Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

“Speaking for the fish, I feel very comfortable about this.” ---McKie Campbell, Commissioner of Alaska Department of Fish & Game, speaking about DEC Regulations at the House Fisheries Committee Hearing on HB 328, Friday, January 20.

• Mixing Zone Madness - BREAKING NEWS!
• Invasive Species
• Eminent Domain

In Every Issue

• Legislation Briefs
• Bills to Watch
• Hearings this Week

BREAKING NEWS! - CSHB328 passed out of the House Special Committee on Fisheries Friday (1/27/05) and is now headed towards the House Resources Committee.

Yet again the Murkowski Administration is trying to gamble with the health and economic future of Alaska’s salmon and fish populations by pushing last year’s series of unpopular roll backs to allow toxic mixing zones in salmon spawning habitats.

This time around the Governor proudly announced his decision to retain the current regulatory prohibition on mixing zones in salmon spawning areas. Unfortunately, the regulations adopted by DEC have left open several loopholes. Under the latest version of the regulations (adopted January 12, 2006), mixing zones could explicitly be allowed when spawning is not occurring. The result? The stream is open to potential mixing zone use during certain times of the year.

At the same time, the Administration has weakened current protections for other fish that are vital to subsistence and sport fishing, including Arctic char, grayling, trout, Dolly Varden, sheefish and whitefish. Though DEC claims there are numerous checks and balances in the rules to protect these fish, it is vital to close the loopholes in statute. Fishers, tourism businesses and conservation groups are working together to oppose this terrible idea via HB 328.

The House Special Committee on Fisheries has held two hearings on majority introduced HB 328, sponsored by Representatives Seaton (R-Homer), Olsen (R-Kenai), Gatto (R-Palmer) and LeDoux (R-Kodiak) with co-sponsors Kerttula (D-Juneau) and Gara (D-Anchorage). Senator Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate, SB 225. The bill would settle this issue by retaining and strengthening the current ban on mixing zones in fish spawning areas with an exception for certain municipal wastewater facilities.

A new draft CS adopted by the House Fisheries Committee on Friday, February 27, responded to several of the issues raised at the first hearing by clarifying that the ban applies year round. The CS also allows for renewal of permits during the useful life of municipal wastewater facilities where spawning occurred after initial authorization.

While this is an important and much appreciated return to sanity, some fisher groups and many others feel strongly that the bill also should apply to rearing areas. This bill now moves to House Resources where the battle is likely to continue.

For more information check out:

DEC's Mixing Zone Website

Draft CS for HB 328 and Documents from House Fisheries Committee Hearing, 1/27/06

"Mixing Zone Change Fuzzy for Fisherman," Juneau Empire, 1/15/06

HB 324 - It's Time to Stop the Invasion!

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Kodiak) has introduced a bill that is taking a stab at one of our highest priorities—getting a handle on invasive species. HB 324, which has picked up a couple of additional sponsors, including Rep. Rokeberg (R-Anchorage) and Rep. Cissna (D-Anchorage), bans the importation, transfer and cultivation of orange hawkweed and purple loosestrife. The bill also has provisions for the Commissioner of DNR to adopt regulations providing for the disposal of the plants to prevent further spreading of the species. A companion bill, SB 245, was just introduced in the Senate by Sen. Gary Stevens.

One issue that will need to be addressed is a concern over whether the bill will allow use of pesticides for eradication. Overall, HB 324 is a move in the right direction. The bill is a crucial step towards the protection of native Alaskan plant species and opens the door to a broader discussion of other invasive species issues.

On a related note, the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service received a grant in 2004 from the EPA to fund the establishment of an Invasive Species Council for one year. The first meeting to establish the council is scheduled for January 31. Both federal and state agencies have expressed strong interest in this process.

For more information check out:

"Plant Invaders," Juneau Empire, 1/22/06

Private Property Rights Get A Boost - HB 318

As usual, things come up that you weren’t expecting. This year, one such item is HB 318 by McGuire (R-Anchorage) , Holm (R-Fairbanks) and Hawker (R-Anchorage). The bill is based on the infamous US Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. The City of New London in which the government’s right to condemn private property for private purposes (in that case a shopping center) was upheld. Multiple versions of this idea have been introduced in the House and Senate, but Representative McGuire’s bill is the vehicle for pushing the issue in the House.

To clarify the situation in Alaska, HB 318 prohibits (1) taking private property to transfer to another private person for economic development —with several exceptions—and (2) taking a landowner’s primary residence to develop an indoor or outdoor recreational project.

While HB 318 has merit, there are several concerns about its recreational provisions. HB318 incorporates a double standard that would protect homes from recreational takings (i.e., parks, trails) but would leave homeowners exposed if private lands are required for access to resource extraction activities such as mining or logging. As such, HB 318 leaves loopholes for extractive industries.

The most recent CS attempts to respond to some of these concerns by tightening the definition of primary residence and limiting the amount of land that would fall within this protection, but more work needs to be done! We need to keep the pressure up, as the bill could have significant implications for parks, trails, and habitat areas throughout Alaska.

Legislation Briefs

SB 85 Off-road Vehicles Near Dalton Highway – Sen. Seekins (R-Fairbanks)
Repeals the current ban on some types of off-road vehicles within 5 miles of the Dalton Highway. This bill would permit unnecessary damage to sensitive tundra and permafrost lands. SB 85 would repeal an important environmental safeguard: a long-standing ban on off-road vehicle traffic along the tundra in the Dalton Highway corridor in Arctic Alaska. Public testimony has overwhelmingly opposed Seekins' SB 85 since he introduced it in January 2005. SB 85 opponents cite a wealth of concerns, including: lack of public safety presence, pipeline security, the ecological sensitivity of tundra, unsustainable hunting pressure and jeopardizing funding for the Toolik Field Station. Some scientists have even testified that increased motorized access to the area will result in more human-caused fires, with little or no ability to put them out.

SB 86/ HB 117 Public Interest Litigants – Governor Frank Murkowski
A familiar foe of the conservation community, this bill would stifle the efforts of organizations which sue the government on behalf of the public. Currently such litigants are entitled to reimbursement of certain attorney fees if they win, that is, if the courts decide the government’s actions were wrong. This bill would reduce the state’s liability to only 20-30% of those fees, curtailing some future lawsuits on behalf of the people.

SB 170 Hunting Fees/Licenses – Sen. Seekins (R-Fairbanks)
SB 170 is a 27-page wish list proposing a variety of changes to the Department of Fish and Game. The bill would politicize many important fish & wildlife management decisions and remove checks & balances by taking away control from biologists and giving it to the Governor-appointed Boards. The bill would also weaken ADF&G's ability to manage non-game species, and restrict their ability to fund projects that don't directly benefit hunters and trappers. ADF&G itself testified in opposition to SB 170 during the legislative session, though the Department, and most conservation groups, generally support SB 170's hunting and fishing license fee increases.

Bills to Watch

Bills move at a rapid pace this time of year. You can obtain up-to-date legislative information on the BASIS website. The following chart notes the status of a few bills of importance to the conservation community.

Hearings this Week

Click on the date in the table below to get the most current schedule information for that day, or check the BASIS hearing schedule. Once a bill has been heard in a particular committee it may be brought up again without public notice or listing on the weekly committee schedule. You can click on a committee name to see a list of its members.