03/12/2012 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

                  SB 159-SUSITNA STATE FOREST                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:05:21 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN announced the consideration of SB 159.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  LINDA MENARD,  Alaska State  Legislature, sponsor  of SB
,  said that  MatSu Borough  has  16.1 million  acres and  9.5                                                               
million acres  of it is  forestland; the Susitna State  Forest is                                                               
763,200 acres and would represent 4 percent of it.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
She said  that Article 8,  Section 4, of the  Alaska Constitution                                                               
addresses  sustainable yield  including:  fish forest,  wildlife,                                                               
grass lands  and all other  replenishable resources  belonging to                                                               
the  state shall  be utilized,  developed and  maintained on  the                                                               
sustainable   yield  principle   subject  to   preferences  among                                                               
beneficial  users.  SB  159  seeks  to  further  accomplish  this                                                               
constitutional  mandate by  creating  the  Susitna State  Forest.                                                               
Through SB 159,  the Division of Forestry will be  able to manage                                                               
the  state forest  for  a long  term supply  of  timber to  local                                                               
processors and  retain the land  in state ownership  for multiple                                                               
uses such as trapping, mining, fishing and hunting.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MENARD  said  the  proposed  state  forest  includes  32                                                               
parcels  totaling about  763,200  square acres.  The parcels  are                                                               
forestry  classified   lands  and  are  located   in  four  large                                                               
management blocks.  She explained that  legislatively designating                                                               
a state forest would ensure  that some land will remain available                                                               
for long term  forest management and that the  region will retain                                                               
large open  spaces of  public lands to  benefit residents  of the                                                               
region who currently enjoy them for multiple uses.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
A state  forest designation  gives the  Division of  Forestry the                                                               
assurance  that  lands  they  are   managing  will  be  there  in                                                               
perpetuity, and  importantly, it  will therefore  be more  apt to                                                               
invest money  and resources towards permanent  upgrades. There is                                                               
also  a need  to more  actively  manage lands  and vegetation  to                                                               
promote a  variety of forests  ages to provide for  diversity and                                                               
healthy  habitats   for  wildlife.  At  the   same  time,  active                                                               
management  will also  help to  reduce  wild land  fire risks  by                                                               
breaking   up   large   fuel  types   and   encouraging   initial                                                               
regeneration of hardwood species.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MENARD  said that SB  159 will  set aside ground  work to                                                               
accomplish  all of  this. Besides  professional mills,  the state                                                               
forest will maintain  a supply of hardwood for  personal use. For                                                               
instance,  right now  Susitna Valley  High School  is looking  at                                                               
woody biomass that  could heat their entire school  and chips and                                                               
pellets have become more common  and sought for residential space                                                               
heating.  It's important  for Alaska  residents to  have a  place                                                               
managed for them to obtain their material.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
By  passing SB  159,  Senator  Menard said,  they  will make  the                                                               
Susitna State Forest (second largest)  the fourth state forest in                                                               
Alaska  and it  will  be  joined by  Tanana  Valley State  Forest                                                               
(largest), the Haines State Forest  and Susitna Southeast Forest.                                                               
The Division of Forestry will  manage the Susitna State Forest as                                                               
part  of the  State  Forest System  under  AS 41.17.200-230,  the                                                               
statute that governs the creation of the state forests.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MENARD related  that the division is  required to prepare                                                               
a  management plan  for  the  forest within  three  years of  its                                                               
establishment. She said  the division had put years  of work into                                                               
this plan  and Alaska is ready  for its fourth state  forest. She                                                               
noted letters of  support and a resolution  passed unanimously by                                                               
the City of Houston in support of this bill.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH asked if there was any opposition to the bill.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:11:29 PM                                                                                                                    
MICHAEL ROVITO,  Chief of Staff  to Senator Linda  Menard, Alaska                                                               
State Legislature, answered the bill had no opposition.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked the purpose  of identifying the particular                                                               
parcels in the bill.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MENARD deferred to the state forester.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:12:14 PM                                                                                                                    
JOHN "CHRIS"  MAISCH, Director, Division of  Forestry, Department                                                               
of  Natural  Resources  (DNR), explained  that  these  are  legal                                                               
descriptions  that need  a  high level  of  detail, because  they                                                               
become  a matter  of law.  A lot  of effort  goes into  the legal                                                               
