00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7 01 Strongly urging the Governor to continue the lawsuit known as State of Alaska 02 v. Babbitt, C.A. No. 94-35480, and to pursue the State of Alaska's position that 03 the United States Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture do not 04 have the authority to assume management of fish and wildlife on public land in 05 the State of Alaska. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS Tony Knowles, Governor of the State of Alaska, seeks to withdraw, with 08 prejudice, from the consideration of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 09 in State of Alaska v. Babbitt, C.A. No. 94-35480, the issue of whether the United States 10 Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture have the authority to assume 11 management of fish and wildlife for subsistence purposes, or any other purposes, on public 12 land in the State of Alaska; and 13 WHEREAS the United States Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture 14 do not have, under the Alaska Statehood Act, the authority to assume management of fish and 01 wildlife on public land in the State of Alaska, nor has the United States Congress or the 02 Alaska State Legislature specifically authorized any modification to existing management 03 authority over fish and wildlife; and 04 WHEREAS the State of Alaska was admitted into the Union on January 3, 1959, 05 under the Alaska Statehood Act, that incorporated the Alaska Statehood Compact, approved 06 by the citizens of the Territory of Alaska; and 07 WHEREAS the Alaska Statehood Compact sets out the rights and obligations of the 08 State of Alaska and is a contract between two sovereigns that, by its terms, may not be 09 unilaterally altered by either party; and 10 WHEREAS, under the Alaska Statehood Compact, the State of Alaska, not the federal 11 government, has the authority to administer and manage the fish and wildlife resources of 12 Alaska; and 13 WHEREAS because the Alaska Statehood Compact is a contract between the citizens 14 of the State of Alaska and the United States, only the Alaska State Legislature, as the people's 15 representative, has the legal authority to agree to alter the terms of the Alaska Statehood 16 Compact; and 17 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature believes Governor Knowles' withdrawal of 18 this issue from consideration will adversely affect the sovereignty of the State of Alaska and 19 the delicate balance of federal and state power agreed upon in the Alaska Statehood Compact; 20 and 21 WHEREAS the United States District Court judge specifically recognized both the 22 merits of the claims of the State of Alaska on the management issue and the need to have his 23 decision reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and 24 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature believes Governor Knowles' withdrawal of 25 this issue from consideration will result in the federal usurpation of the State of Alaska's 26 ability to govern the management of fish and wildlife on public land in its territory in 27 violation of the Alaska Statehood Compact; and 28 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature believes Governor Knowles' refusal to 29 advocate this issue constitutes a failure to defend the Constitution of the State of Alaska that 30 protects the rights and benefits of all of the citizens of the State of Alaska equally; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature exhorts Governor Knowles to 01 continue to advocate this issue before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 02 Circuit; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that, if Governor Knowles declines to continue defending 04 the right of the State of Alaska to govern the management of fish and wildlife on public land 05 in its territory as well as the protections afforded by the Constitution of the State of Alaska, 06 the Alaska State Legislature will intervene as a representative of the citizens of the State of 07 Alaska to continue the lawsuit and advocate the position that the Secretary of the Interior and 08 the Secretary of Agriculture do not have the authority to assume management of fish and 09 wildlife on public land in the State of Alaska.