Sen. Murkowski Welcomes Signing of Gull Egg Use Bill Into Law

July 25, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed President Obama’s signing of the Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act, a bill championed by Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, into law.

“The president’s signing of the Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act today completes the legislative process we started over three years ago when I first introduced a version of this bill in the Senate,” Murkowski said. “I want to thank the Huna Tlingit people for their patience, as this legislation has proven yet again that things take a long time to get done in Washington. Today, though, this one is finally crossing the finish line. I also want to thank Congressman Young for his tireless work on this bill.”

The legislation allows the Huna Tlingit of Southeast, Alaska, to carry out their traditional subsistence gull egg harvest in Glacier Bay National Park. Collection of the gull eggs was prohibited in the 1960s by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and National Park Service Regulations. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Southeast Alaska is the ancestral homeland of the Huna Tlingit, who traditionally have harvested gull eggs at rookeries from the cliffs of Glacier Bay both prior to and following the establishment of the park.

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