New Members Appointed to Regional
Councils (01/18/07)
Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne, with the concurrence of the
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, has announced appointments and
re-appointments to seats on the ten federal subsistence regional
advisory councils.
The Bristol Bay Regional Advisory Council has a new
member, Thomas A. Hedlund of Iliamna. Virginia Aleck of Chignik Lake
and Randy C. Alvarez of Naknek were both reappointed.
On the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Advisory Council,
John W. Andrew of Kwethluk and Elias L. Kelly of Pilot Station are new
members. Robert E.Aloysius of Kalskag, Joseph P. Mike of Kotlik and
Greg J. Roczicka of Bethel have been reappointed.
The Western Interior Regional Advisory Council will
welcome new member Jenny K. Pelkola of Galena, while Carl M. Morgan,
Jr. of Aniak has been reappointed.
On the Seward Peninsula Regional Advisory Council,
Elizabeth A. Mokiyuk of Savoonga is a new member, while Thomas Gray of
White Mountain and Elmer K. Seetot Jr. of Brevig Mission are
re-appointees.
The Southeast Alaska Regional Advisory Council has three
new members; Merle N. Hawkins of Ketchikan, Joe O. Hotch of Haines,
and Lee Wallace of Saxman, while Michael Bangs of Petersburg was
reappointed.
On the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council, Fred H.
Elvsaas of Seldovia, John C. Lamb II of Hiline, and Tricia Waggoner of
Palmer are new members, while Thomas M. Carpenter of Cordova, Ralph E.
Lohse of McCarthy, and James R. Showalter of Sterling have been
re-appointed.
The Northwest Arctic Regional Advisory Council has three
new members; Virgil D. Adams of Noatak, Austin Swan Sr. of Kivalina,
and Walter G. Sampson of Kotzebue. Enoch Shiedt Sr., also of Kotzebue,
was reappointed.
The North Slope Regional Advisory Council will welcome new
member Lee Kayotuk of Kaktovik, who will join reappointed members
Gordon Brower Sr. of Barrow and David A. Gunderson of Wainwright.
On the Eastern Interior Regional Advisory Council, Richard
C. Carroll Jr. of Fort Yukon and Matthew R. Frenzl of Delta Junction
are new members, while Virgil Umphenour of North Pole was reappointed.
Kodiak/Aleutians Regional Advisory Council does not have
any new members, but Speridon M. Simeonoff Sr. of Akhiok was
reappointed.
Regional councils advise the Federal Subsistence Board on
subsistence management regulations and policies and serve as a forum
for public involvement in federal subsistence management.
Recommendations from regional councils carry significant weight in the
federal process. The
Federal Subsistence
Board
must
follow a recommendation from a regional council unless it is not
supported by substantial evidence,
violates
recognized principles of fish and wildlife conservation,
or
would be
detrimental to the satisfaction of subsistence needs.
Currently, seventy percent of council members represent
subsistence users, while the remaining thirty percent represent sport
and commercial users. The Federal Subsistence Board is in the process
of reexamining the issue of balance on regional councils and will
decide at their May 2007 meeting whether to continue the current
council composition or adopt a new method for balancing regional
councils.
Southeast Purse Seine Fishery
Scrutinized (01/18/07)
Federal
and State managers are examining sockeye harvests in the Southeast
Alaska purse seine fishery to determine whether the fishery could be
impacting subsistence harvests by residents of villages in Chatham
Strait. The Southeast Regional Advisory Council has raised concerns
about the possibility that the commercial fishery might be catching
sockeye that otherwise could be harvested for subsistence by residents
of Angoon and Kake. However, there have been no scale sampling or
tagging studies done to determine whether any of the sockeye harvested
in the traditional purse seine areas are bound for subsistence
streams.
The Regional Council expressed a preference that the issue
be resolved cooperatively with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game,
but also noted that a petition for extraterritorial jurisdiction was a
possibility if the issues are not resolved in a satisfactory manner.
