Legislature(2013 - 2014)BUTROVICH 205
04/01/2013 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing:==board of Fisheries | |
| Confirmation Hearing:==big Game Commercial Services Board | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 1, 2013
3:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Cathy Giessel, Chair
Senator Fred Dyson, Vice Chair
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Hollis French
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Anna Fairclough
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Board of Fisheries
Thomas Kluberton - Talkeetna
Claude V. Webster - King Salmon
- CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Henry Tiffany IV - Ester
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action consider
WITNESS REGISTER
THOMAS KLUBERTON
Ester, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Fisheries.
ANDREW COUCH, representing himself
Matsu Advisory Committee
Matsu, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported the reappointment of Mr. Kluberton
and Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries.
ROBERT HEYANO, representing himself
Dillingham, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported the reappointment of Mr. Kluberton
and Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries.
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR, representing himself
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Kluberton and Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries, and the
appointment of Mr. Tiffany to the Big Game Commercial Services
Board.
PAUL SHADURA
Kenai Peninsula Fisherman's Association (KPFA)
Kenai, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Kluberton and Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries.
BRUCE KNOWLES, representing himself
Willow, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Kluberton to the Board of Fisheries, and in opposition to
the reappointment of Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries.
CLAUDE WEBSTER
King Salmon, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Board of
Fisheries.
RICKY GEASE, Executive Director
Kenai River Sport Fishing Association
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the reappointment
of Mr. Webster to the Board of Fisheries.
HENRY TIFFANY IV
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an appointee to the Big Game
Commercial Services Board.
KELLY VREM, Chairman
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Sutton, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Tiffany to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
RICHARD ROHRER, representing himself
Kodiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Tiffany to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
SAM ROHRER, representing himself
Kodiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Tiffany to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
THOR STACY, lobbyist
Alaska Professional Hunter's Association
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the reappointment of
Mr. Tiffany to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:33:02 PM
CHAIR CATHY GIESSEL called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:33 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators French, Micciche, Dyson, and Chair Giessel.
^Confirmation Hearing:==Board of Fisheries
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Board of Fisheries
3:33:37 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL announced that the business before the committee
would be confirmation hearings. She asked Mr. Kluberton to tell
them why he wanted to serve the Board of Fisheries (BOF).
3:34:04 PM
THOMAS KLUBERTON, appointee to the Board of Fisheries, Ester,
Alaska, related that he came to Alaska in 1984 and worked in
Juneau with the state for close to 10 years; his last position
was director of Information Systems, Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF). He moved to
Talkeetna in 1993 where he began restoring an old National
Historic Register fishing and hunting lodge that he and his
family runs as a small inn/bed and breakfast.
He had some spare time in the winters, so he became involved in
the community council which led to the Matsu Planning Commission
and to the Matsu Borough Assembly where he served for three
years. While a member, Curt Menard was Mayor and was willing to
reintroduce (by request) the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Sportsman's
Committee and asked him to get it going. So, he organized a
group of folks and among those who were interested in the
sustainability of fish in the Matsu area was a gentlemen by the
name of Larry Engel. He turned out to have been a renowned
member of the Board of Fisheries who had been a 20 year
biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in
Southcentral Alaska. So, Mr. Kluberton was educated by members
of the Sportsman's Committee and Mr. Engel and learned a lot
about Alaska's sustainable salmon fisheries policy. His group
with Larry in the lead was quite effective in 2008 in
encouraging the board to grant stock of concern status to
Susitna and Yetna sockeye salmon on a yield basis.
When his assembly term ended Mr. Kluberton said he was
encouraged to throw his name in the hat for the Board of
Fisheries and did so. He ended up on the board three years ago
and has had a great opportunity from that point on to expand the
knowledge he gained from working with those people.
3:39:34 PM
SENATOR FRENCH thanked him for serving another term and asked
him which cases or questions are the hardest to work with and
the easiest.
