Legislature(2003 - 2004)
03/04/2004 01:35 PM Senate TRA
| Audio | Topic |
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 298-OFF-ROAD VEHICLE USE ON DALTON HIGHWAY
The committee took up SB 298.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER announced that he would like to pass this bill
out of committee today, and that several people were on-line to
testify.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS, as the bill's sponsor, began testifying
on SB 298 by referring to a map indicating where the Dalton
Highway crosses the Yukon River, between Stephens Village and
Rampart. Northbound, it goes to Coldfoot, Wiseman, through the
pass into the North Slope, Anaktuvuk Pass, over to the left
about 75 miles, and then into Deadhorse. The communities of
Alatna, Allakaket, Arctic Village, Beaver, Bettles, Coldfoot,
Evansville, Hughes, Rampart - which is on the south side of the
river - Tanana, Venetie, Wiseman, and Anaktuvuk Pass are within
100 miles of each side of the road. Most of the smaller areas
on each side of that road would never be accessed by opening
this up to recreational use. There are folks who would want to
go to Coldfoot or Wiseman occasionally.
SENATOR SEEKINS continued that the road is now paved almost all
the way to the bridge. He said he normally stops about 50 miles
out the road and then heads into the area toward Birch Creek,
just south of Livengood. This road has been open since the
Hickel Administration, and current access is not conducive to
use by the people of Alaska for any purpose other than to drive
down the road. Some people go up there on foot for bow hunting,
and he's not suggesting that this be changed. If vehicles are
parked too far off the road, officials can cite them for using
vehicles out of the direct right-of-way, into that 5-mile
corridor.
SENATOR SEEKINS continued that this has been brought to a head
by enforcement and harassment by the BLM. Trappers are being
threatened, and if they don't want to go out there by dogsled or
foot, they will have their 250 - 275 mile trap lines shut down.
He said he continues to look at what the possible impacts would
be. BLM has rules on how people can access BLM lands, and those
rules prevent unnecessary harm to the environment; nothing in SB
298 will alter that. "We just think that access is important,
especially when there are a number of RS 2477 accesses along
that road which, because of our own state law, are not
accessible for people of the state of Alaska. And that's just
not right." The most immediate harm is being done to those who
have longstanding trap lines there.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked if what was being considered was five
miles on each side.
SENATOR SEEKINS explained that there is a corridor in which a
motorized vehicle cannot be operated. That is, if you start on
one side, you can drive across with a snowmachine to the other
side, but you cannot start in the middle and go either way. At
one time that whole road was shut to private traffic, and was
opened during the Hickel administration. The restriction for
going off that road for any purpose was kept in place unless one
was a miner going to the mine, or in the oil industry. It's
time to consider access for the average Alaskan. Hunters travel
out there, but they fly out. Folks with an airplane can hunt,
but others can't unless "they want to walk." He said he was not
suggesting changing the bow-hunting corridor, which corresponds
to that, on either side of the pipeline.
SENATOR SEEKINS said that there was previously talk about the
Central Arctic caribou herd. That herd is at its highest number
in history; it's five or six times the size of what it was when
the road was first built. The road, bow hunters, and other
hunters have not had a deleting effect on that herd. The herd
that tends to come through the Anaktuvuk area is the Western
Arctic caribou herd, which presently consists of over 400,000
animals. The bag limit is five per day and the season is 365
days per year. There is no real problem being posed by people
who would want to go 75 miles with a snowmachine or an ATV (all-
terrain-vehicle) from the highway over to the Anaktuvuk area, to
harvest from the Western Arctic caribou herd.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked what the percentage of the take of these
herds was for subsistence.
SENATOR SEEKINS responded he didn't know for sure. He said the
villages mentioned previously have a total of 1,350 people. He
pointed out that Tanana is quite a ways and could never really
be accessed from the Haul Road. It's not a situation in which
recreation people are going to go out there. He said it takes
him a day from the river to get to Tanana in his jet boat, going
down river, to get there and back - hopefully before dark - and
that boat cruises at about 35 mph.
SENATOR OLSON referred to AS 19.40.210. He said the road was
built in the 1970s for the enhancement of the pipeline and there
was a restriction put in place. He questioned Senator Seekins'
knowledge of this restriction.
SENATOR SEEKINS replied that he thought it was "construction
traffic." He said that road was built to a different standard,
was highly traversed with trucks and construction machinery and
eventually, as people re-considered that restriction, the
restriction was removed.
SENATOR OLSON asked who, initially, was involved with
restricting the highway.
SENATOR SEEKINS responded that oil companies didn't want people
going up north, teamsters didn't want additional traffic for
their trucks. There were a lot of dire predictions that did not
prove to be true. Now a lot of people go up there, including
tourist buses, driving all the way to Prudhoe Bay. The dire
predictions of people dying and starving to death along the road
just never happened.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the Native community had any input.
SENATOR SEEKINS said it had been inferred that some folks didn't
want to have other folks intruding in an area they enjoyed
exclusive access to. He commented that he didn't have personal
knowledge as to whether this was true or not.
SENATOR OLSON said by Native community, he meant within the
state. Also, non-Native people living on the North Slope want
to have input on whether the road will be opened. He asked
about Senator Seekins' knowledge of this.
SENATOR SEEKINS said "not from personal knowledge." He
suggested that either Senator Olson or Senator Lincoln would
have a better recollection of this than he would have.
SENATOR OLSON referred to the previous comment about dire
predictions that haven't come true. He said one of the problems
is the security of the pipeline. After the Hickel
Administration, there was a major oil spill. Someone with a
mere 30-06 hunting rifle "poked a hole in it and oil went all
over the place."
SENATOR SEEKINS said this was south of the river.
SENATOR OLSON said it could have been south of the river, but
that was a relatively easy place to go and clean up; north of
the river would be very difficult to clean up.
SENTOR SEEKINS confirmed that common sense indicates that it
would be more difficult to clean up the further one is away from
a major population center. He added that people drive on that
road all the time who have guns in their cars, and can shoot out
of their trucks as easily as from a snowmachine. He stated, for
the record, "I really like Senator Olson."
