HJR10 is a resolution that states the Alaska State Legislature opposes the National Park Service’s proposed rule limiting non-subsistence hunting methods, asserting it infringes on state wildlife management authority established by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alaska Constitution, and federal laws.
The Alaska State House of Representatives passed HJR10 on March 20, 2023 by a vote of 31 to 5. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because Article VIII of the Alaska Constitution states that “The legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people,” and “Wherever occurring in their natural state, fish, wildlife, and waters are reserved to the people for common use.” Additionally, many other rights allow people to use public lands as they see fit, as these lands are paid for by the taxpayers. However, the National Park Service and “federally owned” land are not authorized under the U.S. Constitution. The National Park Service should hand these lands over to the states and not impede their state constitutions, as the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”