 In response, Governor Longley called on the tribes to limit their claim to the value of the land as of 1796, without interest (the valuation method used in Indian Claims Commission cases), and called on Congress to pass legislation forcing the tribes to so limit their claim.Interior's memo reached Peter Taft—the grandson of President Taft, and the head of the Justice Department's Land and Natural Resources Division—who wrote to Judge Gignoux, declaring his intention to litigate test cases concerning of forests (mostly owned by large forestry companies) within the claim area on June 1, unless a settlement was reached.On March 1, 1977, the Maine delegation introduced bills to extinguish all aboriginal title in Maine without compensation.