SENATOR OLSON said that hunters have a fair amount of passion,
considering that you're dealing with guns.
SENATOR SEEKINS continued for the record, "I consider Senator
Olson to be a good friend and a gentleman. However, I speak
that way quite often with my brothers and sisters, and my wife."
SENTAOR OLSON asked if the Division of Homeland Security has
voiced an opinion on this issue.
SENATOR SEEKINS replied, "None whatsoever."
SENATOR OLSON said this bill would do away with AS 19.40.210 in
its entirety.
SENATOR SEEKINS said, "That's the one we're attacking, is that
correct? AS 19.40.210 is the one we're saying would be repealed
in its entirety. Is that correct?"
SENATOR OLSON asked why the statute was originally put in place.
SENATOR SEEKINS he wasn't here then and could be wrong, but it
was all new area up there and there were a lot of fears; the
easiest way to approach it was to shut it off.
SENATOR OLSON provided background information that early on
there was an understanding between the Native and non-Native
communities in the North Slope area that the Haul Road would not
be open to the public when it was initially contemplated, right
after the passage of the Land Claims Settlement Act. The people
involved have gotten older or are now gone. One of their
assurances was [concern for] the migration of caribou herd,
which is of paramount importance to the people of the North
Slope who are very concerned about interference with the
caribou. Because of that, people in that area are adamantly
opposed to opening up this right-of-way.
SENATOR LINCOLN stated that she would like to listen to people
who would like to testify before "grilling" the sponsor.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER proceeded with public testimony.
MR. PAUL CARR, Chief of Police for the North Slope Borough, said
he wanted to express concerns about the repeal of AS 19.40.210
in three different areas, and testified as follows:
The first is security. The repeal of AS 19.40.210
will increase accessibility and activity around the
TransAlaska Pipeline at a time when access to critical
infrastructure in this country is being tightened and
closely scrutinized. It is contrary to efforts taking
place across the nation to secure critical
infrastructure as a deterrence to potential acts of
terrorism.
At present, access is limited, hunting is limited, and
people who do not belong in the area are fairly
obvious to security patrols. I am concerned that
increased accessibility will impact our ability as a
state, and Alyeska's ability as the operator to
protect this asset.
My second concern is the potential impact that
increased access will have on public safety and
emergency services. At present, individuals trekking
into the pipeline/highway corridor do so on foot. As
a result, they remain fairly close to the roadway.
The further from the road a person ventures, the
greater the difficulty in responding to an emergency
situation they may find themselves in. At present,
short of responding by helicopter, which is extremely
expensive, we do not have the equipment to respond to
an incident more than walking distance off the
highway. Admittedly, such incidents have been rare,
but increased activity will increase our exposure to
these kinds of situations.
Finally, Alaska statutes and the administrative code
do not contain a description for a class of vehicles
known as "off-road vehicles." While it is clear what
AS 19.40.210 is restricting, it is not clear what type
of vehicles would be allowed if it is repealed. A
definition of what constitutes an off-road vehicle is
needed. Is the intent to grant access to off-road
capable four-wheel drive vehicles, trucks and
automobiles access or ATVs, snowmachines, and four-
wheelers? The lack of a clear definition leaves the
type of acceptable vehicle open for interpretation.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked how far down, on the pipeline road, he
monitors.
MR. CARR responded that the North Slope Borough monitors the
entire area inside the borough, which is all the way down to the
borough boundary, at Agadak Pass, he believes.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked, within that area, how often is he able to
stop folks who are speeding, dumping garbage, taking guns off
the road, or using vehicles that they shouldn't use.
MR. CARR said they don't actively patrol that area. Their
responses to the southern part of the borough boundary of
Deadhorse are done on an as-needed basis. The road is not
routinely patrolled.
SENATOR OLSON asked, since off-road vehicles are not defined,
does Mr. Carr anticipate four-wheel drive vehicles, trucks, and
the likes, going off the road when the ground is frozen, much
like they do with the ice roads around Nuiqsut and Atqasuk.
How often does he see this happening, or how much does he
anticipate it happening on the Dalton Highway?
MR. CARR responded that if the type of vehicles is not clearly
defined, if pick-up trucks and things like that are excluded,
there will be a pretty dramatic increase in the use of those
kinds of vehicles.
SENATOR OLSON asked what kind of problem that might cause, since
obviously there will be driving on the ice in Atqasuk and
Nuiqsut.
MR. CARR replied that often people who try to drive the ice
roads find themselves stranded. The weather changes, there are
snowdrifts; we often respond to stranded vehicle situations
between Nuiqsut and Deadhorse and other areas across the slope.
SENATOR OLSON said his real question was whether it was
anticipated that this would be harmful to the tundra.
MR. CARR said he expects that this possibility exists, depending
on the time of year the area is accessed, but others would be
better able to speak to tundra damage than he would.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY referred to tundra damage, and asked if
subsistence hunters use off-road vehicles.
MR. CARR responded that the subsistence hunters mainly use
snowmachines in the winter. During the summer, for example,
people in Anaktuvuk Pass have specific travel corridors they are
allowed to use, through the National Park Service, and certain
types of vehicles are authorized. That's all an attempt to
mitigate damage to the land.
SENATOR OLSON asked if there was anybody testifying from the
Gateways of the Arctic National Park.
SENATOR SEEKINS said no, but the Gateways of the Arctic National
Park have restrictions of their own that they feel are
appropriate.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER stated that quite a few people wanted to
testify and testimony should be limited to 2 minutes.
