Legislature(2009 - 2010)BUTROVICH 205

02/03/2010 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES


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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= SB 220 ENERGY EFFICIENCY/ ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TELECONFERENCED
<Bill Hearing Postponed>
*+ SB 104 STAN PRICE STATE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
*+ SB 195 MAKE GOLDSTREAM PUBLIC USE AREA PERMANENT TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ HB 20 FISHERIES LOANS:ENERGY EFFICIENCY/AMOUNT TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
                                                                                                                                
           SB 104-STAN PRICE STATE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:48:36 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR   WIELECHOWSKI   announced  SB   104   to   be  up   for                                                               
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:48:54 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  DENNIS EGAN  said he  is presenting  SB 104  for Senator                                                               
Elton who was  its sponsor. He said  the purpose of SB  104 is to                                                               
set in statute  the game management regime that  exists today and                                                               
has existed in the Stan Price  Wildlife Sanctuary for the past 25                                                               
years. In  1984 the Board  of Game established the  upper Seymour                                                               
Canal Closed Area  as a buffer zone to further  protect the human                                                               
habituated areas at  Pack Creek. Since 1984, the  board has seven                                                               
times  declined to  open the  area to  bear hunting  - each  time                                                               
after  exhaustive  public  debate  and  overwhelming  opposition.                                                               
After the last event in 2006,  the board put a 10-year moratorium                                                               
on hearing another petition to open  the area to bear hunting. He                                                               
said  this bill  would put  in statute  that which  is a  settled                                                               
matter of sound scientific game  management. It also supports the                                                               
tourism businesses  that have  grown to  serve the  many visitors                                                               
that come to Southeast Alaska  precisely to experience the unique                                                               
bear-viewing opportunities of the Refuge.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR EGAN  explained that the blank  committee substitute (CS)                                                               
further clarifies  that all  other hunting and  fishing is  to be                                                               
allowed within the Refuge.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:50:38 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WAGONER  moved to adopt the  CS to SB 104.  There were no                                                               
objections  and   CSSB  104(RES)   26-LS0545\S  was   before  the                                                               
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:51:51 PM                                                                                                                    
K.J.METCALF, President,  Friends of  Admiralty Island,  said they                                                               
had been in  existence since 1987 and were very  supportive if SB
104. He said that while Stan  Price was alive, he did a wonderful                                                               
job of  nurturing the female bears  that came down to  his place;                                                               
so they  have become  female population. They  are not  afraid of                                                               
humans and bring  their young down to nurse  allowing a wonderful                                                               
viewing opportunity. They really  want to protect that population                                                               
of  female  bears. Adopting  this  legislation  puts the  25-year                                                               
closure by the  Board of Game into statute. He  said the existing                                                               
Stan Price  Sanctuary is just  the small area, other  state lands                                                               
would  be  added  to  it   that  are  currently  managed  by  the                                                               
Department  of Natural  Resources  (DNR). So  they  would all  be                                                               
under  management  by the  Alaska  Department  of Fish  and  Game                                                               
(ADF&G).                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:53:14 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR HUGGINS joined the committee.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. METCALF  also said  the management  of the  fish and  game in                                                               
this area is  a model and this bill would  codify that in statute                                                               
also. "It just seems like a really good thing to do."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:54:07 PM                                                                                                                    
WAYNE  REGELIN, President,  Territorial  Sportsmen, supported  SB
104.   He  said   the  Territorial   Sportsmen  is   a  sportsmen                                                               
organization  that was  established in  1950 to  promote hunting,                                                               
fishing and trapping, and has  about 1800 members. They recognize                                                               
the importance of  protecting the bears at Pack  Creek. "They are                                                               
a unique resource that are enjoyed by a lot of people."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
He  explained  that  the  area   is  closed  to  hunting  on  the                                                               
tidelands. Opening it  to bear hunting came up  every three years                                                               
and got everybody all excited and  there is just no reason to put                                                               
the  public  through  that  every year.  He  suggested  a  little                                                               
revision to  the sponsor  who inserted  language saying  that the                                                               
area that  is closed is only  closed to hunting bears,  but other                                                               
uses of hunting and fishing are allowed.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:55:42 PM                                                                                                                    
SARAH DUNLAP, representing herself,  Juneau, Alaska, supported SB
104. She  summarized her  testimony saying that  for the  past 19                                                               
