Monday, December 18, 2006

Anchorage Area Bear Baiting Clinics Scheduled

From ADFG Staff

Black bear baiting clinics available in Anchorage are as follows:
Feb. 7th 6:30-9pm Rabbit Creek Shooting Park
Feb. 28th 6:30-9pm Rabbit Creek Shooting Park
March 17th 9am-noon Capt. Cook Hotel
March 19th 6:30-9pm Rabbit Creek Shooting Park
April 11th 6:30-9pm Rabbit Creek Shooting Park

All classes are free and once you've been certified it's good for life. Call 267-2344 or 267-2137 to register. For info on Palmer and Valley classes call ADF&G in Palmer at 746-6321.
Classes fill up fast, so be sure to register early.

Becoming an Outdoors Woman - Late March

From an ADFG News Release

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will host a “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman" workshop on March 24, 25 and 26, 2006, at Victory Bible Camp near Palmer.

“Becoming an Outdoors-Woman” is an international program designed to introduce people to hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. Over 40 hands-on sessions are scheduled, including firearm safety, bear safety, bow hunting, trapping, field dressing of fish and game, ice fishing, salmon fishing, fly tying, dog mushing, snow machining, chain saw safety, canning and smoking, and winter camping. All sessions are taught at the beginner level and no prior experience is necessary.

The fee is $200 for applications postmarked by February 10, and $225 after February 10, check or money order only. The fee includes meals and lodging as well as instruction, program materials, and use of demonstration equipment.

Registration is required. Registration forms and more information are posted on the ADFG website, or can be obtained by contacting Tracy Smith in Anchorage at 267-2896 or Kirk Lingofelt in Anchorage at 267-2534, or Patti Berkhahn in Soldotna at 260-2943.

Mail registrations to ADF&G, attention Tracy Smith, Division of Sport Fish, 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, Alaska, 99518. Registrations cannot be accepted over the phone or by fax.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Kodiak to Keep Federal Rural Subsistence

The Federal Subsistence Board ruled yesterday that Kodiak will keep its rural designation. This allows Kodiak residents the right to continue hunting and fishing with a subsistence priority on federal public lands. A huge portion of the Kodiak archipelago is federal.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported on the story:

In a unanimous decision, the Federal Subsistence Board ruled this morning that Kodiak city and the surrounding road system will maintain rural status for subsistence hunting and fishing purposes.

The decision means the subsistence rights of the roughly 13,000 people who live on the road system will be protected by the federal government.

The subsistence board met over two days, Tuesday and today, at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage.

“Every board member spoke (during deliberations this morning) and they all concluded that Kodiak should remain rural,” board spokeswoman Maureen Clark said.

Gary Edwards, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative on the board, said during deliberations that Kodiak, given its economy, might be more rural today than it was 15 years ago when the board made its initial determination.


Read the entire article >>>

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Remainder of 40-Mile Winter Caribou Hunt Closes Dec 14

The last remaining open portion of winter caribou hunt RC867 closes at the end of the day on December 14, 2006, according to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game Emergency Order.

From the EO: "In March 2006, the Alaska Board of Game endorsed the Fortymile Caribou Herd Harvest Plan (harvest plan) as a means of guiding harvest of the herd from 2006 through 2012. The annual harvest quota is allocated seasonally: 75% to the fall hunt and 25%, plus any surplus from the fall quota, to the winter hunt. This winter’s quota is 372 caribou. The harvest plan also calls for a cow harvest of no more than 25%, or 164 cows. Caribou have been consistently available to hunters in areas accessible from the Taylor and Steese Highways since the beginning of the season on December 1, 2006. The winter harvest is now at 332 caribou and is expected to approach allowed quota. In addition, 170 cows have been taken and no further harvest is warranted."

Read the entire Emergency Order >>>

Tough Autumn for SE Alaska Deer

A recent story by an ADFG writer in the Juneau Empire details the tough winter being faced by SE Alaska deer. From the article:

Neil Barten, the Fish and Game area biologist for much of northern Southeast Alaska, noted that our region has experienced a series of fairly mild winters during the past five to 10 years.

Those favorable conditions have led to high deer densities, and many people came to expect that these high densities could persist indefinitely.

"Deer populations are subject to limiting factors in their environment, and here in Southeast Alaska, winter severity is the greatest limiting factor in deer survival," Barten said.

"During heavy snow winters such as this one, the carrying capacity of their habitat is only a fraction of that of a mild winter."


Read the entire story >>> (registration required)

Friday, December 08, 2006

Steese / CHS Road Closed for Winter 40Mile Caribou Hunt

The State of Alaska has closed the winter hunting season effective December 9, 2006 for the Fortymile Caribou Herd hunt RC867 in areas accessible from the Steese Highway and Chena Hot Springs Road and in the roadless areas of GMUs 20D and 20E. The winter Fortymile caribou hunt encompasses Unit 20E and portions of Units 20B, 20D, and 25C. An earlier emergency order closed the southern portion of Unit 20E on December 1. The remainder of the RC867 hunt area in northern Unit 20E is not affected by this emergency order.

