Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/17/2014 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SCR2 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SJR 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 128 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SCR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 17, 2014
1:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator John Coghill, Chair
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lesil McGuire, Vice Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
Urging the governor to acquire land in the Tongass National
Forest from the United States government by purchase or
negotiation or by seeking amendment to the Alaska Statehood Act.
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 21
Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska
to increase the number of members on the judicial council and
relating to the initial terms of new members appointed to the
judicial council.
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 128
"An Act relating to the crime of harassment."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SCR 2
SHORT TITLE: ACQUIRE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST LAND
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEDMAN
03/28/13 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/28/13 (S) JUD
04/05/13 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/05/13 (S) Heard & Held
04/05/13 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
02/17/14 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
CHRISTIE JAMIESON, Staff
Senator Bert Stedman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SCR 2 on behalf of the sponsor.
LARRY EDWARDS, representing himself
Sitka, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SCR 2.
JOSEPH SEBATIAN, representing himself
Kupreanof, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SCR 2.
DON HERNANDEZ, representing himself
Point Baker, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SCR 2.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:38:20 PM
CHAIR JOHN COGHILL called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:38 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Olson, Wielechowski, and Chair Coghill.
SCR 2-ACQUIRE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST LAND
1:38:47 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SCR 2. "Urging the
governor to acquire land in the Tongass National Forest from the
United States government by purchase or negotiation or by
seeking amendment to the Alaska Statehood Act." This was the
second hearing.
1:39:14 PM
CHRISTIE JAMIESON, Staff, Senator Bert Stedman, introduced SCR 2
on behalf of the sponsor. She read the following sponsor
statement into the record: [Original punctuation provided.]
The Tongass National Forest was created in 1907 by
President Theodore Roosevelt. Today, it is the largest
national forest in the United States with 16.8 million
acres. In 1947 Congress enacted the Tongass Timber Act
the purpose of which was to clear the way for long
term timber sales on the Tongass. From the 1950's
through the early 1990's, the commercial harvest of
timber from the Tongass National Forest formed a major
part of the economy in Southeast Alaska.
Unfortunately, that's no longer the case because the
timber industry does not have access to an adequate
volume of timber supply that can be economically
harvested from the Tongass National Forest.
Interestingly, only 400,000 acres of the Tongass have
been harvested between its creation in 1907 and today.
In addition, there were more sawmills operating on the
Tongass in 1900 than there are today. The reasons
behind the lack of timber supply began in 1980 when
Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (ANILCA) establishing 4.5 million
acres of Wilderness and National Monuments in
Southeast Alaska. In order to ensure that these land
withdrawals from the available timber base did not
harm the existing timber industry, ANILCA mandated
that the Forest Service offer 450 million board feet
of timber annually. Then in 1990, Congress passed the
Tongass Timber Reform Act (TTRA) creating another 1.1
million acres of Wilderness and Roadless Area set
asides, further reducing acreage in the Tongass
National Forest that could be used for timber harvest.
In 1997 the Forest Service adopted a new land
management plan for the Tongass National Forest and
switched to "ecosystem management." Under this new
philosophy, attention to timber sale economics was
abandoned. However, in 2005 the 1997 Tongass Land
Management Plan (TLMP) was set aside and nine major
timber sale environmental impact statements were
enjoined pending preparation of an amended Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan. (See the 9th Circuit's
Decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v.
United States Forest Service, 421 F.3d 797 (9th
Cir.2005)). The 1997 Forest Plan was enjoined, not
because of an environmental problem, but because of a
Forest Service math error in computing the volume of
timber needed to meet market demand.
Every significant timber sale the Forest Service has
attempted to make since adoption of the 2008 Amended
TLMP has been litigated. This litigation has caused
annual Forest Service sales to be reduced to 30-40
MMBF, not nearly enough to supply the integrated
industry advocated by the Governor's Timber Task
Force.
