04/13/2017 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

        SB  61-GAME REFUGE/CRIT HABITAT AREA BOUNDARIES                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:34:23 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BISHOP announced consideration of SB 61.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MORGAN FOSS,  Legislative Liaison, Alaska Department  of Fish and                                                               
Game (ADF&G),  Juneau, Alaska, said  she was available  to answer                                                               
questions on SB 61.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MACKINNON  said  SB  61 adds  2,106  acres  of  critical                                                               
habitat or land  into game refuges. In addition,  it adds another                                                               
1,439 acres into  Dude Creek acquired by  the Nature Conservatory                                                               
and donated  to the State  of Alaska. Besides mapping  errors and                                                               
housekeeping,  with  the exception  of  Dude  Creek, another  big                                                               
question  she had  was where  tide  and submerged  lands are  now                                                               
being included (page  11, sec. 6), specifically on  the Fox River                                                               
Flats CHA.  Past legislative  bodies did  not include  those, and                                                               
she wanted to know why.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS.  FOSS answered  that  Dude  Creek is  the  only  one with  an                                                               
addition to a  critical habitat area, but she wanted  to defer to                                                               
Mr. Meehan  for specifics. The  others don't have a  net addition                                                               
to the  critical habitat areas  or state game refuges  outside of                                                               
the existing boundaries.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
JOE  MEEHAN, Refuge  Program  Coordinator,  Division of  Wildlife                                                               
Conservation,  Alaska  Department  of   Fish  and  Game  (ADF&G),                                                               
Anchorage,   Alaska,  answered   he  tried   to  search   through                                                               
legislative history  from 1972 to  try to determine why  tide and                                                               
submerged lands  were specifically  called out and  excluded from                                                               
those limited  number of sections  and couldn't come up  with any                                                               
answers. Maybe at the time  those areas were strictly uplands; he                                                               
was just not  sure why tidelands were excluded  for some sections                                                               
whereas they weren't excluded in adjoining sections.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  BISHOP noted  the bill  had  a referral  to the  Resources                                                               
Committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:39:17 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  MACKINNON  moved  to  report  SB  61,  version  A,  from                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations  and attached  fiscal                                                               
note(s).                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR BISHOP announced  that without objection, SB  61 moved from                                                               
the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee.