02/05/2003 01:00 PM House RES
| Audio | Topic |
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 5, 2003
1:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Chenault, Co-Chair
Representative Hugh Fate, Co-Chair
Representative Beverly Masek, Vice Chair
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Cheryll Heinze
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Kelly Wolf
Representative David Guttenberg
Representative Beth Kerttula
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6
Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation to open
the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
Alaska, to oil and gas exploration, development, and production.
- MOVED HJR 6 OUT OF COMMITTEE
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Board of Game
Pete Buist - Fairbanks
Sharon McLeod-Everette - Fairbanks
Ronald J. Somerville - Juneau
Ted H. Spraker - Soldotna
Clifford P. Judkins - Wasilla
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Michael Fleagle - McGrath
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HJR 6
SHORT TITLE:ENDORSING ANWR LEASING
SPONSOR(S): OIL & GAS
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/24/03 0059 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
01/24/03 0059 (H) O&G, RES
01/30/03 (H) O&G AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 124
01/30/03 (H) Moved Out of Committee
01/31/03 0100 (H) O&G RPT 6DP 1DNP
01/31/03 0100 (H) DP: FATE, CRAWFORD, CHENAULT
01/31/03 0100 (H) MCGUIRE, ROKEBERG, KOHRING
01/31/03 0100 (H) DNP: KERTTULA
01/31/03 0101 (H) FN1: ZERO(DNR)
01/31/03 0101 (H) FN2: ZERO(REV)
01/31/03 0101 (H) REFERRED TO RESOURCES
02/05/03 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE VIC KOHRING
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on behalf of the House Special
Committee on Oil and Gas, the sponsor of HJR 6.
PETE BUIST, Appointee
to the Board of Game
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Game; provided background information and answered questions.
SHARON McLEOD-EVERETTE, Appointee
to the Board of Game
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Game; provided background information and answered questions.
RONALD J. SOMERVILLE, Appointee
to the Board of Game
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Game; provided background information and answered questions.
TED SPRAKER, Appointee
to the Board of Game
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Game; provided background information and answered questions.
CLIFFORD P. JUDKINS, Appointee
to the Board of Game
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Game; provided background information and answered questions.
ROD ARNO
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of the appointees to the
Board of Game.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-2, SIDE A
Number 0001
CO-CHAIR MIKE CHENAULT called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. Representatives
Chenault, Fate, Wolf, Gatto, Heinze, Lynn, Guttenberg, and Masek
were present at the call to order. Representative Kerttula
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HJR 6-ENDORSING ANWR LEASING
CO-CHAIR CHENAULT announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6, Urging the United States
Congress to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, to oil and gas
exploration, development, and production.
Number 0140
REPRESENTATIVE VIC KOHRING, Alaska State Legislature, testified
on behalf of the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas, the
sponsor of HJR 6. He said:
It's ... a resolution from the [House Special
Committee] on Oil and Gas. We chose to go with that
route as opposed to an individual member, because it's
an all-inclusive effort; ... it's a very important
piece of legislation. It's a resolution; it wouldn't
have ... anything to put into effect as far as a law,
but it's making a very important statement to the
United States Congress, as well as the President of
the United States, and other important officials that
you see listed on page 2. This is a very familiar
piece of legislation that we've had in the past; it's
the same bill as last year that reiterates our stance
on the issue of whether we should go into ANWR [Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge] and open up the coastal
plains for exploration, and hopefully, eventually,
development - if we can find the reserves that we
expect to be there.
If you go through the resolution, you'll see real
important points in here. It's a 1.5-million-acre
area that constitutes the coastal plain, which is a
very small area in all of ANWR; it's just the very
northern tip on one side, so if there is any
development in there, it's going to affect a very
minimal area. The expected footprint, ... as far as
what would be left behind if we were to develop the
area, would be less than one-half of 1 percent of the
coastal plain itself - only about, we predict, 2,000
to 7,000 acres of land involved. We are hopeful that
we can pass this [out of the House Resources Standing
Committee] and move it to the House floor, and this
will be our way of sending a message to the United
States Congress. As a member of the Energy Council,
... we are going to advocate strongly for ANWR again
this year; we are going to travel to [Washington] D.C.
for the Energy Council, and this will be ... our
primary issue in advocating for the opening of the
coastal plain, and hopefully we will realize some
major developments that can very positively contribute
to our economy, and help lessen dependence on foreign
oil.
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING referred to the bill packet and said it
contained additional information including the substantial
number of jobs that [opening ANWR] would create.
Number 0373
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked how anybody who's concerned about the
future of Alaska, economic development, and energy independence
for the United States of America could possibly be opposed to
opening ANWR.
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING said the question was perplexing to him,
too, and he couldn't imagine anybody being opposed to it, but he
did mention there had been concerns from people living in the
region about the effect on the environment and wildlife
populations, mainly, the Porcupine caribou herd. He said,
"We're sensitive to the environment; there's reference to that
in here, that we want to develop the area in a very responsible
way and not ... affect the migrations or the calving grounds ...
of the herd." Another point, he said, would be to look at [the
results] in Prudhoe Bay: the caribou population is healthier
than it was before the [area] was developed. Representative
Kohring remarked, "I've seen pictures of caribou rubbing their
backs on the pipeline, and it doesn't seem to affect the calving
either, so, I'm ... hopeful that we're going to see little, if
no, impact on the environment there, and the concerns of those
in that area, along those lines, will be mitigated."
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN expressed support for HJR 6.
Number 0493
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK remarked, "We've seen this before us every
year now, I think this is the ninth time I've seen this
resolution." She recalled questions from the press about the
effort the [legislature] has put into [funding the lobbying
efforts of] Arctic Power and [towards opening] ANWR, and
remarked, "As history says, you have to take it step by step,
and have patience, and I think overall from when we first
started here ... we've made quite big steps." She continued, "I
think we're highlighting more on getting [ANWR] open; I think
this resolution is really important, and it plays a pretty big
role in our state as far as ... how we support ANWR."
