Legislature(2011 - 2012)BUTROVICH 205
01/31/2011 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Department of Natural Resources (dnr) by Cora Campbell, Commissioner | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 31, 2011
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Joe Paskvan, Co-Chair
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Co-Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Hollis French
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Linda Menard
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR) BY CORA
CAMPBELL, COMMISSIONER
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CORA CAMPBELL, Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented Department of Fish and Game
overview.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:55 PM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS WAGONER called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Stedman, French, McGuire, Stevens,
Wielechowski, Co-Chair Paskvan and Co-Chair Wagoner.
3:32:13 PM
^Overview: Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by Cora
Campbell, Commissioner
Overview: Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by Cora
Campbell, Commissioner
CO-CHAIR WAGONER introduced Cora Campbell.
3:32:49 PM
CORA CAMPBELL, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
(ADF&G), introduced staff in the audience. She said their
mission statement is based upon the Alaska State Constitution
(Article 8) and Alaska Statutes (Title 16) and is:
To protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and
aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their
uses and development in the best interest of the
economy and the well-being of the people of the state,
consistent with the sustained yield principle.
The department provides six core services:
-Harvest Management: provide opportunity to utilize
fish and wildlife resources
-Stock Assessment: Ensure sustainability and
harvestable surplus of fish and wildlife resources
-Customer Service: Provide information to all
customers
-Public Involvement: Involve the public in management
of fish and wildlife resources
-State Sovereignty: Protect the state's sovereignty to
manage fish and wildlife resources
-Habitat Protection: Protect important fish and
wildlife habitat during permit and project review
3:35:51 PM
Commissioner's Office Responsibilities:
-North Pacific Fishery Management Council
-Pacific Fishery Management Council
-Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
-Pacific Salmon Commission
-Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council
-Federal Subsistence Board
-Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
-Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
-Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council
-Pacific Flyway Council
-North Slope Science Initiative
-Alaska Ocean Observing System
-North Pacific Research Board
-UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Advisory Council
-Polar Bear Range States
-US-Russia Treaty on Polar Bears
-Fisheries Excellence Committee of the Rasmussen Foundation
-UA-F Sea Grant Advisory Council
-International Porcupine Caribou Research Board
-Bering Sea Fisheries Advisory Board
3:37:10 PM
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked her to expand on the Exxon Valdez Oil
Spill Trustee Council.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that the council has significantly
less money than it started with, but $125 million is remaining.
She said it is in the process of soliciting and reviewing
applications to create programs to expend the remaining funds in
a way that would be beneficial for restoration.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked for an exact balance that is remaining.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL said she would provide a breakdown of the
several funds that make up the balance.
3:38:29 PM
She said the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a
commissioner and three main management divisions: Commercial
Fisheries, Sport Fish and Wildlife Conservation. The Division of
Subsistence is primarily for research, the Division of Habitat
is primarily responsible for permitting, the Division of
Administrative Services and a section of Board Support. They
house two independent agencies for administrative purposes: the
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) and the Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. She presented a graph that
described the locations of regional and area offices across the
state.
3:39:26 PM
The Division of Commercial Fisheries is primarily responsible
for stock assessment, research management of fishery resources
that are important for commercial fisheries, as well as
management of some subsistence fisheries. This division is also
for permitting aquaculture projects and provides participation
and staff support to the Board of Fish process.
3:40:01 PM
The Division of Sport Fish is primarily responsible for
management of sport fisheries as well as most personal use
fisheries, some subsistence fisheries, in charge of diversifying
and enhancing recreational opportunity and protecting public
access to recreational fisheries resources. The operational
funding for this division comes primarily from federal excise
taxes that are matched with money from the sale of fishing
license and stamps. This division is also involved in providing
staffing and support for the Board of Fisheries.
The Division of Wildlife Conservation is responsible for
management and assessment of the wildlife resources; it also
provides a significant amount of education to increase hunter
knowledge and safety. It is responsible for providing staffing
and comments for the Board of Game. It also manages the state's
wildlife refuges, critical habitat areas, and wildlife
sanctuaries.
The Division of Subsistence is not a management division, but is
primarily research, primarily charged with quantifying and
reporting information to the Boards of Fisheries and Game and
the department about the customary and traditional use of
Alaska's resources.