Moreover, the Secretary of Agriculture interfered with
implementation of the 2008 Amended TLMP with his 2010
announcement of an "immediate transition from old
growth timber to second growth timber." This
announcement was made notwithstanding the fact that
there is insufficient second growth timber on the
Tongass that meets the definition of cumulative mean
annual increment required by the National Forest
Management Act (NFMA). Timber sales in old growth were
delayed while Forest Service professionals have tried
to make it clear to the Secretary that an "immediate"
transition to second growth would violate the NFMA. In
March 2011 the Federal District Court for the District
of Alaska set aside the Tongass Exemption from the
2001 Roadless Rule, which the State had negotiated
with the Federal Government in 2003. This has resulted
in 9.6 million acres of non-timber harvest areas being
created on the Tongass in addition to the 5.6 million
acres of non-timber-harvest Wilderness areas. In
addition, the Roadless Areas create a serious
impediment to mining and to hydropower and other
renewable energy opportunities on the Tongass.
The Tongass National Forest currently encompasses
about 93% of the available timberlands in Southeast
Alaska. However, only two percent of the Tongass
National Forest is managed for the purpose of
providing local communities with the opportunity to
harvest timber. Consequently, the Forest Service has
monopoly power over the timber supply. In the past
four years, several efforts to revitalize the timber
industry in Southeast Alaska have failed because a
timber industry cannot exist without an adequate
timber supply. Since the U.S. Forest Service is no
longer able to provide enough timber in the Tongass
National Forest to sustain a viable timber industry in
Southeast Alaska, it is time for the Governor to
intervene.
Under the Alaska Statehood Act, the federal government
provided Alaska with a 103,350,000 acre land
entitlement. Of that original land entitlement,
5,500,000 acres still remain available for selection.
SCR 2 urges the Governor to take steps necessary to
select land in the Tongass National Forest as part of
the Alaska Statehood Act.
However, Section 6 of the Alaska Statehood Act limits
the state's selection of land from the Tongass and
Chugiak national forests to 400,000 acres and further
limits the use of that land to recreation and
community expansion. The state should be entitled to
select some of its remaining land entitlement from the
Tongass National Forest without being limited to
recreation and community expansion. This could be
achieved through efforts by the Governor to negotiate
the transfer or the sale of timberland in the Tongass
National Forest or by working with our federal
delegation to amend the Alaska Statehood Act.
MS. JAMIESON summarized the sponsor's testimony during the
initial bill hearing on 4/5/13, which included information about
the termination of timber contracts and subsequent decline of
the timber industry in Southeast. The sponsor described SCR 2 as
an effort to open the discussion about a Tongass land selection
if it's not possible to work with the federal government on
reasonable access to a timber supply and mines. The other
alternative is to have the governor initiate discussions to
purchase land in the Tongass National Forest. She concluded that
the repercussions of closing the pulp mills in Southeast was
equivalent to Anchorage losing the airport or Fairbanks losing
the military bases.
1:49:18 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the Alaska Statehood Act has been
amended.
MS. JAMIESON said she didn't know.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the state had attempted to
purchase national forest lands before.
MS. JAMIESON offered to follow up with an answer.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how many acres the sponsor would like
the governor to purchase, if other states have done this, and
the cost per acre.
CHAIR COGHILL suggested Ms. Jamieson make note of the questions
and have the sponsor follow up with the answers. He said he was
particularly interested in knowing if any state had successfully
negotiated this type of land transaction.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI expressed interest in knowing if there were
past attempts by the governor to negotiate the purchase of
national forest lands.
CHAIR COGHILL commented that establishing the state forest land
is probably the closest. He asked Ms. Jamieson to request that
the sponsor refresh the committee on this process during the
next hearing.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the sponsor has a preference for an
outright purchase or trade for other lands.
MS. JAMIESON indicated she would add that to the list of
questions that need answers.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for information about the fiscal
impact to purchase and manage the land.
1:53:35 PM
CHAIR COGHILL opened public testimony.
1:53:45 PM
LARRY EDWARDS, representing himself, Sitka, Alaska, testified in
opposition to SCR 2. He said the legislation is predicated on a
2012 report of the Alaska Timber Jobs Task Force that is highly
misleading. Some of the faulty claims in the report are
incorporated in SCR 2. For example, the "Whereas" statements on
page 2, lines 10 and 13, give percentages of the whole Tongass,
but two-thirds of the forest is either non-forest or
nonproductive forest so the statistics aren't meaningful. He
said the industry's difficulty now is that the timber stands on
national forest, Native corporation and university lands have
been cherry picked and mostly liquidated.
