00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20                                                                     
01 Urging the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the Secretary                                
02 of the United States Department of Agriculture not to implement protection of                                           
03 inventoried roadless areas under the "roadless rule" or otherwise restrict the                                          
04 development of necessary hydroelectric projects in the Tongass National Forest and the                                  
05 Chugach National Forest.                                                                                                
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
07       WHEREAS inventoried roadless areas, as defined in 36 C.F.R. 294.11, constitute                                  
08 approximately 57 percent of the acreage in the Tongass National Forest; and                                             
09       WHEREAS the United States Congress has designated an additional 35 percent of the                               
10 acreage in the Tongass National Forest as wilderness; and                                                               
11       WHEREAS there is an extensive system of federally protected areas in the state; and                             
12       WHEREAS, on May 28, 2010, the Secretary of the United States Department of                                      
13 Agriculture issued Secretary's Memorandum 1042-155 that reserves to the Secretary the                                   
14 authority to approve or disapprove road construction or reconstruction and the cutting, sale, or                        
15 removal of timber in areas identified in the set of inventoried roadless area maps contained in                         

01 volume 2 of the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact                                    
02 Statement, dated November 2000; and                                                                                     
03       WHEREAS the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture has                                        
04 approved only seven projects under the authority reserved in Secretary's Memorandum 1042-                               
05 155; and                                                                                                                
06       WHEREAS 14 of the 15 hydroelectric projects in the Tongass National Forest and                                  
07 Chugach National Forest are subject to the protection of inventoried roadless areas under 36                            
08 C.F.R. 294.10 - 294.18 ("roadless rule") and will require approval by the Secretary of the                              
09 United States Department of Agriculture; and                                                                            
10       WHEREAS failure of the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture to                              
11 approve the hydroelectric projects in the Tongass National Forest and the Chugach National                              
12 Forest would jeopardize the approval of necessary preliminary permits by the Federal Energy                             
13 Regulatory Commission because, without the Secretary of Agriculture's approval, the                                     
14 hydroelectric projects would not be able to proceed with the field studies and planning that are                        
15 required for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit; and                                             
16       WHEREAS the inability to develop hydroelectric projects and construct power lines                               
17 to bring electricity to communities in the state will result in continued diesel power generation                       
18 that emits pollutants into the environment; and                                                                         
19       WHEREAS the protection of inventoried roadless areas under the "roadless rule" in                               
20 36 C.F.R. 294.10 - 294.18 and the inability to produce and distribute hydro-generated                                   
21 electricity will adversely affect communities in the Tongass National Forest and the Chugach                            
22 National Forest and will thwart the Governor's goal of generating 50 percent of the energy in                           
23 the state from renewable sources; and                                                                                   
24       WHEREAS the President of the United States has pledged to embrace and encourage                                 
25 the development of renewable energy sources;                                                                            
26       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the President of the                                     
27 United States, the United States Congress, and the Secretary of the United States Department                            
28 of Agriculture not to implement protection of inventoried roadless areas under 36 C.F.R.                                
29 294.10 - 294.14 or otherwise restrict the development of necessary hydroelectric projects in                            
30 the Tongass National Forest and the Chugach National Forest.                                                            
31       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             

01 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
02 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of                                     
03 Agriculture; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the                              
04 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the                                       
05 Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell,                                
06 Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Chair of the Energy and                                
07 Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                
08 Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                 
09 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.