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