336 



cosponsor of this legislation, it goes without saying that I am in full 

 accord with its goal. My study of H.R. 7706, however, has convinced 

 me that a de^rree of flexibility is needed in order to assure the attain- 

 ment of this meritorious goal. This needed flexibility should be pro- 

 vided by the inclusion of an additional exception to those provided 

 in sections 203 and 204 (or by other appropriate language) which 

 would allow for the controlled scientific taking of these ocean mammals 

 when such action is proven to be necessary for the continuation of 

 the species itself. . 



While the meritorious goal of this legislation is to remove trom 

 nature the hand of man, w^hich has too often been a destructive force 

 toward upsetting the ingenious balance which nature, left alone, seems 

 to maintain ; it must be remembered that this balance has already been 

 upset by man in varying degrees. The mere removal of man from 

 nature through this or similar legislation will not, therefore, guar- 

 antee an immediate correction of existing imbalances nor assure the 

 prevention of future imbalances resulting from actions not covered 

 in the scope of this legislation. Thus, in my judgment we must at least 

 acknowledge the possibility that these creatures of nature and their 

 environment might at some future point need or benefit from the 

 helping hand of man. 



I am sure that the members of this subcommittee have ample infor- 

 mation on the use of such scientific management programs and that 

 your knowledge in this area far exceeds my own. At this point, there- 

 fore, it should be sufficient to merely note that many of these programs 

 have been successful. As it is presently written, however, H.R. 7706 

 would absolutely preclude the future use of such scientific management 

 of ocean mammals. 



I am not proposing that the bill foster such management programs 

 or provide any kind of direct support for them in its provisions. I 

 am merely proposing that we not legislatively preclude the use of 

 such programs should they prove to be necessary to assure the per- 

 petuation of the very species we are seeking to protect through such 

 legislation. Any use of such programs provided by my suggested 

 change in the bill, furthermore, could and should be subject to strin- 

 gent specifications and requirements. 



Turning again to the present provisions of this legislation, H.R. 

 7706 would establish a National Seal Rookery Preserve and Bird 

 Sanctuary under the Department of the Interior on the Pribilof Is- 

 lands. The bill provides that the native Aleuts shall be given the 

 opportunity to be the rangers and guides for this purpose and states 

 that they shall be given any training necessary for such jobs. The bill 

 also authorizes the establishment of a presidentially appointed com- 

 mission to provide assistance in the transfer of the Pribilof Islands. 



In urging favorable consideration of this important legislation, I 

 might end by making a more philosophical observation of what the 

 bill's goal represents. As man ascended from the caves, his own neces- 

 sary struggle for survival gradually resulted in his dominance over 

 the earth's other creatures. Unfortunately, this dominance has been 

 accompanied to a certain extent by arrogant assumptions of super- 

 iority which have persisted in spite of mounting evidence that all life 

 is somehow interdependent. It is past time, therefore, for man to real- 

 ize that the ability to rid the earth of other living things constitutes 

 a growing threat to his own survival. Perhaps during the breathing 