years she and  her husband have made their  living guiding people                                                               
into bear  viewing opportunities  in Pack Creek,  Windfall Harbor                                                               
and Swan Cove. Through that  they have gained an understanding of                                                               
how  valuable this  area is  to the  tourism economy  as well  as                                                               
being  a  very  special  place. They  are  supporting  this  bill                                                               
because they think it is  important to expand that tiny sanctuary                                                               
area into the  areas that have been long-closed  to bear viewing.                                                               
Their experience has shown them  how vulnerable bears would be to                                                               
hunting if it were to ever be  opened to hunting again and how it                                                               
would  affect   the  viewing  there.  There   is  the  controlled                                                               
experience at Pack  Creek, with the rangers;  but Windfall Harbor                                                               
has more of  a wilderness experience. When permits  at Pack Creek                                                               
are not  available, Windfall is  usually available. They  take an                                                               
average of 90  clients into Windfall Harbor and  Pack Creek every                                                               
year (since 2000) and that's in  addition to the 180 clients they                                                               
take into  Pack Creek each  year. Pack Creek, itself,  sees about                                                               
1200 visitors every season.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. DUNLAP said  it is well understood that  wildlife watching is                                                               
big business  in Alaska  and is an  important aspect  of Juneau's                                                               
tourism economy,  but it isn't  that well-known how much  of this                                                               
business  is  done by  small,  locally-owned  operators. That  is                                                               
particularly  true of  this Pack  Creek, Windfall,  Swan complex,                                                               
she said. These tours are not  sold on the cruise ships. She said                                                               
that Pack  Creek is  a destination  spot that  brings independent                                                               
travelers into the Juneau community.  That business flows through                                                               
B&Bs, restaurants and retail  establishments. So, all-in-all it's                                                               
the  local  people  who  are benefiting  from  the  bear  viewing                                                               
activity that goes  on there. Not only does the  income they make                                                               
flow back through  the economy, but a very  significant amount of                                                               
that money  goes back to  underwriting the cost of  managing Pack                                                               
Creek.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
She stressed that  her business's Pack Creek  permit fees average                                                               
about $5,000 each year and that  the permit fees bring in $40,000                                                               
annually.  She  mentioned that  the  fees  generated by  wildlife                                                               
watching  are  really  important   sources  of  revenue  for  the                                                               
agencies that  manage public lands and  this is very true  in the                                                               
case of Pack Creek.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS.  DUNLAP stressed  this is  not an  anti-hunting measure.  The                                                               
only hunting  that would not  be allowed  in these areas  is bear                                                               
hunting and  these lands were closed  to bear hunting in  1984 at                                                               
the same time  other lands on Admiralty Island were  open to bear                                                               
hunting.  So these  closures never  resulted in  any net  loss of                                                               
hunting opportunities on Admiralty Island  and over 90 percent of                                                               
the Island remains  available to bear hunters.  It is appropriate                                                               
that  wildlife viewers  have their  own  locations on  Admiralty,                                                               
particularly  this very  important premier  destination for  bear                                                               
viewers.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. DUNLAP said  the Board of Game was very  wise when it created                                                               
this situation  25 years ago,  and they have  thoroughly reviewed                                                               
the  decision  over the  years  since.  It  is  one of  the  most                                                               
scientifically supported,  agency approved publicly  popular land                                                               
use allocations in Alaskan history.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:01:41 PM                                                                                                                    
BUTCH LAUGHLIN,  representing himself,  Juneau, Alaska,  said his                                                               
wife, Ms.  Dunlap, covered most  of their testimony. He  does the                                                               
flying and the  guiding and sees what is happening  on the ground                                                               
every  day. He  sees how  many  bears use  all the  areas of  the                                                               
sanctuary.  All   this  bill  does  is   expand  the  legislative                                                               
protection to  the lands  that have long  been closed  to hunting                                                               
and it  doesn't seek to make  a radical change to  the area; it's                                                               
simply to keep the  status quo of the area that  is in place now.                                                               
Just  the  designation of  the  tidelands  would be  changed.  He                                                               
supported SB 104.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:03:05 PM                                                                                                                    
GREG  BROWN,  owner,  Weather   Permitting  Alaska,  Tee  Harbor,                                                               
Alaska, said  he does custom  trips for whale watching  and other                                                               
