RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the United States Congress established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to conserve Alaska's natural diversity of fish and wildlife populations and their habitats, to provide for subsistence uses, and to fulfill international treaty obligations; and

WHEREAS, the coastal plain of the Refuge, where oil drilling is proposed, is home to the largest concentrations of wildlife in the Refuge, including one hundred thirty-five species of migratory birds, polar bears, musk oxen, and the migratory Porcupine Caribou Herd, which returns to the Refuge coastal plain during calving and post-calving season, and is shared with the Gwich'in Indian and Eskimo Villages in Yukon and the Northwest Territories of Canada and interior Alaska; and

WHEREAS, oil development proposed in the Refuge coastal plain is predicted by most scientists to reduce the Porcupine Caribou Herd, a vital resource of this fragile ecosystem already impacted by climate change; and

WHEREAS, for over ten thousand years, the Porcupine Caribou Herd has been essential to the subsistence, cultural, and spiritual needs of the Gwich'in, known as the People of the Caribou, whose survival has depended upon the continued health and migratory cycle of this herd; and

WHEREAS, the Inupiat Eskimo, known as the People of the Whale because of their profound cultural and subsistence relationship with the bowhead whale, are also dependent on the Porcupine Caribou Herd; and

WHEREAS, according to a recent National Academy of Sciences study commissioned by Congress, oil and gas development in Northern Alaska has already produced major cumulative impacts on the land, wildlife, and subsistence lifestyles for this region, and new Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing and developments in bowhead whale migration areas pose even graver risks due to the difficulties in cleaning up oil spills among ice packs; and

WHEREAS, according to a recent study by three hundred scientists with contributions by indigenous elders and Arctic residents, some animals could become extinct and people living in the region could be threatened by the thinning sea ice, melting glaciers, and thawing permafrost due to global warming from greenhouse gases; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has made promoting the welfare and cultural survival of the native people of Hawaii, the Kanaka Maoli, a constitutional priority, and acknowledges the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and self-sustainability in the Pacific Islands and polar regions, both being dependent upon access and control over lands and resources; and

WHEREAS, oil development in the Refuge perpetuates an unsustainable national energy policy contributing to global warming, which can raise sea levels and increase storm frequency and intensity, threatening native Pacific Islanders' lives, land base, and ability to sustain people and culture; and

WHEREAS, subsistence lifestyles are basic to Hawaiian culture and traditions, as with all indigenous cultures, Hawaii citizens and organizations, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Ahahui Malama I ka Lokahi, and the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club have been asked by the Gwich'in and other native peoples of the Arctic to help protect traditional and customary uses of federal public lands in the Refuge; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is respectfully urged to:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the President and Minority Leader of the United States Senate, and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Energy; Arctic National Wildlife Refuge