0001|                           HOUSE MEMORIAL 6
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0002|     43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                           BRETT D. JOHNSON
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0005|                         
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0006|                                   
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0007|     
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0008|     
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0009|     
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0010|                              A MEMORIAL
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0011|     OPPOSING THE BIOSPHERE RESERVES DESIGNATION OF THE MAN AND THE
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0012|     BIOSPHERE PROGRAM AND URGING THAT THE PROPOSED BIODIVERSITY
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0013|     TREATY NOT BE RATIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES.
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0014|     
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0015|          WHEREAS, the United Nations has promoted a biosphere
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0016|     program throughout the world; and
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0017|          WHEREAS, the biosphere program threatens to place
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0018|     millions of acres of land under the control of the United
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0019|     Nations via agreements and/or executive orders; and
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0020|          WHEREAS, the United Nations educational scientific and
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0021|     cultural organization has created a worldwide system of three
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0022|     hundred twenty-eight biosphere reserves in eighty-two nations;
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0023|     and 
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0024|          WHEREAS, forty-seven United Nations-designated biosphere
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0025|     reserves are within the sovereign borders of the United States
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0001|     and one United Nations-designated biosphere reserve within the
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0002|     state of New Mexico; and
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0003|          WHEREAS, neither the legislature of the state of New
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0004|     Mexico nor the congress of the United States has considered,
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0005|     debated or approved such designations; and
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0006|          WHEREAS, such designations require strict land use
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0007|     management procedures as are set forth in the 1994 strategic
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0008|     plan for the United States man and the biosphere program, as
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0009|     published by the United States state department, and further
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0010|     described in the global biodiversity assessment, published by
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0011|     the United Nations environment program expressly for the
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0012|     conferences of the parties to the convention on biological
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0013|     diversity; and
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0014|          WHEREAS, biosphere reserves are, by definition, designed
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0015|     to continually expand each of the three zones:  core protected
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0016|     zone, buffer zone and zone of cooperation; and
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0017|          WHEREAS, biosphere reserves are expected to be the
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0018|     nucleus of the system of protected areas required by Article 8
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0019|     of the convention on biological diversity as expressed in the
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0020|     minutes of the first meeting of the conference of the parties;
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0021|     and
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0022|          WHEREAS, no land owner within reach or potential reach of
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0023|     the biosphere reserves has input or recourse to land use
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0024|     management policies of the United Nations educational,
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0025|     scientific and cultural organization or the conference of the
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0001|     parties to the convention on biological diversity; and
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0002|          WHEREAS, even though the convention on biological
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0003|     diversity has not been ratified by the United States senate,
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0004|     the very presence of the United Nations biosphere reserves on
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0005|     American soil demonstrates the compliance with an
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0006|     international treaty that has not been ratified; and
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0007|          WHEREAS, the use of land in biosphere areas for ordinary
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0008|     commercial or agricultural purposes may be severely restricted
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0009|     or eliminated; and
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0010|          WHEREAS, Jornada has already been designated as a
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0011|     biosphere reserve; and
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0012|          WHEREAS, none of the current area included within the
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0013|     biosphere program in New Mexico has been included at the
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0014|     request of or with the consent of the state legislature of the
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0015|     state of New Mexico; and
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0016|          WHEREAS,  the state legislature does not believe that a
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0017|     request from the national park service or a tourist and
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0018|     convention service should be adequate to subject land in New
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0019|     Mexico to the control of the United Nations or any other
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0020|     foreign parties; and
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0021|          WHEREAS, the area encompassed by this reserve includes
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0022|     not only public, but private lands; and
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0023|          WHEREAS, the placing of environmental or other
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0024|     restrictions upon the use of private land has been held by a
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0025|     number of recent United States supreme court decisions to
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0001|     constitute a taking of the land for public purposes; and
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0002|          WHEREAS, the proposed Biodiversity Treaty, if ratified by
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0003|     the United States, would ultimately lead to the reality that
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0004|     New Mexicans could not use their private and public lands in
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0005|     the manner to which they have been accustomed; and
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0006|          WHEREAS, the restrictions contemplated together with
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0007|     outside control of the land encompassed by a biosphere reserve
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0008|     constitutes an unlawful taking of that land in violation of
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0009|     the constitution of the United States, to wit:
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0010|                         Article I, Section 8, Clause 17:  before any state
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0011|               lands can be purchased, the consent of the state
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0012|               legislature and not the state executive branch must
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0013|               be obtained.
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0014|                         Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2:  we note that,
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0015|               "{N}othing in this Constitution shall be so
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0016|               construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United
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0017|               States or of any particular state."
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0018|                         Article IV, Section 4, we note that, "The United
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0019|               States shall guarantee to every State in this union
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0020|               a Republican Form of Government."
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0021|                         Amendment V of the Constitution of the United
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0022|               States:  "nor {shall any person} be deprived of
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0023|               life, liberty, or property, without due process of
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0024|               law:  nor shall private property be taken for
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0025|               public use, without just compensation"; and
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0001|          WHEREAS, the virtual ceding of these lands to the United
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0002|     Nations leaves the residents who own land, local governments
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0003|     and the state of New Mexico without any legitimate form for
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0004|     redress of grievances or for input into any decision-making
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0005|     process relating to the biosphere reserve; and
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0006|          WHEREAS, under Article VI of the constitution of the
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0007|     United States, this treaty would be given equal footing with
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0008|     the constitution of the United States, thus effectively
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0009|     precluding any legal means of redress; and
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0010|          WHEREAS, the legislature of the state of New Mexico does
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0011|     not wish to have portions of its land area controlled by
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0012|     foreign minions over which it has no control and who are not
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0013|     subject to its laws:
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0014|          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
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0015|     REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the
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0016|     legislature of the state of New Mexico be unalterably opposed
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0017|     to the inclusion of any land within the border of the state of
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0018|     New Mexico within the purview of the Biodiversity Treaty or
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0019|     any biodiversity program without the express consent of the
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0020|     legislature of the state of New Mexico, as provided by the
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0021|     constitution of the United states and the constitution of New
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0022|     Mexico; and
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0023|          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature urge members
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0024|     of the congress of the United States and especially the New
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0025|     Mexico delegation to the congress of the United States, to
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0001|     oppose ratification of this treaty and the inclusion of any
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0002|     land within the state of New Mexico in any biosphere program
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0003|     of the United Nations; and
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0004|          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
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0005|     transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, president, the
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0006|     Honorable Madeline K. Albright and the New Mexico
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0007|     congressional delegation.                         
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0008|                                  
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