Legislature(2015 - 2016)BARNES 124
03/16/2015 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Department of Natural Resources, Commissioner | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Commissioner | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 139 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 16, 2015
1:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Benjamin Nageak, Co-Chair
Representative David Talerico, Co-Chair
Representative Mike Hawker, Vice Chair
Representative Bob Herron
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Kurt Olson
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Geran Tarr
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Department Of Natural Resources - Commissioner
Mark Myers - Fairbanks
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Alaska Department Of Fish & Game - Commissioner
Sam Cotten - Juneau
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
HOUSE BILL NO. 139
"An Act allowing the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, or
a subsidiary of the corporation, to build, operate, and maintain
a gas pipeline within the boundaries of the Susitna Flats State
Game Refuge, the Minto Flats State Game Refuge, the Captain Cook
State Recreation Area, the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, the
Willow Creek State Recreation Area, and the Denali State Park."
- HEARING CANCELED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
MARK MYERS, PhD, Commissioner-Designee
Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as Commissioner-Designee.
SAM COTTEN, Commissioner-Designee
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as Commissioner-Designee.
ERNIE WEISS, Director
Natural Resources Department
Aleutians East Borough
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the appointment of
Commissioner Cotten to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:01:47 PM
CO-CHAIR DAVID TALERICO called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. Representatives
Josephson, Herron, Seaton, Tarr, Hawker, Nageak, and Talerico
were present at the call to order. Representatives Johnson and
Olson arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Department of Natural Resources,
Commissioner
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Department of Natural Resources, Commissioner
1:02:35 PM
CO-CHAIR TALERICO announced that the first order of business
would be confirmation hearings for Mark Myers, the Commissioner-
Designee of the Department of Natural Resources and Sam Cotten,
the Commissioner-Designee of the Department of Fish and Game.
1:03:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER expressed his endorsement for moving along
both confirmations to the House floor.
1:03:46 PM
MARK MYERS, PhD, Commissioner-Designee, Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be
commissioner. He said that he is from Wisconsin and first came
to Alaska in 1974 on a geologic field trip with his university.
He has several geology degrees from the University of Wisconsin,
and started with working for ARCO in order to be in Alaska. He
spoke of his family, and he reviewed some of his experience with
ARCO, including work in the Beaufort Sea and the Kuparuk River
Unit development. He noted that he then earned a PhD and began
working for the State of Alaska as a petroleum geologist and
then, again, went to work for the industry. Later, he became
director of [DNR's Division of] Oil & Gas, and when he quit
after five years, he became the director of the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) in Washington D.C. He said that he then
worked two years as the AGIA [Alaska Gasline Inducement Act]
coordinator and was selected to become the Vice Chancellor of
Research for the University of Alaska. He stated that he has
also served 26 years in the Air Force Reserve as a pilot and
intelligence officer from which he retired as a lieutenant
colonel. He said he has had the privilege of looking at resource
issues from a variety of perspectives and noted that he has been
everything from a technical geologist, a research scientist, to
a developer of oil and gas fields. He managed the small
division in DNR with about 120 people and the USGS with 9,000
people and a budget of approximately $1.4 billion. He serves on
the National Petroleum Council, the Methane Hydrate Federal
Advisory Committee, and the Arctic Council's Scientific
Cooperation Taskforce.
1:10:36 PM
COMMISSIONER MYERS said his philosophy is expressed in the four
standards he set for DNR: 1) stewardship, managing resources on
the behalf of the people of Alaska and future residents, 2)
transparency, being open as to why and how decisions are made,
3) science-based management, including the use of traditional
knowledge and western science, and 4) integrity, which is
necessary in gaining trust. He noted the changes in the world
oil market and in the environment, including isostatic rebound,
coastal erosion, and thermokarsting, and he said knowledge of
these changes will lead to adaptive strategies "otherwise we are
paralyzed by uncertainty," he stated.
1:13:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he appreciates his past interactions
with Commissioner Myers, and asked about DNR's statutory
mission, its current mission statement.
COMMISSIONER MYERS stated that DNR's current mission statement,
which is being reviewed, is "to responsibly develop Alaska's
resources and making them available to the maximum use and
benefit consistent with the public interest." Historically, the
statements have included terminology to "conserve and develop."