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK made a reference about President Bush
educating the new members of Congress, and said she thought
[Alaska] needed to have this type of resolution. She talked
about questioning by the public and the media of the efforts of
the [legislature to open ANWR] and brought attention to a
newspaper article about crises occurring around the world. She
said, "In Russia, ... they're one of our biggest ... competitors
as far as opening any oil development, and I know in Russia
they're ... facing serious trouble as to how ... they export the
oil because of the lack of a pipeline, and they're going to have
[to] build new [facilities] to get the oil out." She spoke
about the Venezuelan government's undergoing [large] changes and
remarked, "They're the next country that we're competing with
[for] ... oil development. So, I think the more that we can do
today to secure and show the oil companies that ... we have a
very good economy here -- and it's very safe; it's not like the
other countries." She said deliberations over the resolution
help with the process. She expressed her support.
Number 0703
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO spoke about the Persian Gulf war,
particularly, the destruction of Kuwait's oil wells upon the
retreat of the Iraqi army. Referring to Iraq's leader, he
remarked, "He, ... essentially, took the chance to plunge us
into a nuclear winter; it wouldn't be nuclear, but the idea
being that he took a risk of essentially destroying the whole
... planet as we know it. " If a similar situation were to
occur, he said, all of that oil in the Middle East that [the
United States] imports so much of would become unavailable for a
very long period of time. Representative Gatto spoke about [the
United States'] need to have access to its own secure [oil]
supplies, and said due to national security, [the United States]
needed to have a dependable resource within the country.
Representative Gatto, referring to Representative Kohring's
aforementioned trip to Washington D.C., remarked, "The one
message I want to get back to Washington D.C., is, there are
crazy people in the world, and they do crazy things; ... if they
were to cut off our ... supply, ... we need it, we depend on it,
and we can't get by without it; ... if they take it away from
us, I don't know ... what will happen, but I do know we will be
in severe trouble." He suggested the oil supply in the Middle
East could easily be taken away from the [United States].
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING, in response to Representative Gatto,
said he would take that message with him while he travels
throughout Washington, D.C., and meets with various congressmen.
He thanked Representative Masek for her leadership on this issue
and remarked, "I know you've had this resolution yourself in the
past, and we did pass the same resolution with the Twenty-Second
Alaska Legislature ...."
Number 0905
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG said dialogue from either the courts
or Congress said that Alaska wouldn't get [royalties at the
ratio of] 90:10 [in relation to the federal government] out of
ANWR coastal plain development, and would go back to 50:50. He
asked Representative Kohring to expand on whether there had been
any more dialog on the subject.
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING replied that he was not aware of any new
dialog, but he would research the issue and present that
information at a subsequent meeting. Noting that the bill did
address that particular issue, he referred to page 3, lines 15-
19, which read:
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature
opposes any unilateral reduction in royalty revenue
from exploration and development of the coastal plain
of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, and
any attempt to coerce the State of Alaska into
accepting less than the 90 percent of the oil, gas,
and mineral royalties from the federal land in Alaska
that was promised to the state at statehood.
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING indicated he might present a resolution
to the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas specifically
addressing that issue.
Number 1089
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK moved to report HJR 6 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
notes; she asked for unanimous consent.
Number 1104
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG objected for the purpose of offering
an amendment to HJR 6.
[Although Co-Chair Chenault called a brief at-ease, a motion was
made immediately afterward, and thus the recording continued.]
Number 1133
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK withdrew her motion to report HJR 6 out of
committee.
Number 1148
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG referred to page 1, lines 13-15, which
read:
WHEREAS the "1002 study area" is part of the coastal
plain located within the North Slope Borough, and
residents of the North Slope Borough, who are
predominantly Inupiat Eskimo, are supportive of
development in the "1002 study area"; and
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG talked about the Gwich'in [people's]
[dependence] on the [Porcupine] caribou herd, and their
opposition to opening ANWR. He suggested the Gwich'in people
have a completely different position [on ANWR] than the Inupiat
[people], and said the interest was in not bringing that
conflict into this resolution. Representative Guttenberg
offered an amendment to strike [lines 13-15]; he said he thought
it would strengthen the [resolution].
Number 1205
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK objected to the amendment. She told the
committee that the area being discussed is in the North Slope
Borough (NSB); she said she thought it was important for [lines
13-15] to remain in the resolution because they are in support
of it.
Number 1230
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING, in response to Representative
Guttenberg's suggested amendment, said it would be helpful to
demonstrate support in the affected regions. Referring to the
Gwich'in [people], he said there are people who have voiced
their opposition to the resolution. He suggested, however, that
the majority of residents in the area, mostly Inupiat [people],
are in support of the legislation. Representative Kohring
remarked, "I think that would enhance and not detract from the
strength of this resolution."
Number 1282
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK reminded the committee that HJR 6 would be
going to Congress and the President. She offered her belief
that it would delineate the process to remove lines 13-15, and
that it was important for the language to remain in the
resolution.
Number 1324
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, discussing the importance of making the
bill accurate, referred to line 14 and suggested [amending] the
sentence to say, "and the Inupiat residents of the North Slope
Borough are supportive." He said the outcome would be an
accurate statement because it doesn't refer to other residents,
only to the ones who are supportive.
Number 1376
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING, responding to Representative Gatto, said
[the proposed amendment] was a reasonable suggestion that he
would not object to.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE stated her belief that the language is
fine, clear, and succinct, and said she didn't think it should
be changed.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG referred to the Gwich'in people and
said they don't have oil on their land, don't live in the North
Slope Borough, and don't have the resources to walk the halls of
Congress. He remarked, "But those guys are back there pounding
the halls of Congress on the [development of ANWR], and my point
was not to have something that they can refute talk about that
their resources are on the land, ... the caribou that are in the
calving grounds or what they harvest." Representative
Guttenberg reiterated his belief that removal of the section
would be beneficial to deter any future opposition to the
reference.
CO-CHAIR FATE suggested that at one time the Gwich'in people had
mounted an exploratory effort to find and develop hydrocarbons
on their land. He said he was sympathetic to the lifestyle and
wishes of the Gwich'in [people], but that there was a larger
issue at stake, which is the economy and the State of Alaska,
and proceeding with something that the state and the nation
desperately need. Representative Fate concurred with the
language as it exists in HJR 6.
Number 1529
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK pointed out that the Gwich'in [people] had
traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby on this issue in the
past. She referred to Sara James (ph), who she said was the
forerunner on this issue; had received a lot of press and media
attention; and had made a big presence in Washington, D.C. She
offered her belief that the reason for ANWR not opening was due
to the lobbying of the Gwich'in [people], and remarked, "I think
we all know that they're on the opposite side of this issue."
