Political Quotes

“I am today introducing--together with my good friend Senator Stevens--new legislation to ensure that the marine waters of Glacier Bay National Park remain open to the fisheries that have been conducted there for many, many years. For a number of years, the Park Service has attempted to seize authority over fisheries management in Glacier Bay from the State of Alaska, which holds title to the marine waters and submerged lands within Glacier Bay National Park. This is an infringement of the State's sovereignty under the constitutional doctrine of equal footing, as confirmed by Congress in the Submerged Lands Act, and the Alaska Statehood Act. As my colleagues should all be aware, commercial fisheries have been conducted in these waters for well over 100 years, since long before the federal government became interested in them. Subsistence fishing and gathering by local residents has been practiced for up to 9,000 years, and perhaps longer. Yet today, officials of the National Park Service want Glacier Bay off limits to those who have depended on it for their sustenance and livelihoods for generations.”