Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3110) to allow for the harvest of gull eggs by the Huna Tlingit people within Glacier Bay National Park in the State of Alaska, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 3110 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit members of Hoonah Indian Association to harvest sea gull eggs in portions of Glacier Bay National Park, subject to terms and conditions the Secretary deems necessary.

This traditional Native subsistence harvest had been conducted long before the establishment by Congress of the national park, where the practice was subsequently forbidden by law.

In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska Lands Act, which, among other things, provided for the subsistence use of natural resources on public lands in Alaska by rural residents. The traditional harvest of sea gull eggs in Glacier Bay National Park, however, remained off limits.

A study conducted by the National Park Service determined the local Native people should be able to resume their harvest of sea gull eggs at specific locations in the park. Accordingly, I introduced H.R. 3110 to authorize the Hoonah Indian Association and

the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the traditional Native collection of certain gull eggs.

Under H.R. 3110, the Hoonah Indians may harvest the eggs not more frequently than twice each calendar year at up to five locations within the park, subject to any terms and conditions that the Secretary determines to be necessary.

On February 5, 2014, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on H.R. 3110 where the National Park Service testified in support of this bill. On February 27, the Natural Resources Committee ordered the bill reported by unanimous consent.

This bill allows a group of Natives in Alaska to resume an important cultural tradition and to pass it on to future generations. I urge the House to pass the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, and so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The collection and the consumption of gull eggs is an integral part of the culture of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska. Eggs were gathered at rookeries long before Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve were ever established.

The provisions of this bill are in accord with the recommendations of a study mandated by Congress on the issue, and the 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 a minor impact on the gulls, but the cultural benefits that would be realized by the Native community would be great.

I applaud the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) for his leadership on this issue, and I ask my colleagues to stand with him in support of this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the energy committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 291 and H.R. 356; that the Senate proceed to their consideration and the consideration of the following calendar number items en bloc: Calendar No. 256, H.R. 255; Calendar No. 226, H.R. 330; Calendar No. 359, H.R. 507; Calendar No. 353, H.R. 697; Calendar No. 361, H.R. 876; Calendar No. 362, H.R. 1158; Calendar No. 399, H.R. 2337; Calendar No. 369, H.R. 3110; Calendar No. 54, S. 247; Calendar No. 57, S. 311; Calendar No. 60, S. 354; Calendar No. 129, S. 363; Calendar No. 118, S. 476; and Calendar No. 120, S. 609.