00Enrolled HJR 41                                                                                                         
01 Relating to support for the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act.                                           
02                                       _______________                                                                   
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS winter recreation activities are an integral part of the Alaska way of life;                             
05 and                                                                                                                     
06      WHEREAS many of the state's popular winter recreation areas are subject to                                       
07 avalanche danger; and                                                                                                   
08      WHEREAS highway, city, and railroad maintenance crews, power plant and line                                      
09 workers, loggers, rescue personnel, ski patrollers, and guides are frequently exposed to                                
10 avalanche danger when houses, highways, and facilities are located in avalanche zones; and                              
11      WHEREAS Alaska has the highest avalanche death rate per capita in the nation; and                                
12      WHEREAS Alaska contains approximately 54,000,000 acres of national parks, which                                  
13 are visited by thousands of people for winter recreation; and                                                           
14      WHEREAS avalanche danger is a true risk in our national parks to both Alaskans and                               
15 visitors; and                                                                                                           
16      WHEREAS there is no avalanche forecasting in most areas of Alaska; and                                           
17      WHEREAS Senators Stevens and Murkowski along with senators of other Western                                      

01 states have introduced S. 931, the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2003;                            
02 and                                                                                                                     
03      WHEREAS S. 931 directs the United States Secretary of the Interior to establish a                                
04 coordinated avalanche control program in the National Park System to increase the safety of                             
05 visitors, recreational users, neighboring communities, and transportation corridors; and                                
06      WHEREAS S. 931 provides for grant funding to assist in the prevention, forecasting,                              
07 detection, and mitigation of avalanches;                                                                                
08      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports efforts by the Alaska                                  
09 congressional delegation to pass the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of                                
10 2003.                                                                                                                   
11      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Gale Norton, United States                              
12 Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chair, and the Honorable Jeff                                
13 Bingaman, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; and                                    
14 to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                   
15 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.