Performance Details

Department of Fish and Game - Boards of Fisheries and Game

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Mission

The Boards Support Section facilitates an effective board and public process for the state's fish and wildlife regulatory system.

Core Services

• Ensure citizens participating in the fish and game regulatory process have clear and helpful information in advance to engage effectively.
• Provide and support an environment for board members to make effective decisions.

Mission Results

Core Services

A: The State's fishing, hunting, and trapping regulations are developed through a high level of effective citizen participation.  Details > TARGET #1: Increase the percent of adopted proposals by the boards.

A1: Ensure citizens participating in the fish and game regulatory process have clear and helpful information in advance to engage effectively.  Details > TARGET #1: Increase the number of public comments submitted during the regulatory meeting cycle. A2: Provide and support an environment for board members to make effective decisions.  Details > TARGET #1: Provide a sufficient amount of time for board members to address proposals.

Performance Detail

Target #1: Increase the percent of adopted proposals by the boards. Boards Proposals Fiscal Year BOF Total Proposals BOG Total Proposals BOF Adopted Proposals BOG Adopted Proposals FY 2020 284 171 95 76 FY 2019 182 150 61 75 FY 2018 242 166 096 96 FY 2017 282 204 102 68 FY 2016 225 143 84 39 FY 2015 278 214 90 70 FY 2014 394 196 145 82 FY 2013 244 196 84 62 Analysis of results and challenges: Boards Support Section sets a goal of increasing the rate of proposal adoption by both boards. Over the past three fiscal years, the Board of Fisheries adopted an average 36 percent of its proposals and the Board of Game adopted an average of 40%. This includes proposals submitted by state and federal agencies, board generated proposals, and annual reauthorization proposals for the Board of Game. The Board of Fisheries takes up the same region, species, and uses on a three-year cycle. The regulatory topics of Board of Fisheries meetings were finfish for Lower and Upper Cook Inlet, Kodiak finfish, and Statewide King and Tanner crab. The board adopted about 33% of the proposal before it. This is generally consistent with adoption rates from previous cycles. In general, less proposals are adopted during the contentious Cook Inlet cycle given the high rate of public participation associated with the meetings. The Board of Game is also on a three-year cycle. The regulatory topics before the board during FY2020 were hunting and trapping regulations for the western, arctic, and interior regions. The board adopted 44% of the proposals which is considerably higher than the adoption rate in FY2017 for the same topics which was 33%. In FY2017, the board held a special meeting on the topic of subsistence hunting for moose and caribou in Game Management Unit 13, the Copper Basin Area. The board solicited and received over 40 similar proposals on this topic and adopted three. The proposal adoption rate for FY2017 excluding the special meeting is 41%. While it is a goal to increase the rate of proposal adoption, there are other important factors lending some uncertainty to an ideal "target" adoption rate. Agency proposals tend to be perfunctory in nature, ranging from clarifying management or enforcement language to improving the ability to manage within the plans. These proposals sustain a high adoption rate. Public proposals do not achieve nearly as high an adoption rate. Many proposals are duplicative or very similar. In these instances, board action on one proposal will lead to "no action" on other similar proposals. There are many other public proposals which express an opinion the board ultimately finds not in the best interest of the State. In these instances, although the proposal is not adopted, the individual or group had an important venue to further an idea and have it vetted in a public setting.

Target #1: Increase the number of public comments submitted during the regulatory meeting cycle. Public Comments Submitted to Boards Fiscal Year BOF Total Comments BOG Total Comments BOF per Proposals BOG per Proposals FY 2020 1613 +3.73% 1118 +117.09% 5.75 -32.35% 6.5 +91.18% FY 2019 1555 -7.72% 515 -60.84% 8.5 +21.43% 3.4 -56.96% FY 2018 1685 +60.48% 1315 +72.57% 7 +89.19% 07.9 +113.51% FY 2017 1050 -13.22% 762 -0.52% 3.7 -31.48% 3.7 -31.48% FY 2016 1210 +24.87% 766 -7.04% 5.4 +54.29% 5.4 +42.11% FY 2015 969 -36.46% 824 +88.56% 3.5 -10.26% 3.8 +52% FY 2014 1525 +43.06% 437 -17.86% 3.9 -11.36% 2.5 -7.41% FY 2013 1066 532 4.4 2.7 Analysis of results and challenges: A goal of Boards Support Section is to continue to improve the channels of communication by the public to the boards. This has been achieved to some degree by improvements in an on-line comment system that has seen rapid growth in usage in the last few years. With each meeting cycle, the number of public comments is dependent on the status of the resources and its value to users, and the more contentious issues that occur with certain subjects. The Board of Game received 1,118 total comments for the FY2020 regulatory meetings and work session, which is an increase of 356 comments submitted for the same topics in FY2017. T The Board of Fisheries received a significant number of comments in FY2020, almost 600 more than the last Cook Inlet cycle in FY2017.

Target #1: Provide a sufficient amount of time for board members to address proposals. Methodology: Methodology: * Includes two days for the BOF work session and one teleconference, which are excluded in the number of proposals per day and included in the number of comments per day. (this may need to be changed) ** Includes one day for the BOG work session and one teleconference, which are excluded in the number of proposals per day and included in the number of comments per day. Number of Proposals and Comments per Board Meeting Day Fiscal Year BOF Meeting Days BOG Meeting Days BOF Comments/Mtg Day BOG Comments/Mtg Day BOF Proposals/Mtg Day BOG Proposals/Mtg Day FY 2020 23 0% 18 +38.46% 70 +2.94% 62 +55% 14 +55.56% 10 -23.08% FY 2019 23 -11.54% 13 -31.58% 68 +4.62% 40 -42.03% 9 -10% 13 +18.18% FY 2018 26 -13.33% 19 +5.56% 65 +85.71% 69 +64.29% 10 0% 11 0% FY 2017 30 +11.11% 18 +63.64% 35 -22.22% 42 -40% 10 +11.11% 11 -21.43% FY 2016 27 +22.73% 11 -72.5% 45 +2.27% 70 +483.33% 9 -25% 14 +16.67% FY 2015 22 -35.29% 40 +122.22% 44 -2.22% 12 -50% 12 0% 12 +20% FY 2014 34 +30.77% 18 -5.26% 45 +9.76% 24 -20% 12 +33.33% 10 -9.09% FY 2013 26 19 41 30 9 11 Analysis of results and challenges: A final goal for Boards Support is to create an environment where board members have adequate time to review proposals, public input, and staff reports, and make informed and reasoned decisions. The trend over the past five meeting cycles shows the Board of Fisheries addressed 9 to 12 proposals per meeting day and the Board of Game addressed 10 to 14 proposals per meeting day. This did not hold true for the Board of Fisheries in FY2020 where the number of comments per meeting day was up slightly, but the number of proposals per meeting day exceeded traditional workloads. The Board of Game workload was fairly consistent with historical workloads with 62 comments per meeting day, and 10 proposals per meeting day. The range of proposals per meeting day is somewhat consistent while the number of comments per proposal can vary significantly. This is attributed to the types of issues considered by the boards. The amount of days provided for the boards to complete their work is sufficient, yet intense. Both boards have large workloads during meetings. Meeting days last as long as 8 to 10 hours. The boards set their schedules prior to knowing the number of proposals before them. If the number of proposals increases over time, more meeting days will be needed in order for the boards to make effective decisions. Continued budget reductions lead to a more demanding workload for board members, impacting their ability to carefully review comments and proposals prior to decisions.

Current as of October 26, 2020