The previous Commissioner, Dan Sullivan, had a less balanced
leaning toward maximum use, he said, but conservation is
important as well in that there should be a true balancing of
Alaska's resource needs. Alaska is an economy dependent upon
resource development on public lands. The DNR job is challenging
because resources are the economic engine of the state, he
added. Other than tourism, most economic activities are on
Alaska's 160 million acres and not on federal Alaska lands. He
noted the need to balance fish versus oil, for example, and
expressed the importance of good regulatory structures to
preserve renewable resources while developing the nonrenewable
ones.
1:15:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said the legislature established the
department with a statutory mission statement, and asked how he
can create a different mission statement for DNR.
COMMISSIONER MYERS said he has requested legal advice on that
issue, and noted that every commissioner has slightly modified
the mission statement. His goal is to honor statutes and
regulations, and he will not make a change without bringing it
before the legislature. In practice, DNR management has been
consistent regarding responsibilities, and the primary variation
has been in the public process, he opined. It is imperative that
Alaska has long-term, sustainable development and provides
resources for communities as well. There are four core services
that reflect what DNR does, perhaps more than the mission
statement, he said. Those are to: foster responsible commercial
development and use of state land and natural resources
consistent with the public interest for long-term wealth and
employment; mitigate the threat to the public from natural
hazards by providing comprehensive fire protection and
identifying significant geological hazards; provide access to
state lands for public and private use, settlement, and
recreation; and ensure sufficient data acquisition and
assessment of land and resources to foster responsible resource
and community development and public safety, he explained.
1:18:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he is pleased that any changes [to
the mission statement] will be brought before the legislature.
1:19:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER said that his most important factor for
legislative conferees is professional qualifications. It is not
relevant that Representative Hawker is in agreement with the
conferees or not, he added, and in his 13 years with the
legislature, no one has had such a complete and appropriate
resume as Commissioner Myers. "Mr. Myers qualifications just
scream off the page," he stated. He said that the management of
DNR is broader than just geology, and he asked how Commissioner
Myers will approach other issues.
COMMISSIONER MYERS said he has had a lot of experience in other
areas, for example, as vice chancellor he was involved in
research in every area that DNR is involved with: agriculture;
water, including sea ice and glaciers; forest monitoring and
management; parks and preservation; and environmental change.
He added that the USGS goes beyond geology as well, including
Landsat satellites and climate change research, and he advocated
and got the new climate science centers. The agency provided
much of the data the world uses. He said he worked with the
Secretary of the Interior to release the Landsat data for free,
and that resulted in 100 percent increase in its use and
generates far more revenue in the private sector than the agency
spent. He said he understands the issues, noting that DNR is a
mini version of the Department of Interior (DOI), without fish
and game, but with forestry. He added that he had many valuable
experiences and learned from a lot of smart people. Land use
management, economic development, and conflict resolution are
critical pieces, and he said that "often the minimizing effect
on resource development is a single other resource." He gave the
example of water being the most limiting factor on economic
development in many places. Conflict between oil and gas
development and cattle ranchers may be as strong as between
development and environmentalists, and he learned to bring the
parties together upfront. Often, the permitting process is the
key to success, he said, and he noted the difficulties are
increasing because of regulatory factors and because of the
diverse number of stakeholders. He said it is crucial to gather
basic scientific data and to have agency collaboration, and he
has considerable experience in those areas.
1:26:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER surmised Commissioner Myers is committed
to being a science-based manager. [Commissioner Myers agreed.]
1:26:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON noted that the Department of Interior is
trying to "limit us," and Commissioner Myers will "try to change
that future." He asked what DOI has lost in the meaning of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the future of the United
States and to Alaska. "What have they ignored?"
COMMISSIONER MYERS said, "Quite a lot." He noted that he was
asked to explain the resource potential of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge to Congress in 1995. He has observed that
Congress never made the final decision on the 1002 Area of the
refuge. It is only 8 percent of the refuge, but it is Congress's
decision to make, he explained. The State of Alaska sees the
resource potential, he added, and the USGS did the last
professional resource assessment. "We don't know how much of it
is there, but the numbers suggest a significant amount of
hydrocarbons…about 10 billion barrels." It is a huge amount, and
the question is if it can be developed without significant harm
to wildlife. He said he personally believes it can be done, and
has argued that many times in his career. He added that the
value of wilderness is "a very different standard." It is much
more subjective than measuring the effects on caribou, for
example. It can be argued that a road through [the Izembek
National Wildlife Refuge] to King Cove will destroy the
wilderness status, but one cannot successfully argue that the
road will significantly affect the black brant, he opined. If
"wilderness" means "don't touch it," then it clearly needs
Congressional approval, he stated.
