Moose Management Workshop in Fairbanks Jan 13

From an ADFG News Release:

The Fairbanks Fish & Game Advisory Committee and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are jointly hosting a moose management workshop on January 13 from 9 to 3 at the Binkley Room at Pike's Waterfront Lodge.

Biologists and other ADFG staff will be presenting current information about moose habitat, intensive management, fire ecology, movements, counting procedures, and management strategies for GMUs 20A and 20B.

All are welcome to attend; there is no charge. People with questions about the event can call Mike Kramer at 458-7968 or Rita St. Louis at 459-7263.

Game Board Meets in Bethel November 9-12

The Alaska Board of Game is meeting November 9-12, 2007 at the Yup’iit Piciryarait Cultural Center in Bethel. The Board will be looking at more than 50 proposals dealing with hunting and trapping regulations in the Arctic and Western regions of the Alaska.

The deadline for written comments on the regulation proposals was October 26. Oral testimony will be taken beginning Friday, November 9.

See the ADF&G press release for complete details.

Winter Draw Hunt Application Period Nov 1 - Dec 6

The Alaska winter drawing hunt period is November 1 - December 6. The drawing permit hunt supplement is now available on the ADF&G website, and should be available from license vendors in late October.

Deer Closure in SE Alaska Not Planned, But Heavy Snows Could Change Plans

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game in a recent news release said that it has no plans no to close the deer hunting season in SE Alaska Game Management Units 1 and 4, as some have asked. Deer numbers are down from the heavy snows of the winter of 2006/2007, but the hunt has not been changed.

The news release pointed out that early and heavy snowfalls in October and November could force a re-evaluation of the hunting regulations. If that is the case, the state will make hunters aware through the news media.

Mountain Goat Registration Permit Hunts Close Near Anchorage

Mountain goat registration permit hunts RG868 and RG878 in the Twentymile drainage of GMU14(C) closed October 18 by emergency order.

The 6 "goat units" harvest objective has been reached with a harvest of 6 billies.

Read the ADFG emergency order >>>

Canada Goose Hunting Closed on Portion of Kodiak

An ADF&G emergency order has closed the NE portion of Kodiak Island in GMU 8 (the Kodiak archipelago) to hunting for Canada geese.

The Cananda goose population translocated there in 1987 has grown enough for a limited hunt, but the EO says that additional harvest at this point could result in reduced future hunting opportunity.

Read the entire ADFG emergency order >>>

Afognak Registration Elk Hunt to Partially Open 23 October

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has announced that elk hunting will open on most of Kodiak Island on October 23, 2007 for hunters who have registration permits. In addition to Afognak, Kodiak, Shuyak and Ban islands are included in the opening. The SE portion of Afognak will be closed.

Raspberry Island elk hunting is drawing permit only.

Read the entire ADFG news release >>>

Goat Hunting Partially Closed Near Haines

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed mountain goat hunting in a portion of GMU 1D near the city of Haines effective October 16, 2007.

The area closed is a portion of the Takshanuk Mountains from the NW saddle between Mt. Tukgahgo to the city of Haines.

The harvest objective has been reached, the emergency order indicated.

Read the ADFG Emergency Order >>>

ADFG Weighs In on Katmai Bear Hunts Question

The Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation has produced online information about the brown bear hunts in Katmai National Preserve as a result of substantial attention to this in the media in recent weeks.

The ADFG information points out that bear populations in the area are carefully monitored and are healthy. The agency says a conservative harvest strategy in the area has resulted in high numbers of bears that area used by both viewers and hunters.

The agency information page also discussed fair chase and whether these human habituated bears have been taken in an ethical manner.

Unakwik Inlet Goat Hunt in GMU 6D Now Closed

Cordova area mountain goat registration hunt RG252 closed at the end of the day October 16, according to a news release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The area affected includes only a portion of GMU 6D west of Columbia Glacier and east of Unakwik Inlet.

The allowable harvest in the area was set at 13 goats. At the time of the closure announcement, the harvest was at 11 goats, including 1 nanny. Nannies count as 2 goats.

Read the entire ADFG News Release >>>

Nelchina WinterTier II Caribou Hunt Nixed

The winter Tier II hunt for Nelchina caribou has been closed according to a report published by the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

The paper reported ADFG staff in Glennallen had decided to close the hunt at the end of the fall season because approximately 1,000 caribou had been harvested, and the herd was still somewhat below the population objective.

Read the entire article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner >>>

Valdez Goat Hunt RG249 Closed 13 October

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that Valdez Area mountain goat registration permit hunt RG249 closed at the end of the day on October 13.

The harvest quota has been met according to ADFG staff.

Read the ADFG News Release here >>>

Mt. Goat Hunt RG868 Closed

Mountain goat hunting in the Twentymile area (registration hunt RG868) closed on October 12, 2007. ADFG staff reported that 6 "mountain goat units" had been taken; in this case 6 billies.

Read the news release from ADFG >>>

Channel 2 Says It Is Not Guilty In Hunter Harassment Charge

Anchorage Channel 2 TV has responded with a "not guilty" to charges that it interfered with a lawful hunt in the Katmai Preserve. Charges of hunter harassment have been filed with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers against a Channel 2 news team as a result of a filmed news story of a bear hunt now being shown on YouTube.

