ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 22, 2024
1:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Tom McKay, Chair
Representative George Rauscher, Vice Chair
Representative Thomas Baker
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Stanley Wright
Representative Jennie Armstrong
Representative Donna Mears
Representative Maxine Dibert
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 169
"An Act relating to certain fish; and establishing a fisheries
rehabilitation permit."
- MOVED CSHB 169(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 177
"An Act relating to critical and essential minerals and the
global energy transition."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 169
SHORT TITLE: FISHERIES REHABILITATION PERMIT/PROJECT
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CRONK
04/24/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/24/23 (H) FSH, RES
04/25/23 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/25/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/27/23 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/27/23 (H) Heard & Held
04/27/23 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
05/08/23 (H) RES WAIVED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE, RULE
23(A)
05/08/23 (H) FSH AT 9:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
05/08/23 (H) Moved CSHB 169(FSH) Out of Committee
05/08/23 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
05/09/23 (H) FSH RPT CS(FSH) 5DP 1NR
05/09/23 (H) DP: MCCABE, STUTES, MCCORMICK,
CARPENTER, VANCE
05/09/23 (H) NR: HIMSCHOOT
05/10/23 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
05/10/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/12/23 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
05/12/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
01/17/24 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
01/17/24 (H) Heard & Held
01/17/24 (H) MINUTE(RES)
01/22/24 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
BILL: HB 177
SHORT TITLE: CRITICAL NATURAL MINERALS PLAN AND REPORT
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) SADDLER
04/24/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/24/23 (H) RES, FIN
01/17/24 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
01/17/24 (H) Heard & Held
01/17/24 (H) MINUTE(RES)
01/22/24 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
GALE VICK, representing self
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified to hold CSHB 169(FSH) because it
could make the decline worse.
EVA BURK, Member
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified to hold CSHB 169(FSH) until
further consideration.
NANCY HILLSTRAND, representing self
Seldovia, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified to wait until the science is
available for the passage of CSHB 169(FSH).
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CRONK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented CSHB 169(FSH).
DAVE STANCLIFF, Staff
Representative Mike Cronk
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions and offered information
during the hearing on CSHB 169 (FSH) on behalf of Representative
Cronk, prime sponsor.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:04:32 PM
CHAIR TOM MCKAY called the House Resources Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. Representatives McCabe, Baker,
Rauscher, Saddler, Wright, Armstrong, Mears, Dibert, and McKay
were present at the call to order.
HB 169-FISHERIES REHABILITATION PERMIT/PROJECT
1:05:30 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 169, "An Act relating to certain fish; and
establishing a fisheries rehabilitation permit." [Before the
committee was CSHB 169(FSH).]
1:06:04 PM
CHAIR MCKAY opened public testimony on CSHB 169(FSH).
1:06:42 PM
GALE VICK, representing self, provided her background in
fisheries and urged the committee to table HB 169 for further
consideration due to lack of monitoring, population collapse,
and/or disease. She said there are obstacles to finding brood
stock [fish] and the math doesn't add up. She said there is
data that suggests there are too many salmon in the North
Pacific competing for forage.
1:09:55 PM
EVA BURK, Member, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
expressed concern that if [fisheries biologists] are not meeting
escapement goals then there won't be enough harvestable eggs to
fertilize. She called for a Chinook rebuilding plan on the
Yukon [River]. She advocated for the best available science to
help the problem. She claimed hatchery salmon are threatening
the wild stock. She also stated trawling bycatch is an issue
that needs to be studied.
1:12:34 PM
NANCY HILLSTRAND, representing self, testified that HB 169 is
well-intentioned but it places wild fish at risk. She advocated
to do homework on this issue. She also informed the committee
that the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) currently has
three stages for restocking salmon. Ms. Hillstrand recommended
to wait for the Salmon Resource Task Force results because it
will find out why there is a problem.
1:16:18 PM
CHAIR MCKAY, after ascertaining there was no one else who wished
to testify, closed public testimony on CSHB 169(FSH). He then
asked Representative Cronk to address some of the questions just
heard.
1:16:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK said CSHB 169(FSH) has been eight years in
the making for background. He stated that these are not
"Frankenfish" or hatchery fish, rather these fish are from in-
stream incubation. He continued that there are too many salmon
in the ocean but CSHB 169(FSH) does not change the fish
genetically and the bill serves to enhance the fishery. He
listed off the tribal corporations and agencies that are in
support of the bill. He called for a time to do something about
the Yukon River subsistence fishery with a permitted process.
1:19:15 PM
CHAIR MCKAY inquired whether CSHB 169(FSH) addressed only the
Yukon River.
1:19:29 PM
DAVE STANCLIFF, Staff, Representative Mike Cronk, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Cronk, prime sponsor of
CSHB 169 (FSH), answered that the proposed legislation is not
specific to any river system and is an optional piece of
legislation.
