SCS CSHJR 10(RES): Opposing the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; opposing attempts by President Obama to alter management of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; encouraging the United States Congress to reject a proposal based on the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan or accompanying Environmental Impact Statement; and encouraging the United States Congress to reject a proposal that does not open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development.
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10(RES) 01 Opposing the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact 02 Statement for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; opposing attempts by President 03 Obama to alter management of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; 04 encouraging the United States Congress to reject a proposal based on the revised 05 Comprehensive Conservation Plan or accompanying Environmental Impact Statement; 06 and encouraging the United States Congress to reject a proposal that does not open the 07 coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature vehemently opposes the revised 10 Comprehensive Conservation Plan issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 11 under the United States Department of the Interior and with the support of President Obama, 12 which includes a provision recommending that the United States Congress designate 13 12,000,000 additional acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the coastal 14 plain, as wilderness; and
01 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature recognizes that, although the 02 recommendation may not be ultimately approved by the United States Congress, the revised 03 Comprehensive Conservation Plan could still result in the creation of a de facto wilderness 04 area by requiring the federal government not to diminish the wilderness character of the area, 05 effectively usurping secs. 101(d) and 1326(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 06 Conservation Act; and 07 WHEREAS, in 1980, the United States Congress enacted the Alaska National Interest 08 Lands Conservation Act, transferring approximately 105,000,000 acres of public lands to 09 various conservation units; and 10 WHEREAS 105,000,000 acres is more land than contained in the State of California; 11 and 12 WHEREAS, if the land contained in conservation units developed under the Alaska 13 National Interest Lands Conservation Act were a state, it would be the third largest state in the 14 United States; and 15 WHEREAS, with passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 16 the United States Congress explicitly stated, in sec. 101(d), that the "Act provides sufficient 17 protection for the national interest in the scenic, natural, cultural and environmental values on 18 the public lands in Alaska" and that the need for additional conservation areas had been 19 obviated; and 20 WHEREAS the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act also prohibited 21 further studies of federal land in the state for "the single purpose of considering the 22 establishment of a conservation system unit, national recreation area, national conservation 23 area, or for related or similar purpose . . . unless authorized by this Act or further Act of 24 Congress"; and 25 WHEREAS, in sec. 1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 26 U.S.C. 3143), the United States Congress specifically set aside, and reserved ultimate 27 decisions to the United States Congress about the production of oil and gas in, the Arctic 28 National Wildlife Refuge, including the 1,500,000 acres of the coastal plain area defined in 29 sec. 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142); and 30 WHEREAS the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is estimated to 31 contain between 5,700,000,000 and 16,000,000,000 barrels of oil, with a mean recoverable
01 estimate of 10,300,000,000 barrels of oil; and 02 WHEREAS the oil resources estimated to be recoverable from the coastal plain 03 represent potential state and federal revenue in the hundreds of billions of dollars over the life 04 of production and a resource of significant national interest; and 05 WHEREAS the village of Kaktovik lies within the coastal plain, and there are 06 significant lands within the coastal plain that belong to the village of Kaktovik and the Arctic 07 Slope Regional Corporation and are of vital interest to the Native residents; and 08 WHEREAS the coastal plain lies within the boundaries of the state and North Slope 09 Borough and is of special significance to the residents of the state and the borough; and 10 WHEREAS a minimal number of recreationists, estimated to be 250, visit the coastal 11 plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in any given year; and 12 WHEREAS the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Arctic National 13 Wildlife Refuge proposes to manage the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the 14 coastal plain, as wilderness; and 15 WHEREAS the wilderness designation would create practical limits to oil and gas 16 development and general economic development and potential limits to vital subsistence 17 activities; and 18 WHEREAS the United States Secretary of the Interior recommended in 1987 that the 19 United States Congress authorize full leasing of the sec. 1002 area with appropriate 20 safeguards that would avoid unnecessary adverse effects on the environment; and 21 WHEREAS the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan does not contain the force 22 of law and is only a recommendation on management practices; and 23 WHEREAS the United States Fish and Wildlife Service claims that the creation of the 24 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a refuge already takes the land out of use or potential use; 25 and 26 WHEREAS all the goals of the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan can be 27 achieved without declaring wilderness; Prudhoe Bay has demonstrated that both a strict 28 environmental land management policy and development can exist side by side with no 29 destruction of land, ecology nor negative effect on caribou; and 30 WHEREAS the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan violates the National 31 Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as neither a study for wilderness nor the declaration of
01 wilderness can take place without the consideration of "all alternative land uses"; and 02 WHEREAS the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan fails to consider any oil 03 and gas exploration, development, or production as a potential alternative land use; and 04 WHEREAS oil and gas exploration and development on the coastal plain of the 05 refuge and adjacent land could result in major discoveries that would reduce our nation's 06 dependency on oil produced by hostile foreign nations, help balance the nation's trade deficit, 07 and significantly increase the nation's security; and 08 WHEREAS the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan has an accompanying 09 Environmental Impact Statement; 10 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly opposes the United 11 States Fish and Wildlife Services' revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 12 Environmental Impact Statement and any recommendation by President Obama based on that 13 Plan; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature vehemently opposes any 15 attempt by the Administration to alter the management or status of the coastal plain of the 16 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and be it 17 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly encourages each 18 member of the United States Congress to reject any proposal that is based on the revised 19 Comprehensive Conservation Plan or accompanying Environmental Impact Statement; and be 20 it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly encourages each 22 member of the United States Congress to reject any proposal that does not explicitly and, 23 without delay, open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas 24 development so that local residents and residents of the state and nation can realize the vast 25 economic and financial benefits of the immediate development of the coastal plain. 26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 27 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 28 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the 29 Interior; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 30 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 31 Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid,
01 Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, Chair of the Energy and 02 Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator, 03 and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in 04 Congress; and all other members of the 114th United States Congress.