SRES-260508-1530

I call Senate Resources Committee meeting to order. Today is May 8th, 2026, and the time is 3:30 PM. Please silence your cell phones. Committee members present today: Senator Kawasaki, Senator Myers, Senator Dunbar, Senator Clayman. Senator Wilkowski is on the phone.

Uh, Senator Rauscher is excused today, and I am Senator Giesel. We have a quorum to conduct business. Thank you, Heather and Chloe, for keeping us online today with audio and records. Today we're having confirmation hearings. So the order that we're going to go through is we're going to hear CFEC first, then we're going to do Fish, Game, Big Game, and finally Assessment.

So that will be the order that we do them in. So first up is CFEC. In—. I think possibly, I don't know if my staff handed it out, but I am going to review the qualifications for the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. The board consists of 2 members appointed by the governor with a broad range of professional experience, none of whom has a vested economic interest in an interim use permit, entry permit, commercial fishing vessel or gear, or in any fishery resource processing or marketing business.

Interestingly, this commission consists of 2 members.

I guess if they have a tie vote— well, anyway, sorry. The commission is regulatory and quasi-judicial, and members can be removed for cause. They do have a salary. It is a range 25, which is a substantial salary. We have an appointee today.

Her name is Tracy Welsh. And so Tracy, I see you're online with us. So we all have your resume before us. Welcome to the committee meeting. If you would give your name and affiliation for the meeting and— oh, you're here.

I'm here. Thank you. I'm looking at my little iPad thing and I assumed you were online, but welcome. Glad you're here. If you would tell us why you would like to be on this commission, how your experience might lend knowledge to it.

So welcome. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Giesel, members of the Senate Resource Committee. Thank you for the invitation to be here today to share a little bit more about my background. For the record, my name is Tracy Welch, and I'm a lifelong resident of Southeast Alaska.

I grew up in Petersburg. It's a small fishing community south of here, located in Senate District A. I've been a participant in the commercial fishing industry now for more than 30 years, and I grew up commercial fishing with my dad and alongside my uncles and cousins since the age of 3. Over the years, I participated in several fisheries throughout in Southeast Alaska, including the Southeast gillnet and herring fisheries, as well as the halibut IFQ fisheries. And like many other rural residents, I've also been active in subsistence and in sport. I graduated from Petersburg High School and went on to attend the University of Notre Dame, where I double majored in political science and German.

Following college, I wanted to move a little bit closer to home, so I chose to attend the University of Oregon School of Law. In 2012, I sat for and was admitted to the Oregon State Bar Association. Post-law school, I spent a number of years serving as the president of Petersburg Indian Association, and to the best of my knowledge, I was the youngest person to have ever held that seat. I later went on to serve as the association's tribal administrator, where I led a team of approximately 20 staff and provided oversight for programs and tribal operations. And a few highlights to explain from my time at PIA include leading the tribe through clean audits, expanding the tribe's residential and commercial real estate portfolio, creating a transit service for community elders, building a working natural resource career development path program for high school students in Petersburg.

And during COVID I'd note that PIA was the only tribe to be awarded a half-million-dollar grant for subsistence harvest impact mitigation. For the last 4.5 years, I've had the honor of representing commercial fishermen throughout the state of Alaska, working for United Fishermen of Alaska as their executive Director. And as many of you know, UFA is the statewide commercial trade association, so we represent fishermen that participate in both the state and federal fisheries. So as part of my role, I've had the opportunity to get to know not only fishermen throughout the state but a number of policymakers and have also learned a little bit about various federal fishery and state fishery management structures and entities. In my time at UFA, I built a relationship with the folks at CFEC and with the current Executive Director, and I'm familiar with the work that the agency.

As for the fishing industry and the importance of it. I'm excited to work alongside the team here at CFEC and to continue the good work that they're doing, not only for the commercial fishing industry, but for the state of Alaska. Happy to take any questions you may have. Very good. Thank you.

Any questions, committee members? Senator Clayman. Just a couple of questions. Are you still working for United Fishermen of Alaska today? Thank you.

Through the chair, Senator Clayman, we are working on a transition plan. I was notified by the Governor's Office a few weeks ago, so I'm trying to honor some commitments with UFA and trying to work my way out of that role. Thank you. Follow-up? And are you a member of the Alaska Bar?

I, through the chair, Senator Clayman, I am not. I graduated from law school at the peak of the legal recession, and at the time I was making more money fishing and thought I'd come back and spend my time there. Thank you. Thank you. Any further questions?

All right, seeing none, thank you very much for being here in person especially. For each of— for these appointees, we will be taking public testimony, and when it's a commission appointee, I do it individually. So I'm going to look right now. Is there any— I'm going to open public testimony on Ms. Tracy Welsh. Is there anyone here in the room that wishes to testify on this appointment?

Please come forward. Do you have a sign-up? We'll get the sign-up sheet so that we have your name for the record. Our secretary will take the name. So if you would identify yourself for the record, and I am allowing 2 minutes for testimony.

So welcome. Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the Senate Resources Committee. I'm Rich Davis. I live in Juneau. I'm a lifelong commercial fisherman.

Today it is my privilege and honor to represent the United Fishermen of Alaska in their testimony on behalf of Tracy to you. And I'm on your list of folks to testify, so you could scratch that off. United Fishermen of Alaska, as Tracy said, is the largest Alaskan cross-section of the commercial fishing industry that you could put your eyes on, with 35 member organizations and hundreds of fishermen from Kotzebue to Ketchikan. UFA supports the confirmation of Tracy Welch as the Commissioner to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Tracy's long participation in commercial fisheries and her work these past 5 years as UFA's Executive Director have bolstered her skill set and her very thorough understanding of how essential the Alaska Entry Commission— Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission is to continued sustainable management of Alaska's commercial fisheries.

She has an excellent working knowledge of the limited entry permit system, Alaska's fishing industry regulatory process, our state's fishing fisheries history, and today's challenging fisheries complexities. These make Tracy an ideal appointee as Commissioner to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. We thank you for the opportunity to support Tracy and urge you to do so with us also. Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony.