The Division of Habitat has a permitting function; it reviews
applications and issues permits for any activity that takes
place in an anadromous water body or fish-bearing waters. It
reviews development projects that are being authorized under
another agencies authority to ensure compliance.
The Division of Administrative Services provides routine
administrative support, coordinates development of the budget,
and provides overall logistical support for the department.
The Board Support Section is charged with providing the support
and coordination for the Board of Fisheries and the Board of
Game process as well as for the 82 local advisory committees
that meet across the state to provide local input. The Board of
Fisheries typically meets about five times a year plus
teleconferences; the Board of Game meets about three times a
year plus teleconferences.
The two independent agencies are the CFEC, which is responsible
for limiting entry into the state's commercial fisheries, and
the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.
3:43:12 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL provided a "high-level overview" of the
department's budget broken out by division. Their three
management divisions - Commercial Fisheries, Sport Fisheries,
and Wildlife Conservation - receive most of the funding.
The three primary funding sources for the department are general
funds, federal funds, and fish and game funds (revenue from
license sales).
She said a significant number of staff are seasonal and perform
field and technical work, but regardless, the bulk of the
employees are in the three management divisions.
3:45:18 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL said she was asked to talk about some of
the challenges the department faces as well as some of their
goals. She said time and resources spent responding to various
federal initiatives is a significant challenge. A few of those
are land management activities and commenting on Endangered
Species Act listings. The BLM has a new initiative on wild lands
policy, another to create landscape conservation cooperatives,
and one to create coastal marine spacial plans for all the
nation's waters to name a few. Because all of those initiatives
have significant impacts on the state's ability to manage its
resources, they become involved.
Workforce development is another challenge for the department
and will continue to be an area of focus. One of the
department's biggest assets is its workforce. They have a number
of very highly trained knowledgeable dedicated staff, but there
is a pay disparity between what they can earn as biologists for
the ADF&G and what they can earn in a comparable federal
positions. So, they have put efforts towards recruitment and
development of an intern program trying to get students
interested in working for the department early on in their
careers and providing professional workforce development
opportunities to make sure employees have a clear career path
forward within the department, should they wish to take it.
She said they have identified education and heritage type
programs as a priority. She explained that the department
already puts a significant amount of effort into hunter
education and outdoor-skills type programs, but they want to do
more to insure that those programs are institutionalized within
the department so that they don't rely on one employee who has a
passion for education or who is willing to volunteer a lot of
time. Those types of outdoor skills and values are important to
preserve for the next generation, especially given the tendency
in society as a whole away from outdoor activities.
Looking at ways to increase the economic opportunities they are
providing through development of fish and wildlife resources.
There are underutilized or incidental resources for the U.S.,
but they might be of significant value in other countries.
3:49:29 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN referred to the struggle of competing with
federal salaries, and asked if any retired PERS employees come
back on with the department.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL answered that a few are in non-permanent
positions.
SENATOR STEDMAN said he wanted to know the job descriptions and
numbers.
SENATOR FRENCH said her figures show $62,600,000 federal
dollars, and he asked if that level of support would continue.
Are there threats to her mission going forward?
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied the decline of federal dollars is
a concern and it will be even bigger going forward. For example,
the department receives significant federal dollars for things
like marine mammals research or management of the Bering Sea
Aleutian Island crab fishery, which take place primarily in
federal waters. Also, a lot of salmon management in Southeast
Alaska is federally funded through the Pacific Salmon
Commission. In some years the state has not been able to secure
those funds and has had to fund things, and she believed that
would continue to be an issue.
SENATOR FRENCH noted that federal funding has been 30 percent;
is that what it is now?
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL said she would provide a 15-year
comparison.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked the number of positions not presently
filled because of the inability to attract good employees.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied they have difficulty recruiting
and sometimes do "multiple recruitments" to fill positions
because they are not getting a pool of applicants that is
satisfactory. They rely on the National Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies to help them advertise for positions and try
to get the word out about the opportunities in Alaska. She said
she would get the vacancy numbers for him as well as highlight
the areas of recruitment difficulty.