Representative Masek said the Gwich'in people have a right to
speak out and say what they want, and that they have done so
very eloquently. She commented, "We as a legislative body ...
do have to look at the bigger picture ...." She noted her
desire for the language to remain the same.
Number 1632
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG withdrew his amendment.
Number 1644
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK moved to report HJR 6 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
notes; she asked for unanimous consent. There being no
objection, HJR 6 was reported from the House Resources Standing
Committee.
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Board of Game
Number 1690
CO-CHAIR CHENAULT announced that the next order of business
would be the confirmation hearings on the appointment of [Pete
Buist, Sharon McLeod-Everette, Ronald J. Somerville, Ted H.
Spraker, and Clifford P. Judkins] to the Board of Game. [The
confirmation hearing on the appointment of Michael Fleagle was
deferred until February 12.]
Number 1792
PETE BUIST, Appointee to the Board of Game, testified, noting
that he was presently in Arizona attending a work-related fire
management training course. He explained that he is a licensed
hunter and trapper, and had been so all of his adult life. He
said he respects nonconsumptive uses and users of Alaska's
wildlife. He noted that he had been a member of the Alaska
Trappers Association since its inception in 1973, and served
several terms as its president, recently resigning as director.
He spoke about serving on the Fairbanks Advisory Committee to
the boards of fish and game for about 17 years, and serving as
co-chair for the coalition for the Alaska Way of Life, which he
said in 1998 directed the defeat of the initiative that would
have banned wolf snaring. Mr. Buist remarked:
The way I look at it is, wolves are neither bad nor
good, they're just wolves, but they obviously can
negatively impact ungulate populations; ... the
balance of nature that we hear so much about is a
series of highs and lows .... I'm ready to put the
resource first, listen to the local advisory
committees and the biologists, and hopefully make
decisions that keep the resource first. Thank you.
Number 1901
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE asked Mr. Buist how he felt about [the
governor's executive order] moving [the Division of Habitat and
Restoration] permitting from [Alaska Department of Fish and Game
(ADF&G)] to the [Department of Natural Resources (DNR)].
MR. BUIST said it was his goal to keep his DNR job and his Board
of Game appointment separate, and he would prefer not to address
Representative Heinze's question.
Number 1953
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF asked Mr. Buist how he felt about
subsistence.
MR. BUIST, in response, said he thinks subsistence is a very
valid, and probably the most important, use of Alaska's wildlife
resources. He said he has some problems with the way
subsistence is defined and managed, but he feels that the use of
wildlife for food, in most cases, trumps wildlife for tourism
reasons, and some of the nonconsumptive arguments.
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK, referring to Mr. Buist's resume, said she
thought he was really qualified, and acknowledged that he had
been in the state for quite a while. She asked him for his
position on the Tier II permit [hunt supplements] for moose and
caribou; on GMU [Game Management Unit] 13 for the Nelchina
[caribou] herd; on GMU 15 for moose in the Matanuska Valley
area; and on whether he thought those permits needed to be
worked on or was satisfied with how [the process] was working.
MR. BUIST, in response, said in general, as far as Tier II
permits are concerned, he had some hesitations about how those
permits are administered. He said the applicant's residence
location is not supposed to be a criterion for state allocation
of resources and yet it still seems to be, and he suggested
there is probably a better way to administer [Tier II permits].
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK, noting that she had provided testimony to
the Board of Game last year, said with the new administration
and new board appointees, she felt [Tier II permitting] was one
of the areas that needed to be focused on. She expressed
appreciation to Mr. Buist for taking his time to serve on the
board, and said with the [population] of the state growing, the
needs are going to grow. She remarked, "With the impacted
areas, ... with our population with our moose and caribou, I
think we need to address it, and try to fine tune it and fix it
up, so that it would address and meet every game management unit
in the state, so that our Alaskan residents can have their moose
and caribou."
MR. BUIST, in response, said it sounded as if he and
Representative Masek were working toward the same [objective].
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG, noting Mr. Buist's mention of the
nonconsumptive user's being represented, asked Mr. Buist to
expand on that and to explain how he envisioned it happening on
the board.
MR. BUIST remarked, "I don't see why I can't be respectful and
supportive of nonconsumptive users; ... very often meat on the
table trumps peace of mind for people who don't want anything
dead."
Number 2196
CO-CHAIR FATE thanked Mr. Buist and others like him for the time
spent in trappers associations and other associations,
furthering the end of true conservation and the real management
of animals in this state. He remarked, "Thank you for literally
sacrificing yourself to our committee and to the job ahead of
you."
Number 2271
SHARON McLEOD-EVERETTE, Appointee, Board of Game, testified.
Noting that she is pretty much a lifelong Alaskan, except she
missed being born in the state by about 11 months. She said she
grew up out on the Glenn Highway at mile 153.5, in a rural area;
her family hunted and fished to eat; she went through the
Glennallen school system; her mother was her teacher during the
time the state was a territory because there wasn't a school
near her home; and she continued on to [attend] the University
of Alaska [Fairbanks (UAF)]. She remarked, "I learned to eat
beef in the commons; it was a unique experience after having
grown up on moose, caribou, grayling, and Copper River reds."
Ms. McLeod-Everette explained that she graduated from college
with a teaching degree in 1971, but she never put it to work;
she went to work at the Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (DOT&PF); working in the right-of-way, planning, and
research section, where she ran a statewide education and
information program. She said she went back to school at UAF
and earned a professional writing master's degree in 1993;
during that time, she continued hunting and fishing; in the late
1970s she [worked] as a cook in a hunting camp and received an
assistant [hunting] guide's license sometime around 1982 or
1983; and she received a big-game hunting guide's license in
1989.
Number 2353
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE said she had been a member of the
International Right of Way Association (IRWA) and had held both
international and local chairmanships; is a lifetime member of
the UAF Alumni Association; and is a member of the National
Rifle Association (NRA), the North American Hunting Club, the
Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC), Midnight Sun Flycasters, and
Nordic Ski Club [Fairbanks (NSCF)]. She mentioned that she is
involved in the Becoming an Outdoors' Woman (BOW) program across
the state, which is managed by [ADF&G], and said she is on the
steering committee for BOW and is an instructor for various
[activities] including: introduction to big-game hunting; field
dressing; backpack chef; introduction to fishing; rafting; and
moose calling. She talked about helping the Trapper's
Association out with kids' night activities, and said recently
she had gotten involved on the Fairbanks literacy council
advisory board. Ms. McLeod-Everette talked about working with
the UAF master planning subcommittee for traffic and
circulation.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG highlighted the BOW program and
thanked Ms. McLeod-Everette for her involvement. He remarked,
"I think that's great, and I've heard great things about it."
