Wayne Heimer: Did Fairbanks Reps. Dibert and Carrick really vote to close fish hatchery?

By WAYNE HEIMER

April 16, 2026 – The Alaska State House just passed a funding source change in the Fish and Game budget that may defund, and close Fairbanks’s 20-million-dollar (decades old construction cost only) fish hatchery.  This seemingly unintended consequence may look like simple budgetary housekeeping bumping up against administrative leverage tactics, but there’s a lot more to the story.

Money to run the Fairbanks hatchery has always come from the General Fund.  I infer general funding came from assuming general (not specific) benefit.

Barbara Haney: Fairbanks legislators voted to kill the Ruth Burnett Hatchery — and they knew it

In contrast, much of the Department of Fish and Game’s user-benefit budget comes from self-imposed taxes fish and wildlife users insist on paying to fund their specific interest.  This money comes from license sales and user-generated taxes on outdoor use commodities (like boat gas) and equipment.  This unique situation has made conservation in the USA exceptionally successful.

As a matter of oversight and cost control, the legislature essentially puts a spending cap on ADF&G’s total budget of user contributions plus general fund money.  Once that cap is reached, even though fish and wildlife users may have generated more cash, it can’t be used because the legislative spending cap has been reached.

Democrat majority rejects hatchery funding; two from Fairbanks vote to close Ruth Burnett hatchery

For unknown reasons involving the Commercial Fish Entry Commission as beneficiary, local management advocate and Western Alaska Rep. Nellie Jimmie introduced what amounts to policy change legislation shifting the funding code for the Hatchery Division from general funds to the user-generated fishing license/boat gas/gear tax money users generate.

Representative Jimmie’s change would shift the general fund money from running the Fairbanks Hatchery to administration of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Perhaps you wonder (I did) what the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission does and why it needs $2.5 million more.

More than 60 years ago, Alaskan voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting ‘entry’ into the commercial fishing industry (presumably for conservation reasons).  This means You can’t fish commercially if you don’t have a Limited Entry Permit.  These permits may be bought and sold.  Choice permits are worth a lot of money.  The Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission manages permit distribution for the presumably noble cause of conservation.  Just how well that business management function has promoted conservation (given that the business of commercial fishing is in trouble) invites questions.

Nevertheless, Rep. Jimmie figured that the Entry Commission needed more money.  So, she introduced a budget amendment to shift $2.5 million  (equal to the annual cost of funding for the Fairbanks hatchery) from general hatchery funding to the fishermen’s fund account.  The $2.5 million would end up in the Entry Commission’s budget where salaries are very attractive.

However, Rep. Jimmie did not move to increase the overall ADF&G  spending cap by the equivalent $2.5 million  it takes to run the Fairbanks hatchery. Loss of this money could amount to defunding the Ruth Burnett hatchery in Fairbanks.

Naturally, legislative reprogramming of source money didn’t sit well with Commissioner of ADF&G.  He asked to testify before Rep. Jimmie’s committee, but she denied him that opportunity.

Everybody knows Rep. Jimmie (a Native/rural preference advocate) and the (constitutionally equality-driven) Commissioner of Fish and Game don’t agree where local or racial preferences are concerned.  Is that why Rep. Jimmie denied the statutory manager of Alaska’s fish and game the opportunity to share the fiscal realities with her committee?

Rep. Jimmie’s budget reprogramming passed out of her committee and then passed on the House floor.  Fairbanks Reps. Ashley Carrick and Maxine Dibert voted with the majority caucus to potentially defund the Ruth Burnett hatchery here in Fairbanks.  This whole scenario raises some questions:

Why was the commissioner, who is, by definition, the manager, not allowed to inform the committee of how the sausage is made, especially when he was sitting in the room?

Is it fair or tactically wise for the commissioner to make the Fairbanks hatchery the poster child resisting Rep. Jimmie’s policy change?

Who benefits? All Alaskans or commercial fisheries interests in Western Alaska? Will more Alaskans benefit from the Limited Entry Commission getting the hatchery money?

And why did Maxine Dibert and Ashley Carrick go along with the majority caucus to eliminate a Fairbanks economic resource and compromise the fishing opportunities the hatchery provides?

Are Maxine and Ashley really for closing the Fairbanks hatchery? Do they, or Rep. Jimmie understand the ADF&G spending cap? Why might the Limited Entry Commission need 2.5 million more dollars when marine fisheries are in decline?  Commercial fishing is certainly a special interest.

Is this just insider majority caucus politics?

Let’s hope that cooler heads prevail in the Alaska Senate.

Wayne E. Heimer is a retired ADF&G (not fish) biologist who ran into the spending cap’long ago when he raised outside money’for Dall sheep he couldn’t spend.