Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
03/07/2011 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
HB97 | |
HB106 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ | HB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | HB 106 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 97-EXTEND INVASIVE PLANTS LAW 1:04:47 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE announced that the first order of business is HOUSE BILL NO. 97, "An Act extending a provision relating to noxious weeds, invasive plants, and agricultural pest management and education; providing for an effective date by repealing the effective date of sec. 2, ch. 102, SLA 2008; and providing for an effective date." 1:05:03 PM JEANNE OSTNES, Staff, Representative Craig Johnson, Alaska State Legislature, introduced HB 97 on behalf of Representative Johnson, sponsor. She explained that the bill would delete the sunset clause for a two-year-old position [Invasive Weeds and Agricultural Pest Coordinator] in the Division of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources. She directed attention to a document in the committee packet outlining the accomplishments of this position, specifically pointing out that the person in this position successfully applied for grants that brought in funds in addition to those provided by the state for the position. The two-year position was established by House Bill 330, which provided $80,000 for the position's paycheck to put together a plan for the state. MS. OSTNES pointed out that Alaska does not have much policy dealing with invasive weeds. One project of this position was to bring together a state plan, which is almost complete because all of the public comment has happened. The letters of support received by committee members are from many of the organizations that deal with the land and people around Alaska, such as the soil and water conservation districts and the Alaska Committee on Noxious and Invasive Plant Management (CNIPM). A number of people volunteer with these organizations to try to deal with weeds in each of their specific areas. She drew attention to a graph showing the timeline between an invasive species first occurrence in an area and when it goes into its high growth period. She related that most experts say Alaska is at the bottom of the depicted S-curve and ready to go into the high growth period. 1:08:29 PM MS. OSTNES noted that a huge spurt in dandelions, white clover, and hairy vetch occurred this last summer. This position will bring together the people around the state dealing with weeds as they appear and begin to cause problems. For example, an award was given to a U.S. Coast Guard employee in Ketchikan who found a gypsy moth egg mass at the top of a conning tower of a ship that came in from Japan. She warned that gypsy moths coming into the Tongass National Forest would definitely be an agricultural pest. MS. OSTNESS said one example of something the state must begin worrying about is the Anchor River where an invasion of reed canary grass has grown so much that now nothing can be done and therefore smaller infestations must instead be dealt with first. This position prioritizes, discusses policy, and tries to save the state from spending a lot of money. For example, in 2007 the governor of Idaho requested $6 million to fight noxious weeds in that state; $4 million to deal just with Eurasian watermilfoil. She reminded members that Idaho is a state much smaller state than Alaska with much less water. Because invasives can be such a costly problem, this position will hopefully save Alaska millions by trying to employ a rapid response against those species that have invaded the state. 1:10:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER observed that the fiscal note is now [$101,100 annually] and asked why the difference. MS. OSTNES replied that this includes travel, supplies, and contracts, such as for surveying areas. REPRESENTATIVE DICK commented that he has heard nothing but good about this program, but he has also heard that much of this success is due to the dedication of the person currently holding the job. He expressed his concern that if the sunset provision is removed, a new person with less diligence might be hired sometime in the future. MS. OSTNES responded that the person in this position must be a good coordinator. While she does not know what the department's job description is for the position, she said she is sure there would be a full vetting process should the current coordinator decide to leave. She also offered her belief that the position requires applicants to be Alaska residents. 1:12:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE DICK cautioned that if government is going to be grown, it must be done with a specific purpose and intent. He expressed his fear that in 10 years there may not be the same diligence, focus, and energy as there has been so far. MS. OSTNES related that from her talks with the various organizations and soil and water conservation districts around the state that they could not have done the $1 million of work without this coordinator. The state must at some point begin to make policy decisions and this will not happen without someone in this job. In the long run, she advised, spending $100,000 now will save millions later. REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ offered her support for the bill and asked whether the costs for [weed management] projects initiated by the coordinator are funded at the local level. In response to Ms. Ostnes and Co-Chair Feige, Representative Munoz agreed to ask this question of the coordinator, Gino Graziano, when he testifies. 