00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 41(RES)                                                               
01 Relating to support for the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act.                                           
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS winter recreation activities are an integral part of the Alaska way of life;                            
04 and                                                                                                                     
05       WHEREAS many of the state's popular winter recreation areas are subject to                                      
06 avalanche danger; and                                                                                                   
07       WHEREAS highway, city, and railroad maintenance crews, power plant and line                                     
08 workers, loggers, rescue personnel, ski patrollers, and guides are frequently exposed to                                
09 avalanche danger when houses, highways, and facilities are located in avalanche zones; and                              
10       WHEREAS Alaska has the highest avalanche death rate per capita in the nation; and                               
11       WHEREAS Alaska contains approximately 54,000,000 acres of national parks, which                                 
12 are visited by thousands of people for winter recreation; and                                                           
13       WHEREAS avalanche danger is a true risk in our national parks to both Alaskans and                              
14 visitors; and                                                                                                           
15       WHEREAS there is no avalanche forecasting in most areas of Alaska; and                                          
16       WHEREAS Senators Stevens and Murkowski along with senators of other Western                                     

01 states have introduced S. 931, the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2003;                            
02 and                                                                                                                     
03       WHEREAS S. 931 directs the United States Secretary of the Interior to establish a                               
04 coordinated avalanche control program in the National Park System to increase the safety of                             
05 visitors, recreational users, neighboring communities, and transportation corridors; and                                
06       WHEREAS S. 931 provides for grant funding to assist in the prevention, forecasting,                             
07 detection, and mitigation of avalanches;                                                                                
08       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports efforts by the Alaska                                 
09 congressional delegation to pass the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of                                
10 2003.                                                                                                                   
11       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Gale Norton, United States                             
12 Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chairman, and the Honorable Jeff                             
13 Bingaman, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; and                                    
14 to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                   
15 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.