Download new court case in Makah whaling!

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FROM WASHINGTON CITIZENS' COASTAL ALLIANCE

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GET INVOLVED!

 

While we wait for further word and developments on the new lawsuit, it

seemed only fair to get the complaint posted on the web so YOU can read it!

We've scanned most of the 56 pages, with the rest due online tomorrow. You

can download and read this lawsuit for yourself at www.safepassing.org, and

the link is very obvious! The download is a .zip file, so most of you know

what to do. However, if you have a problem or any questions, be sure and

contact us- we're here to help!

 

MAJOR REMINDER!

Comments for the new Makah environmental assessment (2003-2008) must be

postmarked by JANUARY 15!!! We'll send another update in the next day or so

with some tips and ideas on how best to respond, but PLEASE KEEP THAT DATE

IN MIND! Again, if you have any questions, please contact us. But please

make plans to send your comment letter by January 15th, which happens to be

this coming Tuesday.

 

Herewith, the best of the bunch: an AP article on the new lawsuit!

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WHALE ADVOCATES SUE TO STOP EXPANDED WHALE HUNT

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The Associated Press

January 11, 2002

 

SEATTLE - A coalition of animal-welfare groups filed suit Thursday in U.S.

District Court, challenging the Makah tribe's authority to hunt gray whales

off the northwest coast of Washington.

 

The Fund for Animals, The Humane Society of the United States and several

other groups want no whaling until a more comprehensive environmental review

is conducted, said Gary Kahn, a Portland, Ore., lawyer representing the

groups.

 

The National Marine Fisheries Service has conducted two environmental

assessments, but the complaint alleges they were inadequate. The plaintiffs

say a broader environmental impact statement is warranted, Kahn said.

 

Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman countered that studies already

conducted show the whaling would not pose a threat to the environment.

 

" It was our conclusion that removing five whales from a population from

about 26,000 gray whales would not have a major impact on the biology of

gray whales or the environment in which they live, " Gorman said Thursday.

 

The Fisheries Service's most recent environmental assessment, issued last

July, cleared the hunts to resume.

 

The government has 60 days to respond to the complaint, which accuses the

fisheries service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association of

violating two federal laws: the National Environmental Policy Act and the

Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows only Alaska tribes to hunt

whales.

 

The Makah's right to whale is outlined in their 1855 treaty. The tribe moved

to resume the hunt when the whales were taken off the Endangered Species

List in 1994.

 

After making their case to the International Whaling Commission, Makah

whalers were allocated 20 whales through 2002. They killed one, on May 17,

1999, their first in more than 70 years.

 

Messages left with Makah tribal leaders Thursday afternoon were not

returned.

 

In the past, the tribe has defended its whaling tradition, calling it a

central part of its identity.

 

" Whaling may have been a tradition in the past, but there is nothing

traditional about cruelly shooting these majestic creatures with

high-powered rifles, " said Michael Markarian, vice president of The Fund for

Animals.

 

This is the latest in a series of attempts to prevent future Makah whale

hunts.

 

In 1997, former U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Wash., and several environmental

groups sued to stop whaling. They lost in U.S.

 

District Court, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned

the ruling, saying the environmental impact of the hunt had not been

adequately considered.

 

The Makah put any hunting on hold after the decision, and the fisheries

service weighed four alternatives ranging from no hunt at all to a hunt with

a five-whale annual limit.

 

Last summer, the agency concluded that Makah whaling would not threaten the

gray whale population.

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