Is there anyone else here in the room that wishes to testify? All right. And I'm looking online and I don't see anyone else there wishing to testify. So at this time, I'm going to close public testimony on the appointment of Tracy Welsh to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. So again, for the process, we will sign a document at the end indicating that we have interviewed her and are moving her name forward.

So, now we'll begin the various boards, and we'll start out with the Board of Fisheries. Again, to review what this entails, this board has 7 members appointed by the governor on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge, and the ability in the field of action of the board, and with a view toward the diversity of interests and points of view in the membership. Members of the board must be residents of the state. They are a regulatory board. A quorum consists of the majority.

Members are removed only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office. The statute requires the board to hold at least one meeting a year. They hold a lot more. And board members get standard travel and per diem at a range of 20A for board meetings. So appointees today, the first appointee on the list, and we're doing them alphabetically, is Paul, I believe it's Cyr, C-Y-R. And let me take a look here and see if Mr. Cyr— yes, he is.

Mr. Cyr, you're here online. Welcome to the committee. If you would put yourself on the record with your name and tell us why you're interested in serving on the Board of Fisheries.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Paul Cyr. First, I'd like to thank Governor Dunleavy for the confidence he's shown in nominating me. I also want to thank this committee and the legislature for taking the time to be here today. I appreciate the seriousness of this process, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak with you about my background and how I would approach service on the Board of Fisheries.

I've spent the last 20 years of my life working in positions that rely on Alaska's waters. I currently serve as the general manager of Sea Grove Alaska, where we work closely with oyster and kelp farms in the growing mariculture sector. Before that, I spent 16 years as general manager of E.C. Phillips Sons, a medium-sized fish processor here in Ketchikan. Prior to that, I owned and operated a sport fishing lodge with approximately 15 charter boats for 3 years.

Outside of work, I'm an outdoors person. Whether I'm on a boat or standing in a river with a fly rod, I understand the connection Alaskans have to our fisheries. These experiences have given me a very broad perspective. I believe that first and foremost, we must ensure the sustainability of the resource before it can be used for the benefit of the people of Alaska. I'm very familiar with the business realities facing commercial fishing fleets as well as the expectations of sport anglers who fish in Alaska waters.

If confirmed, my approach to the Board of Fisheries will come down to 3 things: process, people, and science. The board's public process is one of the strongest examples of open government we have in Alaska. I believe it's critical to show up prepared and truly listen to the subsistence users, to the sport anglers, to the commercial fishermen alike. Even when decisions are difficult, they're stronger when people feel they've been heard. But listening is only part of the job.

The other part is making decisions grounded in science. I have a great deal of respect for the professionals at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. For decisions to hold up over time and to be durable, they must be rooted in the best available data. Conservation has to come first. If the resource isn't healthy, Nothing else will work.

I also want to say that I understand the commitment this position requires. Serving on the Board of Fisheries means long hours reviewing proposals, reading staff analysis, and engaging with the public. I accept this nomination knowing exactly what that responsibility entails, and I'm prepared to dedicate the time and effort to do the job the right way. Thank you again for the opportunity to be here today. I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you very much, Mr. Cyr, for speaking with us. Are there any questions from committee members for Mr. Cyr? Senator Kawasaki. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Cyr, for your desire to serve on this controversial committee. I had a question. There's a bill that the legislature is looking at. It's called House Bill 93. It's a bill that would essentially set the, um, what's a pretty wide-open resident license qualification to get a resident's license to tie it to the Permanent Fund Dividend, which then would require a person to basically be here at least 180 days or most of a year.

And there's a lot of exemptions for the, for the PFD, but I'm just curious what your thoughts are on that bill.

Well, that— I haven't researched that particular bill, or any for that matter at this point, but I think it's, uh, it's definitely something that deserves consideration. Um, I think that to take advantage of the residential privileges that come along with being here year-round.

The people that could possibly get around that through various means and take advantage of resident fishing limits, I don't think that that's necessarily good for our ecosystem or Thank you. Follow-up, Senator Kawasaki. Different question. Thank you for that answer, and I appreciate that you haven't read the bill. It's, uh, some of us haven't even read the bill yet, but.

I had another question, and you mentioned ecology. An issue that's sort of been top level, I think, a lot on a lot of minds is trawling, and particularly factory trawling, which is outside of the limitations that the Board of Fish would do, but I just wanted to hear your opinion of trawl fisheries.

Well, with trawl fisheries, I know that they are a big contributor to the state for employment, but I also know that there's a lot of concern about bypass and both very important things. And I know that there's some studies and I can't quote exactly the studies, but they're looking into generating some data so that there's some good science that we can look at and make difficult decisions when it comes to that. So I mean, I believe that it's important to always be looking at fisheries, at all of the fisheries, and how they affect the sustainability of the resources and all the other fisheries, and I would need to do that to truly analyze the trawl fishery. Great, thank you very much. Further questions from committee members?

All right. I don't see any. Mr. Seere, I just want to thank you for your service in the U.S. Navy. I see you served on a nuclear submarine. Thank you for your service.

Thank you. So we'll move on to the second appointee. That's Blair Hickson. And Mr. Hickson is here in the room. So I will welcome you forward, Mr. Hickson.

Um, you're seeing the drill, so, uh, if you'd introduce yourself for the record and tell us why you'd like to serve on the Board of Fisheries. Yes, good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for holding this hearing today and giving me the opportunity to appear before you and answer your questions. Thank you to Governor Mike Dunleavy for nominating me to the Alaska Board of Fisheries. I began my early years growing up in the community of Bethel along the Kuskokwim River, where my family was deeply involved in local community.

