Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska The Feds and Hunting: 60 Million Acres

I read somewhere the Feds are trying to close 60 million acres in AK to hunting. The Feds may allow subsistence hunters to continue hunting in most areas, but not “trophy” hunters.

Anyone hear anything about this?

Deleted

Thanks to the new interior sec, Deb haaland.

I "Strongly" suggest hunters consider purchasing a cabin or residence or land to build on.......In a "Location" that currently grants "Federal Subsistence Rights" to anyone who resides in that specific area of Alaska. These locations have no requirement other then, that be your "Primary" residence. You can earn millions per year, be a mega-billionaire, you can be any race-creed-color-sex (even the new weird modified sex classifications).

52 years I have watched hunting on Federal Land get constantly restricted. I doubt this will ever improve, only get worse and more restricted. If you have children or grandchildren, this could be the greatest gift you could leave them. Especially coveted will be lots/acreage/tracks with-in Federal Managed Lands. This is not that hard to find....yet. But will become harder over time.

There have been efforts to "Zone" Federal Wilderness Lands. Some restricted to photography or 72 hour camping (No hunting Allowed, not even subsistence hunting, no firearms discharged "period").

Many of the places I hunted/guided over the last five decades, were turned into "National Parks".

Texas is toying with "Texit". Maybe it is time to take AIP seriously and think about an "Alasksit". People who didn't want to be part of it could stay in Anchorage.
The Constitution has been breached and overridden far too many times by the feds and it is getting far worse by the day.
Just spouting... I have no idea how that would happen or how that would look. All I know is that this sure isn't the country I used to know and love. Sometimes it almost feels like the Twilight Zone.

https://rumble.com/vfx0s9-texit-referendum-gains-momentum-as-america-begins-to-unravel.html

Yup, she's bad news. Sullivan voted to approve her, don't forget.

Well, she promised him she would “listen”.

Then she’ll say F you!!

Not to mention the feds' countless and continuing violations of the Alaska Statehood Compact.

I'm late to the party.....

Would you believe that one tele-meeting on April 23 stands between would-be caribou and moose hunters and their access to nearly 60 million acres of public federal land in Northwest Alaska? It’s an issue that hasn’t made waves until now, but it’s one hunters should know about.

The forthcoming public hearing was announced Friday by the Department of the Interior for public consideration of Temporary Wildlife Special Action Request WSA21-01, which would close all federal lands within Game Units 23 and 26A to moose and caribou hunters who aren’t “federally qualified subsistence users” from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30, 2021, which happens to coincide with the non-resident hunting season for caribou in Unit 23, and most of it in Unit 26A.

Think this won’t happen? Close to 1.5 million acres of BLM land in unit 13 were also just closed in 2020 to “non-qualified” users for caribou hunting. Here’s some background on the issue, and which hunters are affected.

Many Stakeholders, Many Opinions
Many of us take for granted our “ownership” of federal lands, and often, wildlife management and non-resident restrictions crop up at the state level. Alaska has also been at the center of public lands debates, such as the rollback of federal regulations, like prohibiting some state-sanctioned predator control and subsistence-hunting practices on federal lands, controversy surrounding potential oil development in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and other mining and resource development issues.

It’s also becoming more common for large swaths of federal land in Alaska to close to certain big game hunters who aren’t a federally qualified subsistence user. Many federal lands in Alaska are not only managed by state regulations, but by federal subsistence regulations as well. Those define a qualified subsistence user as any Alaska resident who lives in a rural area. The federal regulations outline nine “non-rural” areas in Alaska, and if you live within those boundaries, you don’t qualify; neither do non-residents. Generally, Alaska’s hunting regulations and bag limits are set by the Alaska Board of Game based on recommendations from Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, management plans, public input, as well as local and regional Advisory Committees, on which elected members serve to represent local interests and user groups when it comes to protecting and managing resources.

Many federal lands are also governed by a Federal Subsistence Board, which sets a separate set of regulations, and receive input from Subsistence Advisory Council’s. This federal board does have the power to regulate or even close hunting on federal public lands—even if the state wants to keep it open.