MR. KLUBERTON answered that the most difficult cases are ones
that don't have a real solid clear answer in policy,
conservation or sustainability, and the toughest one was of
permit stacking for set netters. This is where the board is
asked if it's okay for one member to hold two limited entry
permits for set net fisheries and the legislature gave the board
the authority years back to allow it. The theory was to reduce
the amount of gear in a fishery and try to normalize
overcapitalized fisheries and it was aimed mostly at the Bristol
Bay drift net fishery during the lean times.
3:41:16 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE joined the committee.
MR. KLUBERTON said that people can fish two permits but they can
only use one and half times the amount of gear. He explained
that eventually the desire to make the fisheries more
economically viable occurred to the set net fishermen and they
began seeing proposals asking to stack up set net permits. That
became a very lively discussion with stakeholders living in the
areas and outside the areas who just realized with more permits
they can make a better living. The most pro side of that
discussion came from folks who lived in the eastern side of
Bristol Bay who run set net sites but were having a very
difficult time with the amount of gear they could put in the
water to make ends meet as prices go up. King Salmon's economy
was hurting also because they lost the Air Force base. While on
the western side, the guys somehow thought stacking increased
the value of permits and if the values rose, then more
individuals on the west side wouldn't have the wherewithal to
buy another permit. So it put the price of entering the fishery
out of their reach.
That type of a question is really hard to find a clear best
answer to and the board doesn't get a lot of direction from
statutes. The issue was visited a couple of times over the last
three years and in other areas, like Kodiak, where there was a
lot of opposition to it. Cook Inlet didn't have much opposition
and it went well in Yakutat, but in Bristol Bay it was wildly
contentious.
3:45:22 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked how he makes allocation decisions when
there just aren't enough fish.
MR. KLUBERTON explained that he hadn't "risen through the ranks
as a fanatic fisherman or a sports guide or commercial
fisherman" and just doesn't have a dog in the fight, so he can
stand back and watch and see what strikes him as being fair. One
of the great things about the Board of Fisheries process is that
they can go on forever, the shortest being five to six days, but
a Cook Inlet meeting will last for two weeks.
They get tremendous amounts of input from the public. To start
with, anyone in the state can submit a proposal based on their
perception of what is going on with the fisheries - Advisory
committees can turn in proposals and anyone can submit written
comments prior to the meeting - they can come from anywhere.
Then during the meeting they start out with three minutes per
person for anyone who walks in the door and wants to speak.
After everyone has had their say, which can go on for days, they
will break into committees based on groups of proposals. Maybe
they'll be looking at allocations between two user groups and
all the proposals that deal with those allocations will come
into a group. Their job then becomes hearing each proposal and
interviewing the 20 or so people who have a very lively interest
in that discussion. As board members the greatest opportunity
they to resolve allocation issues is to ask those user groups to
work it out among themselves, but if they can't reach a
compromise, the seven dark angels will do it for them.
3:51:46 PM
ANDREW COUCH, representing himself, Matsu Advisory Committee,
Matsu, Alaska, supported Mr. Kluberton's appointment to the
Board of Fisheries, saying that he is interested in conservation
of the resource and listens to all users. He accepts ADF&G's
positions as the best data available while still being able to
challenge questionable biology.
3:54:18 PM
ROBERT HEYANO, representing himself, Dillingham, Alaska,
supported Mr. Kluberton's re-appointment to the Board of
Fisheries saying that he is extremely accessible to all members
of the public and explains the reasons for his vote. He
demonstrates leadership qualities and his ability to serve on
the Cook Inlet Task Force this past winter speaks volumes for
his commitment to the process and his willingness to tackle
contentious issues.
3:56:08 PM
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR, representing himself, North Pole, Alaska, said
he is chairman of the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee
that voted unanimously to support Mr. Kluberton's reappointment
to the Board of Fisheries. He listens to the public and pays
attention to the science.
