[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 25, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. Begich):
  S. 1063. A bill to allow for the harvest of gull eggs by the Huna 
Tlingit people within Glacier Bay National Park in the State of Alaska; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation, 
the Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act of 2011, cosponsored by 
my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, which represents an important 
step forward in allowing the Huna Tlingit people access to enjoy their 
traditional subsistence activity of gull egg collection.
  The collection and consumption of gull eggs is an integral part of 
the culture of the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, and eggs were 
gathered at rookeries long before Glacier Bay National Park and 
Preserve's establishment in 1925. A Legislative Environmental Impact 
Statement was completed in 2010 regarding this proposal to allow 
limited harvests of gull eggs in Glacier Bay National Park and 
Preserve, and the preferred alternative authorized the implementation 
of a cooperative management program for gull egg collection and 
emphasized a traditional harvest strategy for the collections.
  My bill will authorize this harvest of gull eggs at five nesting 
areas on two separate days each calendar year within the Park. This 
would allow a large number of tribal members to interact with their 
traditional homeland and provide an opportunity for as many as 12 young 
people to participate annually and spend time with elders learning 
about traditional egg harvest practices in addition to other aspects 
Tlingit culture
  This bill is widely supported throughout the environmental and 
conservation communities, as well as the Alaska Native community. The 
harvesting of gull eggs would only have minor effects on the gulls, but 
the cultural benefits that would be realized by the Native community 
would be great.
  I would like to thank Senator Begich, an original co-sponsor of this 
bill, for his and his staff's hard work in moving this bill forward. It 
is our hope that this bill will receive quick but careful consideration 
as the local tribe members have been eagerly awaiting passage of this 
measure for quite a long time.
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