3:54:05 PM
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked if she is seeing a turnover, assuming the
employee goes to work for the department that they stay there
two or three years and then go to another opportunity. Not that
they couldn't be attracted in the beginning.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied she has seen some examples of that
even though she has been with the department less than two
months.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked her to talk about the department's
analysis of the impacts the proposed Susitna hydro and
Chakachamna projects have on fish and game.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that a lot of the preliminary work
in those projects was done at a point in the past when they were
being evaluated. Now that it appears there may be momentum to
move forward she has asked the Division of Habitat to take a
fresh look. She anticipated a significant amount of work would
have to be done.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if she expected to have an analysis
relative to the governor's proposal to move forward on Susitna
Hydro with a $65 million commitment by the time the legislature
is making a decision on that.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL answered that she can provide the
legislature information the department has now about the
distribution of salmon stocks and other fish in the relevant
area that would be helpful to the legislature.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what kind of analysis the department
has done on the impacts on fish and game of the proposed Pebble
Mine.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that she has issued multiple
permits for the exploration work that is going on there now. The
Division of Habitat has done the analysis necessary to issue
permits and the monitoring and follow up that is necessary. They
haven't done an analysis of the development phase because an
application hasn't been received, and they don't have enough
information to conduct a full analysis.
SENATOR STEVENS asked her to talk more about test fish receipts,
which are usually a bigger portion of the budget. Is it
declining? Is the department using it less?
3:57:46 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL answered she would have to look back
through the years.
At ease from 3:57 - 3:58.
3:58:32 PM
CO-CHAIR WAGONER called the meeting make to order at 3:48 p.m.
SENATOR STEVENS said it appears that test fish receipts not as
important as it was, but he wanted more information on what the
department's intentions were in that area.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL expanded that test fisheries take place
where the test fishery is integral to assessment and management
of the stock. So, that will always be a part of their budget,
but other fishing goes on in excess of what needs to be done
strictly for stock assessment and in-season management purposes.
And the department has made an effort over the past few years to
try to reduce reliance on that type of fishing, because
generally fishermen don't appreciate removals of fish from the
available biomass. Their FY 12 budget has a couple of those fund
source type change requests.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked her what the department is doing
about the lack of salmon in the Mat-Su Valley drainages.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that a number of stocks have not
reached escapement goals for a number of years and have now
reached the level at which they would be designated as a "stock
of concern." At the Board of Fisheries upcoming meeting they
will develop an action plan for protection and restoration of
those stocks. Independently of that, the department has
undertaken some efforts to do habitat work in the area and do
significant pike removal projects to try to reduce those
predators to give stocks a better chance.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for a timeline on that.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL answered the board would develop that in
the action plan for specific stocks at their meeting which is
coming up in a month. The other work the department is doing is
ongoing. For example, they just announced significant funding
for a four-year pike removal for the Alexander Creek drainage.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said one of his constituents spent about a
half hour with him on invasive species. The zebra mussel has
overtaken and decimated the Great Lakes and has been steadily
moving westward. They could really decimate salmon stocks in
Alaska, and he asked what kind of efforts she is looking at to
try and prevent that, and others, from coming into Alaska.
4:02:36 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL answered that invasive species are of
great concern to the department, but they haven't presented a
major issue so far here. But seeing how they have affected other
areas the department has an invasive species program and a
program coordinator focused on those kinds of efforts - like
education about the dangers, monitoring any situation where they
think an invasive species may be appearing in the state, and
"trying to nip those things in the bud when we do see them."
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked what factors within the department
contributed to the increase in Porcupine Caribou herd numbers.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that the herd crosses the border
into Canada and the department works cooperatively with them to
manage it. Habitat factors primarily play into that population
increase or decrease.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked if anything could be done to make sure
the growth is sustained.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that she would have to think about
that a little bit and talk to wildlife folks.
4:04:11 PM
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN mentioned a press release about a problem with
wolves on Elmendorf/Richardson becoming increasingly habituated
and aggressive towards humans. It said officials would
reevaluate the approach at the end of January, and he asked
where that is.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that a number of wolves in that
area had become habituated and caused quite a problem in terms
of aggressive behavior towards pets and humans. The department
was working with the military on a joint plan to try to deal
with the aggressive pack. A first step was work towards ground-
based removals. Only one wolf has been taken as a result of the
program, so it is probably time to reevaluate its effectiveness.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN referred to Senator Wielechowski's concern
about invasive animals or plants in the Alexander Creek, and in
Northern Pike that were illegally introduced in the Susitna
Basin. What are their efforts to reduce Northern Pike there?
