SCR 24 REESTABLISH ADFG DIVISION OF GAME  CHAIRMAN LEMAN called the Senate Resources Committee meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. and announced SCR 24 to be up for consideration. MARILYN WILSON, Legislative Aide to Senator Sharp, said that SCR 24 is a request by the legislature to the Governor to change the name Division of Wildlife Conservation back to the division's former name, Division of Game. This change in name has fragmented the Division's mission into many sections, many with opposing goals. The Division's resources have been redirected toward benefiting non-hunters, gathering and manipulation of public opinion for non- users benefits, and virtually abandoning Alaska's game resource for abundance. MR. KEN TAYLOR, Deputy Director, Division of Wildlife, said his Division has a constitutional and statutory responsibility for managing 521 wildlife species in Alaska. Of these, about 70 are classified as game and their name was changed in 1989 to better reflect their responsibility. During the past seven years the Division developed its first mission statement which is to conserve and enhance Alaska's wildlife and to provide for a wide range of uses for the greatest benefit of current and future generations of people. They believe this statement accurately reflects their responsibility to the Alaskan public. Contrary to this resolution, he said, there is nothing fragmented about their objectives and goals or their development process. Their Division budget is spent primarily on management of hunted species. They also track federal actions related to access, easements, unwarranted closures, and numerous other issues that have not been in the best interests of Alaska's hunters and trappers and filing countless protests and appeals when federal actions violate their own laws. Only about 4.5 percent of their budget is spent on programs that might be perceived as not directly benefiting hunters such as viewing programs or a non-game program which focuses chiefly on conservation of endangered species for which they have statutory mandates. Out of their 180 employees in the Division, there are five that work on non-consumptive use programs. Until very recently these programs were funded through the general fund and they are currently working on a national initiative sponsored by the international association of fish and wildlife agencies to draft and introduce legislation to Congress which would establish alternative federal funding sources for these programs for which there is a great deal of support in Alaska. Many hunters and trappers do not feel it is fair that they should foot the entire bill for the Division of Wildlife Conservation or for wildlife conservation programs in Alaska and support taxing other user groups in an equitable manner. The Department's opposition to this resolution is directed primarily to the numerous inaccuracies found the preamble statements that, if it were to pass the legislature, would be devastating to the self esteem and moral of Division personnel and would not further the interests of consumptive users in Alaska. In the greater scheme of things, their name doesn't make much difference. Their constitutional mandates aren't going to change. Number 127 SENATOR LEMAN asked him if he could identify the inaccuracies. MR. TAYLOR said the second, third, and fifth WHEREAS' were inaccurate and untrue. He believed all of their programs in one way or another do benefit hunters, trappers, and sport fishermen with the exception, possibly being the Marine Mammals Program which was funded under general funds for many years, but was recently changed. Alaska has a very strong interest in how marine mammals are managed. He did not think Alaskans would want the federal government to represent Alaska's interest in the management of marine mammals, particularly with sea lions being so close to being listed on the endangered species list. SENATOR HALFORD admitted that probably a much smaller number of dollars than millions was used for purposes other than what was mandated. He also thought the mission of the ADF&G had been not blurred, but redefined, because that's really what happened. MR. TAYLOR replied that their constitutional mandate is to manage Alaska's wildlife, not just game. While there has been more development of viewing areas and other non-consumptive uses over the past several years, that's been in response to public demand. It has changed, but he didn't think it had blurred their mission as a division. SENATOR HALFORD said he thought there was a conflict in the statutes, because on one hand their obligation is to all species and on the other hand their funding mechanism is limited to the funds generated by the consumptive uses. There is still something wrong and if the resolution can more accurately reflect that, it should do that. The message is that the people who are paying the bill are not satisfied with the allocation of their resource dollars. Number 222 MR. TAYLOR agreed that there was a conflict, but they have been struggling to deal with that ever since they lost their general funds which was after FY95. SENATOR LEMAN said he hoped they could work together to have the resolution more accurate reflect the issues by next Monday and set it aside. ED GRASSER, Alaska Outdoor Council, supported the resolution, although he agreed with the Department on the accuracy in some of the WHEREAS clauses. He believed that management goals within the Division had been redefined. He thought there was a lack of professionalism in certain areas, like the McNeil River Refuge. Hunting took place for years along side the viewing opportunity and then all of a sudden it became a problem; not a biological problem or a conflict between two user groups. One of the statements in support of closing the refuge that the Department made was that it could do nothing to correct the public perception of tame bears being shot. Their perception is that while wildlife conservation may be what the Division does, and their is a constitutional mandate for them to manage wildlife, but the intent of the meaning of sustained yield is explicit in the constitution. It says that the sustained yield concept meant high human harvest. SENATOR HALFORD commented that they might have two Divisions, the Division of Game and the Division of Wildlife Conservation, one of which is funded by the support of consumptive users, the other of which has no money. MR. GRASSER said his group voted to oppose the diversity funding initiative, because they are concerned about the increased amount of money that will come out of their pockets, because most of the items they are targeting for taxation are items that hunters and fishermen purchase and its going to be used for the other category of users. Number 307 PETER SHEPERD supported SCR 24. He said he worked as an ADF&G biologist in 1960 and retired in 1981 and he had years of experience in Alaska with the Fish and Wildlife Service. He tried to do his best for the resource and for the hunting public. At the same time, he realized that with a proactive management program including environmental factors, their efforts would benefit the non-consumptive public. He agrees that the Division of Wildlife's mission has distinctly changed from one of active management to a biocentric oriented passive mode. Most people associated conservation with preservation with the concept that the best way to preserve nature is to leave it alone. Most scientists believe that to leave nature alone, is to invite a torrent of change. Nature cannot manage animal populations, but we can by the most scientific means possible. Number 352 BUD BURRIS, Fairbanks, said he graduated from college with a degree in game management and in 1961 he worked as a biologist for ADF&G. He worked with enlarging bag limits and lengthening hunting season and did things like transplant game populations and managed wildlife populations in many areas. He disagreed with Mr. Taylor in that the Department is currently effectively managing any of the more than 500 species of wildlife. To correct that the federal government has regained management authority over waterfowl, dinky birds, marine mammals, seabirds, eagles, hawks, owls, ravens, crows, and many others. The federal government has usurped State management authority on all species in parks and monuments. SENATOR LEMAN thanked everyone for their testimony and said SCR 24 would be held in Committee for further work.