[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 64 (Friday, April 20, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF BRISTOL BAY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 20, 2007

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge the Natural Resources 
Committee to take action on the bipartisan Bristol Bay Protection Act, 
which I introduced today with my colleagues, Congressman Wayne 
Gilchrest and Congressman Maurice Hinchey.
  The Bristol Bay Protection Act will renew long-standing, bipartisan 
protection for this economically, culturally, and ecologically 
important marine ecosystem through a Congressional prohibition on oil 
and gas development in the waters of Alaska's North Aleutian Basin.
  When Congress returns from the district work period we plan to 
introduce the Bristol Bay Protection Act. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker 
spill, which fouled more than 1,200 miles of pristine Alaskan shoreline 
and caused billions of dollars in economic damage, moved the Congress 
and President George H. Bush to place the North Aleutian Basin Planning 
Area (which includes Bristol Bay) under moratoria from oil and gas 
development in 1990. In 1998, President Clinton later followed up with 
an extension of this moratorium on pre-leasing and leasing activities 
in the same waters until 2012.
  This past January, President Bush removed the long-standing executive 
ban on offshore drilling in Bristol Bay, opening the way for leases the 
Federal Minerals Management Service (MMS) has proposed in 2010 and 
2012.
  Alaska's Bristol Bay and the southeastern Bering Sea encompass one of 
the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. These sub-arctic 
waters support important commercial fisheries, representing more than 
40 percent of the Nation's annual seafood catch. The area targeted for 
oil and gas leasing overlaps with important habitat and fishing grounds 
for pollock, cod, red king crab, halibut and salmon--fisheries which 
generate more than $2 billion dollars annually. These fisheries support 
fishermen and fishing families throughout Alaska and the Pacific 
northwest.
  Bristol Bay sockeye salmon runs, the largest on earth, are the 
lifeblood of many remote, Native villages in southwestern Alaska. 
Subsistence and commercial harvest of salmon resources are the economic 
mainstay of these culturally-unique communities.
  The region's coastal wetlands, lagoons and sheltered bays serve as 
migratory hubs, staging areas and wintering grounds for millions of 
waterfowl and shorebirds. The southeastern Bering Sea is also home to a 
number of marine mammal species--many of which are threatened or 
endangered--including sea otters, Steller sea lions, fur seals, 
humpback whales and the North Pacific right whale. As a testament to 
the region's ecological importance, five National Wildlife Refuges and 
eight Alaska state protected areas have been established here.
  The U.S. cannot drill our way to energy security. The risks posed by 
offshore oil and gas development to the renewable resources of Bristol 
Bay and the thousands of people in Alaska and along the west coast 
whose livelihoods depend upon their continued health are simply too 
great.
  The bipartisan Bristol Bay Protection Act restores protections to the 
people, wildlife and habitats in the North Aleutian Basin Planning 
Area. It is my hope that the Committee acts swiftly to protect this 
pristine area.

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