MR. PAUL HOGAN, member of the North Slope Borough Assembly
testified as follows:
The public testimony given by our North Slope Borough
Wildlife Director and North Slope Borough PSO Director
and Dr. Brian Pearson and others, should be enough to
let you folks know that the residents of the North
Slope Borough are totally against this bill. And the
intent of this bill would disrupt the residents of my
district and the residents of the North Slope Borough
as a whole. The five-mile corridor was put in place
during the time of the pipeline construction and was
an ideal way for a commitment to protect our interests
along the pipeline. At that time it was called the
Anaktuvuk Pass Corridor. I have been involved in many
ways insuring that the pipeline doesn't affect our
residents. The bill would bring an ongoing
destruction between the urban state residents and the
rural residents. This bill would only benefit the
residents out of the North Slope Borough. With the
outgoing funds being received for Homeland Security
this bill would not benefit the state on getting
future funding from the Homeland Security. The
residents of the North Slope Borough have and are
continuing the subsistence lifestyle near the corridor
and this bill would affect us in our yearly winter
fur-bearing trapping. It would also disrupt Central
Arctic caribou herds [indisc.] and migrating herds
during that spring and fall season. My great
grandfather and mother had spent many years along the
Anakin (ph) Pass. And my father and others had spent
many summers along the Anakin Pass and bring us old
memories of these areas. Preservation and security is
needed along the pipeline and must continue.
SENATOR LINCOLN referred to the sponsor's earlier comment that
the Central Arctic caribou herd and the Western Arctic caribou
herd as being plentiful, safe, and not a problem. Yet she heard
Mr. Hogan say that there is concern for the Central Arctic
caribou herd. She asked Mr. Hogan for a response to the
sponsor's statement.
MR. HOGAN responded that from many years of hunting the Central
Arctic caribou herd and in observing them, he has seen
disruption not too far from the pipeline. He continued:
By the time they went into the Brooks Range, they were
well over 90 miles west of Anaktuvuk by the time they
finally went into the valleys of the Brooks Range.
Disruption of our subsistence way of lifestyle on the
caribou herds is very sensitive, especially during the
months of August and September and October. If we
were to get hunting increased along the pipeline I'm
pretty sure they're going to move either east or west
from the pipeline so years of watching these herds
after the pipeline was built, that herd decreased
drastically. We weren't getting any herds from
[indisc.] for a long time.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked what caused that herd to decrease
originally.
MR. HOGAN responded that one thing was the pipeline being built.
It took years for it to pick back up. Some season we
were getting them from the northeast side of the
valley, from the pipeline direction. It took being
involved in the Fish and Game committee up here, it
took me well over 10 years from the state just to get
the central Arctic caribou studies. It took years and
years just to get what was public information for us
up here. And I finally got one of those studies about
two years ago. It remained confidential to the
residents up here for a long time.
SENATOR OLSON asked where the Central Arctic herd has calving
grounds in relationship to the highway.
MR. HOGAN replied that the North Slope Borough believes the
calving ground is southwest of the Prudhoe Bay area. The last
couple of years they've been watching the Kuparak to see what's
happening in those areas. Every time those herds get in the
industrial area, they don't want to move any further eastward.
SENATOR OLSON noted that they've heard about the Central and
Western Arctic herds and asked, "What's going on with the
populations of the Teshekpuk herd?"
MR. HOGAN responded that it varies.
There's a whole bunch that also wanders right there in
the NPR-A. Certain years we'll get them to come
through here. When they do that they'll winter about
40 to 50 miles south of the village area. When they
winter there, that's a real ideal place for our
residents to go to hunt the caribous during the
winter. But [indisc.] they're finally starting to
open up their studies to the residents here. One of
the things that we do in terms of the spring season,
probably starting this month right on through May, we
go over to that Iktamuk (ph) Valley which is about 10
miles west of the pipeline. We do a lot of ice
fishing there, so we get a lot of traffic going
through the foothills up there, going to that
designation, and spring season is always pretty
important for us for ice fishing in that area, if not
for the fur bearing animals up north on the foothills.
SENATOR OLSON asked where the calving area is for the Porcupine
Herd.
MR. HOGAN:
Porcupine herd? I would leave that up to the North
Slope Borough Wildlife, Charlie Brower and Quick
George and his excellent staff that keep us informed
up here.
MR. MIKE BILLBE thanked Senator Seekins for introducing this
bill. He stated that he spent about 12 years up along the
Dalton Highway and began his testimony by reading from Sec.
19.40.210 as follows:
Prohibition of off-road vehicles. Off-road vehicles
are prohibited on land within five miles of the right-
of-way of the highway. However, this prohibition does
not apply to (1) off-road vehicles necessary for oil
and gas exploration, development, production, or
transportation; (2) a person who holds a mining claim
in the vicinity of the highway and who must use land
within five miles of the right-of-way of the highway
to gain access to the mining claim.
MR. BILLBE stated this is the law that's posted on the signs
along the Dalton Highway and provided the following testimony:
I would like to bring it to the attention of this
group that the Dalton is 417 miles long and from mile
1 at Livengood to mile 56 at the Yukon River is state
land on both sides of the road. From mile 56 at the
Yukon River to mile 302 at Slope Mountain, that is
public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). Yes that is right. The state has closed 246
miles of non-state land. But the first 56 miles of
the Dalton Highway is state land, the state does not
seem to manage that at all. There is only one
significant trail in that area. If you'd like to go
look at it, it's at Hess Creek. That's the only
impact that I've seen up there from off-road vehicles,
and that's in 56 miles.
I am confused why is the land closed to some people
and yet not others? If one lives outside of the
corridor they can drive through it. If the people who
live in Wiseman can operate snowmachines there, but if
we the public want to go use public land we are told
no it's closed. That is not a 10-mile strip of land
that is northern Alaska from the Yukon River north.
Yes, one can start at the Yukon River and go 5 miles
out and then head north but how much gas can you take
to take a northern trip? No you can't come into
Coldfoot for fuel.
TAPE 04-09, SIDE B
MR. BILLBE continued:
Not only does this closure impact you and I, but what
kind of businesses can it impact at Coldfoot for
winter recreation? Last year there was 3 feet of good
snow on public land in the Coldfoot area and none in
Fairbanks in the early part of the winter. Yet people
had to drive down to Cantwell or Summit to recreate.