3:57:14 PM
PAUL SHADURA, Kenai Peninsula Fisherman's Association (KPFA),
Kenai, Alaska, supported Mr. Kluberton's reappointment to the
Board of Fisheries. He's approachable, respectful, and is
concerned about the sustainability of Alaska's fisheries
resources. He said all of the board candidates expend the extra
effort to listen to stakeholders and understand the complex
science and strive for a balance of opportunities for
traditional harvesters, a feat that requires not only a concern
for conservation but also maintaining an abundant yield of
fisheries resources so all the citizens of the state can enjoy
them.
He said that Mr. Kluberton demonstrated extra effort in coming
up with a Cook Inlet Task Force plan in October; he co-chaired
and spent a lot of time contacting task force members
individually and was available to them. He also worked with
ADF&G to get science that all users hadn't seen to establish
some basis for including their recommendation as an escapement
goal for the contentious issue of the Kenai River King Salmon.
3:59:36 PM
BRUCE KNOWLES, representing himself, Willow, Alaska, said he is
chairman of the Susitna Valley Advisory Committee and the Matsu
Borough Fish and Wildlife Committee and supported Mr.
Kluberton's reappointment. He has worked with Mr. Kluberton for
three years on the old borough fisheries group and found him
very astute and easy to work with; he did a good job in the last
three years and needs to stay around for the next three.
CHAIR GIESSEL, finding no further comments on Mr. Kluberton's
reappointment, closed public testimony and invited Mr. Webster
to introduce himself and tell them why he wants to be
reappointed and a little about the challenges and rewards he
found in serving on the board.
4:01:21 PM
CLAUDE WEBSTER, appointee to the Board of Fisheries, King
Salmon, Alaska, said he became actively involved in the process
over 20 years ago through the Naknek-Quijak advisory Committee
on which he served 15 years as chairman. He served the last six
years on the Board of Fisheries. He became involved basically to
protect the resource and he felt honored to be reappointed to a
third term. He believes in the process and that it is the best
one in the world and he wants to protect it.
SENATOR MICCICHE said fisheries issues are pretty contentious
and asked how he separates out his long history of commercial
fishing to make fair allocations between commercial, sport and
personal uses.
MR. WEBSTER answered that the board has a seven-point allocation
criteria policy that has been held up in the judicial system all
the way to the Supreme Court, and he relies heavily on those
criteria when he takes on these contentious issues.
4:03:47 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE said the committee had received quite a few
comments both for and against his reappointment and so she
wanted to ask questions about the recent Cook Inlet/Kenai
meeting in March where a new escapement goal was set for late
run King Salmon in the Kenai River. Her concern - as well as
others' concern - was the shortage of fish generally and King
Salmon, in particular, in the Susitna drainage. The concern
centers around the fact that an escapement goal was originally
set for a range of 17,800 to 35,700 fish and then it was changed
with a vote to 15,000 to 30,000, approximately 43 percent lower.
That allocation may have been irresponsible in light of managing
the fisheries, so she asked him to walk them through his
decision process.
MR. WEBSTER replied that the board does not set the sustainable
escapement goals (SEG) goals; the department is responsible for
setting those as well as biological escapement goals (BEG). The
department used its scientific data to come up with the lower
end of 15,000. Every single scientist from the user groups that
opposed it, even an independent scientist, agreed that the
15,000 was sustainable. He explained that the board can only set
an official escapement goal (OEG) and it was never discussed for
the board to set an OEG that override the department's SEG, but
that may be taken up next year in cycle.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if the board was considering a couple of
other options rather than just adopting this lowest escapement
goal.
4:09:37 PM
MR. WEBSTER answered yes; the board decided to have him and Mr.
Kluberton chair a winter-long meeting with the mission of coming
up with solutions to allow some other way of fishing rather than
having a total closure (which is what happened with set netting
and sport fishing on the Kenai). It became clear from all users
that the preference was for a total closure rather than reduced
fishing. So, that is what the board approved in the end.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if he thought his job was to simply listen
to the testimony from the department and adopt that.
