and return management of the other species were deferred 
until the questions relating to the native exemption clause 
were resolved. 
Research and Management Efforts in 1980 
The effect of the series of actions described above was 
to return responsibility for managing walrus back to the 
Fish and Wildlife Service and to leave responsibility for 
other species with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, with a moratorium on all 
but native taking under the native exemption clause of the 
Act. No progress was achieved in resolving these issues 
during 1980 and, in the absence of the waiver and return of 
management to the State, the Commission transmitted recom- 
mendations relating to essential research and management 
efforts relating to walrus and polar bears, as discussed 
below. 
Walrus 
In recognition of the need to continue monitoring the 
harvest of walrus by natives, the Commission wrote to the 
Fish and Wildlife Service on 30 October 1979 noting the need 
to make the necessary logistical and funding arrangements 
for the conduct of a well-designed and coordinated harvest 
monitoring and sampling program. The Commission recommended 
that the Service commit funds for the support of such a 
program and make arrangements for its design and conduct 
and, for this purpose, that it explore the feasibility of 
providing funds to the Eskimo Walrus Commission to design 
and conduct the program in consultation with and with the 
assistance of representatives of the State of Alaska and the 
Service. In addition, the Commission noted that the broader 
and more difficult walrus management issues also warranted 
attention and that some fundamental decisions needed to be 
made to resolve the problems relating to walrus and other 
species in Alaska. The Commission suggested that the Service 
convene a meeting of interested persons in Alaska to discuss 
these issues frankly and in sufficient detail to provide a 
basis for the necessary decisions and actions. 
In its. letter to tHe Commission of 7 October 1980, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service summarized its efforts to monitor 
the walrus harvest during the spring of 1980, noting that: 
Fish and Wildlife Service personnel monitored portions of 
the spring harvest at Nome, Little Diomede, Savoonga, Gambell, 
and Wales and collected biological samples and harvest data 
at all five villages; the purpose of these efforts was not 
to estimate the total harvest but to collect biological 
samples to provide insight into the health of the walrus 
Spe ASes 
