00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 262(RES)                                                                                       
01 "An Act relating to regulation of hunting and trapping, to the definition of                                            
02 'sustained yield,' and to controlled use areas."                                                                        
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1.  AS 16.05.255(a) is amended to read:                                                                  
05  (a)  The Board of Game may adopt regulations it considers  necessary                                                
06 [ADVISABLE] in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) for  the                                        
07 biological management of game by                                                                                       
08   (1)  setting apart game reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the                                               
09 water or on the land of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval                               
10 of the legislature;                                                                                                     
11   (2)  establishing                                                                                                    
12    (A)   open and closed seasons  for the taking of game that are                                                  
13 biologically necessary for the management of the game being taken;  and                                                
14    (B)   areas for the taking of game;                                                                              
01   (3)  establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit,                                                     
02 capture, taking, and transport of game, including regulations, consistent with  sustained                              
03 yield  [RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS], establishing                                                     
04 means and methods that may be employed by persons with physical disabilities;                                           
05   (4)  setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex, age, and size                                              
06 limitations on the taking of game;                                                                                      
07   (5)  classifying game as game birds, song birds, big game animals, fur                                               
08 bearing animals, predators, or other categories;                                                                        
09   (6)  methods, means, and harvest levels necessary to control predation                                               
10 and competition among game in the state;                                                                                
11   (7)  watershed and habitat improvement, and management, conservation,                                                
12 protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of game;                                                           
13   (8)  prohibiting the live capture, possession, transport, or release of                                              
14 native or exotic game or their eggs;                                                                                    
15   (9)  establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of game                                              
16 licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations between                              
17 registration areas and game management units or subunits is allowed;                                                    
18   (10)  regulating sport hunting and subsistence hunting as needed for the                                             
19  biological management  [CONSERVATION], development, and utilization of game;                                         
20   (11)  taking game to ensure public safety.                                                                           
21    * Sec. 2.  AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                    
22  Sec. 16.05.799.  Regulation of hunting.  (a)  The Board of Game and the                                             
23 department may not restrict a means of access to take or transport game if that means                                   
24 of access is a traditional means of access to take or transport game for consumptive                                    
25 use.  However, the board or department may restrict a traditional means of access to                                    
26 take or transport game if the board or department                                                                       
27   (1)  finds in writing that                                                                                           
28   (A)  the means of access has resulted in significant biological                                                     
29 harm to a game population in the area where the restriction is to apply; and                                            
30   (B)  the recovery of the population is unlikely without a                                                           
31 restriction on that means of access to the area; and                                                                    
01   (2)  has implemented active management measures in the area to aid in                                                
02 the recovery of the population.                                                                                         
03  (b)  The Board of Game or the department may not restrict the use of a method                                         
04 or means to access, take, or transport game for the purpose of preferring or affecting                                  
05 the quality of the outdoor experience of a person or group.                                                             
06  (c)  In this section, "means of access" means a mode of transportation,                                               
07 including but not limited to motor vehicle, aircraft, balloon, boat, air boat, snow                                     
08 vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, horse, dog sled, ski, snowshoe, or foot.                                                  
09    * Sec. 3.  AS 16.05.940 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:                                              
10   (37)  "sustained yield" means the achievement and maintenance in                                                     
11 perpetuity of a high level of human harvest on an annual basis of game, other than                                      
12 mammalian predators, and of fish.                                                                                       
13    * Sec. 4.  5 AAC 92.004(a)(4) is annulled.                                                                         
14    * Sec. 5.  The Board of Game may continue controlled use areas that are in existence on                            
15 the effective date of this Act as the board considers necessary.  On or after the effective date                        
16 of this Act, the Board of Game may establish a controlled use area only if necessary to                                 
17 achieve biological management goals.