Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
04/23/2007 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB111 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 186 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 26 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 111 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 23, 2007
4:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Charlie Huggins, Chair
Senator Bert Stedman, Vice Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Thomas Wagoner
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 111
"An Act creating the Kodiak Narrow Cape Public Use Area."
MOVED CSSB 111(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 26(FSH)
"An Act relating to aquatic farm permitting involving geoducks
and to geoduck seed transfers between certified hatcheries and
aquatic farms."
SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 186(FSH)
"An Act relating to sharing with certain federal agencies
records required of sport fishing guides; and providing for an
effective date."
SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 111
SHORT TITLE: KODIAK NARROW CAPE PUBLIC USE AREA
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEVENS
03/12/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/12/07 (S) RES, FIN
04/20/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/20/07 (S) Heard & Held
04/20/07 (S) MINUTE(RES)
04/23/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
DOUG LETCH
Staff to Senator Gary Stevens
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 111 on behalf of Senator
Stevens, sponsor.
DICK MYLIUS, Director
Division of Mining, Land and Water
Department of Natural Resources
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 111.
RICK GIFFORD, Manager
Kodiak Island Borough
Kodiak AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 111.
MIKE SULLIVAN, Land Manager
Southcentral Region
Division of Mining, Land and Water
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 111.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR CHARLIE HUGGINS called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 4:10:21 PM. Senators Huggins,
Wielechowski, Wagoner, McGuire, Green, and Stedman were present
at the call to order.
SB 111-KODIAK NARROW CAPE PUBLIC USE AREA
4:10:21 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS announced the consideration of SB 111 and that the
committee was working from committee substitute, version K.
SENATOR STEVENS, sponsor of SB 111, said it establishes a
46,000-acre public use area in Kodiak that is now used by a lot
of activities including grazing leases and a rocket launch
complex. Everyone involved is supportive of developing this as a
public use area.
CHAIR HUGGINS noted that Stacy Studebaker from the Kodiak
Audubon Society was concerned about increased impacts of
unregulated four-wheel activity on wetlands and bird habitat.
4:12:07 PM
DOUG LETCH, staff to Senator Gary Stevens, said ATV use is a
sensitive subject because Kodiak has a large variety of users.
The plan would be developed at the local level and included a
local ATV working group.
4:13:34 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS recalled that there is hunting in this area and
asked how close it was to neighbors and if there was a shooting
range nearby.
SENATOR STEVENS replied that the shooting range is not in that
area and although there are deer, he wasn't sure it was open to
hunting.
MR. LETCH said there is some limited hunting, but not by the
road. There may be buffalo hunting as well, but he was not sure.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked the Kodiak Island Manager what issues had
been already resolved.
4:14:47 PM
RICK GIFFORD, Manager, Kodiak Island Borough, responded that the
goal of the bill is to try to protect this area for public use
and it tried to identify all of the traditional uses in that
area realizing that there are some conflicts with some of the
uses that need to be worked on - one of them is ATV use. First,
the bill needs to be passed to protect the property from being
sold and then managing the uses can be worked on. He said he is
not familiar with the hunting activities, but it might just
occur on Mr. Burton's ranch.
4:16:56 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if there had been any historical conflicts
that need a resolution.
MR. GIFFORD replied that at this point, the biggest issue is the
ATV use.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if the area has multiple entry points,
parking areas and latrines.
MR. GIFFORD replied that there are multiple entry points and one
latrine is available in the summer.
4:18:20 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked about winter snow machine use.
MR. GIFFORD answered that snow machine use is somewhat limited
because they need to go up higher in the mountains.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked what responsibility he would have if the
area is managed by DNR. He assumed that the DNR had adjacent
area enforcement and signage responsibilities.
4:19:09 PM
MR. GIFFORD replied that the borough manager has some
responsibility for solid waste since it is a state road system,
but he works well with State Parks and DNR in resolving these
issues.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked for a description of entry points and
private and public property on the map.
MR. LETCH indicated that the state highway system runs to a fork
and pointed to the main corridor that runs past the Burton ranch
and ends at Fossil Beach, which is at the very end of Narrow
Cape.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked where someone would park to offload an ATV
from a Silverado pickup.
