all.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
5:24:48 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  directed his question to  the Department of                                                               
law  and asked  if it's  the administration  perspective that  if                                                               
Section 8 or  any part of this  bill passes that it  will have an                                                               
impact on the ballot initiate.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. SAXBY replied the administration  wants this bill to stand or                                                               
fall on  its own merit  whether it impacts the  ballot initiative                                                               
or not.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if the governor supports these changes.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. LARSON replied yes.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if the  constitutional provision  on                                                               
sustained yield applies to predators.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. LARSON answered yes.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
5:26:35 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WAGONER said he has been  told that black bears kill more                                                               
new  born moose  calves on  the  Kenai Peninsula  than any  other                                                               
predator  and the  second highest  predators are  feral dogs.  He                                                               
didn't think  the bill went  far enough in listing  the predators                                                               
that  are  really  to  blame   for  the  decrease  in  the  moose                                                               
population.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LARSON responded  the current  law as  well as  the proposal                                                               
allows black  bears to  fall within those  species that  could be                                                               
managed by predator control activities.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
5:27:54 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  LARSON also  noted  that  the effective  date  of July  2007                                                               
should say July 2008.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  HUGGINS announced  conceptual Amendment  1 that  corrected                                                               
the effective date  on page 5, line 25. There  were no objections                                                               
and it so ordered.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  STEDMAN moved  to report  CSSB  176(RES) from  committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and attached  fiscal  note(s).                                                               
There  being no  objection, CSSB  176(RES) was  moved out  of the                                                               
Senate Resources Standing Committee.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said  he wanted to hear  more about removing                                                               
the scientific aspects of this issue in the next committee.                                                                     

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