04/30/1994 11:40 AM Senate RES

 SENATOR MILLER announced  HJR 56  (EXEMPT ALASKA FROM "PACFISH" REGS)    S)   
 to be up for consideration.                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS, Sponsor, said that salmon stocks are                 
 healthy.  Alaska does not share the habitat degradation problems              
 faced by the other northwest states.  Salmon stocks in Alaska are             
 protected by existing federal and state laws and regulations,                 
 including the Tongass Land Management Plan, the Tongass Timber                
 Reform Act, the Alaska Coastal Zone Management Program, and the               
 Alaska State Forest Practices Act. Implementation of PacFish in               
 Alaska is inappropriate and unnecessary, he said.                             
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF asked what "beribboned" meant.  There was                     
 discussion that it meant the same thing as braided.                           
                                                                               
 KATYA KIRSCH, Alaska Environmental Lobby, said many of their                  
 members fish commercially for salmon.  They strongly oppose this              
 resolution banning the best science to date that will insure a                
 future for the salmon resource.                                               
                                                                               
 MS. KIRSCH said that Senator Stevens obtained a one year exemption            
 from Pacfish for Alaska requiring the Forest Service to do a report           
 on the applicability of the strategy to the state.  HJR 56 asks               
 Congress to make a permanent exemption before that report even                
 comes out.  She said the Pacfish strategy for healthy streams is              
 simply to place the burden of proof on land users that their                  
 activity will not adversely affect salmon.  Salmon provides jobs              
 for Alaskans and they are also a part of our culture.                         
 CHUCK ACHBORGER, Juneau Chamber of Commerce, supported HJR 56.  He            
 said the reason most of the healthy streams are in Alaska is                  
 because the timber industry and the state have the Forest Practices           
 Act which does protect our streams.                                           
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF commented that there are other user groups that               
 have concerns as well.  He mentioned the resolutions from city                
 counsels that have expressed interest in having their uses                    
 considered equally.                                                           
                                                                               
 TROY REINHART, Alaska Forest Association, supported HJR 56.  He               
 said if you look at the Pacific Northwest for which Pacfish was put           
 in place, there is no doubt that they have problems, but they are             
 generally not habitat problems.  The problems are dams and                    
 irrigation and development in the lower sections of the river and             
 estuaries.                                                                    
                                                                               
 Number 120                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF moved to delete "beribboned" for which there is no            
 official definition.                                                          
                                                                               
 SENATOR FRANK objected.  He thought it might clarify the                      
 description of the topography and, therefore, the logic for having            
 different rules apply.                                                        
                                                                               
 SENATOR MILLER said that "beribboned" would be amendment #1 (a).              
 SENATOR FRANK removed his objection and the amendment was adopted.            
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF moved amendment #2.  He said we really need to be             
 careful in getting involved in the problems that are unique to the            
 problems of the Northwest.  There were no objections and it was               
 adopted.                                                                      
                                                                               
  TAPE 94-41, SIDE A                                                           
  Number 001                                                                   
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF said he thought this legislation would send up a              
 red flag to permanently exclude all land in Alaska, meaning that we           
 don't want anyone else interfering.                                           
                                                                               
 SENATOR MILLER said there were no objections and amendment #2 was             
 adopted.                                                                      
                                                                               
 SENATOR ADAMS moved to pass HJR 56 from committee with individual             
 recommendations.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.