1:30:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON inquired as to his thoughts on the new
term used by the DOI, "landscape characteristics," rather than
"wilderness," and if the intent is to confuse people.
COMMISSIONER MYERS said it confuses him, and as a scientist
prefers specific terms that everyone understands in order to
reach common resolutions for any issue. New categorizations
ought to be clearly defined, he opined. One of the challenges
faced by the state is that each of the federal agencies within
DOI have specific missions mandated with very different
purposes; therefore, land classification matters. The Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) is a multi-use agency, the Fish and
Wildlife Service protects wildlife, the Park Service protects
the values of parks, and the Bureau of Reclamation provides
water, manages dams, and promotes flood safety. He offered that
BLM, being more multiple use, would have less restrictive terms
than the Fish and Wildlife Service, but "I think there's a
crossover of agency missions or a collapsing of those
standards." He advised he already started a dialogue with the
director of BLM and the chief of staff for the secretary [of
DOI], and he challenged them on some issues. He further advised
they were amenable to resolving some of the issues on a
professional level. Rather than having an external fight, he
said he wants to get "inside" because he knows the agencies and
knows there are many good people in them. He noted that he is
apolitical and approaches issues as things to be worked out in
an acceptable way. He said he is optimistic because the first
conversations went well.
1:33:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE OLSON said he rarely comments on nominees unless
they are unqualified, but Commissioner Myers was one of the
first persons he met in Juneau, and he has known him personally
and professionally and finds him to be very responsive and
accessible. He recalled when Commissioner Myers worked with
USGS, and the enthusiasm of his employees was "mind-boggling."
Commissioner Myers has a good eye for talent and generates
enthusiasm, he added.
1:34:54 PM
CO-CHAIR NAGEAK thanked Commissioner Myers for providing
information, and he agreed with earlier committee comments
regarding his breadth of experience. Regarding "the place where
I was born," he said Congress makes a decision and not an
agency, but "the agency, in this case, has usurped the power of
Congress by quasi-designating an area as a wilderness." He said
he was happy to hear the comments made by Commissioner Myers.
1:36:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON spoke of two legal cases in the Supreme
Court involving DNR. One was brought by the tribe in Nondalton
about land classification and public participation, he
explained, and the second decision was in superior court, and it
involved the Chuitna River and watershed. Comments are now being
taken regarding the water rights application, he said. Judge
Rindner almost held the agency in contempt "for failure to
process the applications and treat them as … a quasi-property
interest." He asked whether there is a theme in those cases that
Commissioner Myers would like to correct.
COMMISSIONER MYERS answered that he did not know the cases in
detail, but he is receiving a lot of public comment on the water
reservations. He said DNR recognizes the need to have a public
process on water reservations, and those rights do exist. "We're
going to adjudicate those very, very fairly," but it is an
ongoing process. He believes that DNR has done what was asked by
the courts. He noted that he was present for the issues
surrounding shallow gas leasing and recognizes the need for that
program as a source of rural energy while retaining other
values. He said he believes they reached a good resolution, but
it took a rewrite of the legislation because it had taken out
the public process. There were a lot of angry people in the
communities, including Homer, and it was "not so much the
program but the lack of public input into the program." "Don't
take out public process," he added, "it's expensive, it takes
time, but it's critical … for people to be heard." In Bristol
Bay, for example, where there were lease sales, Commissioner
Myers was the Director of Oil and Gas, and the state provided
for a lot of public input. He said DNR worked with the tribal
organizations and the communities and asked them what they
needed to be protected, so there was not much pushback during
those lease sales. By bringing in the public protection and
mitigation issues upfront and by accepting that not 100 percent
of the leases would be leased, a majority can be leased. That is
how to reach the balances that are accepted by communities, he
stated. He stressed the need for public process and
transparency, which is challenging when there are limited
resources and time, but they are critical.
1:41:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said she was pleased with Commissioner
Myer's emphasis on science-based policy. The governor said he is
interested in additional collaboration and work with the
university, and she said there are many opportunities for
substantive work for policy development and as part of training
state workers in Alaska.
COMMISSIONER MYERS said that Alaska needs to diversify its
economy by bringing in a R&D [research and development] focus.
