HOUSE BILL NO. 105 "An Act establishing the Gordon Haber Denali Wolf Special Management Area." 4:42:47 PM Co-Chair Foster invited the bill sponsor to introduce himself and to make any comments he wished concerning the legislation. REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, SPONSOR, replied that the amendment took up a critic's concerns in an earlier hearing. Co-Chair Foster MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1 (copy on file): Page 1, line 1: Delete "hunting or trapping of wolves" Insert "taking of wolves and the use of certain traps and snares" Page 1, line 5: Delete "hunting or trapping of wolves" Insert "taking of wolves and the use of certain traps and snares" Page 1, lines 6 - 7: Delete "Hunting and trapping of wolves is prohibited" Insert "A person may not take a wolf or use a cable snare with a diameter greater than 3/32 of an inch or a leg-hold trap with a jaw spread greater than five inches" Page 3, line 20, following "who": Insert "negligently" Representative Kawasaki OBJECTED for discussion. Representative Josephson continued that his office consulted with Vic Van Ballenberghe who had trapped 100 wolves in his life, mostly for study. He also consulted with Bruce Dale, Wildlife Division Director, Department of Fish and Game and with Bernard Chastain of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) who knew a great deal about trapping. The bill language was prepared by Mr. Bullard of Legislative Legal Services and reviewed by the Department of Law. One of the criticisms of the bill was that there could be incidental take if the state just banned wolf trapping and hunting. He explained that the bill would still ban wolf trapping and hunting, but the case would be stronger if someone used 2 types of traps that were primarily designed to catch a wolf but could catch other animals too. The 2 types of traps would be banned, and a person found using them would be charged with a misdemeanor whether they caught a wolf. He continued that the standard of someone's -mental state would be "negligently." Another concern raised by a caller was about whether the bill would impede subsistence. He confirmed that the legislation would not impede subsistence. Representative Josephson reported that there were two units in question: subunit 20A was closed to subsistence currently, and subunit 20C of which only a small portion would be incumbered. He remarked that all other forms of trapping would be allowed. His office had carved out the types of traps that generally would not impact lynx, wolverine, and coyotes. Finally, he noted the Board of Game had a similar, although not identical, buffer zone and there was no litigation when it was closed regarding subsistence. Representative Guttenberg asked about the "Insert" on line 11. He wondered if the intent was that the snare or the trap was designed such that it would not take animals smaller than a wolf. Representative Josephson responded in the affirmative. Representative Kawasaki WITHDREW his OBJECTION. There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment 1 was ADOPTED. Co-Chair Foster asked Vice-Chair Gara to review the fiscal notes for the bill. Vice-Chair Gara reported HB 105 had two zero fiscal notes. He relayed the details of FN 1: Department: Department of Fish and Game Appropriation: Wildlife Conservation Allocation: Wildlife Conservation OMB Component Number: 473 He relayed the details of FN 2: Department: Department of Public Safety Appropriation: Alaska State Troopers Allocation: Alaska Wildlife Troopers OMB Component Number: 2746 Co-Chair Seaton MOVED to report CSHB 105(FIN) out of Committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. CSHB 105(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with three "do pass" recommendations, one "do not pass" recommendation, three "no recommendation" recommendations, and one "amend" recommendation and with two previously published zero fiscal notes: FN1(DFG) and FN2(DPS). Co-Chair Foster moved to the next agenda item.