descriptions. He noted that a future CS will address inholdings.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked when that would be complete.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAISCH replied shortly.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said some of  the parcels are not contiguous                                                               
and some are not touching at  all and asked what the law requires                                                               
as  far  as parcels  being  contiguous,  how these  parcels  were                                                               
selected, what kind  of public process this had  gone through and                                                               
what further process he anticipated.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAISCH  explained that all the  land on the map  was owned by                                                               
the state already.  Two area plans pertain to  that area: Susitna                                                               
management plan (recently signed  and approved) and the Southeast                                                               
Susitna area  plan, and  they both talk  about access  and access                                                               
corridors. In addition, if this  bill passes, they must prepare a                                                               
forest management  plan for the  state forest and  address access                                                               
issues  in that.  Right now  they  have the  capability to  cross                                                               
other state lands  to access disparate parcels. He  said they are                                                               
interested in access  to the better forest lands,  and an example                                                               
of small  corridors was between  the Skwentna and  Mount Susitna.                                                               
Problems with access are not anticipated, he added.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
With regard to the second  question about the public process that                                                               
has taken place,  he explained that as part of  the area planning                                                               
functions  seventeen   separate  meetings   were  held   for  the                                                               
Matanuska Area  planning process.  In addition,  in the  last two                                                               
weeks he  had been to a  number of public meetings  in the Valley                                                               
and  met with  the Willow  Dog Mushers  Association, the  Houston                                                               
City  Council, the  Talkeetna  Community  Council, the  Matanuska                                                               
Susitna  Borough and  Senator Menard  had hosted  an open  house.                                                               
Division  of  Forestry  staff  were   present  at  all  of  those                                                               
meetings.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MAISCH  explained that  the  area  plans classify  lands  as                                                               
either  forestry,   agriculture,  settlement   or  a   few  other                                                               
categories. The concept  of state forests was  brought forward in                                                               
this area planning process.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted a number  of prolific salmon areas and                                                               
asked him to  discuss setbacks on salmon streams  when logging is                                                               
done.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAISCH  explained that  the major systems  have buffers  of a                                                               
quarter  mile.   In  addition,   the  State's   Forest  Resources                                                               
Practices Act  divides the state into  three different geographic                                                               
areas: the Interior  (Region 3), the Southcentral  (Region 2) and                                                               
Southeast (Region  1). There  are various  salmon and  high value                                                               
resident fish protection standards based  on the kind of stream -                                                               
a  large glacial  braided system  or a  small narrow  fresh water                                                               
clear system,  for instance. The  buffer standards in  the Forest                                                               
Practices Act  are tailored to the  type of fish and  the type of                                                               
stream  in the  three different  regions. Those  standards affect                                                               
both public lands and private lands.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:19:00 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR STEDMAN observed that it's  a good idea to create forests                                                               
and  commented that  the Tongass  National Forest  with 1,800,000                                                               
acres, another at  763,000, the Haines Forest at  286,000 and the                                                               
Southeast Forest  at 48,000 - just  a fraction of what  we have -                                                               
also has the  potential in southern Southeast of  having the best                                                               
quality  timber.  It  hinders Southeast  timber  development.  He                                                               
provided some  back ground saying  that at the time  of statehood                                                               
Southeast didn't really get to  participate in the land selection                                                               
process and 50  year contracts were put in place  in the Tongass.                                                               
Those, along  with fishing,  were the major  anchors for  jobs in                                                               
Southeast  communities. Now,  Southeast has  no long  term timber                                                               
contracts  and both  pulp mills  were removed  going on  20 years                                                               
ago. He  thought they should  maybe take the opportunity  in this                                                               
piece  of   legislation  and  encourage  the   administration  to                                                               
negotiate with  the federal  government to  either get  some land                                                               
out of  the Tongass with  remaining statehood selections  or just                                                               
flat out  buy it and  get some of  the Southeast land  into state                                                               
ownership so we could have  a better opportunity to stabilize the                                                               
community  and create  some growth,  and basically  have livable-                                                               
wage jobs. The  window of opportunity might be  better today than                                                               
it  was  10  years  ago  with  the  federal  government's  fiscal                                                               
position  being substantially  weaker  than it  was and  Alaska's                                                               
