Service undertake an administrative review to determine if the 

 use of sea otters for handicrafts by Natives calls for a special 

 regulation or, at least, a definitive interpretation of the 

 handicraft definition as it applies to sea otters. 



The Service followed the Court's advice and reviewed the 

 relevant information. Based on the review, it concluded that sea 

 otters were not being taken for handicraft purposes when the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed and, apparently, had not 

 been taken legally by Alaska Natives for such purposes in living 

 memory. Therefore, on 14 November 1988, the Service published a 

 proposed rule providing additional guidance on allowable uses of 

 sea otters in the making and selling of traditional handicrafts 

 and clothing. Noting that the intent of the Act was to preserve 

 existing Native uses of marine mammals, the Service proposed 

 amending its regulatory definition of "authentic Native articles 

 of handicrafts and clothing" to indicate clearly that no items 

 created in whole or in part from sea otters fit within the 

 definition and, therefore, such items cannot be sold. 



The comment period on the proposed rule, initially scheduled 

 to close on 13 January 1989, was extended first to 13 April and 

 subsequently to 30 November 1989. The extensions were necessary 

 to give interested persons in remote parts of Alaska an oppor- 

 tunity to comment and to allow time for the Service to hold 

 public hearings on the proposal in Alaska and California. 

 Between 1 September and 30 October, the Service held public 

 meetings in 10 coastal Alaska locations and one site in 

 California. 



During 1989, no further action was taken in response to the 

 challenge filed by the intervenor and, pending completion of the 

 Service's rulemaking, the proceedings have been stayed. At the 

 end of 1989, the Commission expected to forward comments on the 

 proposed rule early in 1990, and it understood that the Service 

 would publish a final rule in April 1990. 



Polar Bears 



Expanding development of renewable and nonrenewable 

 resources in the Arctic has led to increasing numbers of 

 interactions between humans and polar bears. Defending human 

 life or property in encounters with polar bears can result in 

 injury or destruction of bears. In addition, preemption or 

 disturbance of polar bear denning areas could force animals to 

 avoid preferred denning sites. The loss of a small number of 

 bears, especially mature females, potentially could affect the 

 Beaufort Sea polar bear population, which numbers approximately 

 1,800 to 2,000 animals and has a low reproductive potential. 



166 