Federal agencies and the Federal Subsistence Board don’t
have authority to manage fisheries in the state’s marine waters, but
the U.S. Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture can intervene through
federal powers of extraterritorial jurisdiction. Federal subsistence
officials say such an action would come only following proof of a
failure to provide rural Alaskans with a subsistence priority on
federal lands and that actions outside of federal jurisdiction
directly caused the failure.
Such a petition has been filed only once before, when the
Alaska Board of Fisheries greatly expanded commercial fishing time in
False Pass. The action concerned some subsistence users, who feared
increased harvest of fish bound for their traditional harvest areas.
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton declined to intervene, stating that
it was unlikely the state’s action would result in a failure by the
federal government to provide the rural subsistence priority.
In the case of Chatham Strait sockeye, the Southeast
Regional Advisory Council could petition the secretaries to intervene
in the management of the commercial purse seine fishery. The Regional
Council set up a forum on January 22nd, where three council members
met with seine fleet representatives and federal and state managers to
discuss the best available scientific information. The full council
will receive a report on the issue at their February meeting in Kake
and may take further action at that time.
Subcommittee Considers
Kenai Peninsula Proposals (01/18/07)
Federal
Subsistence Board members decided against forming a separate Regional
Advisory Council for the Kenai Peninsula at a worksession November 16,
2006. Instead, Kenai Peninsula matters will continue to be considered
by the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council. Following this
decision, the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council voted to create a
special subcommittee for the Kenai.
The original proposal to create a separate resource region
for the Kenai Peninsula was advanced by the Federal Subsistence Board
as a way for stakeholders to have more input into federal subsistence
fishery management decisions. The Kenai is known for being an area in
which fishery management decisions are often hotly debated. A
separate resource region would have led to formation of a Kenai
Peninsula Regional Advisory Council, made up of stakeholders from the
area and tasked with advising the Federal Subsistence Board on Kenai
issues.
The proposal met with substantial controversy, including
opposition from the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council, which
currently handles Kenai issues along with Prince William Sound, the
Copper River drainage, the Cook Inlet drainage and the inland waters
and lands of the Glennallen area. The Southcentral Council expressed
a desire to continue to advise the board on the Kenai area.
Although some stakeholders supported a separate council,
others questioned the need for another resource region, the boundaries
of the region, and the process the board used in making the proposal.
The board ultimately decided to continue with the current structure.
To allow more stakeholder input within the current system,
the Southcentral Council formed a subcommittee of stakeholders
including representatives from the communities of Hope, Cooper
Landing, and Ninilchik, the Kenai Peninsula Fisherman’s Association,
the Upper Cook Inlet Drift Association, the Kenai River Professional
Guides Association, the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, and the
Salamatoff, Ninilchik, and Kenaitze tribes.
The subcommittee will provide recommendations to the
council on subsistence fishery proposals for federal waters within the
Kenai, Kasilof and Swanson river drainages and Six Mile and
Resurrection creek drainages. The subcommittee’s work will focus on
methods and means of harvest, harvest limits and fishing seasons.
Proposals under consideration by the subcommittee include
allowing subsistence fishing for Dolly Varden, lake trout, and rainbow
trout by gillnet and steelhead by gillnet or rod and reel, along with
a proposal to allow Ninilchik residents to harvest fish using a wide
variety of methods including gillnets.
The subcommittee will hold its first meeting February 2-3
in Soldotna to develop recommendations that will be provided to the
Southcentral Council at their next meeting March 13-16. In May, the
Federal Subsistence Board will hear input from the Southcentral
Council before making a decision on Kenai proposals.
Subsistence Halibut Survey
Results (01/18/07)
Survey
results are in, and a report from the Alaska Department of Fish and
Game Subsistence Division estimates the statewide subsistence harvest
of halibut in 2005 at 1.18 million pounds. This number is very
similar to the 2004 estimate of 1.19 million pounds. Subsistence
harvests represented about 1.5% of the total halibut removals in
Alaska in 2005.
