Legislature(1993 - 1994)
04/15/1994 04:12 PM Senate RES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE RESOURCES COMMITTEE
April 15, 1994
4:12 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Miller, Chairman
Senator Loren Leman, Vice Chairman
Senator Al Adams
Senator Dave Donley
Senator Fred Zharoff
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Steve Frank
Senator Drue Pearce
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Robin Taylor
Senator George Jacko
Representative Carl Moses
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Confirmation Hearing: Board of Fisheries Appointments: Kay
Andrew, Dick Bower, and Larry Engel
PREVIOUS ACTION
N/A
WITNESS REGISTER
Larry Engel, Nominee
P.O. Box 197
Palmer, Ak. 99645
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented briefly on his qualifications.
Dick Bower
P.O. Box 3662
Soldotna, Ak. 99669
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on his background.
Kay Andrew, Nominee
P.O. Box 7211
Ketchikan, Ak. 99901
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented briefly on her philosophy.
Leslie Smith
Kodiak Island Salmon Working Group
P.O. Box 2922
Kodiak, Ak. 99615
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Jeff Parker
Alaska Sportfishing Association and Trout Unlimited
1201 Hyder
Anchorage, Ak. 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and supported Larry Engel
and Dick Bower.
Dan Albrecht, Executive Director
Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association
733 W. 4th, # 881
Anchorage, Ak. 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew.
Henry Mitchell
Bering Sea Fishermen's Association
725 Christensen Dr.
Anchorage, Ak. 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew.
John Nichols
False Pass, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported all three nominees.
Melanie Gunderson
Nelson Lagoon, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported all three nominees.
Luther Nagaruk
Elim, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew.
Henry Aganof
Norton Sound Gillnetters Association
Unalakleet, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew.
Doug Bowers
Nenana, Ak. 99760
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Gail Stephens
Nenana, Ak. 99760
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Percy Tite
Nenana, Ak. 99760
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Carol Albrecht
Golovin, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Harold Boom
Golovin, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew and Larry Engel.
Daryl Amerok, Sr.
Golovin, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and Dick
Bower.
Jeff Rickerson
Chenega, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew.
Albert Jackson
Golovin, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and Dick
Bower.
Debra Gifford
P.O. Box 8125
Port Alexander, Ak. 99836
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew.
Dennis Longsmith
P.O. Box 8066
Port Alexander, Ak. 99836
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew.
Laura Rideout
General Delivery
Port Alexander, Ak. 99836
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew.
Grant Newton
P.O. Box 37
King Cove, Ak. 99612
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower, and Larry
Engel.
Della Trumble
P.O. Box 38
King Cove, Ak. 99612
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower, and Larry
Engel.
Frankie Mack
P.O. Box 64
King Cove, Ak. 99612
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew.
Henry Mack
P.O. box 210
King Cove, Ak. 99612
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and Dick
Bower.
Jack Foster, Jr.
Sand Point, Ak. 99661
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and Dick
Bower.
Glen Gardner, Jr.
P.O. Box 444
Sand point, Ak. 99661
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew and Larry Engel.
Ray Vergin
Sand Point, Ak. 99661
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew
Melanie Gunderson
Nelson, Lagoon, Ak.
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
Dave Osterback, Chairman
Advisory Committee
P.O. Box 144
Sand Point, Ak. 99661
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower, and Larry
Engel.
Peggy Osterback
P.O. 61
Sand Point, Ak. 99661
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower, and Larry
Engel.
Harold Spark
P.O. Box 267
Bethel, Ak. 99559
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Dick Bower and Larry Engel. Opposed ed
Kay Andrew.
Karen Samuelson
P.O. Box 219
Bethel, Ak. 99559
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Larry Engel. Had neutral position
on Dick Bower and opposed Kay Andrew.
