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Natural Resources Documents

  • Lacey Act of 1900, as amended (18 USC 42; 16 USC 3371-3378) - “It is unlawful for any person – (1) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law…”
  • Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as amended (16 USC 703-712) - Unless otherwise permitted by regulation, this Act makes unlawful multiple acts of hunting, transporting, possessing, and selling migratory birds.  The Act allows that “the taking of migratory birds and the collection of their eggs, by the indigenous inhabitants of the State of Alaska, shall be permitted for their own nutritional and other essential needs…”
  • Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940, as amended (16 USC 668-668c) - Establishes penalties for unpermitted uses of Bald and Golden Eagles.  The Secretary of the Interior may authorize and permit the taking of such eagles for “the scientific or exhibition purposes of public museums, scientific societies, and zoological parks, or for the religious purposes of Indian tribes…”  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages permits and operates a National Eagle Repository to provide eagle feathers and parts for religious use by Native Americans.
  • National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended - “…it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with State and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”  The Act requires the coordination of Federal agencies to determine the potential environmental impacts of proposed actions and to seek “the comments and views of the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies…”
  • Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 USC Chapter 31) - “The Congress finds that – (1) certain species and population stocks of marine mammals are, or may be in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of man’s activities … and that the protection and conservation of marine mammals and their habitats is therefore necessary to insure the continuing availability of those products which move in interstate commerce…”  The Act prohibits numerous takings and uses of marine mammals and establishes certain exemptions “with respect to the taking of any marine mammal by any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who resides in Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean…”
  • Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 USC 1531-1544) - “The Secretary shall … determine whether any species is an endangered species or a threatened species” and “the Secretary shall issue such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of such [threatened] species…”  The Act prohibits numerous takings and uses of endangered and threatened species, and provides exceptions for subsistence purposes by “(A) any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who is an Alaskan Native who resides in Alaska; or (B) any non-native permanent resident of an Alaskan native village.”