00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 7                                                                     
01 Opposing a United Nations designation of the Arctic Ocean as a World Heritage Site.                                     
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS many scientists are concerned that a recent loss of sea ice in the Arctic                               
04 Ocean could be an indicator of a potential prolonged period of warmer than normal                                       
05 temperatures in the Arctic; and                                                                                         
06       WHEREAS scientists theorize that a warming of the Arctic could lead to an ice-free                              
07 ocean, which would likely lead to trans-Arctic Ocean shipping, resource development, and                                
08 increased human activity in the Arctic; and                                                                             
09       WHEREAS significant amounts of oil, gas, and minerals lie under the Arctic Ocean,                               
10 and, if the ocean were ice-free, those resources could be more readily accessed and                                     
11 developed; and                                                                                                          
12       WHEREAS a group of North American scientists recently proposed that the United                                  
13 Nations designate the Arctic Ocean a multi-location World Heritage Site for the express                                 
14 purpose of eliminating increased transportation, resource extraction, and other development in                          
15 the area; and                                                                                                           
16       WHEREAS management of the Arctic Ocean as a "sea park" would negatively affect                                  

01 the sovereignty of the nations that border the ocean, including the United States, Canada,                              
02 Greenland, Russia, and Norway;                                                                                          
03       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes, and encourages the                                    
04 United States, on behalf of Alaska, its only Arctic state, to oppose, any effort by the United                          
05 Nations to designate any portion of the Arctic Ocean as a World Heritage Site or similar                                
06 designation that would impinge on the sovereignty of the United States.                                                 
07       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
08 the United States; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S.                                 
09 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
10 delegation in Congress.