1:15:14 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE opened public testimony on HB 97. DAVID LENDRUM, Owner, Landscape Alaska, noted that he is the fifth generation of an agriculture family and that in addition to his nursery and landscape contracting business he is the landscape superintendent for the University of Alaska Southeast. He confessed that when Mr. Graziano first visited him he was not enthused because he was sure he would be told that some of the plants he was selling and planting would be on the prohibited list. However, he is now a wholehearted convert. Over the past two years he has worked with people from the Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plant Management (CNIPM) and has found that their expertise and the size of the problem are much larger than he ever imagined. As Alaska's climate changes, the plant materials change, and the plants moving into the state now are causing much more trouble than they would have 100 years ago. 1:17:23 PM MR. LENDRUM explained that the biology of invasive species gives them certain advantages, such as starting earlier or lasting longer in the season or occupying niches that would not otherwise be occupied by something else. Several species are already nearly out of control; for example, sweet white clover is displacing everything along rivers in the Fairbanks area and is waist to chest high as far as the eye can see. Alaska is still in a pretty good position, he continued, because invasive plants must follow a highway system, too, in that they need a way to be introduced and therefore much of Alaska has had virtually no introduction. However, those areas that are prone to infestation are vulnerable. While the coordinator position addresses invasive plants, CNIPM addresses invasive plant, marine, and insect species. 1:19:23 PM MR. LENDRUM related that at a conference last year he learned that invasive underwater plants that have never before been seen in Alaska are spreading in the state's harbor areas and there are no control measures. These types of things are what need work and prohibition, he advised. Regarding Representative Dick's questions, he said he has been overwhelmed by the depth of dedication not just from Mr. Graziano, but throughout the whole [CNIPM] organization. The people involved have taken it up with a fervor that is not normally seen. It has become a calling for many of these people who are from all age groups, economic standards, and lifestyles, and he is impressed. 1:20:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER commented that some of this sounds terrifying and asked what chance does the state have. MR. LENDRUM replied that this is the only thing; the state must get going now. He grew up in California where most of the native habitat has been overcome by European invaders; most of the plants now seen in California's wild landscape are non- natives that have taken the place of the species that were there before. He allowed there are some invaders that might not be stopped, but advised that the focus needs to be on early detection and rapid response to the first invaders while their numbers are small. 1:21:59 PM FRANCI HAVEMEISTER, Director, Central Office, Division of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said she is present to answer questions, but noted that this successful program has been housed within the Division of Agriculture for just under three years. REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI inquired why control of underwater invasive plants is not done under the Division of Agriculture. MS. HAVEMEISTER deferred to Mr. Graziano. GINO GRAZIANO, Natural Resource Specialist, [Invasive Weeds and Agricultural Pest Coordinator], Division of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), replied that determining whether management of submerged aquatic invasive species belongs to the Division of Agriculture or the Alaska Department of Fish & Game is ongoing. Within DNR he has not yet heard an attorney general's opinion, but he has heard some folks mention that DNR manages the substrate of a river bed and therefore it would fall to the Division of Agriculture working with lands. Others point out that the harvest of seaweed is managed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and therefore management of aquatic invasives is the purview of ADF&G. Beyond that, the general consensus that he gets is that it is probably a DNR issue. 1:24:13 PM JANICE CHUMLEY, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks, informed members that throughout the years when invasive plants in the state were being noted as a growing menace to Alaska's wildlife habitat, fisheries, and agriculture, the one sticking point was that there was no point person through the Division of Agriculture to coordinate all of those activities and, therefore, efforts were splintered. She said she supports continuation of this position, regardless of who might hold it in the future, because it is important to have someone coordinating statewide efforts for addressing these invasive species. Without one person coordinating things, all the efforts will be splintered and nothing will proceed. Alaska still has the ability to contain or eradicate some of the invasive species within the state and efforts really need to be taken to make that happen. 