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied the department was awarded
$635,000 through Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund for that program
in addition to an increment it received last year for that type
of work. It's a netting eradication program, and they don't
think it will be possible to completely permanently remove the
pike, but they hope to reduce their numbers to a point where
salmon stocks in the area have a better chance of survival.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN said in November 2010 a report addressed
climate change strategy in the Arctic. He found some interesting
comments on page 1 saying:
Scientific and traditional evidence is increasingly
showing that climate is changing at unprecedented
rates throughout the Arctic. Because a change in
climate is anticipated to affect the sustainability of
Alaska's fish and wildlife resources and their uses,
it is of interest to the department to assess the
likelihood of climate change.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked what the department is doing.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that strategy was developed as a
starting place for the department to attempt to grappling with
some of effects that a changing climate could have on species,
particularly on species that are heavily relied upon for
subsistence, sport and commercial fisheries. They anticipate
changes in the distribution of species due to a changing climate
as well as potential impacts from ocean acidification. The
department is doing base line research and monitoring, and
developing a prioritized research plan for the species they
expect to be most impacted. Some of the factors are out of their
direct control, but the idea is to learn as much as possible
about the species and their habitat so the department can be in
the best position to respond as the effects start to show
themselves.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked if climate change is affecting Alaska's
resources so dramatically, if the department has a policy to
deal with the climate change, itself, on a scientific basis.
4:09:12 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that is outside the scope of the
department's mission or its expertise. They want to understand
the current reality and look for mitigation measures.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN asked in reference to the report what kind of
plan the department has - a 10 year plan or a 50-year plan
perhaps - because the potential consequences are pretty
startling.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that report he has is what is
available right now. They don't have a 10 or 50-year plan in
terms of responding to climate change, but they do have the
strategy he is referencing. The models are highly speculative,
so it's difficult to predict where they may be in 10 or 50
years.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI followed up saying if water temperatures go
up even by a small amount it will have huge impacts on the
salmon and other wildlife. Is that her understanding? He hoped
the department would be looking at long-term impacts of climate
change - how it affects the subsistence lifestyle that many
people live if we're going to have a salmon crash because the
water temperature goes up a degree or two. "What are you doing
about that?"
4:11:33 PM
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied that the document they are
discussing is a first step in trying to lay out a strategy for
dealing with this. The work of the department in responding to
climate change is ongoing she said. A lot species are relatively
temperature sensitive, and they are trying to identify which
species are likely to be affected and which are most vulnerable,
and then gather data about them and prepare.
CO-CHAIR PASKVAN followed up with Senator Wielechowski's concern
with the "rapidly changing climate" statement on page 13. It
says the challenge from the department to the legislature will
be "to adapt to a future made less certain due to a more rapidly
changing climate. This will necessitate an evaluation of
existing laws, regulations, and policy, and possible changes to
institutional legal and policy frameworks in an adaptive
manner." He was trying to figure out what the 10 or 20-year plan
is, so that the legislature can respond to the department's
statement.
COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL replied the strategy he is referring to
was completed relatively recently. The next step of the work
which is going on now is to conduct a fuller evaluation of the
issues that strategy identified.
4:14:26 PM
CO-CHAIR WAGONER said the department should take a pro-active
approach with the Susitna dam issue, because the governor is
putting a great deal of emphasis on it, and he thought the
legislature would also put a great deal of emphasis on it. It is
a chance to not worry about predator control of pike, for
instance, in a Mat Su Valley stream. If the dam is done
correctly, if the department can enhance the fish stocks above
the dam and the dam can control the velocity of the flow so the
fish can make a passage up through Devil's Canyon, it could be a
win-win situation. But he thought the department could start
working it in along with the whole development of the project
sooner rather than later.
He also mentioned that he has read a lot of books and articles
about climate change, and some of the best experts that started
with scare tactics have backed clear away from warnings about
climate change.
4:16:55 PM
CO-CHAIR WAGONER thanked Ms. Campbell for coming and bringing
her staff and adjourned the meeting at 4:16 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| S RES Fish & Game Overview Presentation 013111.pdf |
SRES 1/31/2011 3:30:00 PM |