substantially stronger.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  STEDMAN   said  there  are  48,000   acres  in  southern                                                               
Southeast and  13 million  board feet  a year  could come  out of                                                               
that.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MAISCH confirmed  that  the allowable  cut  is 12.8  million                                                               
board feet a year.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:22:56 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  STEDMAN said  that's about  one-third of  what a  medium                                                               
sized  saw  mill  would  need.  He said  it's  difficult  to  get                                                               
financing without having at least a  20-year supply of fiber.  He                                                               
said he would discuss this further with the bill sponsor.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MAISCH  added   that  the  Tongass  Timber   Task  Force  is                                                               
considering  this same  question and  that report  is due  to the                                                               
governor in  July, but they  have a self-imposed deadline  of May                                                               
because of the urgency they feel.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEDMAN  said his  understanding of  that concept  is the                                                               
state may  manage some of  the Tongass forest, but  the ownership                                                               
would remain  with the  federal government.  That is  better than                                                               
the current  situation, but it would  be better to own  the deed.                                                               
"Otherwise  we're  still  always  going   to  be  in  the  king's                                                               
forest..."                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:25:35 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  PASKVAN  commented  that  possibly  language  could  be                                                               
included  in the  future CS.  From what  he has  heard about  the                                                               
forests of Southeast Alaska, one  would think their acreage would                                                               
be  much  greater  than  Interior  Alaska  as  a  primary  timber                                                               
resource of the whole state.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:26:36 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR MCGUIRE said  she would support that idea  and citing the                                                               
most  recent DOR  recreational remote  cabin site  pamphlet noted                                                               
that  it  was controversial  when  first  introduced. Finally  it                                                               
passed, and now Alaskans all  over the state are taking advantage                                                               
of  this opportunity  to get  out into  the forest  and establish                                                               
cabin sites. She  agreed with Senator Stedman that  too much land                                                               
is held by the federal government.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI   asked  him   to  explain   the  practical                                                               
implication  of making  this a  state forest  and the  impacts on                                                               
hunting, fishing, and other recreation in this area.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAISCH  replied that all  those activities will  continue and                                                               
based  on his  experience with  the Tanana  Valley State  Forest,                                                               
more access would  be developed over time with a  mixture of all-                                                               
season roads and winter access.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
The   division's  perspective   on  the   long  term   nature  of                                                               
designating this  as a state forest  is that it is  important for                                                               
long term  sustained yield with  different types of  multiple use                                                               
opportunities  for wood  products; for  instance, Talkeetna  High                                                               
School using wood  biomass for space heating. In  turn, the state                                                               
will  make long  term investments  in roads,  bridges and  access                                                               
developments that  they don't currently  make, because  that land                                                               
could be reclassified for some other use at a future point.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked what kind  of timber is found  in the                                                               
area.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MAISCH answered  that it  varies in  different parts  of the                                                               
Valley; generally speaking the forests are toward the over-                                                                     
mature side in  terms of age class and size.  This means the hard                                                               
woods are  declining in  quality. Fire  is one  of the  main ways                                                               
these forests  are regenerated  and it has  been quite  some time                                                               
since  a large  scale stand  replacement fire  happened. So,  any                                                               
kind  of forest  management  activity  they can  do  to break  up                                                               
conifers is beneficial  from a wild fire  and habitat standpoint.                                                               
From a  hunting standpoint,  various age  classes are  better for                                                               
wildlife habitat.  In the Valley, the  wildlife professionals say                                                               
there are  not enough  younger age classes  of hard  wood species                                                               
for  a  lot of  the  ungulates,  which  in turn  affects  hunting                                                               
opportunities.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:32:07 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  PASKVAN  asked  why the  mountaintops  aren't  included                                                               
within the forest.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAISCH said  the state forests are focused on  areas that are                                                               
good for  timber production. Another  issues is that  the steeper                                                               
ground is more difficult to access.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MENARD  suggested that a  strong Senate  resolution would                                                               
encourage the  governor to allow  these federal lands  to benefit                                                               
all state forests, but she  thought this was good legislation and                                                               
wanted to see it move.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN held SB 159 in committee.