At the end of 2005, 14,306 individuals had subsistence
halibut permits, up four percent from the end of 2004. The study
found an estimated 5,621 individuals subsistence fished for halibut in
2005, compared to 5,984 individuals in 2004 and 4,942 individuals in
2003. The estimated subsistence halibut harvest in 2005 was 55,875
fish or 1,178,222 pounds net weight. The 2004 estimate was that
52,412 fish, or 1,193,162 pounds were harvested.
Of the total subsistence halibut harvest in 2005, 70
percent was harvested with longlines and 30 percent was harvested with
hand-operated gear. This is a decrease in the percentage harvested
using longlines compared to 2004, when 74 percent was harvested with
longlines and 26 percent was harvested with hand-operated gear. Of
those using longline gear in 2005, 42 percent usually fished with 30
hooks, the maximum number allowed in most areas.
An estimated 12,395 rockfish and 2,355 lingcod were caught
while subsistence halibut fishing in 2005. This is less than the
reported harvest of 19,001 rockfish and 4,407 lingcod for 2004.
The largest halibut subsistence harvest in 2005 occurred
in Southeast Alaska, where 51 percent of the statewide total was
caught. Southcentral Alaska accounted for 36 percent of the harvest,
while the western areas of the state all had comparatively small
harvests. The proportion of the statewide subsistence halibut harvest
occurring in Southeast Alaska declined in 2005, down from 57% in 2004
and 60% in 2003. Correspondingly, the portion occurring in
South-central Alaska increased in 2005, up from 34% in 2004 and 27% in
2003.
The report’s authors recommend that research be continued
for two more years, so that five years of data under the current set
of regulations governing gear, participation requirements, and daily
harvest limits can be evaluated. For more information or a copy of
the report, visit
http://www.subsistence.adfg.state.ak.us/ and click on
Subsistence Harvests of Pacific Halibut in Alaska, 2005.
Federal Subsistence Board Calls for
Proposals (01/18/07)
The
Federal Subsistence Board is accepting proposals through March 23,
2007 to change subsistence fishing regulations on federal public lands
and waters in Alaska. This is the first step in the development of
regulations for the April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 regulatory year.
The board will consider proposals to change fishing
seasons, harvest limits, restrictions on methods of harvest, and
customary and traditional use determinations. Federal public lands
include national wildlife refuges; national parks, monuments and
preserves; national forests; national wild and scenic rivers; and
national conservation and recreation areas. Federal subsistence
regulations do not apply on State of Alaska lands, private lands,
military lands, or federal lands selected by the State or Native
corporations.
To request a proposal form, contact the Office of
Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or by e-mail,
subsistence@fws.gov. The
form can also be found under the Laws and Regulations – Fisheries
section of the Federal Subsistence Program website,
http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html.
Federal Subsistence Board Meets to
Determine Rural/Nonrural Status (12/11/06)
The Federal Subsistence Board meets
December 12-13 at the Egan Center in Anchorage to consider changes
to the rural/nonrural status of several Alaska communities. Only
residents of rural areas are eligible to participate in federal
subsistence hunts and fisheries. There will be an opportunity for
public comment during the meeting. Comments are sought on the
following proposed changes:
Adak would change from nonrural to rural due to its remote location
and a significant drop in population since it was last evaluated.
Prudhoe Bay would change from rural
to nonrural since it lacks many of the characteristics typical of a
rural community.
Point MacKenzie would be grouped with
the nonrural Wasilla area and would change from rural to nonrural.
Fritz Creek East (not including
Voznesenka) and the North Fork Road area would be grouped with the
nonrural Homer area and would change from rural to nonrural.
Sterling's expanded boundaries would
be fully included in the nonrural Kenai Area.
The nonrural Ketchikan area would be
expanded to include all those living on the road system connected to
the City of Ketchikan (except Saxman), as well as residents of Pennock
Island and parts of Gravina Island. However, Saxman would remain
separate and rural.
The Kodiak area, including the City
of Kodiak, the Mill Bay area, the Coast Guard Station, Women's Bay and
Bells Flats, would be grouped and would change from rural to nonrural.
