| Summary of the Hearing On
House Bill 2783
The February 13, 2006 hearing on House
Bill 2783 in the House Agriculture Committee went well. An impressive
group of ranch landowners and other witnesses testified on behalf
of the bill.
Persons who testified in favor of the bill included:
(1) Michael J. LeValley, Kansas Ecological Services Field Office
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Manhattan; (2) Keith
Sexton KDWP, Pratt; Logan County Ranchers (1) Gene Bertrand, (3-4)
Joe and Lillian Becker, (5) Larry Haverfield and (6) Jay Haverfield;
Ranch Landowners (7) Gordon Barnhardt from Bucklin and (8) Dan Pace
from Hutchinson; Turner Ranch Manager (9) Ron Klataske on behalf
of Audubon of Kansas (10) Keith Yearout from Barber County, manager
of Turner Ranch; (11) Stan Roth, Naturalist - Educator from Lawrence;
(12) Donn Teske, President, Kansas Farmers Union, Wheaton; and,
(13) Alan Pollom for The Nature Conservancy. We also provided written
testimony prepared by Dan Ward representing the Kansas Rifle Association,
and Judy Roe provided the committee with a statement on behalf of
the Northern Flint Hills Audubon Society. Steven G. Sorensen, President
Kansas Wildlife Federation also provided a statement of support
but was unable to make it to Topeka as planned.
Opposition was provided by Steve Swaffer of the Kansas
Farm Bureau, and Carl Uhrich a County Commissioner from Logan County
who is determined on forcing landowners in Logan County to eradicate
prairie dogs. Although the Kansas Farm Bureau participated in development
of the Kansas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Management and Conservation
Plan published July 2002, Mr. Swaffer indicated that because the
species was removed from the federal “candidate list”
for the federal Threatened and Endangered Species List, KFB was
(once again) supporting retention of the eradication statutes. Mike
Beam with the Kansas Livestock Association indicated that changes
needed to be made in the language of the H.B.
2783 to gain KLA support, but he was receptive to working with
folks to find a solution.
House Ag Committee Chairman Dan Johnson elected to
not work the bill in committee and to have a vote to report it for
consideration of the House of Representatives. Other members of
the committee said it was because three members of the committee
were admittedly opposed to the bill and threatened to extract a
price from the chairman if he allowed the bill to be considered.
There was an indication that a majority of the members of the committee
would have voted to report the bill if a vote had been scheduled.
Although we could have approached other committees (focusing on
wildlife or the environment) to introduce and hear the bill, we
elected to go to the Ag Committee because Representative Johnson
had fairly considered the legislation in previous years and wanted
to make changes in the statutes to better serve landowners on both
sides of the fence and wildlife conservation interests.
Leadership in the House of Representatives, committee
structures and chairmanships changed at the beginning of the 2007
legislative session and one of the opponents of changes in the statutes
is now chairman of the Ag and Natural Resources Committee. The House
Environment Committee and the House Tourism, Wildlife and Parks
Committee were both eliminated. Legislative responsibility for “Natural
Resources” was added to the Ag Committee. |