Myron Naneg, President
Association of Village Counsel Presidents
P.O. Box 219
Bethel, Ak. 99559
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew. Supported Larry Engel.
Was neutral on Dick Bower.
Billy McCan
P.O. Box 1924
Bethel, Ak. 99559
POSITION STATEMENT: Stated he was the interpreter.
Dale Bondurant
HC1, Box 1197
Soldotna, Ak. 99669
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Larry Engel and Dick Bower.
Ben Ellis, Executive Director
Kenai River Sportfishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 1228
Soldotna, Ak. 99669
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Kay Andrew. Supported Larry Engel and nd
Dick Bower.
David Horne
HC 2, Box 543
Kasilof, Ak. 99610
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew. Opposed Larry Engel and nd
Dick Bower.
Joseph Jolly, President
United Cook Inlet Drift Association
HC2, Box 753
Soldotna, Ak. 99669
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew. Opposed Dick Bower and d
Larry Engel.
Karl Kircher
P.O. Box 95
Kasilof, Ak. 99610
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed Dick Bower. Was neutral on Larry
Engel.
Connie Gatling
Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association
Soldotna, Ak. 99669
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported Kay Andrew.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 94-36, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN MILLER called the Resources Committee meeting to order at
4:12 p.m. and announced they would take testimony on the Fish Board
appointments.
LARRY ENGEL, testifying from Palmer, said he had been living in
Alaska since 1958 and he is a former employee of the Department of
Fish and Game for 32 years. Now he has time to give back to the
resource that has been so good to him.
DICK BOWER, Soldotna, said since the mid 1950's he had been
actively involved in conservation education and various natural
resource issues.
SENATOR TAYLOR asked if he thought it was appropriate for
legislators to base their decision on who to confirm based upon
their vote on the AYK question?
MR. BOWER said he hoped that wouldn't be the whole basis for any
decision made by the committee.
KAY ANDREW said one of the reasons she wanted to serve on the Board
was because she was born and raised in Ketchikan and she has seen
a lot of changes. She was very concerned with mariculture,
fishing, timber, and subsistence. She said she based her decisions
on all the information the Department turns in, public testimony,
the views of the other Board members, and the questions that come
up. She tried to come up with a balanced approach.
Number 145
LESLIE SMITH, Kodiak Island Salmon Working Group, supported Kay
Andrew who she thought was competent and careful to assess the
issues based on information provided during the meeting. She also
supported Mr. Bower who demonstrated a high degree of perspicuity
and has the best interests of the state resources in mind.
JEFF PARKER, Alaska Sportfishing Association and Trout Unlimited,
opposed Kay Andrew and supported Larry Engel and Dick Bower. He
explained that no one particular vote should be the sole criteria
on how a candidate is judged for position on the Board. It seems
clear to them that Mr. Engel and Mr. Bower both recognize the
importance of the conservation sustained yield obligation and the
subsistence priority in the law before dealing with allocation
issues. Ms. Andrew did not recognize that and deflected the
issues.
DAN ALBRECHT, Yukon River Drainage Fishing Association, opposed Kay
Andrew because she did everything she could do to denigrate the
staff and the Commissioner.
HENRY MITCHELL, Executive Director, Bering Sea Fishermen's
Association, opposed Kay Andrew, because she did not take steps to
reduce the chum interceptions in the False Pass fishery. She
ignored the staff and Commissioner's recommendations. This was a
conservation issue.
JOHN NICHOLS, False Pass fish buyer, supported all three nominees.
He said it wasn't fair to focus on just one issue.
Number 288
MELANIE GUNDERSON, Nelson Lagoon, supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower,
and Larry Engel. She thought Ms. Andrew was very qualified and
made her decisions based on fact, not political pressure. This is
not the first time people have been rejected because of one issue.
LUTHER NAGARUK, Elim, opposed Kay Andrew's appointment primarily
because of the conservation issue. He agreed with Mr. Mitchell's
testimony.