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE, in response, told Representative Guttenberg
that the [BOW program] was one of her favorite [activities] and
remarked, "There is nothing like seeing the 'aha' when somebody
who's not been exposed to something in the outdoors gets it."
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF commended Ms. McLeod-Everette on her resume,
and asked her how she felt about the governor's intent to
streamline the permitting process, and whether she supported "a
new face for [ADF&G], as far as bringing new ideas into the
department." He noted that a commissioner for ADF&G had not
been [confirmed].
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE, referring to the permitting process, said
she thought there was always room for streamlining and doing
things better, but she didn't know what to think about moving
permitting from ADF&G to DNR; she didn't know enough about the
process to know how dramatically it would affect either
department. She talked about the governor's intention and
remarked, "I think his heart's in the right place trying to
streamline the permitting process," but said there were people
more versed in it than her and that she would wait to see the
[outcome].
Number 2530
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF asked Ms. McLeod-Everette if she thought
"new blood" in the department would be beneficial for running
ADF&G.
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE replied, "Absolutely, I think so."
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE asked Ms. McLeod-Everette if she would be
open to the [Division of Habitat and Restoration's] being moved
to DNR if it would benefit the permitting [process].
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE, in response, reiterated that her knowledge
about the process and the impacts were limited, and that she
could not speak about it.
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF clarified that his question was about
streamlining the permitting process rather than about moving the
[Division of Habitat and Restoration].
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, referring to Ms. McLeod-Everette's resume,
asked her if she had a Master of Arts degree in professional
writing.
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE replied, "Correct."
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO voiced his assumption that Ms. McLeod-
Everette would probably be a watchdog when regulations were
written and remarked, "Clarity would be available to all of us,
and there would be no misunderstandings."
Number 2630
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE, in response, said clarity is a very key
issue and usually she is a particularly picky person about it;
however, she pointed out that there are people who may be above
her in the process that have more say about the legal [aspects]
of writing [regulations]. She remarked, "But you are absolutely
correct, I believe in clarity."
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, referring to her resume, talked about her
involvement in snowshoeing, snow machining, cross-country
skiing, and hiking, and suggested that many of the activities
Ms. McLeod-Everette is involved in are "opposed" to each other.
He remarked, "We know the wars that go on between cross-country
skiers and snowmachiners ...," and asked her how she would
resolve the issue of opposing uses.
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE remarked:
I think what you look at is the balance ... of the
activities, and you look at the primary use. For
example, you're talking about closing some waters,
perhaps, to motorized uses, in deference to strictly
fly-fishing. I think you have to analyze the entire
situation, look at what the full uses of the area are;
there may be other uses that take precedence over the
singular use of strictly fly-fishing. I love fly-
fishing; ... there are lots of places you can do it
where there is motorized access and it's not a
problem. A lot of my activities are done in concert
with one another, so, ... I see balance in a lot of
this.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO pointed out that Ms. McLeod-Everette was a
published author and asked her if she has written books that
deal with outdoor activities.
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE said yes, the book she published talks about
growing up on the Glenn Highway and about doing some guiding.
She mentioned that she had written for work related newsletters
and technical journals while working at DOT&PF; she had to
translate highly technical research reports into something that
a sixth or eighth grade student would understand.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO remarked, "Perhaps you should have been a
school teacher."
MS. McLEOD-EVERETTE, highlighting the fact that she had grown up
without electricity or running water, explained that the reason
she didn't become a teacher was because when she [graduated]
from college, the only teaching jobs available were in areas
with no electricity or running water, and she had discovered
that she liked showers.
Number 2816
RONALD J. SOMERVILLE, Appointee to the Board of Game, testified,
noting that he has been a resident of Alaska for over 60 years,
and his parents had moved to Craig when he was a year old. He
talked about receiving a bachelor's degree at Humboldt State
University and his master's degree at the University of Montana.
Mr. Somerville said he had an opportunity to work in Washington,
D.C., for a year and a half, which he said, "Was really [an]
education in itself." He explained that he didn't like
commuting in Washington, D.C., and wanted to come back to
Alaska, so he did. Mr. Somerville remarked, "My dad was a
commercial fisherman, and thus I became a commercial fisherman;
most of my family, both sides, my mom and dad, were fairly
large, so we had lots of relatives in the area; we were active
subsistence users." He talked about his stepfather's being a
logger for a number of years, and said he also had participated
in that activity. He remarked:
As you might expect, that obviously overlapped a
period precluding statehood, and my dad was an active
participant in the process of fighting for statehood;
he was a good friend of both [E.L.] Bartlett and
[Ernest] Gruening, who used to come to Craig [and]
stay at our place, so when I grew up I became a strong
"state's righter," needless to say. When I graduated
from college, I went to work for the [Alaska]
Department of Fish and Game - didn't really want to
work anywhere else.
Luckily, I chose wildlife management rather than
fisheries; I decided I didn't want to step back into
that arena. I must somewhat blame Carl Rosier for
that; ... he was the biologist in Ketchikan at the
time I was fishing, and I decided that there wasn't
much challenge to his job, because we wanted to fish
and he just kept saying no. Back in those days ... we
went from [a] 33 million ... [catch] in Alaska at the
beginning of statehood to well over 175 million; ...
[it turns out] Carl was right.
Number 2921
MR. SOMERVILLE CONTINUED:
I didn't see much future in fisheries back in those
days. I started as a temporary seasonal [employee] in
the [Alaska] Department of Fish and Game - worked in
research management. I eventually had the opportunity
to step to [a] regional supervisor position in
Anchorage - Anchorage running from the Canadian border
all the way out to the end of the Aleutians; it's a
fairly large area, and I enjoyed that job very much
because I got to see a good part of the state. I
eventually made a big error in my life: I volunteered
for [former Governor] Jay Hammond's (d) (2) task force
in 1974, and spent the next four years faring between
Anchorage and Washington, D.C.,
Later, [I] became director of - it was in the game
division - called wildlife conservation, and I
remained in that position until I retired. I then
came back at the request of Governor Hickel and went
back to work for fish and game in 1991, and worked for
four years; I occupied a deputy commissioner position
for part of that time. I have worked for the Wildlife
Legislative Fund when I was back in Washington [D.C.]
for a year and a half. I enjoyed it very much; the
opportunity to work on ... international issues in
wildlife was new to me and I enjoyed that, but I
didn't enjoy Washington, D.C., [Tape changed sides
mid-sentence.]
