Legislature(1993 - 1994)
02/16/1994 05:00 PM House O&G
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 426 - CHICKALOON FLATS CRITICAL HABITAT AREA Number 008 REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE stated that Chickaloon Flats is an area on the northeast side of the Kenai Peninsula, on Turnagain Arm, facing the Alaska Coastal Refuge. He said Potter Flats is just immediately across the inlet. He said the area has a local nesting population of ducks and geese and it is an important resting and feeding area, as well as a migration point in the fall. He stated the area serves ducks, geese, and shore birds, and the area has up to 25,000 birds in a day, particularly in the fall migration. He stated the birds use the area as a staging area when Portage Pass is closed due to bad weather. He said Chickaloon is the primary place in the Turnagain Arm for birds to have a place to rest and feed. He stated that Alaska has some other critical habitat areas and bird sanctuaries, the Mendenhall State Game Refuge, Anchorage Coastal Refuge, Trading Bay State Game Refuge, Palmer Hay Flats, and Susitna Flats. He said these areas range from 300,000 acres to 14,000 acres. He stated the Chickaloon Flats area would be approximately 22,000 acres, which is a small addition to the system. He said the purpose of HB 426 is to assure adequate habitat for waterfowl, rather than to create a stumbling block to future development of our resources. He said there are currently no valid oil or gas leases in the purposed critical habitat area and it would not be disrupting any current plans for development. He asked the committee to support HB 426. Number 049 REPRESENTATIVE GARY DAVIS moved that the committee adopt the committee substitute for HB 426. There were no objections. Number 054 REPRESENTATIVE JERRY MACKIE asked if oil development, potential timber development, hunting, fishing and other kinds of development would still be allowed. REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE stated it would be allowed if it does not disrupt the critical habitat. He said that hunting, fishing, hiking, birding would not be a problem. REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE asked what HB 426 does if one can have oil production and other development. He asked if there was a planned residential development for the area. He said usually a critical habitat area is exactly that - it locks the area up from development to protect a certain species of game or birds. He stated he did not understand what HB 426 does. Number 071 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE stated his intention was that development could not take place if it would be disruptive and displace the resting birds. He said if development is mutually compatible, there would be no reason that it could not take place. Number 077 REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE stated the example Representative Bunde used was that if it was a condominium building it probably would not be compatible with the ducks, but if it was an oil drilling rig, it would be compatible. He asked for the differences between the two scenarios and how they might affect ducks. Number 080 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE said he could see that one could have potential development that would have minimal, if any, impact and you could have potential development that would have maximum impact as far as destroying actual resting areas. Number 089 REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE said he believed the State does have regulations currently in place that do not allow for a paved highway to go through the marsh. He said they were called wetlands and critical habitat area regulations. He said the State has regulations protecting these type of areas. Number 098 CHAIRMAN GREEN stated for the record that Representative Mike Navarre joined the committee at the table. Number 100 FRANK RUE, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF HABITAT AND RESTORATION, DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME (ADF&G), stated there are three types of state land. He said there are park lands, which are withdrawn from the public domain and are the most restrictive state land designations the legislature can create. He stated there are refuges, critical habitat areas or sanctuaries, which are a less restrictive designation by the legislature because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) retains authority, but the legislature has said that ADF&G must approve development on the area and give it permit. He said that other activities can go on in the area, it has not been withdrawn from public domain, but the legislature has put a higher standard for fish and wildlife by having ADF&G authorize activities in the area. He said he third type of land is general state lands which ADF&G does not authorize or permit. He said that ADF&G advises DNR about an area in a general state land situation. He said in the case of surface entry for oil and gas activity in Chickaloon Flats, it is a fairly small area and so ADF&G might limit the activity to the winter. He said ADF&G might recommend the avoidance of seismic work at the height of the bird migration. He said ADF&G supports HB 426 and they support the committee substitute language that DNR wanted because it wanted to make sure oil and gas was allowed as an option and that is fine with ADF&G. He said that ADF&G thinks HB 426 is a good idea because the Chickaloon Flats is a very important area for waterfowl migrating through the area. Number 140 JOHN HENDRICKSON, PRESIDENT, ALASKA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION (via Anchorage), stated he is also State Chairman of Waterfowl, USA. He said the Alaska Waterfowl Association, along with ADF&G and many other groups, has been working for about 20 years to create a refuge and critical habitat system on Cook Inlet that was compatible with multiple use activities and getting along with the oil and gas industry, which the Alaska Waterfowl Association regards as very important. He said that Chickaloon Flats is very important for migrating birds. He stated that when the weather is bad to the south of Prince William Sound, birds pile up in Southcentral Alaska and they have to have a place to go and one of the places is Chickaloon Flats. He said all sorts of species of ducks and geese use Chickaloon Flats in the fall and there are some local nesting populations of green winged teal and pintail mallards. He said in the spring, Chickaloon Flats is also used by geese, shore birds, and ducks. He said the Alaska Waterfowl Association regards HB 426 as a very good bill. He said the key of HB 426 is that it gives ADF&G some oversight so that mistakes are not made in the future. He urged the committee to support HB 426. Number 177 REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE asked Representative Bunde in which district Chickaloon Flats is located. Number 178 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE stated that Chickaloon Flats is located in Representative Navarre's district. Number 179 REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE asked Representative Navarre how he felt about HB 426. REPRESENTATIVE NAVARRE stated that he was looking at the bill for the first time so he was still formulating his opinion. He said in general, he thought he supported it, with a reservation for oil and gas leasing. Number 184 REPRESENTATIVE MACKIE made a motion to move HB 426 out of committee by unanimous consent, individual recommendations and zero fiscal note. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS stated that he noticed on the map an island called Bird Island. He asked if the island was privately owned and if it is within the proposed critical habitat area and how might it affect the ownership and ownership activity. Number 192 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE stated that to his knowledge, Bird Island is privately owned and the critical habitat designation would have no affect on the owners. He said they have access via the pipeline road. Number 198 CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there were any objections to Representative Mackie's motion. There were none.
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