should be cooperatively developed by groups of people with 

 broadly representative marine mammal interests and experience. 



The ten Working Groups involved biologists, biometricians, 

 Native subsistence users, conservationists, and State and 

 Federal wildlife resource managers. The Groups were asked: 

 (1) to prepare comprehensive summaries of available information 

 on biological, ecological, and other factors affecting 

 conservation; (2) to describe the research and management 

 activities which they believed should be undertaken; and (3) to 

 provide estimates of costs and priorities for the identified 

 research and management tasks. 



Recognizing the need to coordinate the Working Groups' 

 efforts, the Marine Mammal Commission asked Jack W. Lentfer, 

 a marine mammal and resource management specialist in Alaska, 

 to oversee the effort. Since drafting the species accounts 

 required considerable effort, the Commission contracted with 

 a number of people to act as lead authors. Completed drafts 

 of each paper were circulated among members of the appropriate 

 Working Group for review and comment. The consultative process 

 among lead author, Working Group members, other interested 

 persons, and the Commission continued until there was general 

 agreement on each paper's content. The papers' strengths 

 come, in no small measure, from the fact that they represent 

 a broadly agreed-upon body of factual information and recom- 

 mendations. 



The Marine Mammal Commission believes that these ten 

 species reports help provide the needed basis for developing 

 and implementing marine mammal conservation plans in Alaska. 

 Therefore, in 1988, the Commission allocated funds to publish 

 the reports in a document titled, "Selected Marine Mammals of 

 Alaska, Species Accounts with Research and Management Recom- 

 mendation" (see Lentfer 1988, Appendix B) . 



When viewed collectively, information provided in the 

 species reports identified ten high priority research and 

 management tasks. They are: 1) identify and conduct such 

 additional studies as necessary to determine what is causing 

 and how to stop and reverse the ongoing declines of Steller 

 sea lions and harbor seals in parts of Alaska; 2) continue 

 and improve monitoring and sampling programs to obtain more 

 reliable information on the numbers, ages, sex, reproductive 

 status, general condition and other characteristics of polar 

 bears, walruses, seals, beluga whales, sea otters and other 

 marine mammals being taken for subsistence purposes by Alaska 

 Natives; 3) obtain more reliable information on the relative 

 discreteness and current status of various species and 

 populations being affected, or potentially being affected, by 

 Native subsistence hunting, Soviet commercial hunting, oil 

 and gas exploration and development, and other activities; 



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