TAPE 03-2, SIDE B
Number 2985
MR. SOMERVILLE continued:
I've also volunteered for activities with the
department, things like the unit for brown bear
management plan; king salmon management plan, and
things like that representing what I considered the
users of the state, and I've enjoyed that activity.
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF asked, "How do you feel about new blood in
the department or bringing individuals up through the department
to be the new commissioner or selecting one of those individuals
as commissioner?"
MR. SOMERVILLE remarked:
Especially with the phenomenal change between the
previous administration and this administration, ...
you've got to make major changes, because ... in order
to get what you want from this department, which I
think is to reinstate it as one of the classic, top,
scientifically well-credited, well-respected
organizations throughout the world and the United
States ,... you've got to change things, and you've
got to have leadership that falls in step with what
the governor wants to do, and there's got to be some
new blood. I agree with that; ... it doesn't mean you
go down and you get rid of all your appointed
positions, but you assess them selectively and ...
make the appropriate appointments. I believe you
always hire somebody smarter than you ....
Number 2893
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK remarked, "I am glad that your name is on
this board; I really appreciate your willingness ... to get
involved with it. I know this board is a pretty crucial one to
the makeup of our fish and game here in the state."
Representative Masek suggested that subsistence would be
addressed during the session, and asked Mr. Somerville what he
thought about it, and how he felt about amending [Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act] (ANILCA). She
mentioned sacrificing Alaska's constitution and the rights for
the resources for all Alaskans. She asked Mr. Somerville if he
thought changes [to ANILCA] should also be made in Congress.
MR. SOMERVILLE, noting that he had worked for eight years as a
resource consultant to both the House and Senate majorities,
said he did not ask for this job. He was on the transition team
and made recommendations of a variety of people for the Board of
Fisheries and Board of Game appointments. His name was not on
that list, but the governor personally asked him to submit his
name. Mr. Somerville remarked, "I am in front of you because I
made that commitment," and said he is also committed to doing
everything possible to meet the needs of Alaskans - consumptive
and nonconsumptive users. He remarked:
I really respect the advisory committee system; I'm
really ... respectful of the people out there
(indisc.) working everywhere in the state, all the way
up to Point Hope; I spent a winter out there, and I am
appreciative of cultures, subsistence uses, [and] our
resources. I'm respectful of all a variety of,
particularly, the Native people. I was raised by the
Tlingits, virtually, in Craig.
Number 2778
MR. SOMERVILLE continued:
I volunteered for [former Governor] Jay Hammond's task
force on (d) (2) [lands under ANCSA], Harris (ph) and
I went out to the villages to get some views from the
villagers and what they'd like to see. Jay Hammond
gave me one mission when I went back to Washington
[D.C.] as a representative of ... [ADF&G]; he says ...
when we leave, I want to make sure that we have done
nothing to diminish the state's authority to manage
its fish and wildlife, and that's where I got into
trouble, because I did not agree with what the federal
government was doing in ANILCA.
I brought that to the attention of the governor, a
variety of processes, which, I'm sure, most of you are
aware of, and I don't think we're going to meet the
subsistence needs of Alaskans. We're going to
discriminate against 40 to 45 percent of the people I
respect, the Native people who live in the urban
areas. We are pitting Alaskans against each other,
and it's just a terrible, terrible situation. I'm
going to try again to see if there isn't some way we
can help solve those problems; obviously, a board
member by himself is not going to do that.
MR. SOMERVILLE remarked, "I've got something with me to
illustrate my commitment to that, my pledge to ... Governor
Hammond." He read a letter dated April 18, 1978, from the
Department of Law to the commissioners of DNR and ADF&G:
There is no qualification that the program required by
the Secretary to be constitutional under state law as
interpreted by final rulings of Alaska Supreme Court.
It is not difficult to envision the situation with the
Secretary under Title VII, ... Title VIII, or
(indisc.) might require the state to adopt or change
some of the state's subsistence management program,
which would be unconstitutional and thus impossible to
implement and enforce under state law.
MR. SOMERVILLE said prior to ANILCA's passage in 1980, the
Department of Law "was telling us what was in Title VIII was
probably, more than likely, unconstitutional, that we were going
to get into exactly the situation we're in right now." He said,
in light of that, he did not support the federal law and that's
what's got him "crosswised" with the Native community. He
remarked, "A lot of them, believe it or not, are still friends
of mine, and ... it's got me into trouble through the years in
discussing subsistence; ... honestly, I believe in subsistence,
true subsistence, as much as anybody sitting here or listening
...."
Number 2664
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK, referring to Tier II permits, asked Mr.
Somerville if the issue could be addressed in the next two
years. She said the moose and caribou population in the
Interior is growing and she has had numerous complaints from
constituents in the [Willow] area about the permitting process.
She suggested the complaints would increase over time and
indicated she is interested in resolving the issue to make it a
fair and equitable process. Representative Masek, referring to
constituents' concerns, said the [permitting process] was based
on zip codes and the [applicant's place of residency]. She
explained that many people have lived in the Interior for many
years and "they've established that usage, and all of a sudden
they were disqualified for it." She reiterated that the process
needs to be reviewed and asked Mr. Somerville if he thought a
review could be accomplished during this session.
MR. SOMERVILLE, in response, said he hadn't seen all of the
details, but he thought there are "some things that are broken
there." He remarked:
I've always said, in terms of Fairbanks, Anchorage,
and the Nelchina Basin, which I am really familiar
with, we have a terrible situation on moose and
caribou there, particularly moose - the population's
extremely low. Hunting just isn't like it was in the
early 1970s or late 1960s, and thus this is the result
of these populations declining, and it increased more
of a conflict, which has resulted in exactly what
you're saying, is that there's less permits available
at [the] Tier II level. But it also is an
illustration: ... if you look at the people who are
getting Tier II permits, it appears to be, in a
general sense, the people who can stretch the truth
farthest get the permits, and the people who have
relied on them, somehow, are being shuffled out; ...
that's just a general observation.