The population of this area is approximately 12,000, well above the
population threshold in Federal subsistence regulations of 7,000 at
which a community or area is presumed to be nonrural. Places excluded
from this nonrural grouping are Chiniak, Pasagshak, Anton Larsen,
Kalsin Bay and Middle Bay, as well as villages and communities on the
Kodiak Archipelago not connected by road to the Kodiak area. These
places would remain rural.
For additional information, please contact Maureen Clark or Larry
Buklis with the Federal Office of Subsistence Management at (800)
478-1456 or (907) 786-3888.
Application Period Open for
Regional Advisory Council Seats - Deadline January 10th
(12/11/06)
The Office of Subsistence
Management is accepting applications and nominations to serve on the
Regional Advisory Councils that advise the Federal Subsistence
Board. The deadline for submitting applications is January 10, 2007.
The councils meet twice yearly and advise the Federal Subsistence
Board on subsistence management regulations and policies. They also
serve as a forum for regional public involvement in federal
subsistence management. Council members are knowledgeable about
subsistence, commercial, and sport uses in their region. Regional
Council recommendations carry a great deal of weight in the Board's
decision making process.
For an application or additional information, please contact Ann
Wilkinson at the Office of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or
(907) 786-3676.
Federal Subsistence Board
Decides Kenai, Southeast Issues at Worksession
(12/11/06)
At a worksession held November 16th
and 17th in Anchorage, the Federal Subsistence Board decided against
forming a Kenai Peninsula Regional Advisory Council, made a positive
customary and traditional use finding for Ninilchik residents on the
Kenai River, approved a fishery on Tustumena Lake, and made a
positive customary and traditional use finding for residents of
Gustavus, in Southeast Alaska.
After considering the formation of a
Kenai Peninsula Subsistence Resource Region, which would have resulted
in a separate Regional Advisory Council for the Kenai Peninsula, the
board decided instead to keep the current structure. As a result of
this decision, the Southcentral Alaska Regional Advisory Council will
continue to address federal subsistence fish and wildlife issues on
the Kenai Peninsula.
In January of 2006, the Board made a positive customary and
traditional use finding for Ninilchik residents on the Kasilof River,
but declined to make a positive determination for the Kenai River.
Subsistence users requested that the Board reconsider the decision.
At the worksession, the Board made a positive customary and
traditional use determination for the residents of Ninilchik for all
fish in the Kenai River area. This determination will allow Ninilchik
residents to harvest fish under Federal subsistence regulations in
those waters. Proposed changes to existing fishing seasons,
methods, and harvest limits for this area will be considered by the
Board in May of 2007.
Acting on a Special Action Request from the Ninilchik Traditional
Council, the Board approved a temporary fishery on Tustumena Lake for Ninilchik
residents. The fishery, which will take place only this winter unless
permanent regulations are adopted, allows harvest of lake trout,
rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden, through the ice, using jigs or
gillnets. Federal subsistence harvest permits will be required and
harvest will be closely monitored. All harvests must be reported
within 72 hours of the permitee’s leaving the area. The total harvest
of each species will be limited, and all gillnet fishing will cease
once the harvest limit for any species is reached.
Finally, acting on another request for reconsideration, the Board made
a positive customary and traditional use determination for the
community of Gustavus, allowing the harvest of salmon, Dolly Varden,
trout, smelt, and euchalon in District 14 in Southeast Alaska. As a
result of this ruling, residents of Gustavus will be able to join
Hoonah residents in harvesting these species under Federal subsistence
regulations.
For additional information, please contact Pete Probasco at (800)
478-1456 or (907) 786-3403.
Public Comment Sought
on Kenai Fisheries Proposals - Deadline January 5th
(12/11/06)
The Federal Subsistence Board is
accepting written comments through January 5, 2007, on proposals
to change Federal subsistence fishing regulations for the Kenai
Peninsula. The proposals could change seasons, harvest limits, methods
for the taking of fish and shellfish, or customary and traditional use
determinations and could be effective beginning April 1, 2007.
The proposal book can be found at
http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html or by contacting the Office
of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or (907) 786-3888.
