[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE MARINE MAMMAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS IN ALASKA 
                         AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 13, 2008

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today 
the Marine Mammal Cooperative Agreements in Alaska Amendments of 2008.
  The 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act created 
section 119 of the Act, titled ``Marine Mammal Cooperative Agreements 
in Alaska,'' which allows the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior 
to enter into cooperative agreements with Alaska Native organizations. 
These cooperative agreements have been very successful in creating 
statewide and regional Alaska Native Marine Mammal Commissions 
protecting species such as the polar bear, walrus, sea otters, beluga 
whale, harbor and ice seals, and Steller sea lions. The cooperative 
agreements have provided grants to Alaska Native Marine Mammal 
Commissions to conduct important marine mammal data collection efforts, 
marine mammal research, and monitor subsistence activities.
  Alaska Natives have been excellent stewards of Alaska's natural 
resources for centuries. The Alaska Native Marine Mammal Commissions 
have continued this tradition by working cooperatively with the Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to 
successfully manage the species under their respective jurisdictions. 
In order to further this success, the Commissions have advocated for 
management of subsistence activities. Section 119 of the MMPA does not 
currently allow for management of subsistence activities prior to a 
depletion finding under the Act.
  In 2000, the Clinton Administration sent Congress a draft bill to 
reauthorize the MMPA and included in it authorities for the Alaska 
Marine Mammal Commissions to manage and enforce subsistence activities. 
The Bush Administration followed suit including similar language in its 
own draft bill to reauthorize the MMPA.
  I have not taken the exact approach of the Clinton and Bush 
proposals, however, I do believe this legislation will achieve the same 
result. I have worked with the administration, the Alaska Native Marine 
Mammal Commissions, and State of Alaska representatives to develop a 
bill that allows for management prior to a depletion finding under the 
MMPA.
  The Whaling Convention Act of 1949, which governs the Bowhead whale 
subsistence activities, and the more recently passed legislation 
implementing the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Treaty, governing the 
subsistence take of polar bears, are two excellent examples of 
legislation Congress passed to authorize marine mammal management 
activities.
  This legislation will further refine the cooperative management 
process under the MMPA to ensure that Alaska Natives and the Federal 
agencies with marine mammal management authority have the tools they 
need to continue their successful management efforts.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important conservation 
legislation.

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