Some of my earliest memories are from time spent at our family's fish camp on the Kuskokwim River participating in subsistence fisheries. From a young age, I learned the importance of respecting and responsibly stewarding our natural resources, values that continue to guide me to this day. At 6 years old, my family began operating the Anvik River Lodge on the Anvik River in western Alaska, where we host sport fishermen from around the world. Through that experience, I've had the opportunity to observe firsthand the cycles and behavior of fish in the region, gaining a practical, long-term perspective on the resource. Having lived in Alaska throughout my life, I've built relationships with individuals involved across many of the sectors of fishing in our state.

I've personally participated in sport, personal use, and subsistence fisheries. And while I have not held a commercial permit, I've seen the economic importance of commercial fishing in communities throughout the Alaska Peninsula. And the Bristol Bay region during my time working as assistant hunting guide. This perspective has given me a deep appreciation for the complex balance required among user groups, the critical importance of science-based decisions, science-based decision-making, while taking into account the observations and insights of stakeholders to develop and sustain healthy fish stocks for subsistence, commercial, sport, and personal use fisheries. During the off-season, I reside in Wasilla, where I focus on promoting and supporting our lodge operations I also take time to attend Board of Fish meetings and stay informed and engaged in the process.

If confirmed to the Board of Fisheries, I look forward to contributing to the board's important work in conserving and developing the state's fishery resources for the benefit of all Alaskans. I commit to approach each decision with objectivity, good judgment, and a focus on long-term sustainability of our fisheries while giving fair consideration to input from all stakeholders, advisory committees, the Department of Fish and Game, and the general public. I value the opportunity to better understand the nuances of Alaska's diverse fisheries and bring a broad, balanced understanding of the resource as a whole. I welcome any questions. Thank you very much.

Questions for Mr. Hickson? Yes, Senator Myers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Excuse me. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Hickson, with your fishing, guiding, and other activities, I'm curious if you have any experience on the Copper River or if you've got any particular opinions about the Chitina personal use, personal use fishery there, dip net fishery. Through the chair, Senator Myers, I have not personally fished the Copper River. I do have several friends that engage in the personal use fishery there during the summer months. As far as I can tell, it provides a lot of fish for a lot of Alaskan families. And I think that's a great thing.

Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Clayman. So I really appreciate your comments about being committed to a science-based approach.

It's also apparent because you actually go to Board of Fish meetings that you understand the complexity of some of the issues that are in front of you. I'm just curious how you how comfortable you would be, even if you may come in with a perspective on what the right approach to be, how receptive you'll be to having the science-based evidence that may suggest maybe your conclusions were wrong and how easy it would be to be convinced that you should follow the science and not what may turn out to not be the best choice. Or at least, Dave, I mean, I've had that happen to me. I think here's the answer and then I learn, Monica, guess I didn't have that right. Thank you.

Through the chair, Senator Clayman, I would approach any meeting with an open mind. I understand that the board has access to a lot of information that you generally don't see as a member of the public, and information can change your view and understanding of the situation. Okay. Thank you. Very good.

Further questions? Senator Kawasaki. Thank you. Thanks for being here, and thank you for wanting to serve again on this commission or this board, which is controversial sometimes. My question has to do with Since you've fished on the— or since you fish and live on the YK Delta, you've seen recently in the last 6 years now no king salmon retention.

And I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on the causes and then what should the solution be?

Through the chair, thank you, Senator Kawasaki, for the question. That's a very Good question.

With the decline in the king salmon, it's multifaceted. We do have, from my understanding, warming water temperatures. We do have, you know, intercept and bycatch out in the oceans. And there's also evidence that in some of the spawning grounds there are environmental issues or warming temps as well. I don't think there is a one-stop solution to all the issues, and we should just take it kind of a piece at a time.

With that, I would say that I'm still trying to understand what would be the most realistic solution to the problem. Follow-up, Senator Kawasaki? Sure. And so the Board of Fish— or the regulators within Fish and Game has said for the last 6 years that what they needed to do was prevent any catch within the river as fish are swimming north to spawn. And they've given scientific data to that effect that that's the solution.

I'm curious if you've— because bycatch actually is a common theme that we've heard about, whether you've thought at all about trawl fisheries outside of the 3-mile limit, which you don't get to regulate personally. Through the chair, thank you, Senator Kawasaki. Yes, I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about the fishery that is in federal waters, not managed by this Alaska Board of Fisheries, and there, in my opinion, needs to be some changes in that department.

Welcome to Senator Rosha, who's joined us. Any other questions for for Mr. Hickson. All right, thank you very much for being here today. Uh, let's see, the third appointee to the Board of Fisheries is Michael Wood, and Mr. Wood is not available. All right, um, so folks can review his resume here in the packet.

So what I'm going to do is continue on. We'll go through all of the board appointees and then take testimony all at the end for the total group. So next up we have the Board of Game. So reviewing the Board of Game, this is a board made of 7 members. They are appointed on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge, and ability in the field of action of the board, and with a view of providing a diversity of of interest and points of view on the membership.

Members need to be residents of the state.

And they may be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office. The board generally meets 3 times a year, approximately 20 to 27 days. This is a big commitment. The same is true of the Board of Fisheries. The compensation.

Is standard travel and per diem at a range of 20A. So just basic information. Um, oh, thank you, Paige. Uh, my staff tells me that Mike Wood is back online. So members, if you would turn back to, uh, Michael Wood.

Mr. Wood, I'm told you've joined us online from King Salmon, so welcome. What I'm asking members or appointees to do is to introduce themselves for the record and identify why you have the experience and interest in serving on the Board of Fisheries. So welcome, Mr. Wood.

Yah-hoo, Madam Chair and members of the board, can you hear me okay? Yes, very clear. All right, I'm calling from King Salmon remotely, so I just lost my call, it got dropped. So thank you, and I'd like to thank the governor for putting my name forward. I came to Alaska in '89.

I worked as a climbing guide on Denali for about the first 20 years and other mountains. And over the years, I settled down in Talkeetna. My wife and I built remotely north of Talkeetna and Chase, where we live off the grid. I'm a carpenter, welder, and also fisherman. I have a commercial fishing permit in Cook Inlet as a setnetter.