This law has been looked at several times in the last
20 years and I do not see where there has ever been a
penalty written into this law. Why is that? You may
ask if there is no penalty then why is this a big
deal? Well BLM has assimilated the state ATV
regulations nationwide and they do enforce state
regulations under 43 C.F.R 8341. Would the public
land be closed if the state law were repealed? Well
snowmachine are used up there and ....
CO-CHAIR WAGONER informed Mr. Billbe that he was over the 2-
minute limit and asked him to summarize his testimony.
MR. BILLBE said he would submit the rest of his testimony in
writing. He concluded by stating that the public land is closed
by a state and there are security issues; people can
recreationally shoot there as long as they're not hunting. He's
heard the chief of police say that people don't belong on public
land. He said he's confused; he's a public land user, and he
wants to use the federally administered land.
2:30 p.m.
MS. ROSEMARY AHTUANGORUAK testified via teleconference from
Barrow as follows:
My name is Rosemary Ahtuangoruak, I live in Nuiqsut
outside of Prudhoe Bay. My family and I live a
traditional lifestyle relying on our traditional
subsistence resources. We hunt birds, caribou, moose,
musk ox, bear, wolves, wolverine, whale, fish, and
collect greens and berries. We have chosen to try to
raise our children as our elders taught us to provide
for our family from the land, sea, and air around us.
We base our daily lives preparing for the seasons that
have kept our cultures, traditions alive. We have
grown in two worlds, as parents exposed us to life in
Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Seattle and rural village
life.
The changes to us would be enormously negative with
the opening of these areas along the Dalton Highway to
off-road vehicles. Our resources are migratory and
traverse these areas. The changes to their actions
along this route jeopardize the successful reaching to
our areas and future generations of these resources.
Open use of these areas to off-road vehicles is like
asking you to garden or shop in the mall with everyone
but you using scooters to shop or garden. How would
you feel to try to tend to your needs with this
activity occurring? Now add these scooters along with
the truck routes to bring your supplies to you. The
increased interactions will cause delays to your
supplies getting to you. Now add gates that open only
once a year to get those supplies to you. Some would
not make it.
For us to not get our resources, we go without them.
We have increased cost to western goods due to the
costs of shipping. We cannot pay the high cost to eat
these foods at the level we eat traditional foods.
Our activity in these areas are to protect our
resources to continue to sustain our families to the
future. We curtail actions during seasons of
migration and hibernation to encourage the success of
the reproductions. Our actions are based on
generations of knowledge based on starvation, illness,
and death. We teach our children as we have been
taught. We are proactive to educating our future
generations. Our strength of our education is based
on our elders' losses and suffering.
People coming to the area will not have the protection
and use of the area like we do. They would have to be
educated as we were to prevent the negative
interactions. We are working to ensure our resources
return and they are using the area differently than
what is currently occurring.
We are concerned about the lack of emergency services
to the area. Right now the service sites for the
pipeline are the only area and that is not planned to
meet these demands that would be placed upon them.
The concerns for safety to the pipeline are very
concerning to us. There is only one state trooper
along the route and there is not adequate enforcement
of the current regulations. These changes will need
to change the federal management regulations for
subsistence as a reaction to these actions. We have
to react to the foreseen loss of resources if this
passes.
Our community has seen loss of resources due to
activities that open the Haul Road to restricted use
access for hunters. We went without resources during
these times. It is a very strong social impact that
occurs to our community with the social ills
increasing when we don't have traditional access to
our resources. Those kind of horrors we do not want
to continue see happening to our future.
MS. AHTUANGORUAK added that she would submit the rest of her
testimony in writing, since she wasn't able to include it
because of the time limitation.
MS. TAQULIK HEPA, a lifelong resident of the North Slope who has
worked for the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife
Management since 1991, testified as follows:
One of my primary responsibilities has been to
coordinate a project that documents the level of
subsistence harvested animals and identify areas
important to subsistence uses for each of the 8 North
Slope communities.
I am opposed to SB 298, which repeals the ban on uses
of off-road vehicles within five miles of the James
Dalton Highway.
I have a number of concerns that I would like to
briefly bring to your attention. My first concern is
the impacts this bill will have on subsistence uses in
Game Management Unit 26, particularly for the
communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Nuiqsut, and to some
degree Kaktovik. There is no doubt with the passing
of this bill, there will be a dramatic increase in the
number of people who use the Dalton Highway either for
hunting and/or for recreation uses, and will provide
an opportunity for easy access to areas that are
important to the residents or the North Slope for
subsistence activities. There is bound to be
increasing conflicts between sport hunters and local
subsistence users, as an example the competition
between sport and subsistence hunters for resources
such as caribou, furbearers, moose and musk ox.
One of my biggest concerns is that with an increase in
hunting activity and motorized traffic to the west of
the highway, this will have a devastating impact on
the fall migration of caribou through Anaktuvuk Pass.
The Nunamiut have a lifestyle that is heavily
dependant on the subsistence harvest of terrestrial
mammals, with caribou being the single most important
resource. Harvest numbers range between 311 caribou
to 601 between 1995 to present. When the fall caribou
migration through Anaktuvuk Pass is poor, this
community is confronted with a serious problem. Other
resources available such as Dall sheep, moose, and
musk ox are so heavily regulated that the community,
their catch, does not meet their nutritional need for
fresh meat to last throughout the winter.
I've also heard concerns from Nuiqsut residents about
interactions with sport hunters or recreational users
on the Colville. In one case, hunters from Nuiqsut
were pursuing caribou when they were harassed by sport
hunters in an aircraft scouting for bull caribou. The
caribou were spooked and scattered before the hunters
were able to harvest what they needed. This type of
negative interaction is only going to increase, with
the passage of the bill.
And how and who are the residents of the North Slope
supposed to adequately express their concerns? There
is only one state area biologist living on the North
Slope, who is stationed out of Barrow, and the state's
local fish and game advisory council of the North
Slope have been inactive since before 1990. We've
initiated discussions to reactivate the two advisory
councils. The response we have received is that it is
very unlikely that the state's board section will
reactivate them due to the state's current budget
situation.
