Washington
Makah Tribe will again be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington coast
Not since the spring of 1999 have members of the Makah Tribe filed into a cedar canoe and paddled off Washington’s coast to legally harpoon a gray whale, trailing its body back to shore for celebration and ceremony.
Even that hunt—controversial at the time—was the tribe’s first in more than seven decades.
But that’s about to change. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted the tribe a waiver of the Marine Mammal Protection Act on June 13, handing the Makah people a victory they’ve sought for a generation.
The waiver represents the end of decades-long frustration and stress, said TJ Greene, chairman of the Makah Tribe. It’s a cultural and historic success that belongs to the entire community, he said.
“This relieves a lot of tension,” Greene said in an interview with The Seattle Times. “We have a generation of people that didn’t have that opportunity and that takes a toll on us.”
Officials with NOAA said they share the tribe’s frustration over the drawn-out waiver process but celebrate its end. There are those who remain steadfast in their opposition to the hunt, though, and they do plan to keep fighting.
The earliest the tribe would be able to hunt is likely this fall, said Michael Milstein, a NOAA spokesperson. The tribe will have to apply for a permit to conduct each hunt, and as part of that process the administration will have to verify the population of gray whales and hold a public comment period.
Greene said hunters from the tribe will undergo a rigorous training process to ensure they only hunt whales approved under the waiver and do so safely. They plan to use the traditional cedar canoes and harpoon the whale but then use a firearm—likely a large-caliber rifle—for a quick and humane kill.
The tribe’s connection to the whales stretches back millennia and the tribe’s 1855 treaty with the federal government explicitly recognizes the right of members to conduct the hunts.
Not only is the hunt an important part of the tribe’s cultural and spiritual identity, Greene said, but the whales were also once a crucial portion of the community’s diet.
“This is a food sovereignty issue. This is part of our traditional diet that was ripped away from us,” he said. “We are needing that back into our lives, so we can be a healthy, vibrant and thriving community.”
In all, the waiver will allow the tribe to hunt up to 25 gray whales over a 10-year period. The total number of gray whales that can be hunted globally won’t change, however.
The current quota, regulated by the International Whaling Commission, splits the number of available whales between the Makah Tribe and the Chukotkan Natives in Russia, Milstein said. Under the waiver, the Makah Tribe will tap into the number of whales that had been previously transferred to Russia, and no more than two or three would be allowed to be hunted each year in U.S. waters.
While gray whales were once listed as an endangered species, their populations recovered enough for the federal government to take them off the list in 1994. They are still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, however.
Generally, the population of gray whales along the West Coast is quite healthy, said Chris Yates, assistant regional administrator with NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. There are around 19,000 of them right now.
So the tribe’s right to hunt 25 whales over 10 years would effectively be an “undetectable” loss to the greater population, he said.
The hunts are opposed by the Animal Welfare Institute, said D.J. Schubert, a senior scientist with the nonprofit.
Other gray whale populations aren’t as numerous, some groups only have hundreds remaining, and Schubert expressed concern that a whale from the wrong pod could be killed.
In addition, climate change also threatens the whales, either directly or by cutting into their food sources, Schubert said, and the hunt would act as an added stressor to their populations.
He did acknowledge the tribe’s cultural connection to the process but spoke out against the hunts as a way of speaking on behalf of the whales.
“There is no easy solution here,” he said.
Yates said “extreme precautions” will be in place to prevent the killing of endangered groups of whales, and Greene said the tribe plans for its own processes to be even more rigorous than those required by the federal government.
Still, the Animal Welfare Institute plans to oppose the permits when the tribe applies, Schubert said, and the organization is open to exploring other legal avenues should that strategy fail.
The tribe is no stranger to the scrutiny. During the 1999 hunt, it had to close down the reservation because people called in bomb threats to tribal schools, Greene said. Ultimately, the National Guard had to be on standby.
“We don’t want to see those things happen again,” he said. “But there’s a likelihood that they could, so we’re prepared for that.”
Additional controversy erupted in 2007, when five tribal members illegally hunted and killed a gray whale; the animal was killed, but the hunters were detained before the whale could be brought to shore. Two of those members served time in jail for the incident.
Now that the hunt is once more legal, the tribe will develop security measures and work closely with law enforcement to make sure its people are safe throughout the process, Greene said.
Details will be worked out in the months ahead, Greene said. For the moment, the victory belongs not only to this generation, the chairman said, but to everybody that came before them, including those who fought for the right to hunt back in 1855.
2024 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Citation:
Makah Tribe will again be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington coast (2024, June 14)
retrieved 14 June 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-makah-tribe-gray-whales-washington.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
An 18-year-old who was shot and wounded in Northwest D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood on Thursday afternoon has died, authorities say.
Brady Flowers Jr., of Southwest, was the victim, police said in an update Saturday.
