03/15/2023 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

         SB  34-CITIZEN ADVISORY COMM ON FEDERAL AREAS                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:57:02 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  BISHOP   reconvened  the  meeting  and   announced  the                                                               
consideration of  SENATE BILL NO.  34 "An Act  reestablishing the                                                               
Citizens'  Advisory Commission  on  Federal  Management Areas  in                                                               
Alaska; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:57:44 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR JAMES KAUFMAN, District F, sponsor of SB 34, spoke to                                                                   
the following sponsor statement to introduce the legislation:                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     SB 34  reestablishes the Citizens'  Advisory Commission                                                                    
     on  Federal Management  Areas in  Alaska (CACFA)  which                                                                    
     sunset in 2021  and sets a new sunset date  of June 30,                                                                    
     2031. The Commission  is made up of  10 public members,                                                                    
     one Senator, and one  Representative who represent "the                                                                    
     diversity  of users  and uses  of federal  land in  the                                                                    
     state"   and  are   appointed  by   the  Governor   and                                                                    
     Legislature.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     CACFA  was first  established  in  1981, shortly  after                                                                    
     Congress  passed  the  Alaska National  Interest  Lands                                                                    
     Conservation  Act   (ANILCA)comprehensive   legislation                                                                    
     governing all federal public lands  in the state. Under                                                                    
     the  balanced compromise  Congress  crafted in  ANILCA,                                                                    
     104+  million acres  (nearly a  quarter  of the  state)                                                                    
     were  set-aside  in   permanent  federal  ownership  as                                                                    
     conservation  system  units  (e.g.,  parks,  preserves,                                                                    
     wildlife refuges,  wilderness areas) while at  the same                                                                    
     time creating  unique provisions enabling  Alaskan's to                                                                    
     maintain their  traditions, accommodate the  social and                                                                    
     economic needs of  the state, provide a  range of land-                                                                    
     use  and land  access  rights, safeguard  opportunities                                                                    
     for  responsible resource  development, and  facilitate                                                                    
     continued  improvements in  transportation and  utility                                                                    
     infrastructure.  Factoring  in  the provisions  of  the                                                                    
     Alaska  Statehood  Act  and the  Alaska  Native  Claims                                                                    
     Settlement  Act, most  Alaskans are  regulated under  a                                                                    
     unique and extremely complex regulatory web.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     CACFA  was  an  independent  and  impartial  source  of                                                                    
     information  and  center  for  advocacy  on  Statehood,                                                                    
     ANCSA,  and ANILCA  issues  that  impact all  Alaskans.                                                                    
     When  active,  CACFA  helps Alaskans  navigate  complex                                                                    
     regulations  and  to  works with  federal  agencies  to                                                                    
     ensure   Congressional  intent   is  implemented   with                                                                    
     respect to  Alaska's interests. Among many  things, the                                                                    
     Commission holds hearings to  collect public comment on                                                                    
     decisions  that affect  them; disseminates  information                                                                    
     about historical and new regulation  to the public, the                                                                    
     Executive  branch,   and  the   Legislature;  regularly                                                                    
     submits   written  comment   in  response   to  federal                                                                    
     requests;   and   helps   Alaskans   navigate   federal                                                                    
     permitting processes. While  the State's ANILCA program                                                                    
     and CACFA  both monitor federal actions,  CACFA does so                                                                    
     on  behalf of  individual Alaskans,  whereas the  State                                                                    
     can only focus on issues with state-level impact.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     As  time   passes,  institutional  memory   and  ANILCA                                                                    
     expertise is lost at both  the federal and state level.                                                                    
     An  active  CACFA  would   ensure  that  this  critical                                                                    
     knowledge  is  preserved   and  remains  accessible  to                                                                    
     Alaskans.  Until CACFA  is reestablished,  individuals,                                                                    
     organizations, and the  Legislature have no independent                                                                    
     source of  ANILCA expertise.  Furthermore, there  is no                                                                    
     organized center through  which individuals can channel                                                                    
     their concerns  to higher  levels of  government making                                                                    
     decisions that impact them. CACFA  is an essential tool                                                                    
     to  ensure that  Alaskans  have a  strong and  powerful                                                                    