Number 2553
MR. SOMERVILLE talked about the press's view that he is against
subsistence. He said:
I want to make it clear that you people are the
policymakers of the state; the Board of Game, the
Board of Fisheries implement those [and] they have to
have some discretion how they do that .... You've
established a subsistence priority, which [includes]
the Tier II process, which the boards are obligated to
implement. I can't blame the boards, but I do think
they have some discretion on going back to try to fix
some of those things. Some of the problems there are
not going to go away until the laws change, if that's
what you want.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE, referring to Mr. Somerville's resume,
asked him why he changed positions from deputy commissioner to
special assistant in 1993.
MR. SOMERVILLE replied:
At the time, McKie Campbell was working on a special
assignment with the governor's office on subsistence
and other things, but that was when it was made, and
that they essentially came to an end, and they wanted
to move him someplace. I volunteered to vacate my
deputy commissioner's spot so that he could occupy
that position, but they kept me on as special
assistant, and I kind of did what I was doing anyway.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE asked Mr. Somerville if he supported
moving the [Division of Habitat and Restoration ] to DNR, and
also if he would protect the albino [bear] in Juneau.
Number 2456
MR. SOMERVILLE recalled a conversation with Jim Clark in which
Mr. Clark told him the worst thing he ever did was let [Mr.
Somerville] talk the governor into not moving the Habitat [and
Restoration Division]. He explained:
I came at the request of [former Governor] Hickel; ...
they appointed Carl Rosier as commissioner; ... we
were under a lot of pressure to move habitat .... I'm
of a philosophy that anything in government will work
if you want to, people really have committed to doing
that .... We talked to the governor and said let us
do an internal review and find out if ... the
accusations are accurate and what can be done to fix
it. So, I wrote; ... Frank Rue helped - he was the
director of habitat. We interviewed industry people
... across the state. We did ... a fairly exhaustive
personal interview; it wasn't a public-hearing-type
problem, but we went to people we had any
communications with about habitat, and we found that
[in] ... some places in the state it was working very
well, and Al Ott (ph) in Fairbanks, well respected by
the mining and the oil and gas industry, does he agree
with them all the time? No, but are they able to work
with him? Absolutely, he's very positive.
MR. SOMERVILLE said in 1992 he issued a report for the [Division
of Habitat and Restoration] recommending major changes, which
were implemented. He explained that people he knew in the
industry had said [the changes] worked very well. He remarked,
"The problem has been, ... had habitat stuck ... to what we
concocted back in 1992, we wouldn't be having this discussion,
but apparently they didn't. Apparently, a lot of things went on
[that the] division ... had no business getting into. " He said
he had always been critical about the fact that when other
departments do not do their job, the pressure comes back on the
permitting biologists in ADF&G to pick up the slack. He
remarked, "It came all the time when I was deputy
[commissioner], that DEC doesn't enforce their water quality
standards, they run to [ADF&G] under Title 16 or the [Alaska
Forest Resources and Practices Act] to do DEC's job, and we kept
telling [them] that's not your statutory responsibility; you
can't do that."
Number 2348
MR. SOMERVILLE talked about the appeals process and remarked, "I
think we stuck to that, and I think had they done that, it might
have worked." Referring to [the proposed move of the Division
of Habitat and Restoration], he said, if there's a major problem
and the governor's convinced it will not be fixed, then "we've
got to give it a try." Mr. Somerville explained that he talked
with the [governor] about leaving some of the functions of the
[Division of Habitat and Restoration] in ADF&G and said he
thought [those functions] operate very well there. He explained
that he helped create the [Division of Habitat and Restoration];
back when he worked for the division of game, there had been
several similar [permitting] positions in other divisions, and
the process was a mess until someone suggested combining [the
various permitting positions into one division]. He said it
made sense, it was done, and it had come a long way since its
creation.
REPRESENTATIVE HEINZE reiterated her question about the albino
bear.
MR. SOMERVILLE remarked, "My general tendency is, you can't have
closed areas around a lot of areas without creating problems;
... I'm sympathetic for a variety of reasons - the protection of
some unique resources that there's no other way out." He said
he would have to look at the details.
Number 2258
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN expressed appreciation for Mr. Somerville's
position on subsistence, and suggested that if a person never
takes a strong position on a controversial issue, then that
person is not doing his or her job. He inquired about Mr.
Somerville's short time in the Air Force.
MR. SOMERVILLE, in response, said he had received an honorary
discharge. He spoke about his initial experience and said, "At
that time, the Air Force had too many pilots and they offered us
two-year discharges for a variety of family reasons, which my
dad was an alcoholic; I decided to leave the Air Force and came
back to Alaska and ... went back to school, and it worked out
okay for me." He said he would have liked to have stayed in
[the Air Force], and had he been sent to Bainbridge, Florida, he
would probably still be in the Air Force.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN thanked Mr. Somerville for [his service in
the Air Force].
MR. SOMERVILLE added that every summer he received a request
from the Air Force asking him if he wanted to go to Anchorage
for training, but he always reluctantly declined.
Number 2148
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO expressed concerns about resource
management and said it was "one of the difficulties we're having
now." He suggested the resource depends a lot more on the
habitat for its own survival, and that the habitat seems to be
available. Representative Gatto expressed concerns about the
moose population and difficulties in breeding, attributed to a
low moose population and the [animals'] being separated by great
distance. He remarked, "Not only do they suffer from predation,
but, consequently, an inability to breed." Representative Gatto
referred to the passenger pigeon and suggested [it became
extinct] because the numbers were so thin that they were unable
to follow their natural instincts to find each other and mate.
He expressed similar concerns about the moose and caribou
populations and asked whether such a scenario was ever
considered.
MR. SOMERVILLE, in response, said years of bull [moose] hunting
in the Matanuska Valley drove the population down to four bulls
per 100 cows. He said he and a committee member's father had
fought over cow moose seasons for years because there were a lot
of cows but not enough bulls. Mr. Somerville said the focus was
getting people to divert their attention by taking a few cows
and keeping within carrying capacity to raise the bull:cow
ratio, [as a result] productivity went back up again. He said
there's a variety of places in the state where that similar
situation starts to occur. He offered the Nelchina Basin as a
good example of driving the bull:cow ratio down and having them
disperse over large areas during the breeding season. Mr.