And I've done that for 10 years, this year will be my 11th. I served on the Massou Fish and Wildlife Commission for 10 years, 6 of which I was chair, and then decided to apply for the board. So for 3 years now I've served on the board and it's been a huge honor. I've learned a ton from the fishermen, anglers, subsistence people, and it's and then the department. It's incredible to have access to all, to learn about the state and how complicated it can be, and I've really, really enjoyed myself.

I'm, but it's been a lot of work, and I have put a lot of effort into traveling around the state to learn about these fisheries, to better understand how the decisions I will make and what I'm hearing from fishermen could, will apply down the road. So, um, anyway, I'm, uh, yeah, throwing my name in the hat again, and, um, I'm honored to, to do so. So thank you. Very good. Thank you, Mr. Wood.

Any committee members with questions for Mr. Wood? Senator Clayman. Mr. Wood, are you on the board now? I am. And this a reappointment?

Yes. Follow up. Can you give me one or two highlights or challenges of your experience on the board so far? Not a long, but just a couple of anecdotes. Okay.

Highlights have been learning about Alaska and Alaska fisheries and having access to fishermen. Because if I was just anybody, no one would talk to you. But because you're one of seven on the board and you're a vote, everybody wants to bend your ear. And I really appreciate that. And I've learned a ton.

I've liked having the excuse to travel Alaska to learn these things. And I'd say the drawback is that it just— it gobbles up a ton of time, especially in the winter, which is kind of my favorite. There's a ton of reading to do. I mean, thousands of pages of reading. And, um, yeah, I— that's probably the hardest part, but, um, but it's, it's given me a heck of an education, so I, I really like it, um, for that reason.

And, um, yeah, those are probably the two main things. Thank you. Thank you. Further questions? Senator Kawasaki.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks for wanting to serve on this board. I have a question about There is a bill that the— in the legislature relating to the Executive Branch Ethics Act, and one of it— and it has to deal specifically with the Board of Fish and Board of Game. Board of Fish and Board of Game are not allowed to debate an issue in which they might have either family or direct financial interest, and I'm wondering what you thought about the law that would change that and essentially would allow you to discuss issues financial that might have financial impact, but then again not be able to vote?

Um, well, just recently I believe it was House Bill 33 passed, and we, the Board of Fisheries, had a special meeting a week ago Friday, I guess today, and I was actually able to deliberate on Cook Inlet issues I, even though I was recused from being able to vote, I very much appreciate that legislation going through. I think it, it's been an issue. It's because you're oftentimes recused of the very fishery you know the most about, and I think it's really important to help educate, to have that education to pass on in order to make those decisions to the other board members. And to ask the right questions of the department. And so I really, I really very much appreciate that happening.

And I think it was put to good use just in that last special meeting last Thursday, last Friday. I very much appreciated it. And I would say ethics and ethics disclosures, I really would like to see it take one more step further and have those be judged, the judgment of those be through the, actual Attorney General rather than just the chair of the board, to kind of remove personalities and whatnot from that decision-making process and hear it straight from law. Follow-up, Senator Kowalski? Nope, thank you.

Senator Rosier. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I just want to follow up on what Senator Kawasaki was asking. So how often do you see— you spoke of a time that it actually affected you— how often do you see it where somebody has to be excused and —because of the information and the background that they have? And is it common?

Well, in my time on the board, um, I've seen it applied that when ethics— when ethics disclosures are put forward, there's been a lot of questions of other board members, and it hasn't really been a huge issue in the 3 years I've served. I mean, not issue, but it hasn't been— no one's been recused that I know of currently. Recently, Ms. Erwin, um, recused herself because, um, of, of, uh, for, uh, a letter that a family member had written. And, um, honestly, I, I'm not— I appreciate that she did that. Um, but I'm not sure it was necessary.

I personally have had my first year I served, I deliberated in Cook Inlet issues specifically on the east side of this by the Kenai River. The Attorney General and my chair, and the chair at the time, my ethics advisor said that that was appropriate as long as I recused myself from other issues that could affect my setnet fishery further north. Um, that hasn't been the case in the last 2 years, um, and so I've had to recuse myself a couple times. And, and then actually once because I'm— I was a carpenter for a business, uh, that was engaged in sport fishing, which I'm not sure I needed to really recuse myself for that one, but I did anyhow. So I appreciate your honesty.

Thank you. All right, further questions for Mr. Wood? Not seeing any. Thank you, Mr. Wood, for joining us. I'm glad you were able to re-establish the phone call.

Thank you. All right, so we will go back to the board again, which we hadn't quite started yet, uh, but we've reviewed the board, uh, qualifications. And the first name up— again, I'm doing them alphabetically, I think— Let me see, I've got— I think we have 2 here. Um, yes, Mr. Stanley Hoffman is the first appointee that I see here, and he is online. There he is, calling in from Bethel.

Mr. Hoffman, welcome. If you would identify yourself for the record and tell us why you would like to be reappointed to the Board of Game.

Yeah, good afternoon everyone. Can you hear me? Yes, very clearly. Okay, sounds good. Good afternoon, Senate Research Committee and Chairman Goessel.

It's an honor to be here before you today. And I'd like to thank Governor Dunleavy for reappointing me to the Board of Game. For the record, my name is Stanley L. Hoffman Jr. Everyone calls me by my nickname, Stosh. I'm a lifelong Alaskan resident, born in Bethel, but I grew up in McGrath. And currently I've lived in Bethel for the last 30 years where I've raised my family, where I live with my wife and my two sons.

I am a former assistant guide. All my guide activity took place in Unit 19B Bravo.

However, my assistant guide license expired in 2017 and I did not renew it, but I was an assistant guide for almost 20 years. I am also a commercial fisherman. However, commercial fishing has been— we haven't fished since about 2007 on the Kuskokwim, but I did fish for about 30 years before they stopped it, and I hope that it opens up again someday. I was appointed in 2008 to the Board of Game and I've been reported— reappointed since then and I'd like to continue my service on the Board of Game. Alaska has the best public wildlife management process in the world, I believe, and I've enjoyed my time on the Board of Game over the years.