What’s Going on in Units 23 and 26A?
This latest Special Action Request comes from the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Advisory Council, which represents mostly subsistence user groups from communities scattered through Northwest Alaska, including Kotzebue, Buckland, Kivalina, Kiana, and Ambler—all of whom subsist off the Western Arctic Herd, the largest in-state caribou herd in Alaska. As it should be in a place with historical and contemporary subsistence use, the people who depend on the resource take first priority of a harvestable surplus. And historically, the region has supported ample opportunities for non-local and non-resident hunters to hunt caribou, too. The natural reaction to this most recent proposal to exclude non-locals is to wonder: What’s happening to the herd, and how is non-local harvest affecting it?

The Western Arctic Herd is such a vital resource that it has its own working group and management plan, which are coordinated at a multi-agency level. The group includes a wide variety of stakeholders and members with vested interest in the well-being of the herd. One thing that is clear about caribou herds in general is that their populations tend to oscillate dramatically. The WAH management plan states that, “Since approximately 1850, the WAH has displayed quite large and rapid changes in population size.” So population fluctuations are nothing new.

The Proposed Closures of Caribou Hunting on Some Federal Lands Isn’t Based on Population Declines—It’s About Human Conflicts
Source: Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group
According to the working group’s newsletter from summer 2020, the herd was first estimated at 242,000 animals in 1970, crashing to 75,000 in 1976, booming to 490,000 in 2003, then declining again to 201,000 in 2016. Caribou numbers have since been relatively stable or increasing slightly. The last estimate in 2019 puts the herd at 244,000 animals.

Even so, the working group says the herd is in a conservative decline as of 2020, with a harvestable surplus of 10,000 to 14,000 animals. The only reason the herd isn’t considered “liberal stable” is because the annual cow survival rate is 78 percent, which is just two percent below “stable.”

Adult cow mortality is often noted as one of the largest contributing factors in herd declines, and collaring is one way that agencies track cow mortality. According to the ADFG office in Kotzebue, that low survival rate of 78 percent could be due to some cows already being older when they are collared, and might not reflect cow survival of the entire herd.

According to this information, and the correlating management goals listed in the management plan, the herd does not appear to be in any sort of unnatural or alarming decline. As long as the herd remains above the threshold of 200,000 animals, says the Kotzebue office located in Unit 23, dramatic harvest reduction measures are not recommended.

So what about the impacts hunters have on the herd? What of the various hunters who depend on the caribou? The management plan for the WAH has the following to say regarding human use:

About 40 subsistence-based communities in northwest Alaska, whose heritage and traditions have been shaped by the availability and abundance of these caribou, utilize the herd. Since 2000, an estimated 10,000–15,000 caribou are harvested from the herd each year by subsistence users in communities within the range of the herd. The Western Arctic Caribou Herd is also important to hunters from other areas of Alaska and from outside the state. Until recently, nonresident and nonlocal hunters harvested about 500–800 additional animals from the herd; this number has declined to about 250 animals per year since 2016 due to various factors, including closures of some federal public lands to caribou hunting by non-federally qualified users. In some areas, such as the Kobuk, Noatak and Squirrel River drainages, there has been continuing conflict between local and nonlocal hunters that has spanned several decades. The herd’s range falls under the jurisdiction of many land owners and management entities, which complicates the harvest regulations.

This means that, including the years before 2016, non-qualified users (both Alaska residents and non-residents) only contributed to approximately 2 to 7 percent of the harvest since the year 2000, and only around 2 to 3 percent of the harvest since 2016. Yet current state regulations still offer bag limits of five caribou per day for residents, with no-closed-season on bulls, and an 8.5-month cow season for Alaska residents. According to that same newsletter, the Federal Subsistence board also instituted a year-round season for bulls and allowed the taking of calves in 2020.

The point? The harvest by non-local hunters is very small, and these regulations don’t scream population crisis. The management plan states that before 2016, large-magnitude harvest opportunity reduction hadn’t even been discussed in 30 years.

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd's population appears healthy, and not in any serious decline
The population of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, pictured here, fluctuates naturally over the years. Jared Hughey / National Park Service
Hunter Conflicts
Many folks believe that the crux of this issue isn’t a population issue, but a real or perceived user conflict. In many parts of rural Alaska there has been tension and conflict between local user groups and non-locals, whether it’s other Alaska residents, or guides and outfitters. And as mentioned in the management plan, this conflict has spanned decades.

