HOUSE CONCURRENT MEMORIAL 2003

A CONCURRENT MEMORIAL

calling for the president of the united states and the secretary of the united states department of interior to halt the proposed federal redesignationS of land in arizona.

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To the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Interior of the United States:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, efforts are underway within the current administration to redesignate millions of acres of western lands as National Monuments or Forest Service roadless areas, including more than one million acres in Arizona alone. The Secretary of the Interior has requested the President to designate nearly a dozen sites in the West as National Monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act. Additionally, there is a recent proposal to redesignate forty million acres of federal lands under a "roadless areas" policy within the United States Forest Service; and

Whereas, these proposals, which would bypass input and consent from the public, the states and even the Congress, would result in the redesignation of lands in Arizona without any consideration of state or local interests. The people of Arizona, the Arizona Legislature and the Congress of the United States have not considered, debated or approved the federal redesignations that are proposed by the administration; and

Whereas, instead of working as a partner to help local communities define and achieve their conservation goals, the federal government proposes unilateral actions that would affect this state and exclude citizens from determining or even having a voice in land management decisions in their communities; and

Whereas, land management and conservation efforts are best administered and managed at state and local levels of government. Failure by the federal government to recognize and respect this basic tenet would leave this state no recourse but to turn to the judicial system to halt the further redesignations of federal land in this state.

Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:

1. That the President, the Secretary of the Interior and the Congress of the United States take action to prevent the designation of any additional National Monuments or Forest Service roadless areas in this state without full public participation and an express act of Congress.

2. That the recipients of this Memorial convey to the Arizona Legislature their plan to consider this request.

3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit a copy of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each member of Congress from the State of Arizona.