I feel I have a lot to offer and I look forward to serving if I am reconfirmed to help manage and conserve game populations in Alaska and continue working with the the ACs, the department, general public, other stakeholders, and other Board of Game members to help manage the game populations in the great state of Alaska. And I thank you for your consideration for my reappointment. Thank you very much, Mr. Hoffman. Committee members, any questions for Mr. Hoffman?

I am not seeing any. Thank you so much for joining us today. Uh, the second appointee that we are interviewing is David Loring. And he is online. He's calling in from Fairbanks.

Mr. Loring, welcome to the committee. If you would introduce yourself for the record and tell us why you'd like to serve on the Board of Game.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman and board members of the Senate Resources Committee. My name is David Loring. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. I'm currently on the Board of Game, so this is a reappointment that the governor put me in for, for reappointment. So I'm a member of the Board of Game.

I'm also a member of the Big Game Commercial Services Board, which is—. I have one of the Board of Game members on that board. And so I've been doing that for the last 3 years. My wife, Therese, is retired from the Fairbanks North Shore Borough School District. I have 2 boys who are Alaska wildlife keepers.

One stays in St. Mary's and one's in Soldotna. I have one daughter who lives in Fairbanks, one in Anchorage, and one in Minnesota. I have a bachelor's degree in wildlife management from the University of Nevada, Reno. I worked as an intern for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game through college and worked as a wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game prior to becoming a wildlife trooper. I graduated from the Trooper Academy in 1976.

I attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia also. I retired from the Wildlife Troopers in 2001, and then I worked as a commercial pilot for Wright Air Service, which is an air service in Fairbanks, until 2023. I also worked as a criminal justice planner for the Department of Public Safety from 2001 through 2009. I refereed high school wrestling for 15 years. I worked as a facilities and logistics manager for the 2014 Fairbanks and the 2024 Matsue Arctic Ware Games.

I have an airline transport pilot certificate with a commercial seaplane rating and an advanced and ground instructor rating from the FAA. I'm also a Master Falconer licensed in the state of Alaska. I hunt small game and waterfowl with my birds. My family has been active in both subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska. I teach my children and grandchildren the values and ethics associated with harvesting and consuming wild fish and game.

And sharing a harvest with others who have a need for the fish and game and can't harvest it themselves. Thank you for your time and listening to my opening statement. I respectfully request confirmation for reappointment to the board again. I'm ready to answer any questions you might have. Thank you very much, Mr. Loring.

Very diverse background. Senator Dunbar. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think this will be a quick question. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Loring.

This is Forrest Dunbar. I grew up in Cordova. I knew a David Loring in Cordova. Was that your son or was that an unrelated David Loring? No, that was myself.

I was stationed in Cordova from the oil spill until 1994. What were your son's names? Because I could have swore there was a younger Loring around as well. Yes, that's correct. He had the same name I have and he's stationed in Soldotna.

Okay, very good. Thank you, Mr. Loring. Thank you, Madam Chair. Senator Kawasaki. Yeah, thank you, uh, thank you for being on, Mr. Loring.

Appreciated your service over the last couple years. Did have a question because just recently the court, um, Superior Court judge ruled that the state's predator control program could go on in the Mulchatna area, and I'm curious what your thoughts are just generally on predator control and generally on state state's efforts to conduct predator control? That's a really good question. Yes, we finally got approval from Judge Zeman yesterday, I believe, to continue the predator control I.A.M. Program on Moketna Karibou.

And generally, I'm supportive of predator control when it's done for the reason that it's going to bring back populations that are in a predator pit that can't seem to get out of that low number of animals. And as long as it's done with all the proper scientific research that the department does, their numbers, what's involved, either wolves or bears or other animals, mostly wolves or bears are involved in predator control, and that the goal is to maintain healthy populations evolved predators, don't take too many of those, that still have the impact on bringing that population back up. And this Mochetna herd, even though it's been stopped, we still were able to do predator control for about 2.5 years, and the population has responded positively to those efforts. And so another year, I think we're going to get that Mochetna caribou herd back in place and Maybe eventually get a subsistence hunt back open for the folks in that vessel or coastal area. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Senator Myers. Yeah, Mr. Loring, I'm just, just curious, hearing your testimony and reading over your resume, I'm curious if you understand the definition of the word retire.

I have now, other than the board work, and as Mr. Woods said, it's, um, A lot of reading, a lot of talking. I attend every single— one good part about COVID and I shouldn't— and there wasn't really a lot good about it, but it basically put Zoom on the face of the earth. And so I'm able to attend all the advisory committee meetings now through Zoom all around the state anytime they're dealing with board of game stuff or even commercial fish stuff. I guess do all the time. And so there's a lot of time involved with that, but So those folks are really, really grateful that the game board members are actually taking their meetings because they play a really important role in our decisions we make at our meetings and on, on those special devocal issues.

Thank you. Okay, thank you. Senator Clayman. As somebody that's applied to return to the board, I'll ask a similar question I asked Mr. Wood. Tell me one particularly memorable issue that you addressed on the board and how, how that was resolved?

Well, there's been a whole bunch of those, but, but, uh, I just think, I just think seeing population increases, you know, predator control, I'll go back to that again, sir, and that, that's really controversial in some areas, and it has been for years, you know, from wolves and And we used to have wolf wars back in the day, and I think the best thing that happened to that was they introduced wolves in Yellowstone Park, so all those wolf wars moved down to lower 48. But just actually seeing populations recover while we're still providing, you know, healthy populations of predators. And, you know, there's a lot of controversy there. There's a lot of emotions, and I understand all, all sides of that tremendously. But to me, that's, that's one of the biggest things I see is the benefit of that, and I feel good about that.

Thank you. Further questions? Oh, Senator Rauscher. Yep, thank you, Madam Chair. Appreciate it.

