Federal Subsistence Board approves changes to subsistence hunting and trapping regulations

After receiving public comment, Regional Advisory Council input, and staff analyses, the Board adopted 32 out of the 55 proposals considered.  Some of the more significant decisions, which will be implemented in the 2018-2020 regulatory years (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2020), included:

• Hunting season for wolves will be extended to May 31 in Units 1A/1B and Unit 3, and the trapping season end date is moved to Nov. 1 for Units 1 and Unit 3.
• A Federal season for moose will be established in Unit 1C, Berners Bay, with implementation beginning in the fall of 2019.

• The annual harvest limit for deer for non-Federally qualified users on Federal public lands in Unit 2 will be reduced from 4 to 2 deer.
• Hunting season for moose in Unit 5A, except Nunatak Bench, east of the Dangerous River will be lengthened to Sept. 16 – Nov. 15, with Federal public lands closed to the harvest of moose except to residents of Unit 5A from Sept. 16-30.
• The harvest limit for caribou in Unit 9D will be changed from 1 bull to 1-4 caribou by Federal registration permit, and the fall harvest season is extended to Aug. 1 – Sept. 30.
• The harvest limit for the Mulchatna Caribou Herd will be changed to from 1 bull to 2 caribou in Unit 9C, consistent with 2016 State regulations, and a new hunt area will be created in Unit 9C.
• Federal lands will be open to all users for caribou on the Nushagak Peninsula when the herd is above 900.
• The Ptarmigan harvest and possession limit in Unit 18 will be decreased to 15 per day and 30 in possession.
• The moose season in Unit 24B will be aligned with the State season, along with the brown bear season in Unit 22B and 22C.
• Federal public lands in the portion of Unit 22A north of and including the Tagoomenik and Shaktoolik rivers will be open to Federally qualified subsistence users for moose, Aug. 1 – Sept. 30.
• Moose seasons will be modified in the two hunt areas of Unit 23 to a two-month cow season of Nov. 1 – Dec. 31 and a shortened bull season of July 1 – Dec. 31 in that portion north and west of and including the Singoalik River drainage hunt area, and Aug. 1 – Dec. 31 in that portion lying within the Noatak River drainage and the remainder hunt areas; and Federal and State hunt areas will be aligned.
• The brown bear harvest limit in Unit 23 will be increased from 1 to 2 bears, and the season will be extended to year-round.
• Federal public lands in Unit 23 within a 10-mile wide corridor (5 miles either side) along the Noatak River from the western boundary of Noatak National Preserve upstream to the confluence with the Cutler River; within the northern and southern boundaries of the Eli and Agashashok River drainages, respectively; and within the Squirrel River drainage, will be closed to caribou hunting except by Federally qualified subsistence users.
• Reporting requirements in Units 22, 23, and 26A for caribou will be aligned with the State registration permit requirements.
• The Arctic Village Sheep Management Area in Unit 25A will remain closed to the harvest of sheep by non-Federally qualified users.

The Board decided to defer action on WP18-19, which requested a permitting system to be managed by the Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource Commission (AITRC), and will take up this topic at the Board’s next work session in summer of 2018. Office of Subsistence Management staff will work with AITRC, Regional Advisory Councils, and Federal agencies, and consult with the State, as necessary, to cooperatively establish a framework for a workable community harvest system in Units 11 and 13.

In other business, the Board selected the winners of the 2018-19 Student Art Contest: Rylan DeMucha, age 12, from Kodiak won in the wildlife category, and Viveka Hernandez, age 17 from Utqiagvik won in the fisheries category. DeMucha’s artwork will serve as the cover art for the 2018-2020 Federal Subsistence Management Harvest of Wildlife regulations book, and Hernandez’s artwork will serve as the cover art for the 2019-2021 Federal Subsistence Management Harvest of Fish and Shellfish regulations book, both to be distributed statewide. More than 300 art entries were submitted from students all over Alaska in grades K-12. Artwork submitted will be used for brochures, flyers, website and other mediums.

Transcripts from the April 10-13 meeting will be posted at https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/library/transcripts/federal-subsistence-board when available.

The Board will meet again the week of May 14, 2018 to address several non-regulatory agenda items which were not completed.

Additional information on the Federal Subsistence Management Program may be found on the web at www.doi.gov/subsistence or by visiting www.facebook.com/subsistencealaska.

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