There is sometimes a very real sentiment in favor of keeping non-locals out, which is something that every rural hunter in Alaska or the Lower 48 likely has felt at one point or another. In fact, many regulations in remote areas of Alaska are already prohibitively restrictive to non-locals. I think that most of us hunters who live “in town” admire and sometimes envy a subsistence lifestyle, which we generally agree is something that should absolutely be preserved in rural Alaska. The state’s caribou are a treasure—an age-old life-giving resource in a harsh land.

When the timing makes sense, we should choose to not hunt caribou to protect that legacy. But we also need to be making those decisions soundly, and the impact that the small percent of harvests by non-locals could have on the caribou herd pales in comparison to the impact of closing federal hunting opportunities in 23 and 26A for non-subsistence hunters. It would hurt the guides, outfitters, air-taxi operators, and hunters who have dreamed of hunting Alaska, as well as the folks who are often recipients of meat donated by traveling hunters. Many hunters who don’t live in these areas and may not even plan on hunting there themselves still contribute to the management of the WAH herd through license and tag sales in Alaska, in addition to paying federal taxes and contributing to federal funds. They ought to be allowed to hunt there if the population can meet the subsistence needs and non-local demands.

Moose hunting has already been restricted to residents only in these areas, while “qualified users” enjoy liberal seasons. Despite opportunity for residents to travel and hunt caribou at other times of the year, the closure dates are specifically chosen to coincide with the non-resident season opening for bull caribou, and the time of year when most non-locals are likely to travel to hunt moose and caribou.

As a U.S. citizen, you can call in and voice your opinion. And you should, if you think all hunters should all be able to hunt on this public land. Here are the details:

Public Hearing Information for Temporary Wildlife Special Action Request WSA21-01

Friday, April 23, 2021

THE NATIVES HAVE BEEN AFTER THIS FOR YEARS! Not that public hearings mean a thing - the Feds will do whatever the Natives want. They know where their votes are buttered.

I spent 8 years in Kotzebue, returning to the Kenai 2 years ago, and I heard it all the time. It's those evil non-resident white guys who "sport-hunt" that cause declines in the herd populations, shifts in migration routes, etc.

It has nothing to do with natural biological imperatives and swings, wild gun-boat shooting of caribou by "subsistence" hunters as they swim across rivers in their fall, migration, running them with snow machines in winter, shooting only pregnant cows from mid-October to February,orphaning many calves , many of which do not survive on their lonesome, un or under reporting takes, and so on.

One village had reported their annual take of cow moose for subsistence for years as 3-7 animals. When a F&G field subsistence survey of the village families was taken, to find out why the local moose population was declining, it showed they were taking 30-40. They had just ignored the reporting requirement .

Damn, I miss being a "subsistence hunter" up there.

For all of the ones stating succession.......keep dreaming, will never happen........

I do not think that word means what you think that word means...

Higher probability Alaska will be in management of either China or Russia, Possibly both, to some degree.

No one (at least not me) is "stating" secession, I am, however, saying that it is worth consideration. Though unlikely to happen, it doesn't mean that the idea lacks validity. people a lot smarter than I am support the idea. I am not sure that I support Alaska independence for a variety of reasons. Still, there may be ways to have more sovereignty in our state affairs than what we have today, existing as a sort of chattel colony. But even limited independence wouldn't come easily, because many people, including the Native corps suckle on the tit of the Federal government and wouldn't relinquish that income for the uncertainty of an independent Alaska. But what if the US government became so weak that it couldn't protect the far-flung states? Would Alaska be on its own? We may be looking at the winding down of our once-great nation to third world status because of globalists such as Biden (or his handlers). Like Rome, the central government may be unable to hold onto its provinces. Scary stuff!
During the height of the pandemic there was no federal presence in the woods on the Kenai Peninsula.The authorities were all cloistered in their homes or offices. If a person had wanted to, they could have about gotten away with anything. I picture that is how it might be if the federal government becomes totally diminished: no federal presence to make sure folks are abiding by the rules they have established for us

no federal presence to make sure folks are abiding by the rules they have established for us


No comment needed, last 5 words.

Need we even consider the many violations the Feds have committed against our Statehood Act?

Violating the compact should automatically negate it, no?

Trading for "security'"is a losing game in the long run, but seemingly desirable.....

For those using a term for legal declaration of separation, the spelling is secession not succession.
Signed, DSMF Spelling Nazi.

You’re welcome. 😉

Yes, thanks. Feeling like a buffoon.

UPDATED INFO.