MR. EDWARDS said that SJR 2 doesn't give an accurate portrayal
of the situation in Southeast and should not be passed. Rather,
Bill Shoaf, in his book "The Taking of the Tongass: Alaska's
Rainforest" more accurately describes what has happened in this
region. The point is that the industry has cut itself out of a
future that would look anything like its past. He concluded that
taking more timber out of the Tongass for the state to cut under
its lax rules under the Forest Practices Act will decimate other
parts of the economy that rely on subsistence, commercial
fishing and tourism.
1:58:22 PM
SENATOR OLSON asked what he has done for a living.
MR. EDWARDS replied he originally came to Alaska as an engineer
for the Alaska Pulp Company. After that he worked at the cold
storage and as a fish and wildlife tech. He retired from Fish
and Game a few years ago and now works for Green Peace.
SENATOR OLSON asked the sentiment in Sitka towards this
resolution.
MR. EDWARDS said after the mill closed in 1993 there was some
effort to open a sawmill, but it wasn't supported by the
community. He noted that Sitka has had small mills from time to
time, but it isn't really suited to this kind of industry any
longer because the timber to support a mill is long gone.
SENATOR OLSON asked what percentage of the population in Sitka
doesn't support the resolution.
MR. EWARDS replied that most people in town aren't aware of the
resolution.
2:00:39 PM
JOSEPH SEBATIAN, representing himself, Kupreanof, Alaska,
testified in opposition to SCR 2. He described the resolution as
another attempt to bring back the glory days of the timber
industry when the present-day industry is almost entirely
supported by round-log exports. He disagreed with the sponsor
statement that only 400,000 acres of the Tongass have been
harvested because it disregards the more than 1 million acres of
Sealaska, Mental Health Trust, state forest, and university
lands that were logged off the Tongass in the 1980s and early
1990s. He urged the committee to drop the resolution and tend to
serious solutions to the real problems facing the state.
2:05:19 PM
DON HERNANDEZ, representing himself, Point Baker, Alaska,
testified in opposition to SCR 2. He spoke of the value of the
Tongass National Forest, ensuring that the public continues to
have a meaningful role in its management, and the importance of
keeping the Tongass intact. He related that he was living and
working in Thorne and Rowan bays in the mid-1970s during the
heyday of the pulp company logging. During that time, he
witnessed the devastating effects of logging prior to the
National Forest Management Act and the National Environmental
Policy Act. Logging practices at that time were harmful and have
had a long-term impact to both fish and wildlife, he said.
It took local effort and the help of some national groups to
enact the legislation that brought more public inclusion and
balance to forest management, he said. However, the people who
have a vital interest in their local resources do not always
have the influence they deserve when they are opposed by those
in power. In fact, the smaller the group that has influence, the
more likely it is that policy will be dominated by a special
interest.
MR. HERNANDEZ said he ascribes to the vision of the man who
devoted his presidency to busting the powerful cartels that
controlled the nation's natural resources. President Theodore
Roosevelt believed that placing the most valued lands in the
hands of the general public was the best way to prevent them
from being controlled by special interests. He urged the
committee not to undo that legacy.
CHAIR COGHILL listed the items he'd like the sponsor to address:
whether any state has successfully negotiated a land transfer
with the federal government; whether just two percent of the
Tongass is managed for timber harvest; the percentage of old
growth standing today and where the stands are located; and
harvest levels and subsequent management of Native corporation
and mental health trust lands. He offered his experience that
much of the land in Alaska is of national interest. Those
interests go from conservation to preservation, whereas the
interests of Alaskans generally go from production to
conservation. This resolution brings those opposing views to the
forefront, he said.
CHAIR COGHILL stated he would hold SCR 2 in committee for
further consideration.
2:12:33 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Coghill adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting at 2:12 p.m.
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