1998 Legislation
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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8 – Biosphere reserves, opposed

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8

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Daily Data Tracking History




                                 *     *     *


HJM008........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
BIOSPHERE RESERVES - A memorial opposing the establishment of biosphere
reserves in Idaho without the consent of the Idaho Legislature.

01/28    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/29    Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/18    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/19    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/23    3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote - to Senate
02/24    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env

Bill Text


HJM008


                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fourth Legislature                 Second Regular Session - 1998
                                                                        

                             IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8

                         BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE


 1                                   A JOINT MEMORIAL
 2    TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE SECRETARY OF STATE, THE SENATE  AND
 3        THE  HOUSE  OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED,
 4        AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE
 5        CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

 6        We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of  the
 7    State  of  Idaho  assembled  in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-fourth
 8    Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:

 9        WHEREAS, the United Nations has promoted a  Biosphere  Program  throughout
10    the world; and
11        WHEREAS,  the  Biosphere  Program  threatens to place millions of acres of
12    land under the control of the United Nations via agreements  and/or  executive
13    orders; and
14        WHEREAS,  the United Nations Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Organi-
15    zation (UNESCO) has created a worldwide system of 328 Biosphere Reserves in 82
16    nations; and
17        WHEREAS, 47 United Nations-designated Biosphere Reserves  are  within  the
18    sovereign borders of the United States; and
19        WHEREAS, neither the Legislature of the State of Idaho nor the Congress of
20    the United States has considered, debated, or approved such designations; and
21        WHEREAS,  such  designations require strict land use management procedures
22    as are set forth in the 1994 Strategic Plan for the United States Man and  the
23    Biosphere  Program,  as  published  by the United States State Department, and
24    further described in the Global  Biodiversity  Assessment,  published  by  the
25    United  Nations Environment Program, expressly for the Conferences of the Par-
26    ties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; and
27        WHEREAS, Biosphere Reserves are, by definition,  designed  to  continually
28    expand  each of the three zones: core protected zone, buffer zone, and zone of
29    cooperation; and
30        WHEREAS, Biosphere Reserves are expected to be the nucleus of  the  system
31    of  protected  areas  required  by  Article  8 of the Convention on Biological
32    Diversity expressed in the minutes of the first meeting of the  Conference  of
33    the Parties; and
34        WHEREAS,  no  landowner,  within reach or potential reach of the Biosphere
35    Reserves on American soil, has input or recourse to land  management  policies
36    of  UNESCO  or  the  Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
37    Diversity; and
38        WHEREAS, no body of elected officials, whether local, state,  or  federal,
39    has input, recourse, or veto power over such land-use management policies that
40    may  be  prescribed  by  either UNESCO or the Conference of the Parties to the
41    Convention on Biological Diversity; and
42        WHEREAS, even though the Convention on Biological Diversity has  not  been
43    ratified  by  the  United  States  Senate, the very presence of United Nations


                                          2
 1    Biosphere Reserves on American soil demonstrates compliance with  an  interna-
 2    tional treaty that has not been ratified; and
 3        WHEREAS,  the  use  of  land in biosphere areas for ordinary commercial or
 4    agriculture purposes may be severely restricted or eliminated; and
 5        WHEREAS, the Idaho Legislature does not believe that a  request  from  the
 6    National  Park  Service or a tourist and convention service should be adequate
 7    to subject land in Idaho to the control of the United  Nations  or  any  other
 8    foreign parties; and
 9        WHEREAS,  the areas encompassed by Biosphere Reserves can include not only
10    public, but private, lands; and
11        WHEREAS, the placing of environmental or other restrictions upon  the  use
12    of  private  lands  has  been held by a number of recent United States Supreme
13    Court decisions to constitute a taking of the land for public purposes; and
14        WHEREAS, the proposed Biodiversity  Treaty,  if  ratified  by  the  United
15    States, would ultimately lead to the reality that Idahoans could not use their
16    private and public lands in the manner to which they have been accustomed; and
17        WHEREAS,  there  are  no proposals either to purchase the private lands by
18    the United States or the United Nations; and
19        WHEREAS, the restrictions contemplated together with the  outside  control
20    of  the land encompassed by a Biosphere Reserve constitutes an unlawful taking
21    of that land in violation of the Constitution of the United  States,  to  wit:
22    Article  I,  Section 8, Clause 17, provides that before any state lands can be
23    purchased, the consent of the state legislature must be obtained; and
24        WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 3, Clause  2,  of  the  Constitution  of  the
25    United States provides that nothing in the Constitution "shall be so construed
26    as  to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state";
27    and
28        WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution of the  United  States
29    provides  that "The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union
30    a republican form of government"; and
31        WHEREAS, Amendment V to the Constitution of  the  United  States  provides
32    that  no  person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
33    process of law; nor shall private property be taken for  public  use,  without
34    just compensation"; and
35        WHEREAS,  the  virtual  ceding of these lands to the United Nations leaves
36    the residents who own the land, the local governments, and the states  without
37    any  legitimate  form  for  redress  of grievances or for input into decision-
38    making processes relating to Biosphere Reserves; and
39        WHEREAS, under Article VI of the Constitution of the United  States,  this
40    treaty  would  be  given  equal  footing  with  the Constitution of the United
41    States, thus effectively precluding any legal means of redress; and
42        WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho does not wish to have  por-
43    tions  of  its  land area controlled by foreign persons who are not subject to
44    state law and over whom the state has no control.
45        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second  Regular  Ses-
46    sion  of  the Fifty-fourth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
47    the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature of the State of  Idaho  is
48    unalterably  opposed  to  the  inclusion of any land within the borders of the
49    State  of  Idaho  within  the  purview  of  the  Biodiversity  Treaty  or  any
50    biodiversity program without the express consent of  the  Legislature  of  the
51    State  of  Idaho, as provided in the Constitution of the United States and the
52    Constitution of the State of Idaho.
53        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature of the State of  Idaho  urges
54    the members of Congress of the United States, and especially the Idaho delega-
55    tion  to  the  Congress  of  the United States, to oppose ratification of this
56    treaty and the inclusion of  any  land  within  the  State  of  Idaho  in  any


                                          3
 1    biosphere program of the United Nations.
 2        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
 3    tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of  this
 4    Memorial  to  the  President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the
 5    President of the Senate and  the Speaker of the House  of  Representatives  of
 6    Congress,  and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in
 7    the Congress of the United States.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


    





                         STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
    
                               RS 07374
    
    The purpose of this Memorial is to send Congress and the 
    Administration this message: The Legislature of the State of 
    Idaho is unalterably opposed to inclusion of any land within its 
    borders within the purview of the Biodiversity Treaty or any 
    such program, without the expressed consent of the Legislature 
    of the State of Idaho.
    
    FISCAL NOTE
    
    No fiscal impact.
    
    CONTACT: Rep. McKague
             332-1000
    
    STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE
    
    HUM 8