HENRY AGANOF, Norton Sound Gillnetters Association, opposed Kay
Andrew's appointment, because of the conservation issue.
DOUG BOWERS, Nenana, opposed confirmation of Kay Andrew and Dick
Bower, because of their conduct at the meeting in Anchorage and the
fact that they have never had a subsistence or commercial fisherman
represented on the Board in its entire history. He was also
concerned with the conservation issue.
GAIL STEPHENS, Nenana, opposed the confirmation of Kay Andrew,
because she saw her actions as a Board member in Anchorage. She
thought she was very biased in her treatment of the testifiers.
MS. STEPHENS also opposed Dick Bower, because he didn't have an
understanding of the problems that are facing the fishery.
PERCY TITE, Nenana, opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower.
CAROL ALBRECHT, Golovin, opposed Kay Andrew and Dick Bower, because
they were very unfair. They need to abide by the laws of ANILCA.
We need to follow a policy conservation of healthy population of
wildlife, he said.
HAROLD BOOM, Golovin, opposed Kay Andrew and Larry Engel.
DARYL AMEROK, SR., Golovin, opposed Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and
Dick Bower for being discriminating.
JEFF RICKERSON, Vice President, Chenega Community, opposed Kay
Andrew.
ALBERT JACKSON, Golovin, opposed Kay Andrew, Larry Engel, and Dick
Bower, because of the conservation issue.
Number 450
DEBRA GIFFORD, Port Alexander, supported Kay Andrew's confirmation.
She conducts herself in a professional manner and was comfortable
to approach for questions, she said.
DENNIS LONGSMITH, Port Alexander, supported Kay Andrew. He felt
she was approachable and that too much was being made of her vote
on a single issue. He has no opposition to Dick Bower or Larry
Engel. He thought they did a good job of representing their own
constituents.
LAURA RIDEOUT, Port Alexander power troller, supported Kay Andrew's
confirmation.
GRANT NEWTON, Chairman, King Cove Advisory Committee, supported all
three of the nominees. He thought that Mr. Engel and Ms. Andrew
took the time and energy to investigate issues more than any other
board members have done in the past.
DELLA TRUMBLE, King Cove, supported Kay Andrew's, Dick Bower's, and
Larry Engel's confirmation on behalf of the tribal membership of
King Cove, even though Ms. Andrew and Mr. Engel voted differently
on the issues involved.
FRANKIE MACK, King Cove, supported Kay Andrew. She conducted
herself at the last Board of Fish meeting in a very professional
manner. Her knowledge and willingness to learn more about the
fishery issues was outstanding. She was not biased.
HENRY MACK, commercial fisherman, supported all three candidates.
He said that each group that testifies has a special interest and
it is important to have a balanced board. He thought Kay Andrew
handled herself in a very professional manner over a very emotional
issue in the last meeting.
JACK FOSTER, Sand Point, supported Kay Andrew, Dick Bower, and Mr.
Engel. He said this is the first time he has seen the Board make
a decision based on scientific data rather than political
pressures.
GLEN GARDNER, JR., Sand Point, supported Kay Andrew and Larry
Engel. Ms. Andrew conducted the meeting in a very professional
manner. It was refreshing to see a Board act on facts and not
political pressure, as it has in the past.
RAY VERGIN, Sand Point, supported confirmation of all three
candidates.
TAPE 94-36, SIDE B
Number 580
He said we need people on the Board who are objective and all three
were objective at the last Board meeting over an emotional issue.
Unidentified speaker from Sand Point supported Kay Andrew because
she is fair in her own judgement and doesn't base her decisions on
politics. He also supported Dick Bower.
MELANIE GUNDERSON, Nelson Lagoon, supported Kay Andrew. She did a
very good job of chairing the last Board of Fisheries meeting at
which there was a lot of political pressure.
DAVID OSTERBACK, Sand Point, supported all three candidates. They
demonstrated a professional attitude by patiently listening to
hundreds of people testifying and reading ADF&G staff reports.