1:20:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE stressed the difference between hatchery
fish and fish eggs that are incubated from a river and then
released in that same river. He asserted a female Coho [salmon]
has about 45,000 eggs, at 5 percent, 225 fish hatch, and out-
migrate given mortality rates. He maintained the upper limit of
500,000 fish doesn't account for mortality after fertilization.
He saw CSHB 169(FSH) as one more way of solving the fish
problem.
1:22:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether, under CSHB 169)FSH), there
would a limit to the number of permits for applicants.
1:23:11 PM
MR. STANCLIFF replied no, except for the requirements that would
be administered by ADF&G.
1:23:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER queried what mechanism there is for
monitoring feedback and timeline to determine if the program is
working or not.
1:24:08 PM
MR. STANCLIFF replied that part of the requirements in this
process includes monitoring of any permit issued. He posited
that ADF&G would be careful in the selection of who is qualified
for a permit. He suggested the legislature should trust the
professionals at ADF&G to manage the program.
1:25:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked the bill sponsor what the status
quo is and where Alaska is headed if nothing is done, as far as
fish stocks.
1:25:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CRONK, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor of CSHB 169(FSH), explained that subsistence fishing for
Chinook on the Yukon hasn't happened for years. He said the
forecast is dismal for future fishing. He noted that the summer
Chum fishery happened but not the fall fishery last year. He
believed the fisheries will not return by nature and the state
needs to manage the fisheries under its constitution. He also
envisioned local knowledge from tribes to assist in management
of the fisheries to be successful. He maintained CSHB 169(FSH)
is a natural way to enhance fisheries as opposed to commercial
fish hatcheries. He professed CSHB 169(FSH) is another tool in
the toolbox.
1:27:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER inquired about the fiscal note and the
requirements of ADF&G.
1:28:08 PM
MR. STANCLIFF said there was a recommendation to add personnel
specifically to oversee the program and he anticipated a
forthcoming fiscal note from the House Finance Committee. He
added that there is pressure on Canada from Alaska communities
to cut down on mining interests and exploration of waters that
feed into Southeast Alaska. He informed the committee that
Alaska has an agreement with Canada within the Yukon River, and
the state needs to fulfill this agreement.
1:29:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER mentioned three of the entities listed
are in his district, so he is in support of CSHB 169(FSH).
1:30:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT explained this is a huge issue for the
people in her district who have subsistence fished for
millennia. She asked whether CSHB 169(FSH) had been presented
to the aforementioned task force in the past eight years.
1:30:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK said he had no knowledge of what the Salmon
task force had done. He held that [Alaskans] do not control the
"environmental thing" but do control how many fish can get down
the river. He said the salmon returns are too low for the stock
to return to normal.
1:32:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT mentioned that two communities are on that
list.
1:32:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS opined that professionals should do their
jobs and [CSHB 169(FSH)] would give them the tools to do it.
1:32:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE opined that people are doing this anyway
and it is working. He proposed, as a state, Alaska should give
a nod to the regulations.
1:33:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK agreed with Representative McCabe and said
he wants the program to be successful. He reiterated that
Alaska has failed to meet its treaty obligations with Canada to
allow fish to reach their country. Conversely, [Canada] has
proposed to build a commercial hatchery on the Yukon River. He
maintained that local knowledge is essential for input with this
program.
1:34:52 PM
CHAIR MCKAY said he was reminded by Representative Rauscher that
the Alaska Constitution requires a sustainable yield principle
with regard to fish and game. He said reducing stocks would
violate the constitution.
1:35:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BAKER said it would severely impact the Northwest
and North Slope communities in regard to subsistence fishing.
He reported that the communities he represents have not yet been
affected but global warming, algae blooms, and other factors
that could eventually affect the fisheries in his district. He
voiced his support for CSHB 169(FSH) as a step in the right
direction.
1:36:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT asked Representative Cronk how Canada
feels about fish processing and revitalizing fish.
1:36:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK responded that Canada has reached the
extreme of building commercial fish hatcheries to enhance their
fish. He provided an example from 2017 when he went to Eagle,
Alaska, on the Yukon River, when chum/dog salmon were plentiful,
but it's not that way anymore; he insisted upriver has been
totally impacted. He imparted that fishermen from Yukon [River
communities] now have to fish in other rivers, such as the
Copper River which will begin to deplete that fishery as well.
1:38:29 PM
CHAIR MCKAY said he sensed support from the committee on CSHB
169(FSH) and reminded the committee that the House Special
Committee on Fisheries heard the legislation last session and
passed it.
1:39:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER moved to report CSHB 169(FSH) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 169(FSH) was
reported out of the House Resources Standing Committee.
1:39:55 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:40 p.m. to 1:43 p.m.
HB 177-CRITICAL NATURAL MINERALS PLAN AND REPORT
1:43:42 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 177, "An Act relating to critical and essential
minerals and the global energy transition."
1:44:07 PM
CHAIR MCKAY opened public testimony on HB 177. After
ascertaining no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
1:44:21 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that HB 177 was held over.
1:45:00 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m.