Somerville explained that [the reason for the low population] is
not because the cows don't breed; they go into second estrus and
breed the second time, and the calves go into the winter in very
poor condition, are very small, and usually perish. He said it
is a legitimate concern and depends on the size of the area they
occupy and the species involved. For instance, caribou will
still participate in their movements regardless of the size of
the caribou herd and they can generally find each other during
the season. He said the second estrus becomes a major problem.
Number 1957
TED SPRAKER, Appointee to the Board of Game, testified, noting
that he could not be in Juneau in person because he was in Aniak
attending the central Kuskokwim moose management planning
effort. He mentioned that the effort had been insightful for
him and noted that many key issues had been discussed. Mr.
Spraker said he was raised in Wyoming and had completed his
schooling at the University of Wyoming, earning an undergraduate
degree in wildlife management and a master's degree in range
management. He noted that he has lived in Alaska since shortly
after completing graduate school in May 1973. Mr. Spraker said
he is 54 years old, is married to Elaina Spraker, and has three
children; his 23-year-old son works for Intel in Phoenix,
Arizona, and his two stepchildren, Kyle and Ashley, are ages 12
and 14. He said his family is very outdoors-oriented; all of
the members of his family hunt and fish, are very active in
hunting, and do quite a bit of fishing during the summer. Mr.
Spraker mentioned that he does quite a bit of trapping with Kyle
as his trapping partner. He said he recently retired after
working for 28 years as a wildlife biologist at ADF&G and noted
that Mr. Somerville was instrumental in hiring him in 1974 when
he first started with the state.
Number 1808
MR. SPRAKER said he felt he had accomplished a lot of things for
the betterment of wildlife management and the different users
and had been involved with a variety of projects over his career
with ADF&G that had really made a difference. He talked about a
project in which 80 caribou were moved to the Kenai Peninsula
and said a couple of years ago that herd numbered 800. Mr.
Spraker said he thought that was a real change, something
positive that he was glad to be a part of. He suggested that he
was instrumental, back in the early 1980s, in recognizing that
something had to be done on the Kenai Peninsula about the moose
hunting. He mentioned that bull:cow ratios get very low, that
cows have to move to find bulls, and second-estrus breeding.
Mr. Spraker said [ADF&G] worked with the advisory committee and
members of the public to put together the Selective Harvest
Program on the Kenai Peninsula. Although various aspects of the
program were used in other parts of the state, the Kenai
Peninsula was the first place that put the whole program
together as far as harvesting some of the small and larger
bulls. He said that program has restored the bull:cow ratio and
the health of the moose population; because of the success, it
has been used in other parts of the state.
Number 1699
MR. SPRAKER said he has been a lifetime member of NRA for about
25 years and has been an official measurer for the Boone and
Crockett Club for about 15 years, which he said amounts to only
6-10 animals measured per year. He talked about being a hunter-
education instructor for about 15 years, working with the
department and since retirement; he said it is one of the things
that he has been very interested in. He said youth hunts are
extremely important to him. He and his daughter participated in
a youth hunt last fall and she got a moose; it was an extremely
exciting time for both of them. He talked about achieving
various awards throughout the years and said the most important
award that has meant a great deal to him is the lifetime
conservation achievement award from the Safari Club
International. He noted that he was also a member, and
remarked, "That meant a lot to me because you look back on what
you've done for the last almost 30 years, and it's nice to see
that you've accomplished things that helped the resource, helped
the users, and people appreciated it, and that was very
important to me."
MR. SPRAKER talked about his hobbies - hunting, fishing, and
trapping - and said he considers viewing to be something very
important to the state. He said he is a viewer for 11.5 months
of the year and a pretty avid hunter for the other few weeks.
He said he had watched the Board of Game process during his
entire career with ADF&G and is really anxious to see some
things done under the new administration. Mr. Spraker suggested
there is a strong commitment to doing good things for the
resource and the users. He said he is getting a firsthand view
of that by being in Aniak and talking with the local people,
understanding their needs, and seeing what needs to be done to
help the users and the resource.
Number 1549
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF asked Mr. Spraker, "How do you feel about
new blood in the department [for the] commissioner and/or do you
support bringing someone up from within the department."
Number 1515
MR. SPRAKER replied, "With this administration, ... I think we
need some new blood, I think we need some new thinking; ... we
certainly need people that are willing to look at new ideas and
bring some new thoughts to the table ...."
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK told Mr. Spraker she was glad to see that
he had accepted his appointment to the Board of Game and
commended him for his involvement in changing the bag limit for
moose from an "any bull" program to a Selective Harvest System.
Representative Masek referred to the last paragraph of Mr.
Spraker's resume, which read in part [original punctuation
provided]:
I also believe that under this new administration the
Board will be allowed to make needed changes to
benefit wildlife populations and their habitats, and a
variety of users across the state.
REPRESENTATIVE MASEK said she thought his comments were really
important and noted the importance of ensuring that the board
continues to strive, adopt, and make needed changes.
Number 1395
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA asked Mr. Spraker for some examples of
things he thought should be happening.
MR. SPRAKER remarked:
One of the things that's close at hand ... is the
meeting that I'm involved in now; ... I've been
listening to the local concerns; ... I know we've
talked several times and you've asked other people
about Tier II and subsistence and so forth. One of
the ways I think Tier II needs to be addressed,
instead of continually restricting people: like
others have said, whoever's the most creative in the
writing usually gets the Tier II permits, and maybe
people that are much more deserving don't get the
permit because they're not willing to stretch the
truth on their need of the resource or direct
dependence and so forth on the resource. One of the
things that I would really like to see is, I'd like to
see the state take a very strong and aggressive stand
as far as predator management, and that's the clear
picture out here.
MR. SPRAKER continued:
There's clear evidence that the moose population has
declined rapidly. It was pretty much triggered ...
following 1996, when land-and-shoot [hunting of
predators] was halted across Alaska, and talking to
the local people here, in the next four or five years,
the moose population declined rapidly. I asked the
question about weather, because weather ... can kill
more moose, just using moose as [an] example, but
weather can be really detrimental on a moose
population, and there was some discussion of one bad
winter in the early 1990s, ... along the lower
Kuskokwim or central Kuskokwim area, but everyone said
... we need someone to step up and do something as far
as managing predators, and I'm not just talking about
wolves; I'm talking about the high number of black
bears, a fairly dense brown bear population, and, of
course, wolves as well.
