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.

Conservation Watch (CW) is a weekly publication of ACV highlighting conservation issues in the AK Legislature.

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Contributing Editors

Suzanne Bostrom
Legislative & Communications Manager
suzanne@akvoice.org

David Rogers
ACV Lobbyist

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ACV- Juneau
419 6th Street, #321
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 463-3366
(907) 463-2554 fax

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ACV- Anchorage
810 N Street #203
Anchorage, AK 99801
(907) 258-6171
(907) 258-6177 fax

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Web Resources

ACV Legislation Page
Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Legislature Homepage
Find Your Legislators, party links, committee lists

State Homepage
Links to state agencies and the Governor

 ACV Homepage

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Whoever thinks the best things in life aren't free, obviously hasn't heard of...

ACA's Legislative Fly-In
March 11 - 13
(Sunday - Tuesday)

What is Fly-In, you ask?
Fly-In is an opportunity to develop your activism skills, meet with legislators, and build up knowledge on how to make your voice heard at the capitol and in any campaign! The Fly-In is intended to be one part learning, one part practicing, and one part hands-on experience in our state capitol for anyone who is--or aspires to be--a conservation activist or advocate.

Who can go?
Your sassy activist grandmother! Actually, anyone interested in learning more about conservation issues and how to make a difference is welcome to apply. We enthusiastically invite conservation activists of all levels and all interests to apply.

Space is limited, so interested parties are strongly urged to submit their applications ASAP! For more information or to download a copy of the application, click the highlighted words above.

For more information, contact Suzanne Bostrom at suzanne@akvoice.org or (907) 463-3366

In This Issue

• The Bear Necessities
• Action Briefs
  • On the Move
  • New in Town
• Hearings this Week

With a Board of Game meeting set to begin today and with a hunt scheduled to take place in October 2007 in land adjacent to one of the world’s premier bear-viewing areas, pressure to stop the McNeil bear hunt is high. Now the legislative front on the issue is heating up as well with the addition of Rep. Seaton’s (R-Homer) HB127, which would amend the boundaries of the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary to incorporate parts of the Kamishak Special Use Area (SUA).

In a move that was opposed overwhelmingly by Alaskans, numerous Alaskan tourism industry groups, hunters (by 78%), and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the Alaska Board of Game voted in 2005 to repeal the brown bear hunting closure in portions of the Kamishak Special Use Area, which is adjacent to the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary. To view a map of the area, click here. A hunt approved by the state Game Board in the region would be the first in 22 years and would take place outside the sanctuary on 95,000 acres of state-owned land.

People have been visiting McNeil Falls to watch brown bears since 1940. In 1967, at the request of conservationists that included guide and bush pilot Jay Hammond (who later become governor), the legislature designated 131 square miles of the McNeil River drainage as a state game sanctuary. The Sanctuary was later expanded to 200 square miles. In 1985, the area between Katmai National Park and the McNeil Sanctuary—which was later named the Kamishak Special Use Area—was closed to brown bear hunting in order to protect McNeil’s bears, which typically wander around an area much larger than the McNeil drainage. In 1991, the 188 square mile McNeil River State Game Refuge was designated to the North and was closed to hunting in 1995. As a result, by 1995, approximately 500 combined square miles of bear habitat were under protection from hunting.

Although bear viewing at the McNeil sanctuary has long been limited to around 200 visitors per year, bear viewing in the region has swelled in the last 10 years since more places are available to watch the bears elsewhere without having to apply for a permit to the sanctuary. The current sanctuary manager estimated that a record 32,000 bear watchers visited the upper Alaska Peninsula last year. According to an Institute of Social and Economic Research study conducted in 2005, it was determined that bear viewers on average spent $2,828 per person and the annual economic value to Southcentral alone is estimated at over $32 million.

F&G has identified a decline in bear populations in the McNeil River, due in part to poor chum salmon runs that have moved the bears elsewhere and to more liberalized bear hunting seasons in Game Management Unit 9B to the north and west of the Sanctuary. Bear numbers at the McNeil River falls have fallen in recent years, with only 78 bears stopping in the area in 2004, which was barely half the number from 1997. Individuals such as Rep. Seaton cite that allowing a bear hunt in the Special Use Area would put further stress on these bear areas, which would be closed to hunting if HB127 were to go through.

State Fish & Game staffers, who have been flooded with critical emails and letters on the issue, want the Board of Game to undo their recent decision to allow bear hunts in the area. While their recommendation indicates that bear numbers near the Sanctuary are healthy and won’t be jeopardized by the hunt, Wildlife Conservation Director Matt Robus felt that allowing hunters to kill a few bears that are acclimated to humans on lands near the sanctuary does not seem to be a good trade since it could “tarnish the image of hunting in Alaska.”

