00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14                                                                                           
01 Relating to supporting the "American Land Sovereignty Protection Act."                                                  
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS the United Nations has designated 67 sites in the United States as "World                                      
04 Heritage Sites" or "Biosphere Reserves," which altogether are about equal in size to the State                          
05 of Colorado, the eighth largest state; and                                                                              
06  WHEREAS art. IV, sec. 3, United States Constitution, provides that the United States                                   
07 Congress shall make all needed regulations governing lands belonging to the United States;                              
08 and                                                                                                                     
09  WHEREAS many of the United Nations' designations include private property                                              
10 inholdings and contemplate "buffer zones" of adjacent land; and                                                         
11  WHEREAS some international land designations such as those under the United States                                     
12 Biosphere Reserve Program and the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations                                       
13 Scientific, Educational, and Culture Organization operate under independent national                                    
14 committees such as the United States National Man and Biosphere Committee that have no                                  

01 legislative directives or authorization from the Congress; and                                                          
02  WHEREAS these international designations as presently handled are an open invitation                                   
03 to the international community to interfere in domestic land use decisions; and                                         
04  WHEREAS local citizens and public officials usually have no say in the designation                                     
05 of land near their homes for inclusion in an international land use program; and                                        
06  WHEREAS the President and the executive branch of the United States have, by                                           
07 Executive Order and other agreements, implemented these designations without approval by                                
08 the Congress; and                                                                                                       
09  WHEREAS actions by the President in applying international agreements to lands                                         
10 owned by the United States may circumvent the Congress; and                                                             
11  WHEREAS Congressman Don Young introduced a bill in the 104th Congress entitled                                         
12 the "American Land Sovereignty Protection Act of 1996" that required the explicit approval                              
13 of the Congress prior to restricting any use of United States land under international                                  
14 agreements;                                                                                                             
15  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the "American Land                                           
16 Sovereignty Protection Act" that reaffirms the constitutional authority of the Congress as the                          
17 elected representatives of the people over the land of the United States and urges that the                             
18 "American Land Sovereignty Protection Act" be reintroduced and passed by both the United                                
19 States House of Representatives and the United States Senate as soon as possible during the                             
20 105th Congress.                                                                                                         
21  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                           
22 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
23 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.