Alaska has unique environments and resources and has an amazing
opportunity with the Arctic to do [indecipherable] development-
sensors for unmanned vehicles, which is disruptive technology
for monitoring the environment and contributing to public
safety, he stated. The university is one of the best in world
for using small unmanned vehicles, and there will soon be
partnerships with some of the major companies. It is an
opportunity to bring in jobs and industry, he expressed. He
spoke of micro-grids and generating power from combined
renewable and fossil fuel systems and said the university test
lab is competent in these areas. He stated that the university
has been visited by the Secretary of the Navy and NATO
parliamentarians for science and technology, and this shows
opportunities. He stressed the university's technical capacity
and scientific research equipment that the state cannot
duplicate. He noted that the university can be funded by sources
the state cannot, like the National Science Foundation. Alaska
has a State Committee on Research, which identifies the state's
research needs and the university's ability to perform that
research. Training undergraduates builds critical thinking
skills, and they will be that much more valuable as employees,
he stated. Alaska needs people with doctorate degrees to
understand arctic issues. The university produces about 50 per
year, and they will be future leaders.
1:47:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked whether it is within the power of
the commissioner to make changes to mission statements.
COMMISSIONER MYERS said he has asked for a legal opinion, but
there is a belief that it would require legislative approval and
he would get that approval. He noted that Commissioner Dan
Sullivan's mission statement exists without having received
legislative consent.
1:48:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR noted that the transition team encouraged
developing formal training for conducting public hearings. She
said that would be beneficial.
COMMISSIONER MYERS concurred. It is not just facilitation
skills, it is understanding how adaptive management works and
finding a method that works for the state. The university
teaches some of the fundamentals of it, and it is important that
people are trained to the standards that the state really needs.
1:50:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said there was a discussion about a
decade ago regarding DNR usurping some of the roles
traditionally played by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game
(ADF&G). He asked what happened, and asked about the
relationship between the two agencies.
COMMISSIONER MYERS recalled that the Division of Habitat was
moved from ADF&G to DNR by then Governor Frank Murkowski. The
relationship works well depending on the personality of the
directors and their willingness to elevate decisions, he added.
It can work fine as long the division maintains core habitat
values, but there was never trust in that decision by the
wildlife community. The best answer is to have a strong
collaboration between the agencies at the director level and to
implement science-based management. He noted that when he was
the director of Oil and Gas, he was frustrated at times because
the Habitat Division was not using enough science in its
decisions, "and I challenged them on it." He said it should not
come to that; there should be good data to make good habitat
decisions.
CO-CHAIR TALERICO noted his previous military experience, and
said it was quite a commitment. He then opened public testimony.
Upon determining no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
1:53:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to forward the name of Mark Myers,
Commissioner-Designee, to the full body for consideration. He
reminded members that signing the reports regarding appointments
to boards and commissions in no way reflects each member's
approval or disapproval of the appointees and that the
nominations are merely forwarded to the full legislature for
confirmation or rejection. [The motion was adopted.]
The committee took an at-ease from 1:54 p.m. to 1:56 p.m.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Alaska Department of Fish & Game,
Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Commissioner
1:56:47 PM
CO-CHAIR TALERICO announced that the final order of business
would be a confirmation hearing for Sam Cotten, the
Commissioner-designee of the Department of Fish and Game. He
noted that Commissioner Cotten has served as a legislator.
1:57:17 PM
SAM COTTEN, Commissioner-Designee, Alaska Department of Fish &
Game (ADF&G), told the committee that he was a freshman
legislator 40 years ago and served 14 years in the House and two
in the Senate. He said he was born in Juneau but grew up mostly
in Palmer and Eagle River. He did two military tours in Vietnam
after high school. He enjoys sport fishing, and he has been a
purse seiner in Cook Inlet for about 25 years. He said he worked
for several years for the Aleutians East Borough as a resource
analyst, working on oil and gas leases and on special area plans
such as critical habitat plans. He noted that the legislature
creates critical habitat areas and the agency puts together a
management plan. There was a lot of public participation, and it
gave him a feel for how important the public process is. He said
the state would fully involve the public with any changes to
such management plans.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said he primarily worked on fisheries issues
when working for the Aleutians East Borough. The area has a
mixed-stock fishery and is strategically located near the end of
the Alaska Peninsula. It is the "Area M" fishery and often gets
blamed when other fisheries were not doing too well, he said.
