00                    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 23                                                                   
01 Supporting enhanced efforts to protect wildlife and domestic animals in the state from                                  
02 infectious diseases, foreign pathogens, and nonendemic parasites.                                                       
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the state contains some of the most productive and unique ecosystems on                                 
05 the planet; and                                                                                                         
06        WHEREAS the wildlife resources of the state hold intrinsic value to the state,                                 
07 including economic value reaching into the billions of dollars annually; and                                            
08       WHEREAS the state's wildlife is enjoyed by myriad user groups for hunting,                                      
09 trapping, viewing, and general outdoor recreation; and                                                                  
10       WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature has the responsibility under the Constitution                              
11 of the State of Alaska to manage its natural resources, including wildlife, for the benefit of all                      
12 the people of the state; and                                                                                            
13       WHEREAS the state subscribes to science-based wildlife management; and                                          
14       WHEREAS the state's wildlife managers are tasked with providing for a sustained                                 
15 yield harvest; and                                                                                                      
16       WHEREAS the wildlife of the state is under continuous and increasing threat from                                
01 foreign pathogens, infectious diseases, and nonendemic parasites; and                                                   
02       WHEREAS pathogen and disease transmission to wildlife in other areas of North                                   
03 America has resulted in catastrophic die-offs and extirpation of distinct wild populations; and                         
04 WHEREAS similar pathogen and disease transmission to domestic animals has                                             
05 resulted in costly and problematic die-offs; and                                                                        
06       WHEREAS screening, reporting, and mitigation are proven and widely used tools for                               
07 preventing the import and transmission of disease pathogens to wild populations as well as                              
08 domestic animals;                                                                                                       
09       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports enhanced efforts to                                   
10 protect the state's wildlife from infectious diseases, foreign pathogens, and nonendemic                                
11 parasites; and be it                                                                                                    
12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the                                                     
13 Department of Fish and Game, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of                                         
14 Environmental Conservation, including the office of the state veterinarian, to take necessary                           
15 and prudent measures to detect and identify the presence of infectious diseases, foreign                                
16 pathogens, and nonendemic parasites that threaten wildlife and domestic animals in the state                            
17 and to engage in actions to prevent the spread of those diseases and pathogens to at-risk                               
18 wildlife and domestic animals.