With the Board of Game meeting expected to take place from March 2 through 12 in Anchorage, we anticipate that more action on this issue is likely to come. According to the latest report, HB127 will not be heard next week due to a flurry of activity that is likely to take place thanks to the Energy Conference in Washington, D.C. as well as the introduction of Governor Palin’s Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA). We expect the bill will possibly be scheduled the week of March 11th. ACV supports HB127 and will be tracking the issue as it progresses. Stay tuned!

More Information-

Public Meeting Notice for the Board of Game's Meeting in Anchorage at the Coast International Inn from March 2 - 12

The Fish & Game Recommendation to the Board of Game - See Proposal 43

HB127 Sponsor Statement

“Pressure Builds to Stop McNeil Bear Hunt” - ADN, 2/22

HB 25 Recreational Land Use Liability - Rep. Seaton (R-Homer)
This bill was heard and held in Senate Resources on Friday, March 2. Some additional technical concerns were raised that will be addressed at the next hearing. HB25 provides landowners with immunity from lawsuits for allowing their land to be accessed for recreational purposes. ACV strongly supports HB25 and expects it to keep moving in the Senate.

HB56 Hydrogen Energy Partnership - Rep. Crawford (D-Anchorage)
CSHB56 (CRA) was moved from House Community and Regional Affairs. The committee substitute shifted the location for the Hydrogen Energy Partnership from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development to the Alaska Energy Authority. This change allows for more direct handling of the funding for the partnership by the Alaska Energy Authority. Other changes included the removal of “political subdivisions” and the insertion of “Alaska Regional Development Organization” to the board member designations. Smaller language changes were also adopted to make the bill more "scientifically correct." This visionary proposal would set up the Hydrogen Energy Partnership within the Alaska Energy Authority to work towards the development of a hydrogen fuel industry in Alaska . Hydrogen fuel technology has the potential to act as a bridge to allow for the storage and transmission of energy generated from renewable energy resources. ACV supports HB56.

HB89 Oil and Gas Production Tax - Reps. Gara (D-Anchorage), Crawford (D-Anchorage), & Guttenberg (D-Fairbanks)
HB89 was heard and held again in House Oil and Gas this week. This very complicated bill would essentially rewrite the new net profits oil tax law to return to a tax on the gross value.

HB128 Oil and Gas Production Tax: Expenditures - Rep. Olson (R-Soldotna)
CS HB128 (O&G) was moved from the House Oil & Gas Committee this week. A number of amendments were adopted that are currently under review by ACV. For a description of the bill, see SB80 below.

HB134 Protection of Salmon Spawning Water - Rep. Edgmon (D-Dillingham)
HB134 was heard and held twice this week in House Fisheries. Large numbers of people testified on the bill on Wednesday and Friday. The bill will be taken up again on Monday, March 5. A committee substitute now under consideration would add more exceptions to the bill’s prohibitions by adding unincorporated communities, transportation projects, energy projects and seafood processing. The original list of exceptions (which are still in the CS) include “uses authorized, approved, and permitted before the effective date of the Act,” drinking water and domestic uses, ordinary existing and future municipal uses as well as traditional, cultural, or residential uses. For the many supporters, the measure is about protecting the water and Bristol Bay salmon, one of the most valuable wild salmon fisheries in the world. Critics of the bill included individuals worried that it favored one industry over others and would severely curtail economic and job growth by stopping the proposed Pebble Mine or other economic development efforts. Both sides expressed concerns about subsistence impacts. The bill – with bipartisan sponsors, including Rep. Ramras - would create statutory protections for salmon streams in Bristol Bay by extending the 1972 created Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve protections advanced by Jay Hammond to river systems, ground water and the entire Bristol Bay drainage system. For the Nushagak, Kvichak, Naknek, Egegik, and Ugashik Rivers, a person would not be able to "withdraw, obstruct, divert, inject, pollute, or pump, either temporarily or permanently any subsurface or surface water in drainages supporting salmon" or any water that is connected to those drainages. It also bans people from being able to "alter, destroy, displace, relocate, channel, dam, convert to dry land, or otherwise adversely affect any portion of a river, stream, lake, bog, tributary, or any other water body, including the beds of water bodies, in drainages supporting salmon." Should a person violate these rules, fines of $10 - $5,000 per day for individuals and $100,000 to $1,000,000 a day for corporations would be imposed.

SB46 Coastal Management Program - Sen. Olson (D-Nome)
**Signed into law by the Governor on 2/20 and given an effective date of 2/21.** ACV supported this necessary bill, which extended the March 1 deadline for completion and approval of district plans to September 1. With 9 out of 30 coastal management district plans still being revised or under review and with 3 requesting mediation, it was unlikely that several districts would have been able to meet the current deadline. SB46 provides the coastal management districts with the time necessary to complete the revisions necessary to comply with the previous administration’s Alaska Coastal Management Program (ACMP) changes before the termination of their existing plans.

