00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14(RLS)                                                                               
01 Relating to supporting the "American Land Sovereignty Protection Act."                                                  
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS the United Nations has designated 67 sites in the United States as "World                                      
04 Heritage Sites" or "Biosphere Reserves," which altogether are about equal in size to the State                          
05 of Colorado, the eighth largest state; and                                                                              
06  WHEREAS art. IV, sec. 3, United States Constitution, provides that the United States                                   
07 Congress shall make all needed regulations governing lands belonging to the United States;                              
08 and                                                                                                                     
09  WHEREAS many of the United Nations' designations include private property                                              
10 inholdings and contemplate "buffer zones" of adjacent land; and                                                         
11  WHEREAS some international land designations such as those under the United States                                     
12 Biosphere Reserve Program and the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations                                       
13 Scientific, Educational, and Culture Organization operate under independent national                                    
14 committees such as the United States National Man and Biosphere Committee that have no                                  

01 legislative directives or authorization from the Congress; and                                                          
02  WHEREAS these international designations as presently handled are an open invitation                                   
03 to the international community to interfere in domestic economies and land use decisions; and                           
04  WHEREAS local citizens and public officials concerned about job creation and                                           
05 resource based economies usually have no say in the designation of land near their homes for                            
06 inclusion in an international land use program; and                                                                     
07  WHEREAS former Assistant Secretary of the Interior George T. Frampton, Jr., and                                        
08 the President used the fact that Yellowstone National Park had been designated as a "World                              
09 Heritage Site" as justification for intervening in the environmental impact statement process                           
10 and blocking possible development of an underground mine on private land in Montana                                     
11 outside of the park; and                                                                                                
12  WHEREAS a recent designation of a portion of Kamchatka as a "World Heritage Site"                                      
13 was followed immediately by efforts from environmental groups to block investment insurance                             
14 for development projects on Kamchatka that are supported by the local communities; and                                  
15  WHEREAS environmental groups and the National Park Service have been working                                           
16 to establish an International Park, a World Heritage Site, and a Marine Biosphere Reserve                               
17 covering parts of western Alaska, eastern Russia, and the Bering Sea; and                                               
18  WHEREAS, as occurred in Montana, such designations could be used to block                                              
19 development projects on state and private land in western Alaska; and                                                   
20  WHEREAS foreign companies and countries could use such international designations                                      
21 in western Alaska to block economic development that they perceive as competition; and                                  
22  WHEREAS animal rights activists could use such international designations to                                           
23 generate pressure to harass or block harvesting of marine mammals by Alaska Natives; and                                
24  WHEREAS such international designations could be used to harass or block any                                           
25 commercial activity, including pipelines, railroads, and power transmission lines; and                                  
26  WHEREAS the President and the executive branch of the United States have, by                                           
27 Executive Order and other agreements, implemented these designations without approval by                                
28 the Congress; and                                                                                                       
29  WHEREAS actions by the President in applying international agreements to lands                                         
30 owned by the United States may circumvent the Congress; and                                                             
31  WHEREAS Congressman Don Young introduced House Resolution No. 901 in the                                               

01 105th Congress entitled the "American Lands Sovereignty Protection Act of 1997" that                                    
02 required the explicit approval of the Congress prior to restricting any use of United States land                       
03 under international agreements;                                                                                         
04  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the "American Lands                                          
05 Sovereignty Protection Act" that reaffirms the constitutional authority of the Congress as the                          
06 elected representatives of the people over the federally owned land of the United States.                               
07  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                           
08 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
09 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.