So I see in your resume you're a master falconeer, and I was wondering What type of falcons are we talking about here? Well, I personally hunt with 3 different types of falcons. The main one I've been hunting with for the last 15 years have been gyrfalcons. They're the largest falcon species in the world, and they're the Alaska falcon, and they weigh about 3.5 pounds, and they live in interior northern part of Alaska. I also use Peregrine Falcons, which I just absolutely love them.

And they've benefited from wildlife research. Several of the subspecies are almost extinct back in the day with DDT, and we brought those back and others pointed those. And my most favorite after that is a Little Merlin, little small ones. And so I have those three types of birds right now in my possession, and that's what I'm out with. [Speaker] Well, it's fascinating.

Thank you very much.

Very good. I see no further questions for you, Mr. Loring. Thank you very much for calling in and, and speaking with us.

All right, we're going on now to the Big Game Commercial Services Board. So to review that board, this board consists of 9 members, 8 of which are appointed by the governor. That includes seats that are designated for licensed registered guide outfitters licensed transporters, one member of the Board of Game chosen by the Board of Game and who does not hold a guide or transport license. Then, in addition, the governor supports— or appoints, pardon me— private landholders and two public members. This board is a licensing board and a regulatory board, and the members serve at the pleasure of the governor.

The governor may select chair. In terms of compensation, it's standard travel and per diem, no additional compensation. So I don't know exactly what that means; the other boards are a bit more specific. They meet at least twice annually, 14 days minimum per year. So, again, a board with significant time commitment.

The first appointee we'll speak to being appointed to this board is Rudy Martinez. So Mr. Martinez, welcome to Resources Committee. If you would introduce yourself for the record and tell us why you'd like to serve on the Big Game Commercial Services Board. Hello, Senate Resources Committee.

Thank you for your time. This is Rudy John Martinez. Can you hear me? Yes, clearly.

Okay, so yeah, my name is Rudy John Martinez. I am applying for the Big Game Commercial Service Board. I am a registered guide outfitter, license 12849. I moved to Alaska in 2009-2010. I started with becoming an assistant guide in 2012, and since then, in 2019, became a registered big game guide and now I'm a full-time outfitter.

And before I was a registered guide, I went to board meetings as an assistant guide to learn as much as I could about the industry. And since I became a registered guide, I spend as many times helping Tom Bade be a proctor. I've sat on multiple different committees on different, um, different resource things we need to work through. And I am a licensed pilot with my commercial instrument rating and seaplane rating. Uh, I appreciate your time for this confirmation hearing, and I'm open to any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Martinez. Questions from committee members. Senator Kawasaki. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Martinez, for being online. I have your Big Game Commercial Services, the application that's in our packet, and there's one section on here that asks about a conviction record, and it asks, have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor within the past 5 years or a felony in the past 10 years?

My question is, have you ever been convicted of either a misdemeanor or a felony?

I have never been convicted of a felony. I had got a conviction of a misdemeanor of a, um, unlawful possession of a furbearer animal, which was me picking up a roadkill lynx and did not call it in within 24 hours of picking it up.

Possession of a roadkill. Follow-up, Senator Kawasaki? That's all. No, I— thank you, Madam Chair, and I do appreciate that, that you'd offer this information. It was in a House Resources Committee that, that question, or a question, came up if there's anything in your background.

And so at the time, it didn't— you didn't mention it, but I'm Curious, can you just tell me more about the particular situation? What was the initial charging document, and then what was your plea? And I guess if you— just so that you can explain this on the record.

Yeah, so I, I picked up a roadkill lynx and did not call it in within 24 hours, and then when I did speak to the trooper. He took possession of it, and when he wrote me the citation, it was for unlawful possession of a furbearing animal, which made me go in front of Judge Peck in Seward. And when I went in front of the judge, um, the DA found out that it was roadkill, and he dropped all charges and gave me a $200 fine. And that was about it. Okay, thank you.

Thank you. I had to plead guilty to it because I did pick it up. Yes. Thank you. Further questions from committee members?

Seeing none, thank you very much, Mr. Martinez, for calling in today. Uh, the second appointee is Jacob Fletcher, and I am looking here online, and I am not seeing that Mr. Fletcher is online with us. Uh, I'll look to my moderator. Am I missing Mr. Fletcher? All right, so he is from Talkeetna.

Members have his resume in the packet for review, so I will leave that to you to review. And then the last board that we are addressing Is the State Assessment Review Board. Oh, thank you very much. And my staff just reminded me, Jacob Fletcher is hunting in the field and he is not able to call in. So he is actively hunting right now.

And my staff just reminded me we had been apprised of that by his family. Uh, so the last item up is the State Assessment Review Board. Again, reviewing this, this board consists of 5 members who must be knowledgeable of assessment procedures for pipeline transportation of gas or refined oil. It's a very specific, uh, board. They conduct oil and gas property assessment appeal hearings on values that have been set by the Department of Revenue.

Uh, there's standard travel and per diem, one meeting per year. So the appointee for this position, uh, is Jana Weltson. Um, Ms. Weltson, welcome to the committee. If you would put yourself on the record by identifying yourself, give us a bit of your background and why you would like to serve on this assessment board.

Um, thank you so much. Can you hear me? Yes, very clearly. Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, and thank you for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Jana Weltsine, and I'm a lifelong Alaskan born and raised in Fairbanks, and I currently practice law in Anchorage as the principal attorney at JDW Council, which I established in 2015.

For more than 10 years, my practice has focused on administrative law, regulatory matters, and land use, with a material portion of my work involving quasi-judicial proceedings property valuation issues, and tax assessment disputes. I've handled property assessment appeals and Department of Revenue audit and determination matters, although none are directly related to oil and gas. I routinely work within administrative frameworks that require careful statutory interpretation and record-based decision-making. My work regularly involves developing and evaluating evidential records and applying governing statutes and regulations to complex factual situations. I also advise clients on business valuations and negotiations, particularly where regulatory decisions directly impact an asset value.

