457 



But the problem of moving the amount of flesh, even by bulldozer, seemed im- 

 possible. Kotzebue Municipal Utilities, which operates the local garbage trucks, 

 quickly redefinied garbage so it does not include dead walrus. Towing out to sea 

 even assuming a line could be made to hold, might not be a permanment disposal ; 

 they could wash right in again. And, as one citizen pointed out from the floor, 

 this is not a one-shot deal. The southerly beaches also contain tons of dead 

 walrus, too, and the high fall tides combined with the normal fall southwesterly 

 winds can be expected to move even more to Kotzebue's beachesi 



After some discussion, B and R Tug, which has as a motto, "We tow any- 

 thing," said they would at least go and take a look at the problem. And the Council 

 moved to write to the Department of Fish and Game to see if they had 1) 

 jurisdiction or, failing that, 2) any workable suggestions. 



Mr. Burns. I do not recall ever making that comment. Miss Pender 

 called by phone one day asking questions about the possible causes. 



I might point out that the occurrence of dead animals on the beaches 

 is very common. 



In 1963 I was detailed at the request of our Juneau office to investi- 

 gate the occurrence of some 230 animals that had washed up on the 

 beach between Cape Krusenstern and Kivalina, just north of Kotze- 

 bue, in the exact same area. 



At the time we were unsure as to whether they were the result of any 

 one of a number of things, ranging from atmospheric, atomic testing 

 on Wrangel Island, to some disease in a natural population of the 

 island. 



I went equipped with necessary field apparatus, Geiger counters to 

 determine the relative amount of radioactivity and every other instru- 

 ment we could to try to determine the cause of death. 



The cause of death was lead poisoning. It was very obvious and these 

 animals, in fact, constituted a good share of the animals that are lost 

 and eventually wash up on the beach. 



Mr. DiNGELL. You said lead poisoning. Are you referring to bullets ? 



Mr. Pelly informs me that bullets may have lead in them. 



Mr. Burns. I am referring to bullets. Excuse me for being facetious, 

 not in this case environmental contamination due to heavy metals. 



Mr. DiNGELL. You indicated that at one page, and I apologize to 

 Mr. Potter, it is his question, but it is relevant to the matter we are 

 discussing, you indicated at one page in your statement a comment 

 that was quite helpful. 



You said, referring to the bowhead whale harvest, you said such 

 harvest levels cannot be continued indefinitely. 



If the present har^^est levels are excessively high, it is recom- 

 mended limited quotas be established and more efficient harvest meth- 

 ods be developed to assure 100-percent recovery of all whales strudk. 



That strikes me that both might have a great deal of merit. 



Would you or your associate from the attorney general's oflice like 

 to submit some langiTage to us relating to establishing reasonably 

 limited quotas for villages and also a requirement for fish and harvest 

 methods not only in the case of bowhead whales but also in the case 

 of species like walrus which apparently are being wasted and squan- 

 dered in a fashion that causes some concern even in the State of Alaska. 



Mr. Burns. We shall attempt to do that. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Does it strike you that a requirement for specifying 

 harvesting methods would be desirable in the instances we are dis- 

 cussing now ? 



