SJR 15: Opposing any international designation of Alaska land or water as an international park, world heritage site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or other classification of land or water that affects the use of land or water by the state or an Alaska Native corporation without approval by the United States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature; requesting the United States Department of State and the United States Department of the Interior to cease all further action related to an international designation for land and water in the state until the action is approved by the United States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature; requesting that the United States Congress pass legislation requiring Congressional approval of any international designation that affects the use of land or water by the state or the United States; requesting that the governor be involved in the process and development of any joint action plan; requesting that the state, including the departments responsible for the management of fish and wildlife and other natural resources, be an integral part of any discussion, agreement, understanding, or other process that affects the use or development of fish and wildlife and other natural resources in the state; and urging the governor and the attorney general to reserve all legal remedies for a taking of the natural resources of the state by an international designation of land and water in the state.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15 01 Opposing any international designation of Alaska land or water as an international 02 park, world heritage site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or other classification of land 03 or water that affects the use of land or water by the state or an Alaska Native 04 corporation without approval by the United States Congress and the Alaska State 05 Legislature; requesting the United States Department of State and the United States 06 Department of the Interior to cease all further action related to an international 07 designation for land and water in the state until the action is approved by the United 08 States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature; requesting that the United States 09 Congress pass legislation requiring Congressional approval of any international 10 designation that affects the use of land or water by the state or the United States; 11 requesting that the governor be involved in the process and development of any joint 12 action plan; requesting that the state, including the departments responsible for the 13 management of fish and wildlife and other natural resources, be an integral part of any
01 discussion, agreement, understanding, or other process that affects the use or 02 development of fish and wildlife and other natural resources in the state; and urging the 03 governor and the attorney general to reserve all legal remedies for a taking of the 04 natural resources of the state by an international designation of land and water in the 05 state. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS Alaska and the Russian Far East are close neighbors across the Bering 08 Sea, and archaeologists believe that the area was a migration route used by many peoples 09 moving from Asia and populating North and South America; and 10 WHEREAS some of the indigenous peoples of Western Alaska and the Russian Far 11 East speak the same language and share the same customs and traditions but have, until recent 12 times, been separated by political differences between their respective countries; and 13 WHEREAS, in recent years, various events and exchanges have been organized to 14 reconnect the residents of Western Alaska and those of the Russian Far East; and 15 WHEREAS the areas of Western Alaska and the Russian Far East have been referred 16 to as Beringia; and 17 WHEREAS, in 2010, the United States and Russia began negotiations to develop a 18 Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of establishing an international protected area 19 in the Bering Strait region that would include the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, the 20 Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and, in the Chukotka region of Russia, the yet-to-be- 21 created Beringia International Park; and 22 WHEREAS the National Park Service identifies and defines Beringia as the area 23 bounded on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada, on the west by the Lena River in 24 Russia, on the north by 72 degrees North latitude, and on the south by the southern tip of 25 Kamchatka, leaving only the south-central and southeastern limits to be determined; and 26 WHEREAS the National Park Service historically has attempted to expand the scope 27 of its influence beyond Alaska park boundaries, including the attempt to establish game buffer 28 zones around Denali National Park and Preserve; and 29 WHEREAS, during the past two decades, the National Park Service has repeatedly
01 expanded the size of the area identified as Beringia; and 02 WHEREAS the National Park Service manages the Shared Beringian Heritage 03 Program and seeks to foster mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States 04 and Russia and between the indigenous peoples of Western Alaska and the Russian Far East 05 by promoting cultural exchange, supporting subsistence opportunities, and working toward an 06 international designation for the land and water in the area identified as Beringia; and 07 WHEREAS, for many years, the National Park Service has pursued a program to 08 establish a Beringia International Park, a world heritage site, and a marine biosphere reserve 09 that would include land and water in Alaska and the Russian Far East; and 10 WHEREAS officials of the United States Department of State and the National Park 11 Service have traveled throughout Russia and spoken before the Russian Duma in Moscow; 12 and 13 WHEREAS the international designations contemplated by the National Park Service 14 for the areas included in Beringia are an invitation and another