MR. WEBSTER replied that the department has the sole authority
to set SEGs and BEGs, but the board can override those with an
OEG. But because there wasn't any notice to the public for
setting an OEG, which is part of the process, it probably
wouldn't have held up in court.
4:13:24 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE said her last question was if he would agree
that it was acknowledged by the department's staff during their
presentation that there was no brood year return data to support
a sustainable escapement goal of less than 24,000.
MR. WEBSTER replied he didn't remember everything that was
stated in the presentation, but recalled some questions about
how escapement goals were set based on historical data and there
was no lower end of escapement on the data points to know
exactly what the threshold of the lower end is. That is because
Kenai hasn't totally crashed, which is actually a good thing.
SENATOR FRENCH said he didn't get the stack of correspondence
that Senator McGuire was referring to.
CHAIR GIESSEL explained that they did not come through the
committee; she got one letter that was in support of both
appointees. She then opened public testimony.
4:15:36 PM
RICKY GEASE, Executive Director, Kenai River Sport Fishing
Association, Soldotna, Alaska, opposed Mr. Webster's appointment
to the Board of Fisheries, saying that the Alaska Legislature
has delegated to the board the primary responsibility for the
conservation for fishery resources in the state and harvest
allocations of surplus fish to user groups. In his words:
When the actions by the board undermine public
confidence and its primary responsibility for fishery
conservation, it is incumbent upon the Alaska
legislature to restore confidence in the board process
through its oversight responsibility in the confirmation
of board members.
Our opposition is not based on having commercial oriented
representatives on the board of Fisheries. We support
having a balanced representation on the BOF from various
user groups and from geographical areas in the state.
Instead out opposition is based squarely on the public
perception that the Board of Fish in the face of historic
low returns of the iconic King Salmon to the Kenai River
recent accepted a questionable Fish and Game
recommendation to lower the Kenai King escapement goal.
It took no other action such as establishing an OEG
higher than that and took no other action to amend failed
management plans.
The bottom line: the board was led in this discussion and
the decision making process for Kenai Kings by the
Bristol Bay representative to the board, Mr. Webster who
directed and guided the discussion and drafting of
documents of the RCs of the Board of Fish meeting and
pushed hard for whatever gave the commercial set net
fishery the best chance to get back in the water for an
unrestricted 2013 fishing season that took precedence
over rigorous science, fairness or economics.
In relation to the warning flags issued by the
independent reviewers regarding the department we have
heard through the Senator's questioning that two-thirds
of the escapement goal was below the known range of
historical data, that lowering the goal came with greater
risks of overfishing to the stocks and the main
beneficiary, the commercial set net would come at the
expense of the fishery resource. Such an agenda trumps
the priority for fishery conservation and abdicates the
board's responsibility to put fish ahead of the financial
considerations of any particular user group. Board
members are to be independent evaluators in the board
process who act to safeguard the public resource,
question and probe the department to make sure that the
best available science is being discussed and debated and
not to act as a rubber stamp for the interests of one
user group or the department, itself.
Kenai is by no means out of the woods. The 2013 run is
predicted to be equal to the smallest run on record.
By taking no other action than lowering the escapement
goal in order to provide the commercial fishing
opportunity leaves the department managers with the
same management plans that so dramatically failed to
provide the best mix of fishing opportunity and best
means of achieving the escapement objective in 2012.
We had a colossal failure in Cook Inlet; it cost our
community more than $30 million. What's going to
happen? The department will find itself back in the
business of picking winners and losers amongst
competing fisheries without any direction from this
board. We ask for better leadership from the board and
especially from Mr. Webster to protect and conserve
our fisheries resources and then and only then to
allocate the harvestable surplus in a fair and
equitable manner to all user groups.
SENATOR FRENCH asked what the BOF vote was on lowering that
escapement.
MR. GEASE replied that the board took two different RCs up at
two different times and then when it became apparent that after
almost close to two days of arguing and discussing this, they
bifurcated the decision and decided to accept the 15,000 to
30,000 and took no other management action than that. So, they
basically punted and left the decision of how best to manage the
fishery in the department's hands.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the vote on the escapement level was
unanimous.
