03/23/1994 03:37 PM Senate RES

 SENATOR MILLER announced  SB 277  (FISH & WILDLIFE CONFIDENTIAL               
 RECORDS) to be up for consideration.                                          
                                                                               
 WAYNE REGELIN, Deputy Director, Division of Wildlife Conservation,            
 said they routinely used radio collars and have always kept this              
 information confidential.  In 1986 they asked the Board of Fish and           
 Game to make it confidential by regulation, because they had                  
 requests from the tourist industry for these frequencies for flight           
 seeing.  In 1990 an amendment was added to insure continued                   
 confidentiality, but they added some words that said, "The                    
 Department shall keep the information confidential when the                   
 knowledge may be detrimental to the wildlife population."  The                
 Department was sued in 1993 for refusing to release the radio                 
 frequency information to a private individual who wished to conduct           
 research on these animals. They were required by the court to                 
 release the information, because they could not prove the                     
 information would not be detrimental to the population.  Such a               
 small number of animals are collared that it would be hard to                 
 prove.                                                                        
                                                                               
 This bill removes "when the knowledge may be detrimental to the               
 wildlife population."  It also adds section (d) which would allow             
 the Department to keep specific locations of capture sites for                
 wildlife research or management confidential.  MR. REGELIN                    
 suggested adding language allowing the release of this information            
 if the requestor is under contract to the state to conduct research           
 on a fish and wildlife population.                                            
                                                                               
 MR. REGELIN added that this type of information in other states is            
 kept confidential.  Federal agencies also keep this information               
 confidential.                                                                 
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt the CS to SB 277, Utermohle, E                   
 version.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.                     
                                                                               
 GORDON HABER, Denali Park, said this bill would make it impossible            
 for any valid scientific research to be conducted on radio collared           
 animals except under ADF&G contract.  The only affect this bill               
 would have would be to suppress the kind of scientific research he            
 is conducting as an independent scientist.  He noted that his                 
 research has cost over $100,000 and it is available to everyone               
 which is a pretty good deal for taxpayers.                                    
                                                                               
  TAPE 94-27, SIDE A                                                           
  Number 001                                                                   
                                                                               
 MR. HABER said people in his area are very disturbed about the wolf           
 control program, including the wolf trappers.  They have come to              
 him to help them out.  He said some of the things ADF&G tell them             
 are not true.  For instance wolves do not run from planes, except             
 in rare instances.  He invited them to fly with him to see this.              
 Number 198                                                                    
                                                                               
 SANDRA ARNOLD, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, opposed SB 277.  She said            
 it was introduced specifically in response to their request for               
 public records under the Freedom of Information Act and in response           
 to Dr. Haber's lawsuit.  The future of Alaska will depend more and            
 more on cooperative research and cooperative interaction between              
 agencies and private entities, she said.                                      
                                                                               
 SENATOR MILLER said he would hold the bill until Mr. Haber could              
 send the rest of the documents he wanted them to see before taking            
 action on the bill.