Comments should reference the
proposal number and should be sent to Bill Knauer by e-mail at
subsistence@fws.gov . Those without e-mail access can fax comments
to (907) 786-3898 or mail them to:
Federal Subsistence Board
Attn: Bill Knauer
Office of Subsistence Management
3601 C Street, Suite 1030
Anchorage, AK 99503
In addition to written comments, the
public is welcome to provide comments at Regional Advisory Council
meetings in February and March or at the Federal Subsistence Board
meeting in May 2007.
26 Changes to Subsistence Fishing
Regulations Proposed (09/19/06)
This month, Federal Regional Advisory
Councils began consideration of proposals that include a closure to
commercial herring fishing in Sitka Sound, establishment of
new subsistence fisheries on the Kenai Peninsula, and restrictions
on subsistence fishing on the Yukon River.
The Federal Office of Subsistence
Management has received 26 proposals to change subsistence fishing
regulations across Alaska. This represents a decline from the past
three years, when the number of proposals ranged between 30 and
40. Proponents have suggested changing regulations to
address problems that range from concerns about conservation of a
species to difficulty meeting subsistence needs.
Southeast Alaska
Area
The Southeast Alaska Regional Advisory
Council and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska have both proposed closing
federal waters in Sitka Sound to commercial herring harvest to
provide additional subsistence opportunity. The Sitka Sound sac roe
fishery is one of the most lucrative commercial herring fisheries in
the state. 51 permit holders use purse seines to compete for a quota
that has averaged 10,000 tons in recent years.
Subsistence users have expressed concern at
the state Board of Fisheries for several years that the large
commercial herring harvest in Sitka Sound is interfering with meeting
subsistence needs in the area, where a traditional harvest of herring
roe on branches is practiced by residents. The state board has
responded by creating a fishery task force and requiring fish and game
to consult with a tribal liaison about openings, but has stopped short
of placing restrictions on the commercial fishery.
Effective September 25th, the federal government has taken over
jurisdiction of the submerged waters surrounding Mahknati
Island, near the Sitka airport. Now
that a portion of the sound is under federal jurisdiction, subsistence
users have turned to the federal process to address their concerns.
They are requesting that the federal jurisdiction be closed to
commercial fishing to provide a subsistence only zone.
The Southeast Regional Council has
also proposed modifying the customary and traditional use finding for
all fish in districts 12, 13, and 14 to include all residents of the
area. Currently, residents of Angoon, Sitka, and Hoonah have positive
customary and traditional use findings for specific locations within
the area for salmon, Dolly Varden, trout, smelt, and eulachon.
A proposal received during the last
regulatory cycle that would have extended the positive customary and
traditional use finding for district 14 to include residents of
Gustavus was tabled to allow a broader examination of traditional use
patterns for all residents of the Icy Strait/Cross Sound area after it
met with opposition from some Hoonah residents.
Under federal regulations,
subsistence fisheries are open to all rural residents of Alaska unless
a positive customary and traditional use finding has been made. Once
such a finding has been made, only those residents identified in the
finding may fish in that area.
Several proposals were also received to
modify steelhead regulations in the Sitka area, including setting a 36
inch minimum size for the Salmon Lake drainage, setting a 36 inch
minimum size, limiting gear to a rod and reel without bait, and
prohibiting snagging for all streams in the Sitka area, requiring
harvest reporting within 48 hours, and limiting permits to one per
household.
Federal subsistence fisheries for steelhead
in Southeast Alaska were created by the board in 2005, despite
concerns from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game about vulnerable
stock status on small streams. Similar proposals to restrict
the fishery near Petersburg and Juneau were rejected by the board
during the 2006 regulatory cycle. Federal permits and harvest
reporting are required to participate in the fishery. Reported harvest
for 2005 was 24 steelhead taken on Prince of Wales Island and 8 taken
elsewhere in Southeast.
Modifying the season and weekly opening
schedule for sockeye salmon near Klawock has also been proposed.