MR. GEASE replied that it was unanimous.
4:20:22 PM
PAUL SHADURA, Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association (KPFA),
Kenai Alaska, supported Mr. Webster's reappointment to the Board
of Fisheries. Since they had already heard his presentation for
Mr. Kluberton he said he would cut to the chase about Mr.
Webster. He had been on the board for two terms and had done an
excellent job among all users within the state. Fishermen around
the state, commercial and other users, always have complex
issues and there are always those that feel they didn't get what
they wanted.
KPFA's position for the last statewide meeting was a 7 to 0 vote
to support the ADF&G; that did not mean that other users, such
as Kenai Peninsula set netters actually appreciated it. Other
options were on the table, but at the end, the compromise
between what the department wanted, what they wanted, and what
the public agreed to was to support the department's efforts to
solidify the counting methods and their management.
He noted explained that the previous counting system was a
split-beam Bendix, an altogether different type of metrics than
the new Ditson system uses - similar to using the metric system
versus feet and inches. The same escapement goal that was used
for the previous Bendix, which tended to over-count the King
Salmon entering the Kenai River, has been scaled back and
corrected to the new Ditson Mixture model system. The same lower
SEG is in place. In fact, all the curves and modeling using the
corrective factors all the way back to 1986 show that you can
have an escapement of 13,000 to 28,000 and still return the same
yield of 30,000.
MR. SHADURA said that Mr. Webster did an excellent job and his
efforts are appreciated. "It is nice to have members that are
willing to sacrifice and continue on the board and have the
knowledge to do so."
4:23:55 PM
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR, representing himself, Fairbanks, Alaska,
supported Mr. Webster's reappointment to the Board of Fisheries.
He had known him for at least 20 years and worked with him when
he was on the Board of Fisheries and Mr. Webster was chairman of
the Naknek Quijak Advisory Committee.
4:24:30 PM
ANDREW COUCH, representing himself, Matsu, Alaska, supported Mr.
Webster's reappointment to the Board of Fisheries. He is
conservation minded and approachable to all user groups. He
understands what he, as a sport fishing guide, is talking about
and defers to the department's science, especially when there is
a conflict with the sport position. He wanted Mr. Webster's
knowledge of the different fisheries around the state to
continue for another term.
4:26:43 PM
BRUCE KNOWLES, representing himself, Willow, Alaska, opposed Mr.
Webster's appointment to the Board of Fisheries saying he had
let the state down in managing its resources for conservation.
Currently in the north district of Cook Inlet, six King Salmon
stocks and one sockeye salmon stock are stocks of concern. They
just found out recently that there will be four additional King
Salmon streams and possibly 1 to 2 coho streams that have
qualified as stocks of concern. That means in the state they
have the majority of all stock of concerns. He has found that
Mr. Webster strongly supports commercial fishing interests; he
led the charge in 2008 to add three additional periods to the
commercial fishing time for northern district set netters and
this was on stocks that were already on the edge of a stock of
concern listing. He has not supported adding Lower Susitna coho
as a stock of concern and it missed its escapement goal. He does
not support in-stream management or sustainability, especially
in the northern district.
4:29:14 PM
ROBERT HEYANO, supported Mr. Webster's reappointment to the
Board of Fisheries, saying he has the same good qualities Mr.
Kluberton has. In addition, he personally has known Mr. Webster
during his 15-year tenure on the Naknek Quijak Advisory Council
and he has a strong commitment to conservation of the resources.
Mr. Webster and his family have set net sites in the Quijak and
he has personal financial losses due to the lack of fishing
there.
CHAIR GIESSEL, finding no further comments, closed public
testimony and said that concluded the hearing on these two
appointees. She said in accordance with AS 39.05.080, the
Resources Committee reviewed the following and recommends the
appointments be forwarded to a joint session for consideration:
Board of Fisheries: Thomas Kluberton and Claude "Vince" Webster.