This allowed him to get familiar with many other fishery areas.
He was appointed to the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council, and he will now serve on the council as the
commissioner. There are many opportunities to protect Alaskan
fishing communities, but it is a never-ending battle in some
cases, he explained. The Seattle fleets are referred to as
distant water fleets, and they have fished in Alaska for a
century or more. The majority of fish caught between three and
200 miles are caught by non-Alaskans, but the fish are often
landed, processed, or transferred within the state. He said he
believes that the fishing industry is the largest employer in
Alaska. He commented on the level of professionalism in ADF&G
and the commitment to do the work. Many Alaskans depend on the
department to get access to fish and game resources. He said
working with the federal government presents challenges as those
agencies have different mission statements than ADF&G. The
polarization, he said, he would like to improve with better
communication, working in communities, and outreach.
2:06:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON noted that the transition team spoke to
a "fish-first" policy, and he asked what that meant and if he
subscribed to it.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said that refers to the sustained yield,
scientific approach. He said harvest will be allowed on a
continuous basis, recognizing that the fish come first.
Sustained yield is a constitutional mandate, he added.
2:06:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON noted that Commissioner Cotten chaired
this same committee many years ago, and asked how the
legislature has changed its approach to fish and game.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said there is always a lot of passion about
fish and game issues, but he has seen a large change in Alaska's
demographics. When he was on the committee there were more
legislators representing fishing communities, so there may be
more challenges on understanding the importance of sustainable
fishing communities. The population in Southcentral Alaska has
increased demands on salmon resources in Cook Inlet, but the
department has recognized that subsistence use is a priority and
personal use is growing in popularity, he stated.
2:09:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said the transition report states that there
should be no significant loss of fish habitat knowingly
permitted in the state. She asked how that can be accomplished.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said there are a couple of habitat issues
now surfacing, including the Chuitna coal mine. One of his
primary jobs is to protect fish, but there is a need to remain
objective, and when "people come in and apply for Title 16
permits, we can't have our minds made up in advance." He noted
that he comes from a mining family, so he sees a little bit of
romance in mining, but he expressed concern on taking chances on
Alaska's fishery habitat.
2:10:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NAGEAK said Commissioner Cotten received the
legislative conservation award in 1988 by the Wildlife
Federation of Alaska, and the Alaska Outdoor Council gave him a
recognition award in the same year, "and that's quite an
accomplishment."
2:11:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE OLSON asked about traditional knowledge.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN answered that science has to be the primary
driver, "but if we ignore traditional knowledge, we're making a
mistake."
REPRESENTATIVE OLSON said he has only seen it used successfully
at the Red Dog Mine. The elders were consulted on caribou
passages, he explained.
2:12:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said that the North Pacific Fisheries
Management Council manages the federal waters from three to 200
[miles from shore]. There was a problem in the 1990s with a
trawl fishery killing more value in crab and halibut than was
being harvested in the United States. At that time, the council
allowed a fishery if it had any economic value, and he asked
what Commissioner Cotten thought about net loss fisheries and
bycatch issues.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said there are 10 national standards used by
the council, and the first is to allow for optimum yield, but
another is to reduce bycatch as much as practicable. For
example, there is a bycatch limit in the Bering Sea and a limit
to overall halibut removals, so when the bycatch equaled the
overall halibut limit, the people of the Pribilof Islands and
anyone else fishing in Alaska could not fish for halibut in the
Bering Sea. "We took action and petitioned the Secretary for
emergency response and visited the Halibut Commission and pretty
aggressively chased after that," and in the June 2015 meeting
there will be final action to significantly reduce bycatch for
those trawl fisheries, he stated.
2:15:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he is working with the Alaska
delegation to clarify that [the council] is not obligated to
conduct a fishery that is destroying [too many fish], and he is
glad that Commissioner Cotten is looking at it. The fishermen
should be told that if they are operating "in those conditions"
they risk losing access to the fisheries. He noted that the
state has reviewed the king salmon problem and the sustainable
salmon initiative, and Representative Seaton has attended many
meetings regarding the Yukon-Kuskokwim [fisheries]. There were
seven different theories on what might be happening, and those
theories were to be tested, he said. He expressed concern that
ADF&G has looked at Cook Inlet and is doing a gap analysis, "not
testing any theories … and we never eliminate anything because
all we're doing is gaining information." He asked if the
department will be testing scientific theories or merely
collecting information.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said there is funding available from the
legislature for Chinook salmon research, and it is an extremely
high priority for the department to conduct that research and
"learn what we can." In the Bering Sea, the Chinook salmon
bycatch are primarily Alaska fish, and in the Gulf of Alaska, 95
percent of the bycatch are from Southeast Alaska, Canada, and
Washington. It appears that, for some reason in Alaska waters,
the marine survival of juveniles are suffering. He supports
directing attention to that, but the best scientists point at
ocean conditions, "and that means a whole lot of different
possibilities."