Prince William
Sound Area
In the Prince William Sound Area, it
has been proposed that fish wheels must be positioned at least 200
feet apart and that they must be stored above the high water mark.
Opening the lower Copper River to subsistence fishing for salmon with
a dip net or a rod and reel with bait has also been proposed.
Cook Inlet Area
The board will consider whether to
revise the customary and traditional use determination made in January
2006 for residents of Tuxedni Bay. The area to which the finding
applies is somewhat ambiguous and is more expansive than what was
originally proposed or recommended.
Proposals to allow subsistence fishing for
Dolly Varden, lake trout, and rainbow trout by gillnet and steelhead
by gillnet or rod and reel were deferred from the last proposal cycle
to allow the board to first make a positive customary and traditional
use finding for the area.
These proposals, along with a proposal to
allow Ninilchik residents to harvest fish using a wide variety of
methods are published in the proposal book. However, the board has
decided to extend the proposal deadline for the area; it is likely
that all fishery proposals for the area will be considered at a May
2007 board meeting.
Bristol Bay Area
For the Bristol Bay Area, proposals
will be considered that would allow the use of drift gillnets in the
Togiak River and expand allowable gear in Lake Clark and its
tributaries to include beach seines, spears, arrows, snagging, and
bare hands.
Yukon-Northern Area
The Eastern Interior Regional Advisory
Council has submitted four proposals for changes on the Yukon River to
address a possible decline in the size of Chinook salmon returning to
the river. Proposed changes include establishing mandatory fishing
schedules, restricting mesh size, and restricting the depth of
gillnets. Similar proposals were discussed at the 2006 Federal
Subsistence Board meeting in January. At that time, Regional Councils
from different parts of the river had conflicting recommendations. In
an attempt to build consensus, the board recommended a working group
be formed with the goal of developing proposals for both the Alaska
Board of Fisheries, which regulates commercial fishing on the river,
and the Federal Subsistence Board. The working group will begin
meeting this fall.
The board will defer review and
action
on these four proposals to
provide an opportunity for the working group to address this issue.
Depending on the results of the working group, the Federal Subsistence
Board could implement its recommendations as soon as the 2007 fishing
season. The board will act on these four proposals and any
others dealing with this issue either at that time or during
the following regulatory cycle.
Identical restrictions on commercial users
in the river have also been proposed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries,
which will consider changes to fisheries in the area at their January
2007 meeting in Anchorage.
No proposals were received for the Yakutat,
Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak, Norton Sound-Port Clarence, Kuskokwim, or
Chignik areas. To view the proposals, visit our
proposals page.
The proposals will be considered by the
Regional Advisory Council for the affected area at meetings this fall.
For the scheduled Regional Council meeting in your area, see
the calendar below. Regional Council recommendations and public
comments will be considered by the board at a January meeting, where
they will take action on the proposals. Changes will take effect April
1, 2007.
The board is accepting written comments on
the proposals until their meeting in January. Written comments can be
sent to: Federal Subsistence Board, 3601 C Street, Suite 1030,
Anchorage, Alaska 99503, e-mailed to
subsistence@fws.gov, or faxed
to (907) 786-3898 (Attn: Bill
Knauer).
Kodiak May Lose Rural Status -
Changes Also Proposed for Other Communities (09/19/06)
Under a proposed rule published by
the Federal Subsistence Board, residents of Kodiak would lose their
rural status along with their ability to participate in
federal subsistence hunts and fisheries.
Residents of the greater
Kodiak area are currently considered rural residents and therefore
are eligible to participate in the federal subsistence program.
Under the proposal, the City of Kodiak, the Mill Bay area, the Coast
Guard Station, Women's Bay and Bells Flats would be grouped and
would change from rural to non-rural. The combined area has
a population of around 12,000, well over the threshold of 7,000
residents at which federal regulations say an area is presumed to be
non-rural.
Places excluded from
this non-rural grouping are Chiniak, Pasagshak, Anton Larsen, Kalsin
Bay and Middle Bay, as well as communities on the Kodiak Archipelago
not connected by road to the Kodiak area. These places would remain
rural.