non-consumptive uses.  He is also  on the Advisory Board  for the                                                               
Board of Game representing Juneau.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. BROWN  said nonconsumptive  users in the  U.S. have  grown to                                                               
number 62 million people and  spend over $29 billion, but hunting                                                               
in the  U.S. has been  declining for decades. In  Alaska, hunting                                                               
brings  in  $124 million  annually.  It  is considered  a  stable                                                               
industry, which  is a little  misleading because the  state pumps                                                               
about $3.8 million  into it for intensive  management control. On                                                               
the other  hand, wildlife viewing  brings in $581 million  - five                                                               
times more  than consumptive users.  He really believes  there is                                                               
not much  more opportunity  to grow  the consumptive  business in                                                               
Alaska, but  the $581 million  is the  future of the  wildlife of                                                               
Alaska.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
He  said he  spent last  week  at the  Board of  Game meeting  in                                                               
Anchorage  and  "if  we  spent  half  as  much  time  working  on                                                               
developing  this economically,  we could  have an  billion-dollar                                                               
business here in  literally a couple of years." Last  year he had                                                               
two trips to the Pack Creek and  Windfall area, one of them was a                                                               
film crew  from PBS. They  were able to  view the same  two bears                                                               
for both trips  and he made $4000 each trip.  "These animals have                                                               
great  value.  This  is  a  very, very  special  place  -  almost                                                               
mystical place to be."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:06:07 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WAGONER  quipped that  those must  have been  pretty well                                                               
mounted bears.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:06:21 PM                                                                                                                    
TINA BROWN,  representing herself, Juneau, Alaska,  said tourists                                                               
value the  bears, but the  people who live  here do, too.  One of                                                               
the main  reasons she and her  husband chose to retire  in Juneau                                                               
is because it is close to  these brown bears. She and her husband                                                               
bought a  house and now  have a  small business, they  pay taxes,                                                               
and this has helped the community as well.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. BROWN  stated that a  lot of people  are here because  of the                                                               
wildlife and she appreciated having  this opportunity to preserve                                                               
it.  There are  many  places to  hunt, but  not  many places  for                                                               
"world-class" brown bear viewing like this.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:07:50 PM                                                                                                                    
DAVID SUMMERS,  licensed big game transporter  and fishing guide,                                                               
agreed that a  live bear can be  worth more than a  dead bear and                                                               
suggested a couple  of small changes to SB 104.  The first was in                                                               
on  page 2,  line  20, where  it says  "other  fish and  wildlife                                                               
populations,  and  their habitats"  which  he  said is  extremely                                                               
broad  language.   If  the  intent   is  to  preserve   the  area                                                               
specifically for  the bears,  he said  the language  should speak                                                               
specifically to that.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
He asked  why the  number of commercial  permits to  bring people                                                               
ashore  to  view  bears  isn't  increased  and  suggested  adding                                                               
"commercial" to the list of purposes (page 2, line 22).                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:10:17 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Mylius  what he thought about Mr.                                                               
Summers' suggestions.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
DICK  MYLIUS,  Director,  Division  of Mining,  Land  and  Water,                                                               
Department of  Natural Resources (DNR),  said he is  primarily on                                                               
line  to  answer  questions  since  this is  on  state  tide  and                                                               
submerged  lands.  But the  Sanctuary  would  be managed  by  the                                                               
Alaska Department  of Fish and  Game (ADF&G) and  those questions                                                               
could be answered by them.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to run that by the department.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:11:23 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  HUGGINS  asked  if  Mr. Summers  wanted  to  delete  the                                                               
language: "the department shall allow".                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI  noted that  his staff  just told  him that                                                               
Mr. Summers' suggestions would change  the statutory purpose that                                                               
has been established for over 20-plus years.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HUGGINS said  he is a consumptive guy and  it is valuable                                                               
to  have what  is  permitted as  well as  what  is prohibited  in                                                               
language because interpretations later on can get skewed.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  WIELECHOWSKI directed  people to  work on  language and                                                               
set SB 104 aside.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
SB 104 Bill Packet.pdf SRES 2/3/2010 3:30:00 PM
SB 104
SB 195 - Bill Packet.pdf SRES 2/3/2010 3:30:00 PM
SB 195