In addition to my legal practice, I have two boys, a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old, and I served for over 5 years on the Anchorage Planning Board, where I participated in quasi-judicial hearings involving property rights and land use decisions. And I currently serve on the Alaska Advisory Oil and Gas Royalty Board. That board works with the Department of Natural Resources to review proposed royalty transactions and royalty-in-kind contracts. We look at the financial terms, the economic impacts, and statutory factors and prepare written recommendations to the legislature. Based on my experience with these boards, I've— and the roles I have held, it has helped reinforce the importance of impartial evidence-based decision-making and adhering to governing law.

I am also a commercial property owner and a commercial landlord, which gives me practical familiarity with valuation methodologies and financial impacts of property taxation and regulatory decisions. I understand that the State Assessment Review Board requires members to have experience with property assessments, and my background in handling assessment appeals, valuation disputes, and administrative proceedings directly aligns with that requirement. I'm seeking this appointment because I believe the board plays a critical role in ensuring that assessments are fair and consistent grounded in statute. If confirmed, I will approach that responsibility with new.

Seriousity, diligence, and a strong commitment to applying the law to the record before the board. Thank you for letting me be here, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much. Uh, board members, any questions for Ms. Wilson?

Seeing none, thank you very much for joining us, Ms. Wilson. Um, that is the conclusion of the, uh, appointees hearing from the appointees. Uh, we are going to— I'm going to open public testimony now. We do have some folks online as well as in the room who wish to testify. So the testimony will be on any of these folks that have been appointed, and I would limit that testimony to 2 minutes.

I realize that seems quite brief, but I think you can fit in support for the various people in that time. And we also have received a significant amount— well, a fair amount of written testimony of support or not, almost all support for the various appointees. So at that time, at this time, I'm going to open public testimony. I'm going to look to the people in the room first of all. I see Richard Davis signed up.

Do you wish to testify, Mr. Davis? Please come forward. And after him, I see Tyler, Tyler Emerson also wishing to testify, so you'll follow Mr. Davis immediately afterward. Welcome, Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Senate Resources Committee.

My name is Richard Davis. I live in Juneau. I'm a lifelong commercial fisherman, still representing United Fishermen of Alaska before you.

UFA supports the reappointment of Mike Wood and the new appointment of Paul Sear to the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Mike Wood has served a full-term board cycle and demonstrates dedication, commitment, and understanding of the complex elements that form Alaska's regulations and policies. Mike works with shareholders and stakeholders, prepares thoroughly, listens well to the social, economic, scientific aspects of proposed fisheries management change. Paul Seear has experience with sport and commercial fisheries, aquaculture, mariculture, and seafood processing. He's worked with state and federal regulators in Alaska's complex water use permitting process.

His diverse work history makes him a favorable Board of Fisheries appointee. We ask for your support for the confirmation of these two highly capable appointees. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Very good. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. Davis.

So next up here in the room is Tyler Emerson, with the Alaska Trawlers Association. Welcome. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the committee. I'm Tyler Emerson, here today representing the Alaska Trawlers Association. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Uh, we're here in favor of the reappointment of Mike Wood and the appointment of Paul Sear to the Board of Fisheries. Alaska's fisheries depend on a board that is balanced, experienced, and well-informed on the realities facing coastal communities and the fisheries they depend on. I had the chance to attend the February 2025 Board of Fish meeting in Ketchikan. It's clear to me that Mike Wood takes the responsibility of his position seriously. He comes prepared, listens carefully to testimony from the public, the Fish and Game staff as well.

He asks thoughtful follow-up questions and puts in the effort to understand the complex issues at hand. He has approached difficult issues professionally with the care, balance, and empathy they might deserve. Even when, as stakeholders, we might be disappointed with certain individual decisions or resulting Board of Fish action, there is a recognition that Mr. Wood evaluates proposals fairly and works to understand all sides before making decisions. Mr. Wood will be invaluable on the board, having already completed a full cycle. We also support the appointment of Paul Seere.

As you are aware, Southeast Alaska currently has no representation on the board, despite being one of the state's most important fishing regions. Mr. Seere would bring valuable coastal and Southeast Alaska perspective back to the board. Mr. Seere's broad background should give him a solid understanding of the challenges facing Alaska's fisheries and fisheries communities. For ATA and Southeast Alaska Trollers, balanced representation and practical fisheries knowledge are critical to maintaining our confidence in the Board of Fisheries process. We respectfully encourage you to confirm Mike Wood and Paul Seere to this end.

Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. Emerson. Uh, I'm going to go now to the Fairbanks LIO. Uh, there Virgil Umphanour is waiting to testify. Mr. Umphanour, welcome to the committee.

Please identify yourself for the record and give us your testimony.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Virgil Umphanour. I live in North Pole, and, uh, I've already served 3 terms on the Board of Fish and I've been in Fairbanks, Alaska for more than 20 years and I've been on the Pacific Salmon Commission since 1988. I would like to recommend that Blair Hickson be appointed to the Board of Fish and also Stoff Hoffman and Dave Loren be reappointed to the Board of Game. I know all of these people.

And I don't really know Rudy Martinez, but I would support him for serving on the Big Game and Commercial Services Board. I, we have super bad conservation issues right now with fisheries in our state. And a big part of it, of course, this is controversial, but it's hatcheries. Because our ocean pasture gets 1.9 billion pink and chum salmon a year dumped into the ocean, primarily by Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska PNP hatcheries. And so that need, that problem needs to be solved, and that's why I do not support Paul Geyer being confirmed to the Board of Fisheries.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. Umphanur. Um, let's see, now we're going to go to the off-net, and I see Nels Evans in Petersburg wishing to testify. After he speaks, we'll go to Mark Richards. Mr. Evans, welcome.

Hi, can you guys hear me? Yes, very clearly. Yeah, thank you. Through the Chair and Senate Resources Committee, thanks for the opportunity to speak. When I called in, I also signified I wanted to speak in support of Tracy Welch as CFTC Commissioner.