According to the Emergency Order, the Alaska Board of Game endorsed the Fortymile Caribou Herd Harvest Plan (Harvest Plan) as a means of guiding harvest of the herd from 2006 through 2012. The annual harvest quota is allocated seasonally: 75% to the fall hunt and 25%, plus any surplus from the fall quota, to the winter hunt. This winter’s quota is 372 caribou. Each year the winter quota is divided between the 2 road accessible portions of the hunt area, the Steese Highway–Chena Hot Springs area and the Taylor Highway area. The quota of 223 caribou for the Steese Highway–Chena Hot Springs and roadless area is expected to be met on December 9, 2006, and no further harvest is warranted in these units. The hunt was closed in the southern portion of Unit 20E on December 1 to prevent overharvest of Nelchina caribou that moved into that area. The RC867 caribou season is scheduled to remain open in northeastern Unit 20E until February 28, 2007, but will be closed sooner if the remaining harvest quota is reached.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Federal Subsistence Board to Consider Proposed Changes to Rural/Nonrural Status Dec. 12-13

From a USFS News Release:

The Federal Subsistence Board will hold a public meeting Dec. 12-13 at the Egan Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage to consider a proposed rule that would change the rural/nonrural status of several Alaska communities and areas. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. The public is welcome to attend. There will be an opportunity for public comment during the meeting.

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act requires that rural Alaskans be given a priority for subsistence uses of fish and wildlife on Federal public lands. Only residents of rural communities and areas are eligible for this subsistence priority. The Board initially determined which Alaska communities were rural when the Federal Subsistence Management Program began in 1990. Federal subsistence regulations require that rural/nonrural status be reviewed every 10 years, beginning with the availability of the 2000 census data. An initial staff review, completed in July 2005, recommended that the rural/nonrural status of most Alaska communities should remain unchanged for the proposed rule. However, under the proposed rule:

The Ketchikan Area is proposed to be expanded to include all areas on the road system connected to the City of Ketchikan (except Saxman, population 405 in 2005), as well as Pennock Island and an expanded portion of Gravina Island. No change is proposed in the nonrural status of the Ketchikan Area. Saxman would remain separate and rural. The population of the Ketchikan Area so identified, excluding Saxman, was an estimated 12,720 people in 2005, and the proposed rule notes that community characteristics indicate nonrural status.

Adak is proposed for change in status from nonrural to rural. Adak, a remote community in the Aleutian Islands, has undergone a substantial decrease in population (from more than 4,600 people in 1990 to less than 200 in 2005) which warrants a change in status.

Prudhoe Bay is proposed for change in status from rural to nonrural. Prudhoe Bay is an industrial enclave built for the sole purpose of extracting oil, currently with no permanent residents and none of the characteristics typical of a rural community.

Point MacKenzie is proposed to be grouped with the nonrural Wasilla/Palmer Area, and to thereby change in status from rural to nonrural. Available information indicates that Point MacKenzie is economically, socially and communally integrated with the Wasilla/Palmer Area.

Fritz Creek East (not including Voznesenka) and the North Fork Road area are proposed to be grouped with the nonrural Homer Area, and to thereby change in status from rural to nonrural. Available information indicates that these areas are economically, socially and communally integrated with the Homer Area.

Sterling is proposed to be fully included in the nonrural Kenai Area. Sterling has been part of the nonrural Kenai Area since 1990. However, for the 2000 census the Sterling census designated place was expanded, such that a significant portion now extends beyond the current boundary of the Kenai Area. This expanded portion would change in status from rural to nonrural with inclusion as proposed.

The Kodiak Area, including the City of Kodiak, the Mill Bay area, the Coast Guard Station, Women's Bay and Bells Flats, is proposed for change in status from rural to nonrural. Available information indicates that these places are economically, socially and communally integrated to an extent that warrants grouping. The population of this area is approximately 12,000 people, and the proposed rule notes that community characteristics indicate nonrural status. (Places excluded from the grouping, which would thereby remain rural in status, are Chiniak, Pasagshak, Anton Larsen, Kalsin Bay and Middle Bay, and villages and communities on the Kodiak Archipelago not connected by road to the City of Kodiak.)

Meeting materials, including the agenda, the proposed rule, the analysis used by the Board to develop the proposed rule, and the summary of Council recommendations and public comments can be found under the Federal Subsistence Board "Meeting Materials" section of the Federal Subsistence Management Program website at http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html.

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.

Tongass & Chugach Forest Based Guides May Face Higher Fees

The US Forest Service is proposing to collect significantly higher fees from guides who bring hunters (and tourists) to the Chugach and Tongass National Forests in Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Big game guides' fees would more than double under the proposal, which would take effect in 2008.

Read the entire story in the Anchorage Daily News >>>