Some community residents
are upset by the possibility of a change in status, and are attempting
to convince the Federal Subsistence Board to preserve
Kodiak’s rural status. Board members have scheduled public hearings in
Kodiak September 20th and 21st to hear testimony on community concerns
and reasons why Kodiak should or should not remain rural.
Written comments
will be accepted until October
27, 2006 on the proposed rule,
which would also change the rural or non-rural status of several other
communities and areas. The board will make a decision on a final rule
in December 2006. Comments are sought on the following proposed
changes:
Adak
would change from non-rural to rural due to its remote location and a
94 percent drop in population since it was last evaluated.
Prudhoe Bay would change from
rural to non-rural. The board reached a preliminary conclusion that
the area is an industrial enclave that lacks many of the
characteristics typical of a rural community.
Point
MacKenzie would be grouped with
the non-rural Wasilla area and would change from rural to non-rural.
Staff analysis suggests that the area is economically and socially
integrated with Wasilla.
Fritz
Creek East (not including
Voznesenka) and the
North Fork Road
area would be grouped with the non-rural Homer area and would become
non-rural.
Ketchikan’s non-rural area
would be expanded to include all those living on the road system
connected to the City of Ketchikan (except Saxman), as well as
residents of Pennock Island and parts of Gravina Island. Saxman would
remain separate and rural.
The analysis used by the
board in developing the proposed rule can be found under the "Issues
in Depth" section of the Federal Subsistence Management
Program website at
http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html. Written comments on this
issue can be sent to subsistence@fws.gov, faxed to (907) 786-3898, or
mailed to: Theo Matuskowitz, Federal Subsistence Board, Office of
Subsistence Management, 3601 C St., Ste. 1030, Anchorage, AK 99503.
Federal Subsistence
Board members have scheduled public hearings in Kodiak (September
20-21), Ketchikan and Saxman (September 25-26), and Sitka (October 10)
to take public comment on the proposed changes. The board will also be
accepting recommendations on this issue from Federal Subsistence
Regional Advisory Councils, which will consider and accept testimony
on the changes during their fall meetings. The board will meet
December 12-13 at the Egan Center in Anchorage to hear public comment
and to draft a final rule. For
additional information, please contact Maureen Clark or Larry Buklis
with the Federal Office of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or
(907) 786-3888.
Court Upholds Rural
Subsistence Priority (09/19/06)
A federal appeals court has
dismissed a challenge to the federal subsistence program’s rural
preference, which restricts participation in subsistence hunts and
fisheries on federal public lands to rural residents of Alaska.
The lawsuit, filed by the Alaska
Constitutional Legal Defense Conservation Fund, charged that the
rura preference violates the equal protection clause by not
providing equal access to fish and game to urban residents.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that the
rural priority serves a legitimate government interest by protecting
the subsistence way of life for rural Alaskans.
The group of urban Alaskans and
non-resident hunters and fishermen plans to ask the U.S. Supreme
Court to hear the case.
Kenai Fishery Proposals Due
October 20th (09/19/06)
At the request of the Southcentral
Regional Advisory Council, the Federal Subsistence Board
has extended the deadline for proposed changes to federal
subsistence fishery regulations on the Kenai Peninsula until October
20th, 2006.
The board will consider
proposals to change fishing regulations on the Kenai Peninsula,
including seasons, harvest limits, harvest methods, and customary
and traditional use determinations when it meets in May 2007. At
the same time, the board will consider proposed changes to federal
subsistence hunting and trapping regulations statewide.
To request a proposal
form or for more information contact Bill Knauer at the Office of
Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456 or (907) 786-3873 or by
e-mail, bill_knauer@fws.gov.
The proposal form can also be found on the Federal Subsistence
Management Program’s website,
http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html.
Written C&T and Closure
Criteria Still Pending (09/19/06)
Written policies on customary and
traditional use determinations and closures to non-subsistence uses
are still in the process of being developed, and are not yet ready
for adoption by the Federal Subsistence Board.
