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communities, is inextricably linked with the long-term 

 viability of a successful commercial fishing industry and a 

 healthy Bering Sea ecosystem. 



The Bering Sea Coalition consists of 57 coastal 

 communities in Alaska stretching from Nome to Atka. It was 

 first formed in 1991 in an effort to bring together indigenous 

 peoples with a common concern in issues related to the Bering 

 Sea. The Coalition serves as: 1) an informal sharing 

 network; 2) an organization that can be a force in 

 decisionmaking processes and scientific fora; 3) an 

 educational mechanism to inform others of the value of 

 indigenous cultures in protecting and managing resources and 

 teaching native spirituality; 4) a vehicle for obtaining 

 research funding; 5) an organization to participate in 

 research programs; and 6) an outreach effort to establish a 

 link between Alaskan and Russian coastal communities for the 

 purpose of developing cooperative efforts to protect shared 

 cultural and natural resources. 



The Bering Sea Coalition and the City of St. Paul are 

 deeply concerned over the current population declines and 

 ecosystem-wide ecological injury evident in the Bering Sea 

 region. If the current trends persist, the subsistence and 

 cultural patterns that have occurred for centuries in the 

 towns and villages along the Bering Sea will be threatened, as 

 will the economic base that holds the key to the future well- 



[19653-O001/DA94O590.06O1 -2- 3/3/94 