We must all remember the original intent of the Haul
Road. It was only supposed to be used for industrial
purposes. The people of the North Slope were told at
that time that this was how our resources and
activities were going to be protected, by limiting its
use to industrial purposes. I've recently heard the
same type of comment made in a public meeting in
Nuiqsut last July about DOT's plan to extend the spine
road into NPR-A. It seems as if promises are being
broken again, and on and on.
SENATOR LINCOLN referred to Ms. Hepa's comments about there not
being enough harvest for the subsistence users and mentioned
that according to the sponsor's statement, most of the hunters
fly out and there is plenty of caribou for people to use,
including for those using off-road vehicles. She asked for her
response.
MS. HEPA replied that the populations of caribou herd on the
North Slope are doing fine.
I don't think Senator Seekins realizes the impacts
off-road vehicles will have on the resources. For
example, people using snowmachines from the Dalton
Highway during the fall time and going west toward
Anaktuvuk Pass will deflect the caribou from into the
pass. I'm very concerned about that because
traditionally the people of Anaktuvuk Pass allow the
[indisc.] of caribou to come through their pass before
they harvest without any disturbance. And this
insures that the rest of the caribou herd will follow.
With people out there using snowmachines and other
types of transportation, [they] are going to divert
the caribou from coming through the Pass. Even though
there may be a lot of caribou there are going to be
impacts for people to access the caribou or for the
caribou to come in their normal route.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she appreciated that testimony because she,
as a neighboring Athabaskan, also feels that the first caribou
herd coming through has to pass safely, otherwise it could
change the migration pattern.
MR. BILL LEARY, representing the Snowmachine Club, Fairbanks
Snow Travelers, and the Fairbanks Trailblazers (as Trailblazers
also include ATVs), and also with the Alaska State Snowmobile
Association, expressed support of SB 298. He stated this was
public land and the beauty should be enjoyed by photographers,
tourists, families, and so forth. He said he heard Mr. Peterson
state that ATVs were tearing up trails. He countered this by
noting that the ground pressure on an ATV is very light; there
are big fat high-floatation tires. They weigh very little and
do not tear up terrain unless forced into a certain path.
SENATOR LINCOLN referred to the previous testimony, yet Mr.
Leary alluded to going on tours and taking photographs. She
said she thought it was wonderful for families to get out and do
things like that. She asked if the snowmachine clubs and ATV
users were also hunters.
MR. LEARY said he imagined that probably one client would be a
hunter. He said the winters are so long, and it is good to get
out snow machining to enjoy this beautiful country.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she travels from Fairbanks to the bridge on
a regular basis and she knows it's a long haul. If that were
opened up, what percentage of the snowmachine clubs would use
that?
MR. LEARY responded that it would be close to 100 percent, and
there are other people who aren't in clubs, as well as tourists,
such as the Japanese.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked what he envisioned regarding taking
tourists up there, noting that in winter there are short days;
she asked if this would this include overnight lodging along the
way.
MR. LEARY said there are many options such as lodging in
Coldfoot, or staying in tents. He added that snowmachining in
the dark at night is more mysterious; February, March, and April
can be the best snowmachining anywhere.
MR. GEOFF CARROLL mentioned that he had been a Department of
Fish and Game biologist for 13 years in the area, and testified
from Barrow as follows:
There are several reasons that repealing the statute
that prohibits the use of ORVs in the Dalton Highway
Corridor would be a very bad idea.
One reason, repealing the statute would throw wildlife
regulations in Game Management Unit 26B into disarray.
Nearly all of the hunts in Unit 26B are designed
around the fact that there is limited access of
hunters from the Corridor. Some regulations would
need to be rewritten and some hunts would be nearly
impossible to conduct. For instance, we have
registration hunts for musk oxen and sheep that I
don't think we could use with the prospect of 15 or 20
hunters on snowmachines lined up on the Haul Road on
opening day. Initially, subsistence hunters will be
the most negatively affected and, if it is shown that
the subsistence need cannot be met, we will be forced
into t Tier II situation, which will exclude hunters
that don't have a history of hunting in the area.
Second, there'd be an impact on wildlife. Access of
ORVs to the area in the winter will results in caribou
and musk oxen being run during the time of the year
when they are supposed to be sedentary [by] people
just wanting to take a closer look at the musk oxen,
and you know they're going to run right up there on
their snowmachines.
Another issue is the Central Arctic herd has been used
as a test herd for experiments on the impact of oil
development on caribou. If the hunting pressure is
suddenly changed, it will affect results of ongoing
and future studies.
Enforcement demand and expenses for both traffic and
wildlife issues will increase. With more hunters
spread over a larger area, there will be a need for
more wildlife enforcement. With more traffic and more
accidents there will be more need for road patrolmen
and emergency services. The increased traffic,
particularly people unloading ORVs along the road,
will increase hazards for truckers. Pullouts will
need to be built or it will create a very hazardous
situation. All of these things be expensive and don't
make much sense at a time when the state can't seem to
afford to provide enough funding for basic services
like education.
Another very important issue is honor. I think the
state should honor the promises it made when decisions
were being made as to whether the Haul Road would be
built or not. North Slope people were assured that
the road would not be used to transport excessive
numbers of people to their lands. When the road was
opened to the public it was deemed necessary to
protect wildlife resources by not allowing people to
use ORVs to access the land surrounding the Haul Road.
That need has not changed. This nation has a long but
not very honorable history of making deals with local
people, taking their land and resources, and then
breaking the deals. However, I think that our state
can do better than that and honor our promises to
limit access to the North Slope lands and minimize the
impact on the land, the wildlife, and the people of
the North Slope by continuing the statute that
prohibits the use of ORVs in the Dalton Highway
Corridor. I have more [testimony] but I'll cut off
here.
SENATOR OLSON asked if there was any documentation pertaining to
the promises given in the 1970s when there was Native input as
to whether the road should be built, and what restrictions would
remain in place.