Channel 2 News says it "took no editorial stance in its coverage and presented opinions from the hunting guide, Alaska Fish and Game, the National Park Service, and a group of people opposed to the hunt, whom we accompanied to the Preserve."

The organization also responded to the criticism that accompanying those who opposed the hunt was an editorial decision in itself, by writing "we have never been provided the opportunity to witness such a hunting trip with a guide, and once in the area, we provided every opportunity for the hunters and their guides to explain their perspective."

Channel 2 also said that the hunters involved were very aggressive, threatening, armed and intimidating to their crew.

Board Maintains Nelchina Subsistence Hunt

The Alaska Joint Board of Fisheries and Game has derailed a Mat-Su Advisory Committee proposal that would have created a GMU 13 non-subsistence area, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The proposal, if enacted into regulation would have allowed all Alaska hunters to have equal access to the caribou in a substantial portion of the Nelchina basin.

The paper reported that the proposal was the subject of great concern in rural communities.

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

SE Alaska Deer Hunt Underway Despite Reduced Deer Numbers

Cold weather and deep snow took a serious toll on SE Alaska deer during the 2006/2007 winter, but the deer season is proceeding, but Alaska Wildlife News says state biologists are keeping a wary eye on the population.

The effect on deer was not as severe in southern SE Alaska, a companion article reported.

Board to Tackle Nelchina NonSubsistence Area Proposal

The Alaska Board of Game will consider today eliminating or sending forward a proposal by the Mat-Su Fish & Game Advisory Committee. The proposal will not be decided today, but the Board can decide to keep it or eliminate it from consideration at a 2008 meeting.

The proposal would designate a substantial portion of the Nelchina Basin as a non-subsistence area, which would allow all Alaskans an equal opportunity to participate in hunting caribou in the desirable area.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that "The proposal has many Alaska Natives and residents of a few Copper River basin communities in an uproar over their subsistence privileges."

Read the entire article in the Anchorage Daily News. >>>

Katmai Area Bear Hunt Youtubed

In a front page story, the Anchorage Daily News reports a legal bear hunt in Katmai National Park Preserve has been filmed by a Homer videographer and then uploaded to the popular video website YouTube. The paper predicts the apparent ease of taking the bear in an area where substantial bear watching occurs will again inflame anti hunting sentiments.

The video is being discussed in the Katmai Grizz thread on the Alaska Hunting Forum.

California Congressman Wants Aerial Shooting Ban

Congressman George Miller (D-Calif) wants to halt the use of aircraft in the taking of wolves and other wildlife by blocking an exemption in existing federal legislation that allows states to use aircraft to take wildlife in the administration of wildlife.

Miller's legislation, the "Protect America's Wildlife Act" or PAW act was introduced by Miller along with Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the dean of the House and floor manager of the debate on the original Airborne Hunting Act, and Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA), the chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.

The legislation's sponsors did not suggest alternate methods for managing predator populations, even in situations where depressed game populations could hurt subsistence harvests.

AOC Backs Nonsubsistence Area Extension, Advisory Committee Participation

The Alaska Outdoor Council is highlighting two issues that will come before the state's Joint Boards of Fisheries and Game on October 5. One would make much of GMU 13 non subsistence.

From an AOC email alert from Rod Arno:

Connect the Anchorage-Matsu-Kenai Nonsubsistence Area with the Fairbanks Nonsubsistence Area

In 1992 the Alaska Legislature passed the state subsistence law which gives the Joint Board of Fisheries and Game the authority to create Nonsubsistence Areas. A Nonsubsistence Area is an area or community where subsistence is not the principal characteristic of the economy, culture, and way of life.

New data gathered in the 2000 U.S. Census and by ADF&G Subsistence Division illustrates significant socio-economic and cultural change in the Nelchina Basin area of GMU 13.

The Mat-Valley F&G Advisory Committee has submitted Proposal #38 (proposal text, proposal map, PDF) in an effort to update the characteristics determining the Nonsubsistence designation in GMU 13.

Over 60% of Tier II applicants each year apply for Nelchina caribou. Competition for these permits has resulted in the Board of Game deliberating on scores of proposals over the years in addition to numerous court challenges. Tier II scoring for Nelchina caribou subsistence permits has become the single most contentious issue before the Board of Game.

The AOC believes that it is timely and appropriate for the Joint Board to review the criteria they have relied on to make their determination of non-subsistence in GMU 13 as proposed by the Mat Valley AC in Proposal 38.

Advisory Committee Participation During Board deliberations

Fish & Game Advisory Committee participation is embodied in state law. Fish & Game Advisory Committee members are elected from their communities to represent the views of area residents before the boards.

Boards often amend proposals, sometimes significantly. In the board process as currently constructed, public testimony – including input from the AC’s – is given before the board’s deliberations. As a result, local residents’ voice is never heard on the final version of the proposal – the one the Board actually votes on.

The AOC supports Proposal #34, submitted by the Fairbanks F&G Advisory Committee, to allow the chairman of the local AC to address the Board on an amended proposal, and urge public support for this initiative. Without public support I wouldn’t imagine the Joint Boards will give this concept much consideration.

All proposals can be seen on the ADFG/Boards website. Written comments are due 21 September. The Joint Boards meeting begins 5 October in Anchorage.