means for United States and 15 foreign environmental nongovernmental organizations to oppose resource development on 16 public and Alaska Native land and water in the state; and 17 WHEREAS many Alaskans are concerned that the proposed Beringia International 18 Park would impede future rights of access for the Red Dog Mine, the primary economic 19 engine in Northwest Alaska; and 20 WHEREAS Alaska Native corporations and the state specifically selected much of 21 their land because of the mineral potential and the opportunity to create jobs and other 22 economic opportunities for the people of the state; and 23 WHEREAS, in September 2012, Governor Sean Parnell sent a letter to then United 24 States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asking for time to conduct a meaningful 25 review of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding regarding Beringia and to provide 26 input on the possible effects of the Memorandum of Understanding on the region and the 27 State; and 28 WHEREAS, on January 17, 2013, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed 29 a decree creating Beringia National Park as a Russian National Park in the Chukotka Region; 30 and 31 WHEREAS, in October 2013, members of the Alaska State Legislature learned that
01 the United States Department of State, the National Park Service, and the Russian Federation 02 were in the final stages of formalizing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a 03 transboundary protected area in the Bering Strait region; and 04 WHEREAS the current effort to formalize a transboundary protected area would be 05 the first step in imposing international designations and would reduce the sovereignty of the 06 state and the United States over the burdened parts of the state, in violation of the Alaska 07 Statehood Compact, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the Alaska National 08 Interest Lands Conservation Act; and 09 WHEREAS the Department of Fish and Game is responsible for the management, 10 protection, maintenance, enhancement, rehabilitation, and extension of fish and wildlife 11 resources in the state, including management responsibilities on National Park Service land; 12 and 13 WHEREAS, in the 1982 Master Memorandum of Understanding between the 14 Department of Fish and Game and the National Park Service, the parties agreed to "consider 15 carefully the impact on the State of Alaska of proposed treaties or international agreements 16 relating to fish and wildlife resources which could diminish the jurisdictional authority of the 17 State, and to consult freely with the State when such treaties or agreements have a significant 18 impact on the State"; 19 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature asserts that any international 20 Memorandum of Understanding or other action to designate land or water in the state as an 21 international park, world heritage site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or classification of land 22 or water that affects the proper use of the land or water by the state or an Alaska Native 23 corporation should require approval by Acts of the Alaska State Legislature and the United 24 States Congress before taking effect; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the United 26 States Department of State and the United States Department of the Interior cease all further 27 action to establish an international designation of land or water in the state until the United 28 States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature approve; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that 30 the United States Congress enact a law that requires Congressional approval of any 31 international designation that affects the use of land or water by the state or the United States;
01 and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that, if the United 03 States Department of State or the United States Department of the Interior nevertheless 04 pursues or proposes the designation of land or water as an international park, world heritage 05 site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or classification of land or water that affects the proper 06 use of the land or water by the state or an Alaska Native corporation, the governor be actively 07 involved in the process and development of any joint action plan; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the state, 09 including the departments responsible for the management of fish and wildlife and other 10 natural resources, be an integral if not primary part of any discussion, agreement, 11 understanding, or other process or document that affects the use or development of fish and 12 wildlife and other natural resources in the state; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor and the 14 attorney general to reserve all legal remedies, including the recovery of damages, for a taking 15 of the natural resources of the state in violation of the Alaska Statehood Compact, should a 16 designation of land and water in the state as an international park, world heritage site, 17 biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or other classification hamper the use or development of the 18 natural resources of the state. 19 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 20 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 21 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John F. Kerry, United States Secretary of State; 22 the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Jonathan B. 23 Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior; the 24 Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 25 Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Harry 26 Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader 27 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ron Wyden, Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources 28 Committee of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark 29 Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the 30 Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 113th United States Congress.