00 HOUSE BILL NO. 170 01 "An Act relating to intensive management of identified big game prey 02 populations." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that providing for high 05 levels of harvest for human consumptive use in accordance with the sustained yield principle 06 is the highest and best use of identified big game prey populations in most areas of the state 07 and that those identified big game prey populations should be managed accordingly. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.255(e) is amended to read: 09  (e) The Board of Game shall adopt regulations to provide for intensive 10 management programs to restore the abundance or productivity of identified big game 11 prey populations as necessary to achieve human consumptive use goals of the board 12 in an area where the board has determined that 13  (1) consumptive use of the big game prey population is a preferred use; 14  (2) depletion of the big game prey population from historic high levels 01 or reduction of the productivity of the big game prey population has occurred and may 02 result, or has resulted, in a significant reduction in the allowable human harvest of 03 the population; and 04  (3) enhancement of abundance or productivity of the big game prey 05 population is feasibly achievable utilizing recognized and prudent active management 06 techniques. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.255(g)(2) is amended to read: 08  (2) "intensive management" means management of an identified big 09 game prey population to enhance, extend, and develop the population to maintain high 10 levels or provide for higher levels of human harvest, including control of predation and 11 prescribed or planned use of fire and other habitat improvement techniques, but not 12 including restrictions on methods or means of taking game, access to game, or 13 human harvest of game. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.255(g) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 15  (3) "harvestable surplus" means the number of animals that is equal to 16 the number of offspring born in a game population during the year less the number of 17 animals in the population that die during the year from all causes other than predation 18 or human harvest; 19  (4) "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of one-third or 20 more of the harvestable surplus of a game population for human harvest; 21  (5) "sustained yield" means the achievement and maintenance in 22 perpetuity of a high level of human harvest of game on an annual or periodic basis. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.255 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 24  (h) The board shall manage game populations for which human use is an 25 important use so as to provide at least one-half of the harvestable surplus for human 26 harvest.