1:25:38 PM REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ asked how a specific project is identified and what is involved in coordinating with communities. MR. GRAZIANO responded that typically a community will form a cooperative weed management area (CWMA), getting interested organizations and individuals involved in invasive species management and bringing to the table the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, and federal and municipal land managers. He helps the groups get organized, identify projects, and find funding for the projects. For example, Fairbanks has a cooperative weed management area led by the soil and water conservation district. One of the area's members found the common waterweed, Elodea canadensis, so he joined their meetings to start addressing the weed and develop strategies for finding funds to do more surveying and management of that weed. 1:27:25 PM REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ inquired whether Juneau's problem with Japanese knotweed has been brought to Mr. Graziano's attention. MR. GRAZIANO answered yes; he has been working with the Juneau management area through the Juneau Watershed Partnership. The partnership has been doing what it can by removing the weed, but Japanese knotweed is a very entrenched species in Southeast Alaska. Additionally, he has had a lot of correspondence with the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, particularly when the department is doing construction projects in areas that have Japanese knotweed, in which case he consults with them on how to deal with it. 1:29:05 PM BRYCE WRIGLEY, Farmer, testified that he raises about 1,000 acres per year of barley and wheat. Over the years he has watched invasive weeds move into the state that represent a direct threat to his ability to provide a sellable product in the Alaska market. After Canada thistle was discovered in a local field, the Cooperative Extension Service and the Delta Farm Bureau coordinated an effort to eradicate the weed before it could spread. Later, the soil and water conservation district took over the noxious weed effort in this area. It took 18 years to eradicate that patch of Canada thistle and there has not been any in the area for the past 13 years. MR. WRIGLEY expressed his concern as a producer that Alaska is doing too little to address this problem while it is in its infancy. Once this window of opportunity for controlling the spread of invasive plants closes, it will never again be as cheap or as easy to address the problem as it is right now. It is his opinion that the solution is a long-term commitment by the state to manage invasive species, beginning with a point man, and HB 97 addresses the sunset of this position. The purpose of House Bill 330 was to hire a coordinator to develop a statewide weed plan, which is necessary to bring in federal dollars for weed management in Alaska. He drew attention to a report by Mr. Graziano that states a federal grant of $80,000 had to be returned because there were no matching funds for that grant. If the state does not pay to address this issue now, it will most definitely be paying for it later, he advised. MR. WRIGLEY suggested that in addition to removing the sunset for the coordinator's position, the committee also include in HB 97 a mechanism to match federal dollars so that the investment by the state can be maximized. Without an effective weed management plan for the state, the cost to Alaska farmers will continue to increase and the cost to the state will increase exponentially. More needs to be done in Alaska to address this problem. He urged that the coordinator's position be funded, the sunset clause removed, and a mechanism provided for utilizing federal grants. 1:32:31 PM LORI ZAUMSEIL informed members that she and her husband Troy were the people who found a Canada thistle growing in a plant that they had purchased from a local box store. They began investigating this, and with the help of the Cooperative Extension Service learned just how noxious and invasive Canada thistle is. When no satisfactory response came from the store as far up as its corporate level, they contacted the Division of Agriculture only to find that there was no one to take their report about something so serious and they were subsequently passed all the way to the division's director. She further found that in Anchorage, all of the federal agencies in the U.S. Department of Interior had a person working on this issue, but the State of Alaska had no one and the Municipality of Anchorage had no one. Even to an amateur it was obvious that multiple people spinning in individual orbits were not going to accomplish anything positive enough to handle this problem. So creating a position to advocate for the State of Alaska seemed like an incredibly important thing to do to bring the state into the battle so it was not just a battlefield to be overrun. 