MR. CARROLL said he did not have that documentation in hand but
it could be researched. He added that this was a well-known
understanding and "kind of a matter of honor."
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked Mr. Carroll if he was representing
himself or the department.
MR. CARROLL confirmed that he was speaking for himself.
MR. TOM BURGESS, speaking for the Office of Homeland Security,
State of Alaska, asked that prudent management of that corridor
be considered. He said he was speaking purely from the point of
view of the state's economic health and for purposes of national
defense, and that the feeling is that management of the corridor
should reflect the threat level established by the governor and
his anti-terrorism and disaster cabinet.
SENATOR OLSON asked if he was speaking in favor or not in favor
of the bill.
MR. BURGESS responded that they are not in favor of a total lift
of the restrictions on that corridor.
SENATOR OLSON asked him to be more specific as to the reasons.
MR. BURGESS said it would create a marginal increase in
vulnerability simply through access. It's hard to measure how
much increased vulnerability would be there, but the mere
increase of activity raises the opportunity for incidents to
occur.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked for Mr. Burgess's title.
MR. BURGESS said he was the Deputy Director for Homeland
Security and Emergency Services, State of Alaska.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if he was speaking on behalf of the
director and received confirmation that this was so. She asked
him to explain what it means to be opposed to the total lift of
restrictions.
MR. BURGESS replied that there are threat levels in Homeland
Security such as green, blue, orange, red, and so forth, and the
feeling is that it is necessary to protect the pipeline in the
state's interest and the national interest, and some form of
restriction should be in place in that corridor, depending on
the threat level, once it's been determined through intelligence
processes.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if under the legislation as written, an
ORV could go within five miles of the right-of-way. She asked
if his concerns were about the whole pipeline from Prudhoe to
Valdez.
MR. BURGESS said yes, the concern was for the pipeline, but the
subject at hand was just from the Yukon River to Deadhorse. The
more access there is to the Pipeline, the more opportunities
there are for injuries to occur either from accidents or
intentional acts such as the shooting several years ago.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if this bill passes, what would he need to
do to maintain security under Homeland Security.
MR. BURGESS said this is a pretty long distance and he doesn't
believe they have the resources to protect the entire pipeline
right now. In conditions of orange and above, they generally
post a checkpoint at the Yukon River Bridge in attempts to
screen the traffic going up and down that corridor. With the
state's current resources, that's about all that can be done.
2:53 p.m.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if additional resources were needed to
maintain security, would he be coming to the state for those
resources.
MR. BURGESS replied that they did not anticipate asking for
additional resources right now, as the mission is being
accomplished by the National Guard, the Alaska State Troopers,
and the ADF&G. It's doubtful that the state could afford to
significantly increase the amount of resources available to
secure that particular zone from the Yukon River to Deadhorse.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked, "When you set up these screenings at the
bridge and someone drives through, if they had a snowmachine
trailer on the back of their truck, you'd screen that at the
same time that you would their truck?"
MR. BURGESS responded, "We have established check point
procedures when we set those up, such as there on the Dalton
Highway, Yukon River Bridge. The procedures call for asking the
occupant of the vehicle to volunteer to an inspection and then
contingent upon passage further up the highway. I would say to
you that they would look over the snowmachine and they might ask
them to open a container or an enclosure on the snowmachine but
I think that would be the extent of the inspection."
SENATOR SEEKINS asked, "So there's no greater threat from a
snowmachine than there is from a pick-up truck as long as you've
inspected them both."
MR. BURGESS replied, "Yes sir."
SENATOR SEEKINS said that more than half the pipeline is below
the river than above the river, and asked, "You've driven up the
Haul Road haven't you?"
MR. BURGESS said, "Yes sir."
SENATOR SEEKINS said, "Ninety percent of the time the Pipeline
is in view of the Haul Road and someone with a pick-up truck
could go drive right over underneath it without anybody stopping
them. Isn't that correct?"
MR. BURGESS said, "That's correct sir."
SENATOR SEEKINS asked, "Why would, if someone were going to
damage the Pipeline, would they want to do it by getting out of
their truck that they could drive right underneath the Pipe and
get on their snowmachine in order to get underneath the Pipe?"
MR. BURGESS responded, "We hadn't viewed it exclusively as a
snowmachine issue. We would think it would be all forms of off-
road vehicles."
SENATOR SEEKINS said, "To get to the Pipeline from the road, I
mean, my wife drives a Lincoln Navigator and she could do it in
most of those places. It would seem to me that that road, just
the vehicular traffic up and down that road would constitute any
kind of a threat, that being able to use an off-road vehicle to
get to your trap line wouldn't be any greater threat than that.
The number of people that you have up there, if you have that
checkpoint and you've screened them, in order to go any further,
you've screened everything that they have in their possession.
Am I right in assuming that?"
MR. BURGESS said, "Yes sir. During those periods when we set up
the checkpoints we screen the entire vehicle."
SENATOR SEEKINS said, "But you can't stop an airplane that flew
from a private airfield someplace north. Am I correct on that?"
MR. BURGESS said, "Yes sir."
SENATOR SEEKINS said he understands the need for security and he
wasn't trying to be belligerent but was saying that if someone
were to try to deliberately harm the Pipeline north, they
probably would not be somebody who is going out for an afternoon
of snow machining up there.
MR. MIKE TINKER, Chairman of the Fairbanks Fish and Game
Advisory Committee, reported that the Board of Game that morning
raised the population objective for the Chesana (ph) caribou
herd to 32,000 animals, and set the harvest objective at 2,000.
The annual harvest over the last five years has been between 435
and 470 animals of that herd, some of those in the far north of
their range, and over by Nuiqsut, and the others coming from
along the corridor, taken under the [indisc.] bull-hunting
regulations. Those are increases from the previous population
objective of 20,000 and the previous harvest objective around
1,000. His point was that that caribou herd is in very good
shape and has been recognized as able to withstand some
additional harvest. The Central Arctic caribou herd, according
to all of the previous testimony, and expertise from the board,
does not mix a lot with the Western Arctic herd, and does not
mix much with the Chuck buck herd which is also used by the
Nuiqsut folks. The fears of the Alaskans who live in Anaktuvuk
Pass and those places are perceived more than actual.