This does not reflect an intent by any of the members to vote
for against the confirmation of the individual during any
further sessions.
4:32:19 PM
At ease from 4:32 to 4:33 p.m.
^Confirmation Hearing:==Big Game Commercial Services Board
Big Game Commercial Services Board
4:33:09 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL announced that the committee would next take up
the Governor's nominees for the Big Game Commercial Services
Board. She invited Mr. Tiffany to tell about his affiliations,
experience, and interest in this appointment.
4:33:24 PM
HENRY TIFFANY, IV, appointee to the Big Game Commercial Services
Board, Fairbanks, Alaska, said his grandfather served on the
first guide board that was established in Alaska and as editor
of the Alaska Sportsmen, which became Alaska Magazine later, he
knew many of the original old time guides in Alaska. So, he has
a long connection with the guiding industry, although he is the
first in his family to be a licensed big game guide.
He was fortunate to discover the guiding profession early in his
life and is honored to serve and give back in small measure to a
profession and industry and a way of life that means so much to
him. He was concerned about the industry as a whole: the land
and the animals. Some real issues are facing the state in the
guiding industry however, particularly the overcrowding of
guides on state lands and some other transporter issues.
He wanted the profession and the industry and the way of life
that means so much to him to be available and a viable option
for his children and future generations, but that takes work. It
is his turn to give back and help steward the guiding industry
into the hands of future generations. He has hunted and guided
throughout all the major regions of Alaska; his primary areas of
expertise are the Interior, the Brooks Range and the Alaska
Peninsula. He also has concentrated experience in Southeast,
Southwest and Kodiak Island. He enjoys being out in the field
and said, "It's the fun part."
MR. TIFFANY said he has experienced guiding throughout Alaska,
but primarily working as the guide and outfitter in charge; he
has also worked for other guides and that gives him a broad
background of experience in all aspects of the guiding industry
including the use of air taxis and transporters. He tries to
maintain a "big picture view" of what the industry could be and
what is best for the whole even though it doesn't necessarily
mean it's the best for him or the ones he knows.
He said that he has served on Big Game Commercial Services Board
subcommittees and had been a proctor for the guide exams for
many years and had been a very active participant in the Big
Game Commercial Services Board meetings since it was
reestablished after it had been sunseted; he is chairman of the
Rural Services area where he lives.
SENATOR FRENCH thanked him for his willingness to serve and said
his application package was very thorough and impressive, but he
asked him to explain how a small claims case with a client who
wanted a full refund of his hunt got resolved.
MR. TIFFANY responded that the only discordial client he ever
had was an individual on his third sheep hunt with him.
Unfortunately, this person came to the hunt with the distinct
attitude that he had forgotten more about hunting sheep in
Alaskan than Mr. Tiffany had ever known. (One of the great
beauties of this profession is that you are constantly
learning.) But it is fair to say that his 33 sheep hunts
compared to his client's 3 gave him a few more insights.
MR. TIFFANY recalled this individual voicing his frustration to
the other hunter that the only time he ever hires a guide is
when he absolutely has to, because he didn't really need them,
which wasn't the greatest footing on which to start 10 days
together in remote Alaska and needless to say he had very
specific expectations of the kind of quality sheep he wanted,
which Mr. Tiffany said he supported. But throughout the hunt he
saw only one ram and none that he judged to be much superior to
the one his client had harvested previously. On the final day of
the hunt they stalked a ram but couldn't get any closer than 400
yards, so he passed it as an unethical shot. At the conclusion
of the hunt, the client asked for a full refund, because he
didn't get a sheep. Mr. Tiffany said that wasn't possible - his
fees had been committed to the air taxis, the food he had eaten
and people who had supported the hunt - however, he offered him
a discounted hunt next year with another guide.
Subsequently, the client flew back to the Lower 48 and filed a
small claim against him, the only one he has had. If he had done
something wrong Mr. Tiffany said he would have taken
responsibility for it, but in this case he did nothing wrong.