MR. LETCH said he has never done that, but the road has some
pullouts and the very end of it has just foot traffic. Secondary
roads lead into the Alaska Aerospace Rocket Launch Complex.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if the rocket launch area has a fence.
4:22:49 PM
MR. LETCH said the secure areas of the rocket launch complex are
fenced off and one has to go through security areas to get to
different parts of it.
SENATOR GREEN asked if all of the land is owned by one level of
government except for the private in holdings.
4:23:47 PM
MR. GIFFORD replied that it is all state land except for the
lease in holding for the buffalo ranch.
SENATOR GREEN asked where the state's authority started and
where it overlapped the rights and authority of the borough in
reference to language on page 2, line 28, that says the
commissioner may prohibit or restrict uses that are incompatible
within the state-owned land.
MR. GIFFORD said this is state, not borough, land. He didn't
believe there were any other private in holdings except for the
ranch.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if any potential Native or First Nation
claims might be pending.
MR. GIFFORD replied none that he knew of, but there is private
and Native property on the road system leading up to the area,
but not in it.
4:26:05 PM
DICK MYLIUS, Director, Division of Mining, Land and Water,
Department of Natural Resources, said SB 111 sets aside the
state land and retains it in public ownership for multiple
public uses. It would prohibit the sale or transfers of the
parcel out of state ownership. The area is entirely state-owned
except for the 160-acre Burton ranch, which he received through
the federal government.
Kodiak has a current land use plan that covers all state lands
in the Kodiak Island Borough - 500,000 acres plus the adjacent
tidelands. That plan dealt with most of the land use conflicts.
Specific conflicts in this general area included ORV use, but
most of the real conflicts with ORV use are further to the west
of the public use area in Portage bay and Psaltery Cove. That's
why one of the changes in the proposed CS is to make the
requirement for the land use plan an optional thing. They think
that the guidance of the Kodiak area plan is sufficient and a
plan could be developed in the future if conflicts arise.
MR. MYLIUS said he has never heard complaints about shooting in
this area and the level of use is a lot less intense than in the
Knik area. He agreed that a plan could always be developed in
the future if it were needed. He also pointed out that the CS
changes the legal description, because legislative drafters said
they wanted to make public use area descriptions consistent with
others in format which included tidelands.
4:29:57 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked him to describe the management process for
when the AADC launches a rocket on a Saturday.
MIKE SULLIVAN, Land Manager, Southcentral Region, Division of
Land, Mining and Water, Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
said he has worked on and with the rocket facility since its
inception. Under current procedures, he would get a written
request from the Aerospace Corporation telling him approximate
dates of the upcoming launch and requesting permission to
restrict access - usually in a 12-hour timeframe. He will grant
written permission for those restrictions on a launch-by-launch
basis. This has been done five or six times and seems to work
pretty well.
4:31:41 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked how four-wheelers are supposed to know they
are not supposed to be in the public use area.
MR. SULLIVAN replied that part of the procedures includes
putting PSAs (public service announcements) on the local radio
and launches are announced in the local media and newspapers.
Security guards are posted on the road for the launches.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked Mr. Sullivan if he had any concerns about
having a public use area butt up against a restricted access
area like the launch facility.
MR. SULLIVAN replied that the existing procedure works pretty
well in keeping people out. It is open country that is swept
with helicopters with the Coast Guards working offshore areas
when a launch takes place.
SENATOR STEVENS recalled having as many as three launches per
year, which is a pretty limited number and noted that this bill
also includes notice to mariners because the waters in the area
are closed also.
4:34:00 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked where the parking is located for offloading
a four-wheeler and what the capacity is.
MR. SULLIVAN replied that the majority of the ATV use is further
to the west and some might be associated with the Sacramento
River, which is beyond Mr. Burton's homestead. He has not seen
an actual ATV trail that takes off from the road into the public
use area when he's been there. That use is more likely to take
place on the beaches.
CHAIR HUGGINS noted the difficulties of not having a designated
area for people to park or dump trash. He asked how that would
be facilitated.
MR. MYLIUS replied that at this point most of the use is fairly
dispersed and not heavy. They don't have issues about inadequate
parking and haven't had complaints about garbage. This is a long
way from Kodiak, so the people going that far are going to
recreate. If it becomes a problem, it could be dealt with, but
right now he hasn't heard of a need.