MR. TINKER continued that it bothers him when Alaskans don't
want other Alaskans sharing the publicly owned resources. "We
are caring people here in Fairbanks and if we would like to come
up and hunt caribou, we would operate in ways that are unlike
most of the North Slope residents." That is, if he were to go
caribou hunting, he would probably be interested in staying as
close to the outside edge of that five-mile corridor as he
could, just from an efficiency standpoint. He mentioned going
for a short period of time, snow machining across that corridor,
getting outside where it was legal to harvest, and then going
back home. He said he wasn't interested in going 75 miles along
the corridor and then dropping down to Anaktuvuk Pass or all the
way up to Nuiqsut or toward Kaktovik; it just wouldn't happen.
That might happen under some organized expedition like Mr. Leary
talked about.
MR. TINKER summarized by saying the land managers at BLM and DNR
can easily handle the conditions under which off-road vehicles
get authorization. "Those are the practical, physical natures
and that's where I would like you to go with your decision-
making process, and try to stay away from all of these perceived
problems."
MS. DOREEN LAMPE, with the North Star Borough Planning
Department, a land officer and a prior community planner,
testified that in 1999 the planning department issued a
publication entitled, "Minimum Adequate Public Facilities and
Services for the Dalton Highway from Coldfoot to Deadhorse."
She read a few pages from the final report of standards and
implementing responsibility for the North Slope Borough on the
Dalton Highway, Chapter 7, Land Use Plans and Regulations
Related to Highway Services and Facilities:
[Borough Land Management Regulations, page 106:]
The Borough has also initiated Borough-wide land use
controls to implement the comprehensive plan. The
Borough Land Management Regulations (LMR), contained
in Title 19 of the Borough code established
Transportation Corridor zoning district for uses along
the highway. The purpose of this district is to
provide a strip of land to accommodate linear
transportation facilities such as roads and pipelines.
The Transportation Corridor district is to ensure that
development complies with all Borough policies
including policies that apply specifically to
transportation corridors. All of the officially-
designated development nodes are zoned by the Borough.
Most types of activities require Borough permitting
approval.
[Municipal Land Entitlements, page 107:]
Alaska Statute Title 29 establishes a land entitlement
for Alaskan municipalities. The North Slope Borough
has an entitlement of 89,000 acres. In 1990, the
Borough selected state land at the designated nodes:
Deadhorse (1,670 acres), north of Happy Valley (5,90-
acres), and Franklin Bluffs (2,299 acres). In 1994,
the ADOT&PF applied for an Interagency Land Management
Agreement (ILMA), which is a transfer of land
management authority at Happy Valley. The
adjudication of the Borough selections and the ADOT/PF
request is still under review by ADNR.
The ownership of the nodes will be important, as the
landowner will be in the primary position to make
decisions about which uses will occur and where they
will locate. All of the node areas are large (most
are over a square mile) but each one has a smaller key
developed area, usually adjacent to the airstrip.
Ownership of the heart of the nodes, land around the
air facilities, gravel pads and along the access roads
is especially important in determining future uses and
facilities.
MS. LAMPE concluded by saying she doesn't understand why the
state continually supports everybody and encourages use of all
the land and is always against the North Slope Borough and
doesn't even honor the North Slope Borough's municipal land
selections in over 30 years.
MR. MATT ROBUS, Director of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game, said he was available to answer
questions.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if there was a fiscal note.
MR. ROBUS said he did not have a fiscal note to report at this
time. He said he was ready to talk about the management tools
that the department, the Board of Game and the Board of
Fisheries could use in managing additional access that would
result from this bill.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked how the fish and game would be managed
with the opening up of this vast area.
MR. ROBUS replied that depends on what the results were from any
action taken to repeal this prohibition on ORVs and the extent
to which pressure on wildlife or fish resources increased. Both
Boards have the power to take information provided by the
department regarding how harvest pressure is affecting
populations, and take actions that can range anywhere from
restrictions on access - such as what's in the five mile
corridor, either side of the road at present for the purpose of
hunting - to much milder types of tools such as changing bag
limits or changing season dates where it can be ensured that the
affordable amount of harvest won't be exceeded, so that those
populations would continue to do well.
SENATOR OLSON asked if he was saying that a plan is not
currently in place, should this repeal of the statute go
forward.
MR. ROBUS replied that season and bag limits are already in
place. What would happen is that through reporting of the
harvest, and monitoring by staff, the department would report
any recommendations for changes to the regulations to the
Boards, should those be necessary. Similarly, advisory
committees and members of the public have the same opportunity
to put recommendations to the Boards of Game and Fisheries if it
is felt that adjustments need to be made. There is no plan per
se, but there is certainly a mechanism on both the wildlife and
the fisheries side to deal with any management issues that may
come up as a result of this.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if he was saying that they would use the
same process that is already used on these lands and used on
other public lands.
MR. ROBUS confirmed this was correct. He added that the
department has emergency order authority in case closures are
necessary.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she was a little confused. She said the
sponsor had indicated that to get to those areas one would have
to fly or walk in. "Now, to open up this tremendous area for
off-road vehicles, when you say 'observation' I am still puzzled
- and I guess Finance will have to take it up - that your
department will observe what's going on here and then take
action. "How are you going to do that with the personnel that's
on hand right now?"
MR. ROBUS said perhaps his wording had been misleading. He
explained that throughout the state most of the department's
observing of hunting seasons and estimation of harvest pressure
is not through direct observation, but rather through indirect
means such as reporting on harvest tickets and permits and so
forth. This builds a picture of how harvest pressure changes
and how modes of access change while, at the same time,
biologists are responsible for keeping track of how different
wildlife populations are doing. Based on those two sets of
data, the department arrives at the best recommendation for the
Board of Game to consider regarding regulation changes. He said
he didn't mean that "we'd be out there orbiting overhead the
whole time but we would in a fairly short time follow-up on
changes and how hunts are conducted and how many people are
accessing particular populations."