His client didn't get the sheep he wanted, but that is why it's
called hunting and not killing.
MR. TIFFANY said he refused to pay and hired an attorney and
requested this to go to trial wanting both sides of the story to
be heard by his peers. The client dragged his feet and did not
really want to go through with it to the point that the judge
became very frustrated and almost charged him with contempt, and
nothing came from it.
SENATOR FRENCH thanked him for that explanation.
4:45:20 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL opened public testimony.
4:45:33 PM
KELLY VREM, Chairman, Big Game Commercial Services Board,
Sutton, Alaska, supported Mr. Tiffany's appointment to the Big
Game Commercial Services Board. He's one of the folks that shows
up at all the meetings and happily accepts any assignments the
chair asks.
4:46:51 PM
RICHARD ROHRER, representing himself, Kodiak, Alaska, said he is
a guide who has been involved in the industry since 1965 and had
just completed serving two terms on the Big Game Commercial
Services Board. He supported Mr. Tiffany's appointment to the
Big Game Commercial Services Board concurring with Mr. Vrem's
assessment of him.
4:47:37 PM
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR said he is also a big game guide who supported
Mr. Tiffany's appointment. He had known him for some time and
thought he would be an asset to the board; he is a "fair chase
guide," which means he's the guy who walks around out there on
the ground.
4:48:54 PM
SAM ROHRER, representing himself, Kodiak, Alaska, said he is a
registered hunting guide and supported Mr. Tiffany's
reappointment. He is thoughtful and articulate and "without a
doubt" will always have the future of the guiding industry
foremost in his mind.
4:49:57 PM
THOR STACY, lobbyist, Alaska Professional Hunter's Association,
Juneau, Alaska, supported Mr. Tiffany's appointment to the Big
Game Commercial Services Board. Mr. Stacy explained that the
Professional Hunter's Association is representative of a fair
portion of the guide businesses in the state and has a high
standard of professionalism and that Mr. Tiffany is right;
buying a hunt and therefore automatically expecting to harvest
an animal is illegal in the State of Alaska and he did his best
to bring someone back in a fair chase climate. Those are things
that as professionals they find to be considered "high
standards."
MR. STACY said that Mr. Tiffany had attended every single Big
Game Commercial Services Board meeting and has an excellent
working knowledge of regulation and statute; he is well educated
and has a good background in Roberts Rules of Order. He'll bring
integrity to the board process. There are two guide seats on the
Big Game Commercial Services Board and his seat is important.
CHAIR GIESSEL, finding no further comments, closed public
testimony saying in accordance with AS 39.05.080, the Resources
Committee reviewed the following and recommends the appointment
be forwarded to a joint session for consideration: Big Game
Commercial Services Board, Henry Tiffany.
SENATOR FRENCH raised a point of order and asked how she could
do that with only three people present on the committee.
CHAIR GIESSEL responded that before he left, Senator Micciche
signed the forwarding document. She continued that this does not
reflect an intent by any of the members to vote for against the
confirmation of the individual during any further sessions.
There were no objections and it was so ordered.
4:53:34 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL adjourned the Senate Resources Committee meeting
at 4:54 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Big Game - Tiffany #5.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Fisheries - Kluberton #5.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Fisheries - Webster #5.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Gov. appt. support BOF Webster & Kluberton 2013.03.30.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Big Game- Tiffany Application and Resume.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Big Game- Tiffany Application 2013.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Webster Kluberton Confirmation Comments.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| BOF Appointment 2013 UCITF CIFF Defending Escapement Goal Presentation.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| BOF AppointmentTestimony PaulShadura 2013.04.01.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| BOF Appointments Webster and Kluberton ATA 2013.04.01.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| BOF Appointment-Webster Opp Letter RickyGease 2013.04.04.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |
|
| BOF-Webster Opp Emails 2014.04.04.pdf |
SRES 4/1/2013 3:30:00 PM |