2:19:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said that research by the Bering Sea
sustainable salmon initiative tested seven theories that may be
impacting king salmon by going out with RFPs [request for
proposals] to collect data to prove or disprove those theories,
yet ADF&G's gap analysis for Cook Inlet merely sought to collect
information without proving or disproving a theory, so there is
no way to move on. "So, I hope, as commissioner, you'll make
sure that the people when they're doing and spending the dollars
that we allocate are actually doing science and either looking
at proving or disproving a theory instead of just saying 'we're
going to collect some information.'" He added that it is
difficult to support research when it generates information but
does not come out with any answers.
2:21:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked about the reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act in terms of management of personal-use
[fisheries] now that Senator Begich is not in Congress and
Representative Young might take the lead. She asked what
Commissioner Cotten's role will be.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said he is watching it closely, and he has
seen the most recent proposal that Representative Young has
advanced. It is not much different from what has been on the
table before, but it speaks to recreational and subsistence
representation [on the North Pacific Fisheries Management
Council]. There are no designated seats, he said, but the
wording encourages participation by a variety of user groups.
2:22:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON requested an explanation of the give
and take and mutual respect expected between federal wildlife
policy prohibiting intensive game management and Alaska's
policy.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN noted the difference between national park
policy on intensive management and Alaska statutes, which
require it. Alaska's goal is to reduce predators to the benefit
of consumptive users. He said his concern is the lack of
understanding of that goal by those at the park service who
called it "game farming." He reiterated that the Board of Game
is statutorily required to do intensive management, which may
include habitat manipulation such as controlled burns.
2:25:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said there are "a lot of practices that
are permitted, primarily over the past 20 years, that were
unknown to Alaska in the 70s and 80s," and he asked whether that
shows a shift in Alaska culture or just that Alaska populations
have grown and require more prey. There is a divide caused by
the intensive management law, he noted.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN suggested he was referring to baiting and
snaring brown bears, which the UFWS and the National Park
Service do not allow. He noted that brown bear baiting has not
been effective for predator control. There are more efficient
techniques, he added. The practice of crawling into dens to kill
bears is probably not occurring very often, he added.
2:27:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if Alaska's recent warm winter will
require different management decisions or responses.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said there may be lower water levels, but he
is not sure what he would do about that. He said the fire
potential will need state involvement.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said people have suggested that hibernating
animals may emerge early and find a lack of plant availability.
COMMISSIONER COTTEN said he could not answer that, but there
have been other weather factors affecting multiple species, like
ice covering sheep feeding areas.
2:29:22 PM
CO-CHAIR TALERICO opened public testimony.
ERNIE WEISS, Director, Natural Resources Department, Aleutians
East Borough, urged the confirmation of Commissioner Cotten.
Commissioner Cotten has a long history of public service and
leadership in Alaska, and he has the breadth of experience and
the knowledge to lead the ADF&G. He said he has worked closely
with him, and he has been a mentor and a good friend.
CO-CHAIR TALERICO closed public testimony.
2:31:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to forward the name of Sam Cotten,
Commissioner-Designee, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, to the
joint session for consideration, without reflecting the intent
by any member to vote either for or against his confirmation.
[There being no objection, the motion was adopted.]
The committee took an at-ease from 2:32 p.m. to 2:34 p.m.
2:34:01 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:34 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HRES Commissioner-Designee Sam Cotten Resume.pdf |
HRES 3/16/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| HRES Commissioner Designee - Mark Myers Resume.pdf |
HRES 3/16/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| 3.16.15 HRES Governor's Natural Resources Transition report.pdf |
HRES 3/16/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| 3.16.15 HRES Governor's Fisheries Transition report.pdf |
HRES 3/16/2015 1:00:00 PM |