1:34:36 PM MS. ZAUMSEIL related that when Representative Johnson responded to her and Troy in 2007, they committed to doing everything they could to make their fellow property owners and taxpayers understand that spending $1 now would save $100 later. This is an issue that will grow exponentially and is growing even with effort. If momentum is lost from losing this position, it will be so costly to everybody in Alaska, from salmon fishermen to property owners to farmers. As a result of their involvement in Alaska, she and Troy have been invited to speak all over the country and they have found that all eyes are on Alaska. People in other states with budgets of tens of millions of dollars and with agricultural losses in the tens of millions of dollars, have told her that Alaska is where their state was 20 or 30 years ago and they wish they had not waited to deal with the problem. She understands Representative Gardner's position about being terrified because that is exactly how she and Troy felt. She urged the continuation of the coordinator's position because it is important and matters on so many levels. 1:36:29 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER commented that she would not know a Canada thistle and would therefore not be alarmed about something growing in a plant pot. MS. ZAUMSEIL answered that she and Troy came across a pocket- sized weed guide that talked about invasive plants in Alaska, which was a totally foreign concept to them. However, they paged through the guide anyway. A month later they found a Canada thistle growing in their backyard in Anchorage, which heightened their awareness. The next spring while purchasing garden starts at a retail box store in Anchorage they found a Canada thistle growing in a pot. They had an inkling that this was a bad thing, so to be certain they took it to the Cooperative Extension Service to have it identified. She then "googled" it on the Internet and in 30 minutes she was pretty mad and in 60 minutes she was an activist. 1:38:26 PM MS. ZAUMSEIL addressed what local citizens can do, noting that she and her husband have no science background and hold full- time jobs. However, because they recognized the seriousness of this, they created their own nonprofit Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) in Anchorage, and dedicated a lot of time for about three years. A concerned citizen with a voice and a passion can really accomplish something and this particular issue is a good example of that. She informed members that federal legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Harry Reid, and at her and Troy's request this legislation was co-sponsored by Senators Begich and Murkowski. They also asked Congressman Don Young to introduce a companion bill, which he did the day after Senator Reid's bill was introduced. This demonstrates how much impact a citizen can have on the process. 1:40:30 PM BLAINE SPELLMAN, Alaska Association of Conservation Districts, said his organization wrote a letter of support for HB 97 and he is willing to answer any questions about how the Division of Agriculture's program has benefitted his group's efforts in managing invasive plants around the state. CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked Mr. Blaine Spellman about how effective the coordinator position has been in terms of actual coordination. MR. SPELLMAN replied that the soil and water conservation districts have been managing invasive plants for a very long time and, as pointed out by Ms. Chumley, it was oftentimes an uncoordinated effort done by various groups in complete isolation of one another. Having a state coordinator has been exceptionally important because it has unified all the nonprofits and the soil and water conservation districts into one team working with the state. He said he feels that the position and the strategic plan developed by the Division of Agriculture have been very valuable. 1:42:25 PM The committee took an at-ease from 1:42 p.m. to 1:43 p.m. 1:43:43 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE closed public testimony on HB 97 after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON commented that Dave Cannon, a local area coordinator, gave him a presentation on this issue and it is surprising how much is unknown about invasive species. Pretty, non-native flowers that people want to grow can be disastrous. The legislature needs to think about creating an Alaska seed bank or creating more of a seed bank, like the global seed bank in Norway, and should consider a seed vault so that native plant species can be saved for the future. 1:45:13 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON moved to report HB 97 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 97 was reported from the House Resources Standing Committee.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
---|---|---|
HRES 3.7.11 HB 97 Extend Invasive Plants Law.PDF |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/16/2011 10:00:00 AM |
HB 97 |
HRES 3.7.11 HB 106 Coastal Management Program.PDF |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/16/2011 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/18/2011 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/28/2011 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/30/2011 1:00:00 PM |
HB 106 |
ACMP Final Evaluation June 2008.pdf |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
HRES 3.7.11 DNR Response to Rep. Foster-Herron Letter.PDF |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
LB&A ACMP Audit Report Part 1.pdf |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
LB&A ACMP Audit Report Part 2.pdf |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
HRES 3.7.11 HB97 Perception of an Invasive Species.PDF |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/16/2011 10:00:00 AM |
HB 97 |
HRES 3.7.11 HB97 Report on AK Invasive Plant Project.pdf |
HRES 3/7/2011 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/16/2011 10:00:00 AM |
HB 97 |