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) will hold a teleconference on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to take action on Temporary Wildlife Special Action Request WSA21-01.
The public is invited to listen in; however, public comments will not be taken. To join the teleconference, dial toll-free (800) 857-9670, passcode is 6992079.

Temporary Wildlife Special Action Request WSA21-01, submitted by the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council, requests that Federal public lands in Units 23 and 26A be closed to the harvest of caribou and moose by non-Federally qualified users from August 1 through September 30, 2021.

A public hearing, Tribal and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) consultations, and a five-day written public comment period were held for this temporary wildlife special action request in April 2021. Additional Tribal and ANCSA consultations will be held in late May 2021. Over 1,300 received comments will be incorporated into an analysis presented by Office of Subsistence Management staff to the Board for their consideration prior to taking action on WSA21-01. The analysis will be available approximately two weeks before the teleconference, at https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/board.

The Board is committed to providing access to this meeting for all participants. Please direct requests for accommodation needs to the Office of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or (907) 786-3888 or by e-mail at subsistencefws.gov.

June 16'th..........hmmm right in the middle of "Subsistence" Dip netting season on the Russian River. You big city boys can come "watch" but you can't help.

It is like the Cooper Landing Bypass. That plan was finalized before the first public hearings (required by law) were ever held.

Just because they are lawfully bound to take public comments doesn't mean they won't ignore them and do whatever they damned well please.

AGL - You confusing your rivers and terminology?

I "Personal Use" fish with my 60' gill net off the Kasilof Beach in that time frame. Dip netting in the Kasilof is also opened up around then.

Kenai River opens later, IIRC, but I was unaware that there was anything of the sort on the Russian.

But then, I haven't been a dip (fishing wise - ) in several years now, so am in need of re-reading regulations and time lines.

If I get busted for something......I don't want it to be a surprise!

I am "not" confusing this issue. You are simply "Hell'Bent" on being a constant "FAILURE" at discrediting me. Which is entertaining.

For you "education" the Federal Subsistence Regulations......also regulate the "Subsistence dip netting on the Russian River. The "exact" same agency that governs my special hunting and fishing rights, which are based entirely where I reside. I find myself on both sides of the entirety of subsistence issues.

"It is like the Cooper Landing Bypass. That plan was finalized before the first public hearings (required by law) were ever held.

Just because they are lawfully bound to take public comments doesn't mean they won't ignore them and do whatever they damned well please."

*************************************************************

I have "Personally" attended and "testified" at hearings for this project, when I lived in Cooper Landing, and owned several properties there, including some where they wanting to put the new "Bypass".

This project goes back near 40 some years of constant evolution. There have been many proposals, a half dozen different routes, and hearings over the last four decades.

However I do fully agree that the Federal and State "Overlords" don't give a rats-ass about the people, and are hell'bent on the full implementation of their chosen "Covert" agendas.

If you actually participate in dip netting on the Russian you are a major part of what is wrong with the subsistence issue. The notion a zip code anoints you special rights is clearly against every tenet of equal protection under the law.

Stop sniveling, "Cityboy". Grow a pair of gonads and go fight the Federal Government.

I don't make Federal Regulations, but like I pointed out earlier in this thread, there are some prudent planning actions, that can mitigate the impact of Federal Subsistence Oversight. Or just snuggle in your cozy Big City environment, and "bitch".

Go away for a few weeks and AGL is still a little piece of work. Sheesh . . .

He is a waste of electrons...

"He is a waste of electrons..."

Yes...he is

If the state was divided into 5 states we would potentially have more representation, and make Anchoragua and Juneau a separate body altogether... nah, I know, never happen.

The pandemic was some scary stuff. To idiots. The state parks campground I live next to was open for camping- including tent campers - but the campground toilets were locked up.

My dog did her best to keep the campground woods clean.... we took her for walks elsewhere once we figured out why she was so happy.

Why the hell would $tate Parks do that????? Rhetorical..

We're from the Government. We're here to help you. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

We need a Toll Booth at "Ingram Creek" to help offset the costs of hosting invaders of paradise, from "[bleep]'hole" Anchorage. Drivers with Alaska Drivers License showing Kenai Peninsula Zip Code address would be exempt.

State Wildlife Commissioner ? put out a podcast 6 days ago that nailed the NWArctic caribou proposal. Just read it.

What it boils down to is that the Natives are greedy and resentful of "Outsiders" - anyone not local, hunting in "their" area. That guided hunters or non-local residents are affecting their subsistence hunting, or the caribou in any way is total BS.