The policies are the
result of a working group of federal and state managers. The
Secretary of Interior requested the board develop and adopt written
policies on the two topics after the State of Alaska expressed
some specific concerns about the federal subsistence program.
Specifically, the State objected to the manner in which the Federal
Subsistence Board makes customary and traditional use
determinations, criticizing the lack of clear and consistent
criteria and saying that determinations are often made without
substantial supporting evidence.
One of the most recent
customary and traditional use determinations made by the board has
drawn criticism from the state. The State has requested that the
federal board reconsider a January decision making a positive
customary and traditional use finding for residents of Ninilchik,
Hope, and Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula, calling it
arbitrary, capricious, and a violation of the law.
The written policy on
customary and traditional use determinations is still in the
development phase and is not yet available for review.
The State of Alaska also
expressed concern that when closing areas to non-subsistence uses and
users, substantial evidence should exist that the closure is necessary
and any closures should be reviewed on a regular basis. After
reviewing a draft closure policy prepared by federal staff, the
state continued to have concerns. According to comments submitted by
Commissioner of Fish and Game McKie Campbell, the policy does not
contain specific written policies and procedures that outline how the
board will make closure decisions and therefore falls short of the
goal of developing the policy.
Copies of the draft
closure policy are available and can be obtained by calling the Office
of Subsistence Management at (800) 478-1456. The Federal Subsistence
Board considered the policy at a worksession August 25th, but decided
against adopting the policy to allow more time for edits and
revisions.
At this time, it
is uncertain whether the closure policy will be reviewed by Regional
Councils again prior to adoption, or when it might be reconsidered by
the Federal Subsistence Board. The board will consider at least
one proposed closure to non-subsistence uses when they meet in
January, a closure to commercial herring fishing in federal waters in
the Sitka Sound area.
Board Denies Kasilof
Coho Fishery (09/19/06)
The Federal Subsistence Board has
denied a special action request that would have created
a subsistence coho fishery on the Kasilof River this fall. The
fishery would have allowed residents of Ninilchik to use dipnets to
harvest up to 500 coho salmon on a seven mile stretch of the Kasilof
River upstream of Silver Salmon rapids. Following the board’s
decision, the Ninilchik Traditional Council filed a lawsuit
in U.S District Court, asking that the fishery be allowed to take
place.
The board considered the request at
a worksession September 5th, where a motion to approve the new
fishery failed after the board deadlocked on a 3-3 vote. The
request was authored by the Ninilchik Traditional Council and gained
support from the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council at a Council
meeting in August. However, the proposal met with opposition from
the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and other stakeholders, who
questioned the public process leading up to the board’s worksession.
Although members of the board called the
proposal reasonable, some questioned whether or not extenuating
circumstances existed. The board must find that extenuating
circumstances exist to adopt a proposal outside the normal
regulatory cycle. Although the Board’s legal counsel advised that
they would be justified in making such a finding, the State of
Alaska disagreed. “There certainly isn’t any crisis or lack of
opportunity to take fish,” said Deputy Commissioner Wayne Regelin.
The Ninilchik
Traditional Council also requested that the board take another special
action to allow a winter gillnet fishery on Tustumena Lake. That
request will be considered by the Southcentral Regional Advisory
Council at their October 17-20 worksession in Homer. After
receiving the Council's recommendation, the board will schedule
another worksession to take action on the second request.
Currently, federal
subsistence fisheries on the Kenai Peninsula follow identical
regulations as state sport fisheries. In January, the board made a
positive customary and traditional use finding for the residents of
Ninilchik, Hope, and Cooper Landing. Identifying eligible rural
residents is the first step toward developing subsistence fisheries in
the area.
At the January 2006
meeting, the board requested that the Southcentral Regional Advisory
Council form a working group of stakeholders in the area to
develop subsistence fishery regulations. Consideration of new
fisheries was deferred pending results from the working group.
However, the Southcentral Council decided against forming a
stakeholder group.
Instead, the board
proposed forming an eleventh Regional Advisory Council for the Kenai
Peninsula. The Southcentral Regional Council objected to the idea, and
