00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 01 Urging the federal government to stop providing funding, through federal agencies, to 02 nongovernmental organizations that oppose the development of Alaska's resources. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS, on July 7, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska 05 Statehood Act, which mandated that Alaskans vote to approve or disapprove the terms of the 06 United States, thus establishing a compact between the United States Congress and Alaskans; 07 and 08 WHEREAS, at statehood, the United States Congress recognized that Alaska's small 09 population would not be able to pay for government services through taxes alone; thus, the 10 United States Congress promised the state 90 percent of revenue earned from resource 11 development on federal land in Alaska; and 12 WHEREAS, in joining the Union, Alaska was not merely absorbed into the federal 13 government; Alaska did not become a state until the people went to the polls to decide 14 whether to accept the terms crafted by the United States Congress and Alaska's designated 15 representatives; and 16 WHEREAS, because of those circumstances, Alaska's statehood is not simply an Act 01 of Congress that can be amended on a whim or infringed upon by federal agencies; Alaska's 02 statehood is a compact, otherwise known as a contract, between two sovereign parties and not 03 amendable by one side without the other's consent; and 04 WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, states that "it is the 05 policy of the State to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources 06 by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest"; and 07 WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 2, the Constitution of the State of Alaska, states that "the 08 legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural 09 resources belonging to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its 10 people"; and 11 WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska, states that "fish, 12 forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belonging to the State shall 13 be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle, subject to preferences 14 among beneficial users"; and 15 WHEREAS the mission of the Department of Natural Resources is to oversee 16 responsible development of the state's resources by making them available for maximum use 17 and benefit consistent with public interest; and 18 WHEREAS the mission of the Department of Environmental Conservation is to 19 conserve, improve, and protect the state's natural resources and environment and control 20 water, land, and air pollution, in order to enhance the health, safety, and welfare of the people 21 of the state and their overall economic and social well-being; and 22 WHEREAS the State of Alaska, through the Department of Natural Resources and 23 Department of Environmental Conservation, has comprehensive and stringent regulations in 24 place to ensure responsible development of the state's resources and protection of its 25 environment; and 26 WHEREAS the mission of the Department of Fish and Game is to protect, maintain, 27 and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state and manage their use and 28 development in the best interest of the economy and well-being of the people of the state, 29 consistent with the sustained yield principle; and 30 WHEREAS the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a Bureau within the United 31 States Department of the Interior whose mission is to work with others to conserve, protect, 01 and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the 02 American people; and 03 WHEREAS the United States Department of Justice, Environment and Natural 04 Resources Division, has the responsibility for the conduct and oversight of litigation 05 conducted, directly and indirectly, on behalf of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 06 and 07 WHEREAS, despite the March 13, 1982, Master Memorandum of Understanding 08 with the Department of Fish and Game, which allows the department to have primary 09 responsibility to manage fish and resident wildlife in the state, and despite the promises in the 10 Alaska Statehood Compact, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service awards a variety of 11 Natural Resource Assistance Grants and contracts to nongovernmental organizations, some of 12 which aggressively oppose the express promises to Alaskans at statehood and oppose the 13 intent behind sec. 101(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, also known 14 as the "no more" clause; and 15 WHEREAS the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has provided $10,000 - 16 $50,000 to the Alaska Conservation Foundation in 2010 and 2011; and 17 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation financially supports advocacy 18 groups such as the Chuitna Citizens Coalition, a group whose sole purpose is to oppose the 19 proposed Chuitna coal mine; and 20 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation financially supports the Bristol Bay 21 Protection Campaign and Cook Inletkeeper, groups opposed to the prospective Pebble mining 22 project; and 23 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation financially supports the Kachemak 24 Bay Conservation Society, a group avowed to restricting the expansion of oil and gas projects 25 in Cook Inlet; and 26 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation has provided numerous grants to 27 Trustees for Alaska, a group that provides advocacy and legal representation to other groups 28 that oppose a variety of resource development projects around the state, including the filing of 29 law suits against the State of Alaska and the Department of Natural Resources; and 30 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation has awarded more than $30,000,000 31 over the last 30 years in grants to over 200 Alaska nongovernmental organizations and other 01 entities that aggressively oppose responsible resource development projects in the state; and 02 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation opposes resource development 03 projects by hiring legislative organizers, commonly known as lobbyists, to generate support in 04 the legislature for the Alaska Conservation Foundation's legislative priorities; and 05 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation has solicited support for their 06 "efforts to keep Alaska's coal in the ground, where it belongs" and has made numerous grants 07 to organizations opposing the responsible development of coal-related projects throughout the 08 state, granting $3,155,238 to organizations in 2012; and 09 WHEREAS the Alaska Conservation Foundation coordinates the Bristol Bay 10 Protection Campaign, a campaign working to stop a proposed mine in the area, and provides 11 funding for legal support; and 12 WHEREAS the United States Fish and Wildlife Service funded studies conducted by 13 groups such as the Wilderness Society and Cook Inletkeeper, nongovernmental groups 14 actively opposing resource development; and 15 WHEREAS the Wilderness Society is a conservation organization that is focused on 16 preventing oil and gas development and logging in the state, and Cook Inletkeeper is a 17 nonprofit advocacy organization that has opposed a number of coal-related projects and oil 18 and gas developments; and 19 WHEREAS the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and the Trust Land Office 20 manage land to generate income to improve the lives of trust beneficiaries, whose lands are 21 near rural resource development areas such as the Chuitna Coal Project, the Chickaloon Coal 22 Project, the Fort Knox Mine, and the Livengood Gold Project, all of which have been 23 aggressively opposed by nongovernmental organizations funded through the Alaska 24 Conservation Fund; and 25 WHEREAS those grants and study partnerships funded and approved by United 26 States Fish and Wildlife Service are adverse and contrary to the Alaska Statehood Compact, 27 the Constitution of the State of Alaska, and the well-being of Alaskans; and 28 WHEREAS dispersing taxpayer funds to federal bureaus that then give those funds to 29 nongovernmental organizations that are not working in the state's best interest is a 30 misappropriation of public funds; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Fish 01 and Wildlife Service to stop providing grant money and contracts to nongovernmental 02 organizations opposed to resource development in the state; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 04 Fish and Wildlife Service to hire unbiased, independent firms and credible scientists to collect 05 data and compile peer-reviewed scientific reports and documents; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes any efforts by the 07 United States Fish and Wildlife Service to hinder or delay development of the state's natural 08 resources by funding advocacy campaigns opposed to resource development in the state, 09 thereby prejudicing the public and preempting the permitting process; and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 11 Office of Management and Budget to investigate those expenditures and perform a 12 comprehensive audit of all grants and contracts that may have been issued from taxpayer 13 funds through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 15 Department of Justice to exercise greater oversight of litigation underwritten by grants from 16 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and be it 17 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 18 Congress to exercise greater oversight of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service budget 19 and management of grants and contracts by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and 20 be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 22 Congress to pass legislation prohibiting grants by agencies of the United States to 23 nongovernmental organizations engaged in opposing and litigating against the development of 24 natural resources in the state. 25 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice- 26 President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, 27 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of 28 the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States; the 29 Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Sylvia 30 Matthews Burwell, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Robert Dreher, 31 acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division; the 01 Honorable Hilary Tompkins, Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior; the Honorable Daniel 02 M. Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 03 and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 04 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.