Chapter VI — The Arctic 



In its letter, the Commission also noted that, 

 although the draft agreement prohibits the taking of 

 cubs less than one year of age, it does not prohibit the 

 Native take of one- and two-year-old cubs. In the 

 Commission's view, this is not consistent with the 

 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears 

 (discussed above), which calls for the protection of 

 cubs and females with cubs. This protection has been 

 interpreted as applying to cubs-of-the-year, yearlings, 

 and two-year-old cubs. 



The Commission noted that the draft document 

 provides for establishment of a four-member polar 

 bear commission, comprising one member each from 

 the Russian and U.S. Federal governments and one 

 member each representing Alaska and Chukotka 

 Natives. The Commission pointed out that, because 

 polar bears are a resource for all, it would be appro- 

 priate to enlarge the proposed commission by adding 

 one or two public members. 



The Commission's letter also suggested that the 

 agreement be expanded to provide for preparation of 

 a conservation plan that would include provision for 

 soliciting public comment and for informing the public 

 of the plan's contents. The Commission noted that, 

 unless there is a mechanism to inform the public of 

 conservation actions proposed for polar bears and 

 their habitat, and the need for such actions, public 

 support, and ultimately the success of the program, is 

 likely to be limited. 



As of the end of 1995 the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service was reviewing comments on the draft bilateral 

 agreement prior to updating the document. It was the 

 Commission's understanding that a revised draft 

 agreement would be made available early in 1996 for 

 public comment. It was expected that at that time the 

 Department of the Interior would submit a formal 

 request to the Department of State for authority to 

 enter into formal negotiations with Russia on the 

 bilateral polar bear agreement. 



Polar Bear Trophy Imports 



The 1994 amendments to Marine Mammal Protec- 

 tion Act allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue 



permits to import sport hunted polar bear trophies 

 from Canada. As discussed in the previous annual 

 report, such import permits may be issued for legally 

 acquired polar bear parts (other than internal organs), 

 provided that the Secretary, in consultation with the 

 Marine Mammal Commission, has made certain 

 determinations with regard to Canada's sport hunting 

 program. Specifically, the Secretary must find that: 



• Canada has a monitored and enforced sport hunting 

 program consistent with the purposes of the Agree- 

 ment on the Conservation of Polar Bears; 



• Canada has a sport hunting program based on 

 scientifically sound quotas ensuring the mainte- 

 nance of the affected population stock at a sustain- 

 able level; 



• the export and subsequent import are consistent 

 with the provisions of the Convention on Interna- 

 tional Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 

 and Flora and other international agreements and 

 conventions; and 



• the export and subsequent import are not likely to 

 contribute to illegal trade in bear parts. 



The amendments also direct the Secretary to charge a 

 reasonable fee for the issuance of polar bear import 

 permits to be used for developing and implementing 

 cooperative research and management programs for 

 the conservation of polar bears in Alaska and Russia. 



The Secretary is further directed to undertake a 

 scientific review of the impact of issuing import 

 permits on the polar bear populations in Canada. The 

 review is to be subject to public comment and is to be 

 completed by 30 April 1996. No permits may be 

 issued after 30 September 1996 if the review indicates 

 that the issuance of such permits is having a signifi- 

 cant adverse effect on Canadian polar bear stocks. 



As discussed in the previous annual report, in mid- 

 1994 the Fish and Wildlife Service began work on 

 developing proposed regulations to implement the new 

 import measures. Subsequently the Service provided 

 the Commission and others with a draft Federal 

 Register notice regarding regulations to govern polar 

 bear imports. The Commission responded by letter of 

 19 October 1994. The Commission noted that, under 

 the amendments, the Service would not be able to act 

 on any application to import polar bear trophies until 



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