HB 130-GAME REFUGE/CRIT HABITAT AREA BOUNDARIES  2:55:14 PM CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 130, "An Act relating to the Izembek State Game Refuge, Cape Newenham State Game Refuge, Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, Port Moller Critical Habitat Area, Egegik Critical Habitat Area, Pilot Point Critical Habitat Area, Fox River Flats Critical Habitat Area, Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Area, and Dude Creek Critical Habitat Area; and providing for an effective date." 2:55:28 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 2:55:40 PM MORGAN FOSS, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, introduced HB 130, sponsored by the House Rules Committee by request of the governor. She explained the bill pertains to the legal boundary descriptions of special areas, state game refuges (SGRs), and critical habitat areas (CHAs). State game refuges, of which there are 12 in the state, are designed to protect and preserve the natural habitat and game population; SGRs and CHAs are co-managed by ADFG and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), or in certain cases, a private landholder. Ms. Foss directed attention to a map of the Izembek SGR located near Cold Bay [slide 1]. Izembek SGR was established by the legislature in 1972 with the intent to incorporate tide and submerged lands into the SGR, thus incorporating the waterbodies within the [Izembek National Wildlife Refuge] watershed and fully protecting waterfowl and shorebird habitat in the bay and lagoon. She said the exclusion of the waterbodies may have been due to imperfect mapping of mean highwater in the '60s and '70s. Slide 2 was a map of Cape Newenham SGR, located near Izembek SGR, and she characterized the changes there as "the same scenario with [land] ... that was intended for inclusion." Ms. Foss turned attention to slide 3 that was a map of the Palmer Hay Flats SGR which was designated by the legislature in 1975. The Palmer Hay Flats SGR surrounds the Matanuska River and the riverbed is owned by the state. The original survey in 1913 platted a fixed river channel, which has since has meandered, making the designated area no longer practicable for managers and users. The bill would incorporate the excluded areas indicated by the crosshatched areas shown on slide 3. 2:59:47 PM CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON asked how the undesignated land was previously classified. MS. FOSS said some of the land within the Palmer Hay Flats SGR is private, and there are various land types in these areas. CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON clarified his question in that in the Izembek SGR, for example, what is the classification of the parcels that are being added. MS. FOSS answered [the land] is not part of the CHA and is designated as state water. She then directed attention to [slide 4] that was a map of the Port Moller CHA boundary established in 1972, and said the demarcations were six miles west of the intended boundary, which erroneously incorporated the community of Nelson Lagoon into the CHA. The bill will correct the boundaries and benefit the community. In response to Co-Chair Josephson, she agreed the aforementioned change would affect residents. Slides 5 and 6 were maps of the Egegik CHA and the Pilot Point CHA boundaries, both of which have noncontiguous segments due to mistakes in the 1972 legislation; corrections in HB 130 would redraw the boundaries so that the previously isolated segments become part of a contiguous CHA. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH inquired as to how the affected areas were discovered. MS. FOSS said ADFG habitat biologists and staff have discovered mistakes inconsistent with the original intent of legislation. REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE recalled the issue of a road from King Cove [proposed in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge] and asked what prompted moving the land into a CHA or SGR. MS. FOSS explained the bill would not add land to CHAs except for the change to the Dude Creek CHA. The department is shifting boundaries to align with the original statutory intent. 3:04:45 PM CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON returned attention to the Port Moller CHA boundary and asked whether there was a problem affecting the community of Nelson Lagoon. MS. FOSS understood that when the community was erroneously placed within the CHA in 1972, there was "much concern over this." In further response to Co-Chair Josephson, she said there was no change in the acreage of the CHA illustrated on slide 5. She further described the boundary error affecting the Pilot Point CHA, and presented slide 7, which was a map of the Fox River Flats CHA located at the head of Kachemak Bay, and created in 1972. Shown on the map was the mean highwater line which divides the uplands from the tidelines and submerged water, which is important to the boundary of the CHA. Along the north and east boundaries, four of the seven meridian township ranges (MTRs) have tidelands and submerged water excluded; however, the exclusions were not applied consistently. The bill would remove the existing exclusions so that all four sections are treated consistently; at this time, the affected areas are the intersection of the Bradley River and the tidelines and submerged lands. She added that Kachemak Bay was sinking and is now rebounding, so a flexible definition of the mean high tideline is necessary. CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON asked whether ADFG has heard any concerns from the community or residents of Homer. MS. FOSS said ADFG has not received negative feedback and has received letters of support from two organizations in the Kachemak Bay area. Directing attention to slide 8, which was a map of the Kachemak Bay CHA, she said the Kachemak Bay CHA was created in 1974 as a list of townships and ranges and the tide and submerged land and waters within, and includes all of Kachemak Bay except a small area omitted by error. Long- standing access to the area would not be affected by the bill. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked for the significance of a CHA. 3:09:31 PM MS. FOSS said a CHA is open to multiple use as long as [multiple use] does not conflict with the original intent of the protection. CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON surmised the Fox River Flats area is subsumed inside Kachemak Bay. MS. FOSS said correct. 3:10:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked for the location of Kachemak Selo. MS. FOSS explained [the community of] Kachemak Selo is the beachfront area. CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON asked for further questions to be submitted in writing, due to time constraints. MS. FOSS directed attention to slide 9 which was a map of the Dude Creek CHA boundary in Gustavus near Glacier Bay. She described this area as an addition of land - that was purchased by Nature Conservancy in 2016 - to an existing CHA. Nature Conservancy subsequently transferred ownership of the land to the state, and in November 2016, the [Gustavus City Council] passed a resolution urging ADFG to accept management authority and incorporate the land into the CHA. There has been no negative feedback at this time. HB 130 was held over.