HJR 30-IZEMBEK LAND EXCHANGE  4:37:25 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced HJR 30 to be up for consideration. She said the Izembek land exchange is a public safety issue that is getting blocked by the federal government. REPRESENTATIVE BOB HERRON, sponsor of HJR 39, Alaska State Legislature, described the current medical situation in King Cove where many years several deaths have been related to medevacs because there isn't a road. For instance, King Cove is experiencing 60 mph winds today and there is a 270 ft. Bering Sea trawler in port with an injured fisherman - severe eye injury - who requires medevac to Anchorage immediately. The Coast Guard will not go into King Cove and the trawler will not go over to Cold Bay, because of the rough seas. If the winds die down a bit the Coast Guard will go from Cold Bay to the end of the Izembek King Cove Road and maybe they can medevac that fisherman back to Cold Bay to go to Anchorage. Situations like this have happened many times. Everyone is talking about how the road will ruin the Eel grass and Black Brandt, so the coordinating agencies - the feds, the state, local and Tribes - worked for four years to develop a corridor on which the closest the road can get to a single blade of Eel grass is one-half mile. Of course, in the Congressional Act the land trade is 300:1. They are willing to trade 61,000 acres for the value of 206 acres for a "public safety only corridor." There are no other alternatives, and this will work. 4:40:52 PM Again, the coordinating agencies, including Fish and Wildlife, submitted an EIS saying that a road makes most sense. Alaska ADF&G agreed and were surprised that Secretary Salazar and Secretary Jewell made the same decision to deny it - no action on the proposed swap and no action on the road. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON related that Fish and Wildlife publicly stated that safety considerations are important but they were not a factor in the decision, since they only evaluate environmental impacts (not being a public safety organization). What is so incredulous about that is that the courts have told all federal agencies that all federal decisions must consider the human factor. All these facts are stated over and over in the resolution. 4:44:56 PM SENATOR BISHOP said he concurred with his explanation of the resolution. 4:45:08 PM HENRY MACK, Mayor, City of King Cove, Alaska, supported HJR 30. Audubon is concerned that this road will impact the wellbeing of migrating birds in the Izembek Refuge; Natives claim title to thousands of years of stewardship over this refuge and yet they were nowhere to be found in Audubon's concerns. Twelve people have been killed flying in and out of King Cove; countless relatives and friends have had their lives impacted being medevac'd out. He couldn't believe they were still dealing with this basic quality of life issue. He said in mid-January they had asked Secretary Jewell to reconsider, but she hadn't responded so far. He concluded by urging the committee to approve this resolution that clearly expresses the needs of King Cove and that reaches far beyond. 4:51:08 PM GARY HENNIGH, City Administrator since 1989, City of King Cove, Alaska, supported HJR 30. He had been active for 25 years on this road issue. He summarized key events of his 21st trip to D.C. on the Izembek issue saying he met with Kip Knutson, the Governor's point person in D.C., who relayed the message that the secretary had encountered him in another meeting a week prior and told him that he needed to tell Senator Murkowski to "get beyond this Izembek Road thing." However, Mr. Knutson told her that she could resolve the issue on her own by approving the land exchange and that the Senator would never get over it. 4:56:04 PM CHAIR GIESSEL closed public testimony. 4:59:04 PM SENATOR DYSON moved to report HJR 30 am, version 28-LS1533\A.A, from committee with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations. There were no objections and HJR 30 am passed from the Senate Resources Standing Committee.