     voice in what happens across our state.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:00:48 PM                                                                                                                    
EMMA TORKELSON, Staff, Senator James Kaufman, Alaska State                                                                      
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis                                                                   
for SB 34.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Sec   1.       Reestablishes  the   Citizens   Advisory                                                                  
     Commission on Federal Management  Areas in Alaska, with                                                                    
     a sunset date of June 30, 2031.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Sec  2.      Repeals   the  language   that  originally                                                                  
     established  the commission  which sunset  on June  30,                                                                    
     [2021].                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Sec  3.     Incorporates  transition  language  to  the                                                                  
     uncodified law of Alaska  establishing the initial term                                                                    
     lengths   of  new   appointments  to   the  commission.                                                                    
     Thereafter,   the   term   limits   outlined   in   the                                                                    
     Commission's statute will take effect.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Sec 4.  Sets an effective date of July 1, 2023.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR BISHOP turned to invited testimony                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:02:10 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the committee.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:02:17 PM                                                                                                                    
TINA CUNNING, ANILCA Expert, Anchorage, Alaska, provided invited                                                                
testimony in support of SB 34. She paraphrased the following                                                                    
prepared testimony:                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     I  worked  in  the  State's  ANILCA  program  from  its                                                                    
     beginning   in   1981   for    nearly   30   years   in                                                                    
     implementation of ANILCA. Since  retiring in 2010, I am                                                                    
     part of a team that conducts ANILCA training.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Recall the Alaska Native Claims  Settlement Act of 1971                                                                    
     called  for study  of  federal lands  to  set aside  80                                                                    
     million  acres in  special conservation  status. For  9                                                                    
     years, there  was considerable angst all  across Alaska                                                                    
     about what would  be in the final "D-2" bill  as it was                                                                    
     called,  e.g.,  how  would the  millions  of  acres  in                                                                    
     conservation units  affect remote villages;  access for                                                                    
     hunting,  fishing,  and   subsistence;  development  of                                                                    
     private and state inholdings; need for utilities, etc.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     When it became evident that  Congress was going to pass                                                                    
     a bill  setting aside  many more  millions of  acres in                                                                    
     special   conservation  designations   than  originally                                                                    
     envisioned  in   ANCSA,  the  Alaska   Legislature  and                                                                    
     Governor worked  with a  broad representation  of rural                                                                    
     residents, businesses,  communities, AFN,  and industry                                                                    
     to  adopt a  bottom  line, a  list  of seven  consensus                                                                    
     points  for Alaska.  Negotiations  in  Congress led  to                                                                    
     bipartisan  adoption of  ANILCA in  1980 that  included                                                                    
     unique protections for the traditional  way of life and                                                                    
     uses of federal lands in that consensus list.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     In 1981,  the Alaska  legislature established  CACFA so                                                                    
     that  Alaskans could  be kept  informed  as ANILCA  was                                                                    
     being  implemented  and  to   protect  public  uses  of                                                                    
     federal  lands as  Congress directed  in ANILCA.  CACFA                                                                    
     was  invaluable  in  helping individual  Alaskans  work                                                                    
     through  federal   requirements   such   as  commercial                                                                    
     permits  for air  taxis, sled  dog  tours, and  hunting                                                                    
     guides;  access to  inholdings; and  for cabins  needed                                                                    
     for subsistence and trapping.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:03:51 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. CUNNING continued her testimony.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     In  the  40+  years   since  passage  of  ANILCA,  most                                                                    
     Alaskans  and government  employees have  forgotten the                                                                    
     special provisions  for public uses that  the Governor,                                                                    
     legislature, ANCSA  corporations, rural  residents, and                                                                    
     Senator Stevens  and Congressman  Young fought  so hard                                                                    
     for.  Most Alaskans  do not  read the  Federal Register                                                                    
     every morning  with their coffee,  but that  is exactly                                                                    
     what  the  CACFA Executive  Director  did  in order  to                                                                    
     watch    for    actions    that    impacted    ANILCA's                                                                    
