The proposed Anchorage trapping ordinance 2019-50 is on the agenda for public hearings at tomorrow’s (April 23rd) Anchorage Assembly meeting. The public hearing portion of the meeting begins no earlier than 6:00pm. Here is link to the agenda. http://publicdocs.muni.org/sirepub/pubmtgframe.aspx?meetid=1458&doctype=agenda The public hearing section is item 14 and the trapping ordinance is 14.V. If you are unable to attend the meeting I would encourage you to submit written comments to the assembly it you haven’t already. You can email your comments to all assembly members by using this email address wwmas@muni.org

Stand down tonight.

We have been told by the Municipal Clerks's office that the sponsor of the ordinance, assemblyman Pete Petersen, will make a motion tonight to have the public hearings rescheduled probably for May 7 and that it is extremely unlikely that motion will fail.

They are getting wrapped around the axle with everything that is coming at them and are not ready for a vote, so we are told.

It might be best to hold off on any further comment at this time in order to see if a revised version of the ordinance is presented.

Will, or may?

They run the meeting on Roberts Rules, and anyone can object to the motion, and or may not vote in favor of the postpone for a time certain.

I get not wasting everyones time, but if this is important, i would make sure that there are people there to testify.....in case his motion doesn't pass or isn't made.

They can also amend the agenda prior to approving it...

If he is the sponsor, and sees that no one is there to testify against it, perhaps he wont make the motion. I don't think that a clerks email is binding..

Maybe just make sure that presentable, articulate and well spoken folk attend tonight to testify...

I agree with Hoopy. Roberts Rules, in the hands of one well versed in them, can be played with not only on the floor, but with "leaked" mis-information, lack of a quorum, or "insider trading", if you will.
Just how far do you trust the guy that brought this proposal forth?
A big showing, whether heard or not, sends a message.

Well I guess I would say that if they are so desperate that they would collaborate in a campaign of misinformation to keep a few citizens away then what difference would it make if there were 0 or 100 trappers in the room anyway?

Public testimony has been officially extended to the May 7 meeting.

Was there a reason given, or just a motion to extend, that carried?

A motion to extend carried.

Guessing they didn't expect much resistance.

Exactly! And we need to keep up the "resistance....."

Pete

I think they're getting an earful. They have opened up a can of worms, a tangle of local, state, federal and tribal law. I don't know what they expected in the way of resistance at Tuesday's meeting but it seems obvious they were not ready for a vote.

The trapping ordinance 2019-50 is scheduled for public testimony on Tuesday evening May 7 sometime after 6:00 at the assembly chambers at Loussac Library.

Here is the link to the updated version of the ordinance. The definition for "developed trails" has been modified and the vague definition of "public use" trails has been removed.
http://publicdocs.muni.org/sirepub/cache/0/3fy2aa45iwmobz55vth1kd55/97707905052019114325701.PDF
The public hearing is in the assembly chambers in the Loussac Library Tuesday May 7 starting no earlier than 6 p.m it is Item number 13A on the agenda. We need a big showing and alot of voices to shoot this thing down. If you can make it hope to see you there, if you cant make it please send in one more email.

Thank you trappers.

Due to your input there have been significant positive changes to the ordinance but still this is the wrong process.

Instead the Anchorage assembly should continue to work with users, the State of AK, and bring in the Feds (subsistence), then take a proposal to the Board of Game.

There is no need to rush this through.

The justification being used to avoid the Board of Game process is Public Safety even though negative events obviously involve off leash dogs, not people. There has never been an incident involving humans that anyone can point to and there is a leash law on the books that covers the entire Municipality of Anchorage.....

Recognizing that the threat to people has been greatly exaggerated as well as the complexity of the issue, assembly member John Weddleton intends to introduce an amendment to exempt certain traps and slow things down. We should voice support for his amendment.

See you there tonight

Good luck! Do not give an inch. You will never get it back. Stick to the facts. Dress and speak well. Presentation is critical. Be articulate.

Well unfortunately we were extremely out numbered and it seemed half the assembly already had their mind made up. The ordinance passed, which is bad news for everybody, I'm wiling to bet that the mat-su will revisit their ordinance in the wake of this and Juneau, Skagway and Valdez will have their defenses strengthened. Now would be a good time to write the governor and your state representatives and ask them to condemn the Anchorage assemblies usurpation of the Board of Games authority.

Too bad, but not unanticipated. Hopefully some legal action will be undertaken to point out (once again) that a municipal government should not usurp the authority of the BOG in this regard.

Pete

They were directly told by the state lawyer they are overstepping their authority. Not only that but any closures on federal land, namely Chugach National Forest, will instantly be at odds with Title VIII of ANILCA, federal subsistence. The municipal lawyer knows this and offered language for an amendment to get fed and state concurrence before jumping off the deep end...but their was a contingent on the assembly hellbent to do this. Frankly they are in over their heads and do not know about subsistence, etc, etc.

It would get interesting if they yank some subsistence trappers gear or cite them for legally trapping under ANILCA.....

I saw our buddy Rick Steiner was there, saying this is not a BOG issue....Imagine that.

Our situation here is similar, in many respects. However, in Juneau's un-paralleled greed, the city annexed the entire borough into the city. You can Google it, but Juneau is the largest city in the nation, by land mass.
The "city" can not even think about dealing with trapping issues. It falls clearly on the Troopers. The same thing will happen in Anchorage.