Enrolled 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.
00Enrolled SJR 15 01 Opposing any international designation of Alaska land or water as an international park, 02 world heritage site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or other classification of land or water that 03 affects the use of land or water by the state or an Alaska Native corporation without approval 04 by the United States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature; requesting the United States 05 Department of State and the United States Department of the Interior to cease all further 06 action related to an international designation for land and water in the state until the action is 07 approved by the United States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature; requesting that the 08 United States Congress pass legislation requiring Congressional approval of any international 09 designation that affects the use of land or water by the state or the United States; requesting 10 that the governor be involved in the process and development of any joint action plan; 11 requesting that the state, including the departments responsible for the management of fish 12 and wildlife and other natural resources, be an integral part of any discussion, agreement,
01 understanding, or other process that affects the use or development of fish and wildlife and 02 other natural resources in the state; and urging the governor and the attorney general to 03 reserve all legal remedies for a taking of the natural resources of the state by an international 04 designation of land and water in the state. 05 _______________ 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 federal government historically has attempted to expand the scope of 27 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 that potentially could evolve into a world heritage site 09 or a marine biosphere reserve and would include land and water in Alaska and the Russian 10 Far East; and 11 WHEREAS officials of the United States Department of State and the National Park 12 Service have traveled throughout Russia and spoken before the Russian Duma in Moscow; 13 and 14 WHEREAS the international designations contemplated by the National Park Service 15 for the areas included in Beringia are an invitation and another means for United States and 16 foreign environmental nongovernmental organizations to oppose resource development on 17 public and Alaska Native land and water in the state; and 18 WHEREAS many Alaskans are concerned that the proposed Beringia International 19 Park would impede future rights of access for the Red Dog Mine, the primary economic 20 engine in Northwest Alaska; and 21 WHEREAS Alaska Native corporations and the state specifically selected much of 22 their land because of the mineral potential and the opportunity to create jobs and other 23 economic opportunities for the people of the state; and 24 WHEREAS, in September 2012, Governor Sean Parnell sent a letter to then United 25 States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asking for time to conduct a meaningful 26 review of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding regarding Beringia and to provide 27 input on the possible effects of the Memorandum of Understanding on the region and the 28 state; and 29 WHEREAS, on January 17, 2013, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed 30 a decree creating Beringia National Park as a Russian National Park in the Chukotka Region; 31 and
01 WHEREAS, in October 2013, members of the Alaska State Legislature learned that 02 the United States Department of State, the National Park Service, and the Russian Federation 03 were in the final stages of formalizing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a 04 transboundary protected area in the Bering Strait region; and 05 WHEREAS the current effort to formalize a transboundary protected area would be 06 the first step in imposing international designations and could reduce the sovereignty of the 07 state and the United States over the burdened parts of the state, in violation of the Alaska 08 Statehood Compact, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the Alaska National 09 Interest Lands Conservation Act; and 10 WHEREAS the Department of Fish and Game is responsible for the management, 11 protection, maintenance, enhancement, rehabilitation, and extension of fish and wildlife 12 resources in the state, including management responsibilities on National Park Service land; 13 and 14 WHEREAS, in the 1982 Master Memorandum of Understanding between the 15 Department of Fish and Game and the National Park Service, the parties agreed to "consider 16 carefully the impact on the State of Alaska of proposed treaties or international agreements 17 relating to fish and wildlife resources which could diminish the jurisdictional authority of the 18 State, and to consult freely with the State when such treaties or agreements have a significant 19 impact on the State"; 20 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature asserts that any international 21 Memorandum of Understanding or other action to designate land or water in the state as an 22 international park, world heritage site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or classification of land 23 or water that affects the proper use of the land or water by the state or an Alaska Native 24 corporation should require approval by Acts of the Alaska State Legislature and the United 25 States Congress before taking effect; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the United 27 States Department of State and the United States Department of the Interior cease all further 28 action to establish an international designation of land or water in the state until the United 29 States Congress and the Alaska State Legislature approve; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that 31 the United States Congress enact a law that requires Congressional approval of any
01 international designation that affects the use of land or water by the state or the United States; 02 and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that, if the United 04 States Department of State or the United States Department of the Interior nevertheless 05 pursues or proposes the designation of land or water as an international park, world heritage 06 site, biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or classification of land or water that affects the proper 07 use of the land or water by the state or an Alaska Native corporation, the governor be actively 08 involved in the process and development of any joint action plan; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the state, 10 including the departments responsible for the management of fish and wildlife and other 11 natural resources, be an integral if not primary part of any discussion, agreement, 12 understanding, or other process or document that affects the use or development of fish and 13 wildlife and other natural resources in the state; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor and the 15 attorney general to reserve all legal remedies, including the recovery of damages, for a taking 16 of the natural resources of the state in violation of the Alaska Statehood Compact, should a 17 designation of land and water in the state as an international park, world heritage site, 18 biosphere reserve, Ramsar site, or other classification hamper the use or development of the 19 natural resources of the state. 20 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 21 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 22 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John F. Kerry, United States Secretary of State; 23 the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Jonathan B. 24 Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior; the 25 Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 26 Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Harry 27 Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader 28 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mary Landrieu, Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources 29 Committee of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Sean Parnell, Governor of Alaska; the 30 Honorable Michael C. Geraghty, Alaska Attorney General; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 31 and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.
01 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 02 113th United States Congress.