Resolution in support of Central Park wilderness.

WORKING DRAFT
2012
STATE OF
WYOMING
12LSO-0310.E1

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
NO.
HJ0013

Resolution in support of Central Park wilderness.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Jaggi and Burkhart and Senator(s) Jennings

A Bill

for

A JOINT R
ESOLUTION requesting Congress

to acquire the

area commonly known as Central Park on Manhattan in New York City on behalf of the

federal government; urging the United States Congress to declare Central Park to be a

wilderness area and to prohibit any further improvement or development of Central

Park unless authorized by an
A
ct of Congress.

WHEREAS,

before Henry Hudson's landing on September 12, 1609, Manhattan was

a remarkably diverse and natural landscape of hills, valleys, forests, fields, freshwater

wetlands, salt marshes, beaches, springs, ponds and streams and supported a rich and

abundant community of wildlife, and sustained people for thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, since the arrival of Henry Hudson, the unrestrained development of

buildings, highways, and urban sprawl on Manhattan has destroyed habitat, displaced

indigenous peoples and disrupted what had been the delicate Muir Web; and

WHEREAS
,
at least 1,000 species of plants and vertebrates, including 24 species of

mammals, 233 species of birds, 32 species of reptiles and amphibians, 85 species of fish, and
627 species of plants, and an unknown number of species of fungi, lichens, mosses, insects,

shellfish and other invertebrates previously inhabited Manhattan; and

WHEREAS
,
resident mammals previously included the gray wolf, gray fox, beaver, white-tailed deer, elk, short-beaked common dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, bobcat, mountain lion, cottontail rabbit, white-footed mouse, river otter, black bear and red bat; and

WHEREAS
,
resident bird species previously included the bald eagle, belted

kingfisher, wood duck, green heron, cedar waxwing, passe
nger pigeon, American goldfinch,
Baltimore oriole, peregrine falcon, wild turkey and red-bellied woodpecker; and

WHEREAS
,
resident plants previously included the sugar maple, mountain holly, wild

sarsaparilla, American ginseng, purple milkweed, yellow birch, wild cucumber, white oak, red

hickory, white ash, red pine, black spruce, mountain ash and eastern cottonwood; and

WHEREAS
,
resident reptiles previously included the loggerhead sea turtle, brown

snake, timber rattlesnake, eastern mud turtle, diamondback terrapin and redbelly snake; and

WHEREAS, in 1609, Manhattan's biodiversity density for each acre rivaled that of

national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountains; and

WHEREAS
,
Manhattan once had more than 570 hills, 60 miles of streams, 20 ponds and 300 springs; and

WHEREAS
,
sandy beaches once reached from the tip of Manhattan to a point past

42nd Street on the Hudson River shore; beyond the shore was the vibrant, dynamic tidal

estuary with complex currents, sedimentary patterns and the influence of the Hudson River; and

WHEREAS
,
Manhattan's Upper West Side and Tribeca were once a coastal oak-pine

forest with red maple swamps; and

WHEREAS
,
Manhattan once had 55 different ecological communities, including

terrestrial communities, wetlands, pond and stream communities and estuarine communities;

and

WHEREAS
,
the Lenape and their ancestors lived in this area for thousands of years before European contact, obtaining all the food, water and materials they needed from the

local forests, wetlands and waters; and

WHEREAS, in n
ortheastern Algonquin culture, the Lenape were considered the

"ancient o
nes," and their folklore suggests a close connection to the land and appreciation of

their role as a member of the ecosystem that was shared with the plentiful other species; and

WHEREAS
,
Manhattan has an area of approximately 22.7 square miles and Central

Park has an area of approximately 1.3 square miles; and

WHEREAS, in the event Congress authorizes the creation of the Central Park Wilderness, the state of Wyoming shall donate a breeding pair of grey wolves to begin the recolonization of the grey wolf to Manhattan, an area, like Wyoming, encompassing the grey wolf's historic range; and

WHEREAS, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 creates two million (2,000,000) acres of new wilderness in nine (9) states and expands twenty-six (26) existing wilderness areas; and

WHEREAS, there are over three million (3,000,000) designated roadless acres of national forest land in Wyoming which cannot be utilized consistent with the directives of multiple-use and sustained yield; and

WHEREAS, the
s
tate of Alaska faces the same issues as the
s
tate of Wyoming with congressional action required before leasing and other mineral development can occur in Area 1002 of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

T
hat the
Wyoming
State Legislature urges the President of the

United States and the United States Congress to acquire the area commonly known as Central

Park on behalf of the federal government
.

Section 2
.

T
hat the
Wyoming
State Legislature urges the United States

Congress to declare Central Park to be a wilderness area
.

Section 3
.

T
hat the
Wyoming
State Legislature urges the United States

Congress to enact a provision similar to 16 U.S.C. 3143 to prohibit any further improvement

or development of Centra
l Park unless authorized by an
A
ct of Congress.

Section 4
.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

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HJ0013