Their decisions were based on serious unbiased positions.
PEGGY OSTERBACK, Sand Point, supported all three candidates.
Number 551
HAROLD SPARK, Bethel, said he was a subsistence fisherman. He
supported Dick Bower and Larry Engel. He was impressed with their
understanding of the issues and their neutrality. He opposed Kay
Andrew, because he thought she had an agenda.
KAREN SAMUELSON, Fisheries Specialist for The Association of
Village Counsel Presidents, opposed Kay Andrew. She thought she
wouldn't uphold the subsistence priority, especially in light of a
conservation crisis. This is a necessary qualification for a Board
of Fish member. She has clearly shown that she holds commercial
fishing over historic sustained yield and subsistence priorities,
she said. In a conservation crisis, she will not protect the
resource.
MS. SAMUELSON supported Larry Engel and had a neutral position on
Dick Bower.
MYRON NANEG, Bethel, said in the last meeting the votes that came
up ignored the sustained yield principles required in the state
Constitution. He opposed Kay Andrew, supported Larry Engel, and
was neutral on Dick Bower.
BILLY MCCAN, Bethel, stated he was the interpreter and translated
some of what was said.
DALE BONDURANT, Soldotna, supported Larry Engel, because he
supports conservation of the resource. He thought that Dick Bower
was committed to the same goals. She has not known Ms. Andrew long
enough to fairly assess her position.
BEN ELLIS, Executive Director, Kenai River Sportfishing, Inc.,
supported confirmation of Dick Bower and Larry Engel. He opposed
Kay Andrew, because members of the Board must realize that mixed
stock fisheries must be harvested after the stocks have naturally
separated themselves into terminal rivers and streams.
DAVID HORNE, Kasilof, supported Kay Andrew. She did not have any
preconceived opinions that would prevent any user group from
receiving a fair hearing. He opposed Dick Bower, because in a
House Resource Committee meeting he said he would grant commercial
fishing the lowest priority allocation. Mr. Engel, in his resume',
did not list that he was employed by the Mat-Su Borough since 1992
as a consultant. He opposed his confirmation, because he would not
be able to impartially address sports and commercial fishery
allocation issues in Cook Inlet and he has represented the Mat-Su
Borough at the Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries hearings.
JOSEPH JOLLY, President, United Cook Inlet Drift Association,
supported Kay Andrew. He feels she has no preconceived opinions
that would prevent any user group from receiving a fair hearing.
He opposed Larry Engel's confirmation, because he felt he wouldn't
be able to impartially address sport and commercial fishing
allocation issues in Cook Inlet. His resume' also mentions nothing
about his tenure with the Mat-Su Borough. He also opposed Dick
Bower, because he has stated that sports fishermen should be given
a priority over commercial fishermen for the allocation of our
resources.
Number 305
KARL KIRCHER, Kasilof, urged the committee to keep the Board of
Fish process in tact. It is now in jeopardy by the manner in which
qualified, experienced board members have not been reappointed,
because they failed to vote in the politically correct way. He
urged them to not confirm Dick Bower, because he has sport fishing
as a priority allocation in Cook Inlet with commercial fishing
being the lowest.
Number 264
CONNIE GATLING, Soldotna, supported Kay Andrew. She said she was
concerned with confirmation hearings being held after a person has
begun to serve on the Board, because this could lead to judging a
person by how they vote rather than by their overall
qualifications.
SENATOR MILLER said they had run out of time and thanked everyone
for their testimony.
SENATOR TAYLOR, for the record, asked if they had seen Kay Andrew's
letter wherein she indicated in several different parts the number
of times she was threatened by people that if she didn't vote the
right way, they would line up against her and testify against her
on her confirmation bid. He said he enjoyed listening to all those
people come through with their threats.
SENATOR MILLER adjourned the meeting at 5:07 p.m.
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