My opinion based on 8 years residency in Kotzebue, 2010-2018.

Damn - I miss being a subsistence hunter.....

While I grasp the issue from "both" sides, I am substantially more empathic to the desire of rural Alaskan's to mitigate the impact of outsiders. I fully expect this to build over the years, till it becomes violent. I continue to encourage people to "own" a chunk of rural/bush Alaska, for their enjoyment and their children's hunting future.

Substance hunters? I'll translate, 'Native Americans' otherwise hunting is off limit to whitey...

That is at the most gratuitous a "substantially" flawed assessment. I live in a "City" population 9 or 10 depending on one's conviction of being a resident. We are all "Non-native" Alaskans, yet because we reside in this city in deep rural Alaska, we do enjoy "Subsistence Rights". However of the population, only two of us use those subsistence rights.

I am always happy to point out, that everyone not in prison is free to move where they have more rights........or they can "pee and moan".

That is at the most gratuitous a "substantially" flawed assessment. I live in a "City" population 9 or 10 depending on one's conviction of being a resident. We are all "Non-native" Alaskans, yet because we reside in this city in deep rural Alaska, we do enjoy "Subsistence Rights". However of the population, only two of us use those subsistence rights.

I am always happy to point out, that everyone not in prison is free to move where they have more rights........or they can "pee and moan".


[/quote]
For you to see the problem clearly, look in your mirror.

For you to see the problem clearly, look in your mirror.

[/quote]

Why don't you "MOVE"........I know why, because you are greedy. You what the very best of the fat boy life of living in the city, and you desire and greedily crave what others have. You are a "Classic" spoiled SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE.

And a winey'ass crybaby.

Well, yeah, I understand territoriality.

It still pisses me off when I am several miles walk-in moose hunting, and some azzwipe glides in on his $80,000 airplane right at dusk, lands on "my" lake, then at daylight shoots the nearby moose he spotted from the air.

But to falsely claim it is negatively impacting the animal population to "privatize" the area for one's own exclusive use is despicable.

Not to mention, in this case, a clear violation of the Statehood Act, in which Alaska was guaranteed the management of wildlife within her boundaries.

The Fuggin Feds are Indian givers..... so to speak.

What? What could be wrong with giving out privileges based on arbitrary things like zip codes? To Azzhats living on the road system? To resources they could never reach on foot? And they pretend they are somehow special "bush rats?"

Those Bush People almost made it....

Some are more equal than others.

"URBAN" city dwellers are most "equal", as their idea of fair balance is they get what they got, "PLUS" they want to go elsewhere for a few days and kill game in others backyards.

They can only leave their soft secure plush easy living lifestyle for a few days, because they are "Special Snowflakes".

Your last post goes both ways AGL. No one forces people to live in the Bush. Nor in cities. Theoretically.

I've done both, and prefer the bush, but here I am....

Fact is, we are all constrained to do either in some way, some more than others. Even if it is just personal desires, priorities and the dictates of life..

No one is stopping bush people from coming into Anchorage or Fairbanks to shop Costco, or go to the movie theater. Or get drunked up and score dope. (That's what reservations are for.... . )

Equal opportunity.....

Nor should unwarranted restrictions apply to accessing "in-common" abundant wildlife resources and recreational opportunity on so called "public lands", within reason.

I have no problem with said restrictions on privately held Native lands.

Tomorrow from 10:00-12:00 we can listen in as the Federal Subsistence Board decides on whether to close Units 23 and 26A to caribou hunting and moose hunting. Call-in number to listen only is 800-857-9670, passcode is 6992078.


Copied and pasted

Beaurocrats, not biologists. And they are woke and racially sensitive.

Easy to tell what they decide.

They’ve already decided.

It is "NOW" official.........They have deferred a decision till next year. Which is good for this year. However, it is unclear if this can even be decided on next year, for technical reasons with the wording........Or if there will be required a new proposal for 2022.

Kick the can down the road. Maybe it will slide under the radar somewhat next year.

Told you that they were bureaucrats first, foremost, and always, 100%.

But it is better than what I was expecting.

I could not agree more! Requiring a guide for sheep, goats and brown bear for non-residents is WRONG and it’s similarly a violation of equal protection.

Nonresidents do not enjoy the protection of residents in almost all States...