Federal Subsistence Board Work Session Results on Deferred Temporary Wildlife Special Action Request WSA21-01 (Units 23 and 26A Caribou and Moose)

During the telephonic work session on March 30, 2022, the Board voted to approve WSA21-01a with modification to close Noatak National Preserve (including the Nigu River portion of the Preserve in Unit 26A) and BLM managed lands between the Noatak and Kobuk rivers in Unit 23 (see Map below) to caribou hunting by non-Federally qualified users (NFQUs) from August 1 through September 30 during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 regulatory years.

The Board stated this modification is a reasonable compromise that provides for the continuation of subsistence uses and the conservation of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH), while precluding unnecessary restrictions on non-Federally qualified users.  The partial closure targets the areas of highest user conflicts and minimizes potential disruptions to caribou migration. The Board also expressed concern over the 24% WACH population decline over the past two years, which prompted the WACH Working Group to change the herd’s management level to preservative declining. One management recommendation under this level is closure of some Federal lands. The Board also referenced support of the closure by affected Regional Advisory Councils.

The Board voted to approve WSA21-01b with modification to close moose hunting to non-Federally qualified subsistence users on Federal public lands in Unit 23 only from August 1 through September 30 during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 regulatory years.

The Board stated the closure in Unit 23 provides more subsistence harvest opportunity and is necessary to conserve the moose population, which has declined substantially; the harvestable surplus may also be exceeded. In contrast, moose harvest by non-Federally qualified users in Unit 26A is very low and unlikely to affect that moose population. The Board also referenced support of the closure by affected Regional Advisory Councils.

The Board approved both WSA21-01a (caribou) and WSA21-01b (moose) with modification for two regulatory years to assess the effectiveness of the closures and to reduce the administrative burden of processing special action requests.

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