SCS CSHJR 40(RES): Opposing the proposed designation by the National Marine Fisheries Service of 3,000 square miles of upper Cook Inlet, the mid-inlet, all of the inlet's western shores, and Kachemak Bay as critical habitat for beluga whales.
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40(RES) 01 Opposing the proposed designation by the National Marine Fisheries Service of 3,000 02 square miles of upper Cook Inlet, the mid-inlet, all of the inlet's western shores, and 03 Kachemak Bay as critical habitat for beluga whales. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS the Endangered Species Act requires economic effects to be taken into 06 account for critical habitat designations, and areas may be excluded from critical habitat if it 07 is determined that the benefit of such exclusion outweighs the benefit of specifying such areas 08 as critical habitat; and 09 WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed declaring 3,000 10 square miles of upper Cook Inlet, the mid-inlet, all of the inlet's western shores, and 11 Kachemak Bay as critical habitat for beluga whales; and 12 WHEREAS scientists in the National Marine Fisheries Service have concluded that 13 the primary reason for the population decline was the unsustainable subsistence harvest in the 14 1990s; and 15 WHEREAS a cooperative harvest management plan was put into place in 2000; and
01 WHEREAS scientists predicted signs of recovery of the beluga whale population 02 would take five to seven years after a cooperative harvest management plan was instituted; 03 and 04 WHEREAS, in 2005, the population of beluga whales was 278, and, in 2009, the 05 population was 321, a four percent increase a year; and 06 WHEREAS the State of Alaska has given notice of its intent to sue challenging the 07 Cook Inlet beluga whale Endangered Species Act listing; and 08 WHEREAS there is little evidence that human activity has harmed the beluga whale's 09 environment, migration, or ecology; and 10 WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service has stated that the additional 11 regulatory oversight will cost only an additional $600,000 over the next decade; and 12 WHEREAS the cost estimate does not factor in the extra costs that existing and future 13 operations may have to pay to meet unnecessary new regulatory burdens; and 14 WHEREAS a critical habitat designation in Cook Inlet may hurt community and 15 economic development; and 16 WHEREAS permitting and construction projects may suffer costly delays, and 17 economic development could be curtailed; and 18 WHEREAS the proposed Knik Arm Bridge, Port Mackenzie, tourism, and vessel 19 traffic may be negatively affected; and 20 WHEREAS infrastructure development in Cook Inlet for resource development and 21 energy projects could be threatened by critical habitat designations; and 22 WHEREAS the Port of Anchorage serves 85 percent of the population of the state 23 and receives 90 percent of the goods coming into the state, and the port has already fully 24 addressed the conservation needs of the Cook Inlet beluga whales relating to the whales' 25 activity, based on the best scientific information available, working with the National Marine 26 Fisheries Service and other experts; and 27 WHEREAS military deployments from the Port of Anchorage, military flight 28 patterns, and military operations could be negatively affected or limited with no benefit to 29 beluga whales; and 30 WHEREAS environmental lawsuits may add significant delays and millions of 31 dollars to the cost of economic development projects in the Cook Inlet area; and
01 WHEREAS decades of safe and environmentally responsible oil and gas production, 02 vessel transportation, community development, commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing, 03 and other economic activity in Cook Inlet have taken place without harming Cook Inlet 04 beluga whales; and 05 WHEREAS future oil and gas exploration, development, and production could be 06 gravely affected by critical habitat designations; and 07 WHEREAS southcentral Alaska energy needs have been met predominantly through 08 responsible oil and gas production in Cook Inlet for nearly 50 years while beluga whale 09 populations thrived; and 10 WHEREAS there is little evidence that commercial or sport fishing is harming the 11 beluga whale population; and 12 WHEREAS the commercial and sport fishing industries could be gravely threatened 13 by a critical habitat designation because the beluga whale's primary food source is fish; and 14 WHEREAS lost development opportunities because of critical habitat designations 15 could ultimately lead to lost revenue to the State of Alaska and to local governments; and 16 WHEREAS all three members of Alaska's congressional delegation and Governor 17 Sean Parnell are opposed to the critical habitat designation; and 18 WHEREAS designation of such broad areas of municipal, commercial, and industrial 19 interest, without any known or identifiable link between these activities and the conservation 20 status of the Cook Inlet beluga whale is contrary to the public interest; and 21 WHEREAS the conservation benefits, which are entirely uncertain and speculative, 22 are outweighed by the costs and impediments posed by designation of critical habitat in this 23 instance in most, if not all, of the proposed designation area; 24 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the proposed 25 designation by the National Marine Fisheries Service of 3,000 square miles of upper Cook 26 Inlet, the mid-inlet, all of the inlet's western shores, and Kachemak Bay as critical habitat for 27 beluga whales; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Alaska requests a more robust economic 29 analysis be completed by the National Marine Fisheries Service before finalizing any critical 30 habitat designation; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that any final critical habitat designation be supported by
01 sound science, including any science conducted by State of Alaska marine mammal experts, 02 that clearly links any designated critical habitat to the conservation and recovery of Cook Inlet 03 beluga whales. 04 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 05 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 06 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of 07 Representatives; the Honorable Gary F. Locke, United States Secretary of Commerce; Dr. 08 Jane Lubchenko, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, United States 09 Department of Commerce; Kaja Brix, Director, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region, 10 National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the 11 Honorable Dan Sullivan, Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage; the Honorable John C. 12 Combs, Mayor of the City of Palmer; the Honorable Verne E. Rupright, Mayor of the City of 13 Wasilla; the Honorable Talis Colberg, Mayor of the Matanuska Susitna Borough; the 14 Honorable James C. Hornaday, Mayor of the City of Homer; the Honorable Pat Porter, Mayor 15 of the City of Kenai; the Honorable Peter A. Micciche, Mayor of the City of Soldotna; the 16 Honorable Dave Carey, Mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough; and the Honorable Lisa 17 Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 18 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.