Tribe wins major step toward resuming whaling off Washington

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — An administrative law judge has recommended that a Native American tribe in Washington state once again be allowed to hunt gray whales — a major step in its decades-long effort to resume the ancient practice. The Makah Tribe last legally hunted whales off the Olympic Peninsula in 1999, but its efforts since then have been tied up in legal and scientific review. An administrative law judge on Thursday recommended that they be allowed to resume the hunts. The decision would let the hunters kill up to 25 whales over 10 years, with restrictions that could further limit the number of whales taken.