Discussion On Ivory Bans Continues; Nomeites Weigh In During Legislative Committee Meeting
On Monday, public comments were being solicited on Senate Joint resolution 4, sponsored in part by Senator Donny Olson. Among those who gave testimony were Alice Bioff, Vera Metcalf, and Melanie Bahnke. The resolution looks to spur the State’s Congressional delegation to introduce bills which would protect walrus, mammoth, and mastodon ivory from other ivory bans.
BOEM Proposes Oil and Gas Lease Sale of Almost All Outer Continental Shelf; Kawerak and Others Not In Favor
In a reversal of Obama-era policy, a new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposal would open nearly all the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States to oil and gas exploration. The draft proposal recommends 19 lease sales be held in Alaska, 11 of them in areas not considered for oil and gas leasing in decades or ever before. That doesn’t sit well with regional organizations like Kawerak.
Confusion Over Legalities is Hurting Alaskan Ivory Market, Locals Say
An educational brochure is available that explains how Native Alaskans’ use of walrus ivory is excluded from an elephant ivory ban in the U.S., which was established last year by an executive order from President Obama.