You can't just manage predators. You have to have
adequate habitat. That's something else I'd like to
... look into, and, of course, fish and game has done
a good job of, probably, putting that information
together; ... I haven't had a chance to really look at
it yet, but we also need to look at the number of
hunters here, because hunters make an impact. One of
the things that I am really concerned with, and this
kind of bears some interest in the subsistence arena,
is ... the proliferation of guides in Unit 19; it's
one of the comments I'm ... hearing at all the
meetings here, is that even if we did a lot to
increase the numbers of moose, the guides would build
up, and basically, continually take more moose, ...
because more guides would build up in this area.
Number 1185
MR. SPRAKER continued:
I think they've gone from somewhere around 40 guides
to 80 or 90 guides right now in Unit 19, and [the]
same thing with transporters. So, those are some of
the issues that I would really like to look at ... if
I was a member of the Board of Game; I'd like to look
at management of predators; I'd like to look at which
users are getting these moose; I am very interested
[in] local people having not a clear priority, but,
certainly, benefits and local benefits and so forth,
so they basically have a little better chance of
getting a moose, especially out here in some of these
villages where there's some real, true subsistence.
Number 1084
CLIFFORD P. JUDKINS, Appointee to the Board of Game, testified,
noting that he had moved to Alaska more than 40 years ago and
had previously served in the [Air Force] with Mr. Somerville.
He said he had a bachelor's degree in wildlife management and
had worked in Anchorage with the greater Anchorage health
district before the borough was formed; after the borough was
formed he became director of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough
Department of Environmental Quality. He said he left
[Anchorage] after 10 years, went down to Moose Pass, and built
Crown Point Lodge, which he operated for about 16 years. Mr.
Judkins talked about serving on the Seward advisory committee,
and said he was also the chairman a few times. He said he left
[Moose Pass], moved to Wasilla, and was the owner and operator
of Wasilla Mini-Storage until he sold it and retired in 1998.
MR. JUDKINS said he had been on the fish and game advisory
committee in [Wasilla] for about six years and had served as the
chairman for the past year; he just stepped down as chairman
when he was appointed to the Board of Game. He said he was
excited about being on the board and that he had gone to board
of fish and game meetings for about 30 years and had testified
more times than he could recall. He remarked, "[I] was always
frustrated that you can get up there and testify and they'd go
on with their business and wouldn't listen to what you said, it
seemed like." He said it would be interesting to be on the
"other side of the shoe, so to speak." Mr. Judkins, referring
to his wife, said she had lived in the state most of her life,
and was raised in Fairbanks and Kodiak; her father was chief of
police in Kodiak in the 1950s and 1960s. He said his wife
currently lives in Wasilla with him, and their daughter lives in
North Pole.
Number 0920
REPRESENTATIVE WOLF asked, "How do you feel about new blood in
the department as a commissioner or bringing someone from within
the department?"
Number 0903
MR. JUDKINS said he thought the department needed new blood. He
talked about attending board meetings for the last eight years
and his disappointment with the performance. He remarked,
"While the guys are doing their job under the administration
they're in, I think we've got new ideas and need new people
there." He said the department needed to get wildlife
management credentials and get it reestablished as the top notch
department in the nation.
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA asked Mr. Judkins what types of things
he would be championing as a board member.
MR. JUDKINS, referring to Tier II, said a lot of people in the
[Matanuska-Susitna area] hunt or would like to hunt the Nelchina
caribou herd in Unit 13, and there were about 18 proposals by
citizens who were upset with the process of choosing who could
hunt there and who couldn't. Mr. Judkins said he thought the
[process] needed to be revised, but added that he didn't have
the answers right now, other than to just throw it out and go to
a drawing - but nobody likes that either. He suggested it was a
problem that needs to be dealt with and said the other major
problem is dealing with predators. Mr. Judkins explained that
managing habitat, predators, and hunters can be done to
influence wildlife populations, and suggested that not much had
been done about predators. He said there had been three or four
predator-management plans that had gone through [BOG] in the
past three or four years, but none of them had been implemented.
Mr. Judkins suggested that those plans need to be reviewed and
implemented where they are still feasible.
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA asked if "we" had gone to Tier II on the
Nelchina river.
MR. JUDKINS said the Nelchina caribou herd went to Tier II a
number of years ago, and the moose herd is "teetering" on the
balance right now. All that is needed is 600 bulls there for
subsistence purposes, he said, and "we're" just right about half
of that. He suggested it may [reach that number] in the next
year.
Number 0713
ROD ARNO, testified. Noting that he thought the governor had
made some excellent choices, he said he knows five of the
[appointees] personally and knows they have sincere interests in
subsistence hunters, whether local or urban; in nonconsumptive
viewers of wildlife; and in sports hunters. Mr. Arno
acknowledged that he didn't personally know Sharon McLeod-
Everette but said she is, as a big-game guide, "representing an
industry that has over 100 years of history in Alaska of
successfully operating, and, obviously, under sustained yield."
He suggested the [big-game industry] pays for 80 percent of
wildlife conservation's budget. He offered his belief that the
criticism [that there is] an unbalanced board is unjust, and
said as long as there are individuals who don't believe that
viewing and hunting of the same populations are compatible,
there's no middle ground, and conflict with those people will
continue.
Number 0584
CO-CHAIR CHENAULT asked if there was additional public
testimony; none was offered.
CO-CHAIR CHENAULT offered his belief that the governor had done
a good job [in nominating] the appointees, and said he thought
Mr. Somerville said it best when he said one should hire people
smarter than oneself. He said he believed it was the
committee's duty to pass [the appointees] on for confirmation.
Number 0520
CO-CHAIR FATE remarked, "As the years have gone by, and I've
lived in this state a long time, I don't believe that I have
ever seen a better slate going to the Board of Game than I have
today." He congratulated not only the appointees, but also the
governor for taking the time to "sometimes personally interview
these people and select such a wonderful slate, and I really
truthfully mean that."
[No formal motion was made, but the appointments of Pete Buist,
Sharon McLeod-Everette, Ronald J. Somerville, Ted H. Spraker,
and Clifford P. Judkins were treated as advanced from committee.
The confirmation of Michael Fleagle would be heard on February
12.]
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
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