SJR 5 AM: Opposing the closure of the former Mount McKinley portions of Denali National Park and Preserve to snowmachine use.
00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5 am 01 Opposing the closure of the former Mount McKinley portions of Denali National 02 Park and Preserve to snowmachine use. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the National Park Service has closed the former Mount McKinley portion 05 of Denali National Park and Preserve to snowmachine use for one year during which time the 06 agency will study imposition of a permanent closure; and 07 WHEREAS the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) 08 authorizes, subject to reasonable regulation, the use of snowmachines and other means of 09 motorized and nonmotorized access for traditional activities in all conservation system units 10 created or expanded by that Act; and 11 WHEREAS ANILCA and regulations of the National Park Service require the 12 National Park Service to document actual impacts and present findings that snowmachine use 13 is detrimental to the resource values of the park and preserve before implementing a closure; 14 and
01 WHEREAS the findings issued by the National Park Service do not document that 02 snowmachine use would be detrimental to the resource values of Denali National Park and 03 Preserve but instead only hypothesize that snow machine use is detrimental to the resource 04 values of the park and preserve; and 05 WHEREAS the National Park Service did not distribute its findings for review by 06 those who have experience with the former Mount McKinley portion of Denali National Park 07 and Preserve, with snowmachines, and with the effects of snowmachine use on resource values 08 before the findings were released to justify the closure; and 09 WHEREAS the National Park Service, since the passage of ANILCA, has 10 inappropriately restricted the use of snowmachines in the former Mount McKinley portion of 11 Denali National Park and Preserve through various legally deficient means; and 12 WHEREAS the National Park Service has refused to act on requests from 13 snowmachine groups to develop voluntary measures to limit or restrict snowmachine use 14 within specific areas for the purpose of minimizing potential conflicts with other uses; and 15 WHEREAS any action by the National Park Service to restrict snowmachine use in 16 the park and preserve without full and complete compliance with the factual and procedural 17 requirements of ANILCA and its implementing regulations would establish a precedent that 18 is adverse to access to other conservation system units in Alaska; 19 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the closure of the 20 former Mount McKinley portion of Denali National Park and Preserve to snowmachine use 21 because the National Park Service has failed to comply with the full letter and spirit of the 22 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and with the procedural and factual 23 requirements of the National Park Service for adopting such closures; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 25 Governor to take all available administrative and legal measures to protect the right of access 26 to public lands in Alaska for traditional activities that was guaranteed to Alaskans by the 27 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. 28 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bruce Babbitt, Secretary, 29 U.S. Department of the Interior; to Robert G. Stanton, Director, National Park Service, U.S. 30 Department of the Interior; to Steven P. Martin, Superintendent, Denali National Park and 31 Preserve, National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior; and to the Honorable Ted
01 Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 02 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.