SB80 Oil and Gas Production Tax: Expenditures - Sen. Wagoner (R-Kenai)
SB80 was heard and held in Senate Resources this week and is not likely to be taken up again for another two weeks because of the upcoming energy conference in Washington, D.C., as well as the release of Governor Palin’s gas pipeline proposal—the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA). Concerns were cited at the hearing regarding the definition of “improper maintenance” and whether the changes could lead to litigation. The bill would amend the state’s new oil production tax to allow the Department of Revenue, in consultation with other state entities, to block oil companies from taking deductions and credits on costs associated with improper maintenance or lack of maintenance. With the millions of dollars in costs for repairing the miles of corroded Prudhoe Bay pipeline, concerns have been raised over whether BP will try to pass the expenses back to the state through the deductions and tax credits allowed by the new Petroleum Production Tax. Recent comments by at least one oil company reinforce this concern.

HB152 Establishing A Renewable Energy Fund - Rep. Harris (R-Cordova)
HB152 was introduced on Monday, February 26. Rep. Harris teamed up with co-sponsor Rep. Thomas (R-Haines) for HB152, which would help communities to research, fund and develop alternative energy projects to help offset high fuel costs and replace nonrenewable sources of power. SB96 is the Senate counterpart that was introduced by Sen. Ellis with co-sponsor Senator Stevens, the Senate Majority Leader. HB152 would establish a renewable energy fund to be administered by the Alaska Energy Authority with the advice of a seven-member advisory committee consisting of interests from urban and rural utilities, nonprofit environmental groups, nonprofit consumer groups, Alaska Native organizations, businesses engaged in renewable energy and state government. The fund would allow the Alaska Energy Authority to provide grants to viable renewable energy projects if the project could find matching grants, provide loans to viable renewable energy projects and offer financing for the feasibility and reconnaissance studies necessary to launch new renewable energy projects. HB152 has its first hearing scheduled for House Community & Regional Affairs on Tuesday, March 6 at 8:00 a.m. HB152 is a top priority for ACV this session.

HB156 Mining Production & License Taxes / Royalties - Rep. Seaton (R-Seward)
Another top priority for ACV, HB156 was introduced on Monday, February 26, and makes changes to the Mining License Tax, state royalties for minerals and coal, and the per acre rental fees for mining activity on state land. Changes to the Mining License Tax would increase the current graduated scale from 3-7% to 5-9% of net income and would add an additional bracket for income over $500,000 to be taxed at 11%. The ability to deduct indirect expenses when calculating the net income for the Mining License Tax would also be disallowed. In addition, HB156 would change the current 3 1/2 year exemption from taxes on production to a 3 1/2 year deferral that would be payable in equal installments over the 10 years following the end of the deferral period. Changes would also be made to alter the calculation of the royalty for mineral mining on state land from a 3% of net profits to 3% of Net Smelter returns or 3% of the gross value at the point of production. The bill would also update the royalty for coal by setting the 5% of adjusted gross income currently in regulation as the minimum that can be negotiated with the Administration. Finally, mining claim rental rates would be adjusted to make the $3/acre rate for coal and $3.30/acre rate for minerals now in regulation the floor rates, subject to negotiation.

HB164 Ocean Rangers & Reporting Vessel Location - House Transportation Committee
HB164 addresses the issue of how to implement the language of Ballot Measure 2, “The Cruise Ship Initiative” that passed in last year’s election. According to the House Transportation Committee, “this bill will allow the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to implement the initiative in a reasonable way” and states that “in no way does HB 164 ease or lessen the federal and state environmental laws that have regulated cruise ship discharges since 2001.” The bill provides that: 1) hourly reports of vessel locations are to be submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard; 2) an “Ocean Ranger” is allowed on a vessel at “times designated by the commissioner [of DEC] while the vessel is in an Alaska port; 3) an “Ocean Ranger” must comply with the vessel’s approved United States Coast Guard security plan while aboard the vessel; and 4) the Ocean Ranger’s job duties while onboard the vessel include monitoring, observing and recording date and information related to the registration, record-keeping, and discharge functions already required by federal and state law. However, it deletes references to other language in the law requiring the marine engineer to “monitor engineering, sanitation, and health related operations of the vessel.” This bill’s first hearing is scheduled for House Transportation on Thursday, March 8 at 1:30 p.m.

SB96 Establishing A Renewable Energy Fund - Sen. Ellis (D-Anchorage)
SB96 was introduced on Monday, February 26 by Sen. Ellis and co-sponsor Sen. Stevens. The house counterpart is HB152. For more information on the bill, see HB152 above. SB96 is a top priority for ACV this session.

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.