Flowers was found shot in the 4500 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, behind the CVS store. Jackson-Reed High School and American University are nearby.
Flowers was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and pronounced dead a day later, police said.
Police said 10-15 teens were seen running after the gunshots.
An investigation is underway. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
Washington
Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Washington County, Highlighting Transportation Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Early Childhood Education
Updated:
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today continued his statewide “Delivering for Maryland” tour with a series of engagements in Washington County, highlighting vital investments in local transportation infrastructure, manufacturing job growth, and early childhood education. The governor emphasized state contributions to modernize the Hagerstown Regional Airport, toured the state-of-the-art Hitachi Rail facility, and celebrated the opening of a new child care center in the South End of Hagerstown funded by the administration’s historic ENOUGH Initiative.
“From investing $1.5 million to update Hagerstown Regional Airport’s aging control tower to supporting 1,300 jobs at Hitachi Rail, the Moore-Miller administration is delivering for Hagerstown, Washington County, and Western Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “Through our administration’s ENOUGH Initiative partnerships and investments, we’ve tripled child care capacity in the South End of Hagerstown — because no parents should be forced to pick between staying in the workforce or securing quality care for their kids.”
The governor began the day at the Hagerstown Regional Airport, touring the Air Traffic Control Tower and airport grounds. During the visit, Governor Moore highlighted the State’s $1.5 million Fiscal Year 2027 investment to complete the design for a critical replacement of the airport’s aging air traffic control facility. As a primary airport in the Maryland Aviation System Plan, the Hagerstown Regional Airport is a vital economic engine for Washington County, supporting more than 1,800 jobs and generating over $140 million in local business revenue.
Following the airport tour, Governor Moore visited the Hitachi Rail STS facility alongside Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, Senator Mike McKay, Senator Paul Corderman and state transportation leaders. The governor toured the factory floor and rode a test train to observe the manufacturing process. Opened in September 2025 with the support of a $1.6 million state conditional loan, the 307,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral facility is a $100 million capital investment by Hitachi. The factory supports 1,300 jobs — including 460 newly created jobs — and is actively manufacturing railcars for both the Maryland Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
“Hitachi Rail has built a cutting-edge model for advanced manufacturing here in Western Maryland which is focused on delivering clean, safe, efficient regional transportation across our state and the rest of the country,” said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. “This facility is powered by Maryland’s second-to-none workforce and world-class innovation environment. I’m proud to work with Governor Moore and our public, private, and philanthropic partners to drive global investment that supports jobs and economic growth along our I-270 Tech Corridor.”
Governor Moore concluded the day at the Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center in the South End of Hagerstown, where he met with parents, children, and community leaders. During the visit, the Governor highlighted the administration’s ENOUGH Initiative, which provided critical support for the center’s opening. The new facility is a major win for the community, tripling local childcare capacity with 24 new slots and generating six new early childhood education jobs.
The Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center’s opening was accelerated by a $100,000 investment from San Mar Family & Community Services, the ENOUGH grantee in Hagerstown. ENOUGH grant funding was also supplemented by a $100,000 philanthropic contribution from the Bainum Family Foundation — a member of the ENOUGH Alliance — to complete necessary facility upgrades. The center’s completion underscores the strength of the ENOUGH Initiative’s public-private partnerships to deliver on community priorities and work towards ending child poverty.
Governor Moore’s visit to Washington County follows the third stop of his “Delivering for Maryland” tour in Montgomery County, where he marked a historic milestone by installing the final segment of rail for the Purple Line. This installation completes the 16.2-mile light rail corridor connecting Bethesda and New Carrollton, with passenger service expected to begin in late 2027. The governor also visited Max’s Best Ice Cream in Bethesda, a local business dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Best Buddies Jobs program.
###
A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top justice department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.
The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and US attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the 25 April event at the Washington Hilton hotel when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.
In a court filing late on Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.
“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder – how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged US district judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other justice department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.
“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.
Pirro said her office would respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.
“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday on further charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.
The charges include attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the justice department last year. Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.
-
Maryland20 seconds agoMifepristone ruling could halt mailed abortion pills in ‘shield states’ like Maryland – WTOP News
-
Michigan6 minutes agoList of active weather alerts as storms move through Southeast Michigan
-
Massachusetts12 minutes agoMassachusetts town near Gillette Stadium presses for World Cup security funding
-
Minnesota18 minutes agoProjected Lineup: Wild vs. Avalanche | Minnesota Wild
-
Mississippi24 minutes agoAuburn baseball evens series with Mississippi State on Friday: Recap
-
Missouri30 minutes agoKansas City, Missouri, police investigate deadly shooting at 4th and Holmes
-
Montana36 minutes agoMontana Vista residents confront ‘Pecos West’ developers in tense meeting
-
Nebraska42 minutes agoWhere Are Nebraska Fan’s Heads – CarrikerChronicles.com