SJR 11: Urging the President of the United States and the United States Congress to acquire the area commonly known as Central Park on Manhattan in New York City on behalf of the federal government; urging the United States Congress to declare Central Park to be a wilderness area and to prohibit any further improvement or development of Central Park unless authorized by an Act of Congress.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 11 01 Urging the President of the United States and the United States Congress to acquire the 02 area commonly known as Central Park on Manhattan in New York City on behalf of the 03 federal government; urging the United States Congress to declare Central Park to be a 04 wilderness area and to prohibit any further improvement or development of Central 05 Park unless authorized by an Act of Congress. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS, before Henry Hudson's landing on September 12, 1609, Manhattan was 08 a remarkably diverse and natural landscape of hills, valleys, forests, fields, freshwater 09 wetlands, salt marshes, beaches, springs, ponds, and streams and supported a rich and 10 abundant community of wildlife, and sustained people for thousands of years; and 11 WHEREAS, since the arrival of Henry Hudson, the unrestrained development of 12 buildings, highways, and urban sprawl on Manhattan has destroyed habitat, displaced 13 indigenous peoples, and disrupted what had been the delicate Muir Web; and 14 WHEREAS at least 1,000 species of plants and vertebrates, including 24 species of 15 mammals, 233 species of birds, 32 species of reptiles and amphibians, 85 species of fish, and
01 627 species of plants, and an unknown number of species of fungi, lichens, mosses, insects, 02 shellfish, and other invertebrates previously inhabited Manhattan; and 03 WHEREAS resident mammals previously included the gray wolf, gray fox, beaver, 04 white-tailed deer, elk, short-beaked common dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, bobcat, 05 mountain lion, cottontail rabbit, white-footed mouse, river otter, black bear, and red bat; and 06 WHEREAS resident bird species previously included the bald eagle, belted 07 kingfisher, wood duck, green heron, cedar waxwing, passenger pigeon, American goldfinch, 08 Baltimore oriole, peregrine falcon, wild turkey, and red-bellied woodpecker; and 09 WHEREAS resident plants previously included the sugar maple, mountain holly, wild 10 sarsaparilla, American ginseng, purple milkweed, yellow birch, wild cucumber, white oak, red 11 hickory, white ash, red pine, black spruce, mountain ash, and eastern cottonwood; and 12 WHEREAS resident reptiles previously included the loggerhead sea turtle, brown 13 snake, timber rattlesnake, eastern mud turtle, diamondback terrapin, and redbelly snake; and 14 WHEREAS, in 1609, Manhattan's biodiversity density for each acre rivaled that of 15 national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Great Smoky Mountains; and 16 WHEREAS Manhattan once had more than 570 hills, 60 miles of streams, 20 ponds, 17 and 300 springs; and 18 WHEREAS sandy beaches once reached from the tip of Manhattan to a point past 19 42nd Street on the Hudson River shore; beyond the shore was the vibrant, dynamic tidal 20 estuary with complex currents, sedimentary patterns, and the influence of the Hudson River; 21 and 22 WHEREAS Manhattan's Upper West Side and Tribeca were once a coastal oak-pine 23 forest with red maple swamps; and 24 WHEREAS Manhattan once had 55 different ecological communities, including 25 terrestrial communities, wetlands, pond and stream communities, and estuarine communities; 26 and 27 WHEREAS the Lenape and their ancestors lived in this area for thousands of years 28 before European contact, obtaining all the food, water, and materials they needed from the 29 local forests, wetlands, and waters; and 30 WHEREAS, in Northeastern Algonquin culture, the Lenape were considered the 31 "Ancient Ones," and their folklore suggests a close connection to the land and appreciation of
01 their role as a member of the ecosystem that was shared with the plentiful other species; and 02 WHEREAS Manhattan has an area of approximately 22.7 square miles, and Central 03 Park has an area of approximately 1.3 square miles; and 04 WHEREAS the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has an area of approximately 29,687 05 square miles and 1002 Area, the area for development in the refuge, has an area of 06 approximately 2,344 square miles; and 07 WHEREAS Central Park makes up approximately six percent of Manhattan; and 08 WHEREAS the proposed sites for development within 1002 Area make up 09 approximately one-eighth of one percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and 10 WHEREAS 16 U.S.C. 3143 requires an authorization by an Act of Congress before 11 leasing or other development leading to the production of oil and gas in the Arctic National 12 Wildlife Refuge may proceed; 13 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the President of the 14 United States and the United States Congress to acquire the area commonly known as Central 15 Park on behalf of the federal government; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 17 Congress to declare Central Park to be a wilderness area; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 19 Congress to enact a provision similar to 16 U.S.C. 3143 to prohibit any further improvement 20 or development of Central Park unless authorized by an Act of Congress. 21 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 22 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 23 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the 24 Interior; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 25 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 26 Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid, 27 Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, Chair of the U.S. Senate 28 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator, 29 and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in 30 Congress.