CHAIR HUGGINS said a letter from Stacy Studebaker from the
Kodiak Audubon Society stated a concern about the increased
impacts of unregulated four-wheel use on wetlands and bird
habitat.
MR. MYLIUS responded that the wetland areas that are sensitive
to RV use are mostly to the west of the public use areas and
haven't had any real conflicts. He said a lot of ORV use is
along the beaches. One of the differences between this area and
the Knik areas is that Knick has a lot of gravel bars and places
where it is easy for ORVs to travel across and Kodiak has less
inviting terrain. Their use tends to be more focused on existing
trails and old roads.
4:37:53 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked him to talk about hunting in the area.
MR. MYLIUS said he has heard no issues about hunting in that
area.
SENATOR STEVENS pointed out there is a lot of deer hunting and
salmon fishing to the west of the proposed public use area.
4:38:58 PM
MR. LETCH added that what is there is very special to the people
of Kodiak. More likely than not, the people are going down there
to walk the beach that has fossils embedded in the cliffs.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked assuming one can rent a four-wheeler, how
long would it take to run from Kodiak down to that neck of the
woods.
4:40:07 PM
SENATOR STEVENS responded that it takes an hour to drive from
Kodiak to Pasagshak Bay in a car and he didn't think four-
wheelers could be rented in Kodiak.
SENATOR WAGONER said four-wheelers aren't licensed to run down
the state road and added that if some teenagers were trying to
sneak up on the rocket launch, they would be in the open the
whole way.
CHAIR HUGGINS said that in Mat-Su, ORVs run along side the road.
4:40:45 PM
SENATOR GREEN noted another constituent letter mentioning the
potential expansion of the rocket area and how she wouldn't want
that to happen. Senator Green said the state has already
invested heavily in the area and asked what if it needs to be
expanded, is that prohibited?
CHAIR HUGGINS replied that the state would have the power of
eminent domain to expand the space port.
4:41:42 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said the rocket launch has been a good citizen
in the community and he believes it has the right to expand if
it needs to, but he didn't know of any plans to do that. He
asked the Borough Manager if SB 111 restricted the Alaska
Aerospace Development Corporation (AADC) in any way.
MR. GIFFORD replied that this bill doesn't add any restrictions
and that the AADC supported it.
MR. MYLIUS added that the AADC has an Interagency Land
Management Agreement that gives it certain rights to on state
land. They include the rights to put specific facilities in
specific places and to submit a plan of operation. The agreement
covers a pretty big area and only a small part of it is occupied
by any facilities now. If AADC wanted to expand within the
existing agreement area, it could submit a revised plan of
operation, which could be "tweaked" if it impacted any trails or
public uses. The proposal would go through an approval process
within the DNR. The legislation doesn't constrain them at all.
4:44:04 PM
SENATOR GREEN said she wants to know what happens if the AADC
wants to expand past the land it already has access to.
MR. MYLIUS said the AADC would need permission in either case
and either would be allowed under the public use area, but the
process would include public participation.
4:44:47 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if a specific person is responsible for the
management of the area.
MR. MYLIUS replied that the Southcentral Regional Office is
responsible for that area and probably Mike Sullivan would be
the person to talk to.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if enforcement were needed in this public
use area, what the process would be.
MR. MYLIUS replied that it would depend on the nature of the
issue. A long-term trespass issue would be dealt with through a
site inspection from the regional office. For immediate problems
like public safety, the troopers in Kodiak would go out there.
He was not aware of that having happened. Kodiak has a state
park office and staff has gone down there to check on concerns,
but they don't have enforcement authority.
4:46:40 PM
MR. LETCH added that about two-thirds of Kodiak Island belongs
to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge; the Borough of Kodiak
has about 56,500 acres of land and its entitlement has been
satisfied. This would be another way of guaranteeing that what
is there will remain there. If the state decides to dispose of
the land, the legislature will have to weigh in on it.
SENATOR STEDMAN moved to pass CS for SB 111, version K, from
committee with individual recommendations and accompanying
fiscal notes. Hearing no objections, CSSB 111(RES), passed out
of committee.
The committee took an at-ease from 4:48:38 PM to 4:50. There
being no further business to come before the committee, Chair
Huggins adjourned the meeting at 4:50:41 PM.
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