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Conservation groups urge committee to preserve Natural Resources Commission
Summary
Conservation and hunting groups told the Government and Regulatory Reform Committee that eliminating the Natural Resources Commission would cut a public oversight layer important for wildlife management, disease response and public trust; they asked the committee to remove that provision from HB 1003.
Several conservation and outdoor-recreation organizations asked the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee to remove language in House Bill 1003 that would eliminate or sunset the Natural Resources Commission.
Dan Borritt, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, said the NRC is "our primary portal for input for our wildlife and our wild spaces in the state" and warned that eliminating it would risk losing ‘‘the voice of the very people who contribute to conservation through license fees and excise taxes.’’ He and other witnesses pointed to the commission’s role in managing responses to wildlife diseases such as chronic wasting disease and avian influenza.
David Van Gilder, senior policy and legal director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, urged the committee to preserve the NRC, saying it provides a public-trust function that helps assure transparent decision-making on seasons, bag limits, and land management. Multiple witnesses said the NRC regularly meets and maintains quorum and that its removal is not justified by the rubric the governor’s task force used for other boards.
Representatives from DNR told the committee they can continue to provide technical expertise internally and that public comment periods for rulemaking will remain; DNR general counsel described the agency as neutral on NRC removal but said the department already performs many of the technical functions the NRC historically advised on. Witnesses representing conservation organizations and the Nature Conservancy urged keeping the NRC to maintain citizen oversight and expertise.
The committee did not vote on that provision; sponsors said they will continue to work with stakeholders and to refine language in the next amendment. The committee adopted a bundle of amendments by consent and scheduled further drafting and discussion next week.