SENATOR LINCOLN asked how this would be done with the existing
staff.
MR. ROBUS responded that much of the current operation was based
on prioritization, as there is far more to do in terms of
management and research than staff can undertake in any given
year. "We would have to kind of move the chess pieces around on
the board to deal with changes of this sort that are put into
place."
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if he anticipates having to move chess
pieces around.
MR. ROBUS said metaphorically speaking, probably some of this
would have to be done. He said he imagined that the area
biologists responsible for game management units surrounding the
Haul Road would have to pay closer attention to access off of
the Haul Road, if for no other reason, to try to detect whether
substantial differences are resulting from the change in the
law.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if he agreed with earlier testimony
indicating that people could change the migration pattern of the
caribou herd.
TAPE 04-10, SIDE A
MR. ROBUS responded that he was not a caribou biologist but has
repeatedly heard that concern in many different parts of the
state when either different user groups or development projects
or similar types of [indisc.] cause changes in the ranges or
migratory corridors for caribou herds. He said he didn't know
enough about the Central Arctic herd or its movements to give a
professional analysis, but could say that it is an often-heard
concern of subsistence users and people living in remote
villages.
SENATOR OLSON asked if Mr. Robus was a biologist and received
confirmation that he was trained as a biologist. He referred to
the testimony from the biologist from the North Slope engaged
with the caribou and the musk oxen herd who expressed opposition
to the bill, and asked Mr. Robus if he disagreed with that
practical, on-site experience.
MR. ROBUS responded that the previous testifier gave personal
testimony and expressed concerns of North Slope residents about
potential for access from the Haul Road to the corridor. The
department does not have a position on this bill. He stated his
purpose was to talk about the management tools the department
has available through the Board system, to manage the effects of
changes like this.
SENATOR OLSON stated the sponsor of this bill has pointed out in
a number of other bills that ADF&G has been close to mismanaging
the state's resources if one looks at the out of control
predator populations, such as bears and wolves; this certainly
has had a negative affect on the moose population and nothing
has been done until the recent past, thanks to the sponsor of
this bill. He said, "It's almost too little too late from the
action we've seen by ADF&G. Is that an unfair characterization
of your department?"
MR. ROBUS responded that he would respectfully say that the
department has done the best it can, operating within the laws
and regulations that exist. He pointed out that while it's a
bit unrelated, the department is presently engaged in two
predator-control projects for the first time in well over a
decade.
SENATOR OLSON said the same has gone on at the other end of the
spectrum whereby the caribou population has pretty much
exploded. He quoted the Western Arctic caribou herd at 400,000,
saying he understood that it is closer to 500,000 and such a
large population could be in danger of a crash. It has
decimated the reindeer herds on the Seward Peninsula. There
were 14 herds and now there are 2. He asked if this was Mr.
Robus's understanding.
MR. ROBUS replied that he was not aware of the current situation
of the reindeer industry, although he knows that the Western
Arctic caribou herd's migrations have been a problem for many
years. The Western Arctic herd is still the largest herd in the
state and is at the high end of what the range can probably
carry. The department biologists have been watching that
situation for years and that's why the Board of Game has such a
liberal bag limit. Not only is that an important herd for food,
but it makes a lot of sense to crop as many animals out of that
herd when it's at the high end.
SENATOR OLSON said being a reindeer herder, and owning reindeer
himself, he noted the exploding population has had a negative
effect on the herders.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY said he understood that Senator Olson will,
with the sponsor, address a committee substitute.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he has agreed to sit down with the Senator
who represents the North Slope Borough to take a look at some of
the concerns and to look at other alternatives. He said as the
sponsor he doesn't want to force anything down anyone's throat,
but these are public lands and there are Alaskans who believe
they are being illegitimately locked out of public lands. He
said he wanted to look at those concerns from both sides, and
that he was willing to sit down and talk about that with the
minority members who have some concerns. He said that hopefully
in the time that the bill goes from this committee to Finance, a
CS could be crafted that would allay some concerns that have
been addressed.
SENATOR OLSON asked if anybody from the oil company or Alyeska
Pipeline would be testifying either for or against this bill.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER said he hadn't seen anybody on the list.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he had told them early on about this bill.
SENATOR OLSON said in reviewing testimony given, this reminds
him of the ANWR situation whereby Alaskans who want to open up
ANWR are being overruled by those living outside of the state,
and that is reprehensible and somewhat offensive. All the
testimony heard from people who come from the North Slope,
Native and non-Native, professional and not professional, has
been against this bill. A number of people from outside the
area are the ones in favor of this bill. He said he would have
to vote against this bill.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he'd like to make it clear for the record
that he thinks that most of the criticism directed at the
department is rightfully directed towards the administration
further up the chain. There have been administrations that were
not interested in managing, but in monitoring wildlife. He said
he has great empathy for those members who are employees of the
state who are also eager to manage wildlife but are prohibited
from doing so by political decisions.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she didn't quite understand this
discussion. She thought the Senator was asking that this be
held in committee to work out a potential amendment because the
area involves a considerable distance (178 miles) from the
bridge and affects surrounding communities. She said she would
have a great problem if the bill moves out of committee without
viewing an amendment, which is rightfully this committee's, not
Finance's, to address.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER suggested that the sponsor get together with
Senator Olson. He said he had some questions of the sponsor as
well. He said this involves a lot of land and maybe there was
some middle ground for everybody.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY said there is currently no fiscal note, and one
should probably be addressed in Finance.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he agreed with that but he didn't think
that there would be a huge cost to allow a small number of
people to go up there.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER said he didn't think this would change the way
ADF&G or the state troopers manage things. He said the bill
would be held in committee until Tuesday.
There being no further business to come before the committee, he
adjourned the meeting at 3:28 p.m.
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