     implementation. Without  CACFA there is no  one to help                                                                    
     Alaskan's navigate  red tape  or appeal decisions  if a                                                                    
     federal manager simply says no.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     In  contrast, the  State's ANILCA  program cannot  help                                                                    
     individual  Alaskans.   It  coordinates   with  federal                                                                    
     agencies on behalf of ANILCA  provisions of concern for                                                                    
     the  state   agencies  in  federal   management  plans,                                                                    
     regulations,  and  other  actions.  As  an  independent                                                                    
     Commission,  administration politics  do not  interfere                                                                    
     with CACFA's defense of  individual Alaskans' rights or                                                                    
     other provisions adopted by Congress in ANILCA.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     The Alaska  legislature was  wise in  establishing this                                                                    
     citizen forum  to help Alaskans  meet their  social and                                                                    
     economic  needs promised  in  the  final deal  Congress                                                                    
     adopted. Every  passing year  without CACFA  results in                                                                    
     lost  opportunities for  Alaskans,  and conflicts  over                                                                    
     uses go unresolved.  I strongly support reauthorization                                                                    
     of this  independent Commission for the  benefit of all                                                                    
     Alaskans in implementing ANILCA as Congress intended.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:05:25 PM                                                                                                                    
MEAD  TREADWELL, former  Lieutenant Governor,  Anchorage, Alaska,                                                               
stated that his experience with CACFA  dates to when he served in                                                               
Governor Hickel's  cabinet. He helped  draft the  curriculum Tina                                                               
Cunning  uses to  conduct ANILCA  training. He  cited the  Willow                                                               
project  and the  decision yesterday  on the  land trade  for the                                                               
King  Cove  Road  as  examples  of  why  CAFCA  is  important  to                                                               
Alaskans. CAFCA also  worked on smaller issues such  as whether a                                                               
four-wheel vehicle can  be used in a BLM land  management plan in                                                               
the  Interior; whether  Zodiac boats  can  be used  from a  small                                                               
cruise  ship in  Glacier Bay  National Park;  and whether  a land                                                               
management plan  for the Forest  Service in Prince  William Sound                                                               
allows  leasing for  a small  lodge.  The point  is that  without                                                               
CAFCA,  there  is  nobody  to   track  the  hundreds  of  federal                                                               
decisions  that are  made  daily about  public  lands in  Alaska.                                                               
CAFCA  also   worked  to  maintain  Alaska's   rights  under  the                                                               
Statehood Compact.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR LIEMAN  spoke of  the broken  promises under                                                               
the  Statehood  Compact  and articulated  his  belief  that  when                                                               
Alaska  loses   it's  because  the  federal   government  doesn't                                                               
recognize how committed Alaskans are  to ensuring that things are                                                               
done  correctly in  the state.  CAFCA can  help get  that message                                                               
out.  He  said  he  supports sunset  legislation,  but  CAFCA  is                                                               
necessary as  long as the  federal government owns 60  percent of                                                               
the land in the state. CAFCA represents the voice of Alaska.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:10:12 PM                                                                                                                    
TED    SPRAKER,   President,    Kenai   Chapter,    Safari   Club                                                               
International,  Soldotna, Alaska,  stated  support for  SB 34  on                                                               
behalf of  the 150  members of  the Kenai  Chapter of  the Safari                                                               
Club International. He relayed that  he spent his career with the                                                               
Alaska Department  of Fish and  Game (ADF&G) and then  served six                                                               
consecutive terms  on the  Board of  Game. As  a board  member he                                                               
heard  from trappers  who asked  for help  to get  a special  use                                                               
permit to use  or build a line  cabin for their trap  lines.  The                                                               
board didn't  have the authority to  help, but CAFCA was  able to                                                               
help the trappers through the  process. It was the same situation                                                               
with snow machine  access. The board had no  authority, but CAFCA                                                               
was able  to help. He also  cited the proposed new  national park                                                               
service rule  regarding predators  as an example  of the  need to                                                               
have  CAFCA to  help guide  businesses and  trappers. He  said he                                                               
feels strongly that institutional  knowledge, and thus the intent                                                               
of  the protections  provided  by  ANILCA, will  be  lost if  the                                                               
citizen's advisory commission  isn't reauthorized. In particular,                                                               
CAFCA helps the "little guy."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:14:32 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR BISHOP held SB 34 in committee.