I'd just like to share that support off the start here. Petersburg Vessel Owners Association represents roughly 55 commercial vessels on top of another 25 to 30 commercial support businesses in and near Petersburg, Alaska. And we would like to voice our support for the appointment of Paul Sear and the reappointment of Mike Wood. It is great to see, being a Southeast-based group, to see a board member being nominated from Southeast. We as a region have over 40 CFHC with permits.

There are federal longline fisheries in the region. Just the amount of fisheries interplay that occurs in Southeast is very broad and is often a huge learning burden for new board members. We believe that having someone that is from a commercial coastal area helps balance the board as well, as we only really have one board member that matches that description currently. It just helps balance representation on the board. We also believe that Paul's broad diversity of work will help him bring a more holistic viewpoint to decision-making, understanding that there are different user groups and gear types out in the water that all need to access the resources in the most efficient manner possible.

On member Wood, we have been able to work with Mike Wood in the past during the last Southeast Board of Fisheries cycle, and we believe that he exemplifies what a Board of Fisheries member should be. There's been quite a lot of concern about public erosion of trust with the board process, and Mike Wood represents kind of what you want in a board member. He does all of his research, all of his homework. He makes sure to engage with all stakeholders and shareholders in the issue to to make the most well-informed decision that he can, and we strongly support him for reappointment. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Evans, for your testimony. So next up, we'll go to Mark Richards. He will be followed by Monte Roberts. Mr. Richards calling in from Fairbanks, welcome.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the Resources Committee. For the record, my name is Mark Richards. I'm Executive Director of Resident Hunters of Alaska, and I'm representing our organization today. Resident Hunters of Alaska strongly supports the reappointment of Dave Loring to the Board of Game. Dave has done an excellent job during his first term on the board and is a real asset to.

Ways. His experience as a wildlife trooper and then commercial pilot brings extensive knowledge of different areas of the state and its people. He understands the issues, and as a former trooper liaison to the Board of Game, he knows how the system works. Dave also engages with the public at meetings in ways that make people feel at ease, asking pertinent questions when follow-up may be needed to better understand their viewpoint on proposals before the board. We also want to point out that Mr. Loren is the sole Board of Game member who currently sits on the Big Game Commercial Services Board as required, which is in addition to his service on the Board of Games.

We thank him for his double duty in that regard. Again, Madam Chair, we fully support Mr. Loren's reappointment and hope you will all be a yes vote during the joint session. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. Richards. Going now to Soldotna.

Monte Roberts is there to testify. He will be followed by Shannon Martin. Mr. Roberts, welcome. Thank you, Chairman Giesel and members of Senate Resources. My name is Monte Roberts from Soldotna, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Kenai River Professional Guide Association, of which I'm the president.

On the confirmation of the Board of Fish appointees, we support the confirmation of the reappointment of Mike Woods. He's been a valuable board member. He doesn't always agree with us, but he's always willing to work with us, hear us out, and we think that he is doing his best to be fair and balanced. And we also support the confirmation of Blair Hickson. We've reviewed his resume and we feel like he would be an objective and valuable member.

And we also support Paul Cyr. I have yet to meet him, but we've reviewed his resume and we believe that The governor did his best to provide regional support, and so we support that confirmation. If you allow me to switch hats now, I'm also the chairman of the Fish and Game Advisory Committee in Keenai-Sulwatna, and in that capacity I work with the Board of Game, and I support the reappointment of Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Loring, as well as the appointment of Jake Fletcher to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.

Very good, thank you. Yes, uh, if it's brief, Senator Rauscher. Yes, your statement was, I support— when you talked about game, were you speaking for the group or yourself? I have not had an official meeting to take a position, so as my Um, in my capacity as the chairman of the board, I attended the Board of Game meetings and worked personally with those individuals. So I am representing myself in that statement about the Commercial Services Board and the Board of Game appointments.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Roberts, for calling in. Uh, and the last person to testify that I see is Shannon Martin calling in from Sultana. Welcome. Please give us your testimony.

Well, good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. For the record, my name is Shannon Martin. I'm the executive director of Kenai River Sport Fishing Association. We'd like to express our support for Blair Hickson to serve on the Board of Fish. As you know, CRSA is the leading sport fishing and personal use advocacy group in Alaska.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to ensure the sustainability of the Kenai and Alaska's fish resources. We believe that Blair Hickson brings a unique and valuable perspective shaped by a lifetime of experience across Alaska's fisheries. Raised along the Kuskokwim River in Bethel, he grew up participating in subsistence fishing and fish camp developing a deep respect for Alaska's resources and rural communities. He has since spent 20 years as a licensed sport fishing guide and currently operates a remote lodge on the Anvik River, giving him a direct stake in sustainable fisheries management. In addition to his professional experience, Blair's also participated in subsistence, personal use, and sport fisheries and has witnessed firsthand the economic importance of commercial fishing in communities like Bristol Bay.

This broad exposure provides him with a well-rounded understanding of Alaska's diverse user groups. So once again, thank you for the opportunity to provide input, and we support Blair Hickson to the Board of Fish, Madam Chair. Very good. Thank you very much for your testimony. I don't see anyone else online or in the room who wishes to testify, so I'll close public testimony on these appointees.

And with that, I will read the committee report in accordance with AS 3 3— excuse me, 3905080. The Resources Committee held a hearing on the following appointees. A signature on this report does not reflect an intent by any of the members to vote for or against the confirmation of the individuals during any further sessions. Board of Fisheries: Mike Wood, Blair Hickson, Paul Sear. Board of Game: Stanley Hoffman, Jacob Fletcher, David Loring.

Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, Tracy Welch. Big Game Commercial Services Board, Rudy Martinez. State Assessment Review Board, Jan Welts— Weltsen. I will pass this around to have members sign it. And with that, that will conclude our meeting for today.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, May 11th, at 3:30 in the afternoon. On the agenda will be the Supporting Gas Line for Alaskans Act. So at this time, the meeting will stand adjourned. Let the record reflect the time is 4:41 PM.