Caribou and Sheep and Bears, Oh My: WRST Subsistence Resource Commission Fall Meeting
Bull caribou. Photo courtesy of by frostnip907 and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
By Amanda Swinehart
The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Subsistence Resource Commission held its regular fall meeting on October 5 and 6.
According to the National Park Service, “The Subsistence Resource Commission (SRC) provides a venue for local subsistence users to have input into the management of subsistence resources in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (WRST).”
Its purpose is to “recommend to the Governor of Alaska and the Secretary of the Interior a program for subsistence hunting within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Since the establishment of the federal subsistence management program in 1990, the SRC has also been making recommendations on proposals for hunting and fishing regulations (e.g., harvest limits, seasons, and customary and traditional use determinations) affecting Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve directly to the federal subsistence Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) and the Federal Subsistence Board.” Receiving input from the public is also part of the SRC’s mandate.
At the start of the two-day meeting, commission members were given a chance to share personal observations and community concerns regarding subsistence resources or uses.
Gloria Stickwan of Tazlina voiced concern about the low sockeye and king salmon runs on the Copper River.
House Representative Mike Cronk, who is also a member of the SRC, made a motion later in the meeting to write a letter to the Governor of Alaska addressing the importance the Copper River’s salmon runs have to food security in the state and the need to protect them. He cited the recent collapse of salmon runs on the lower Yukon River as a reason why action needed to be taken. The motion was approved.
There was also discussion about the requirements for harvesting grizzly bears. Sue Entsminger of Mentasta said she thought there was an increase of grizzly bear activity in the park and wondered if subsistence requirements for harvesting them - which include salvaging the meat and having the head and hide sealed by the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game - were discouraging people from shooting them.
Several commission members agreed, and the commission resolved to submit a proposal to change salvage regulations.
More than half a dozen federal wildlife proposals were discussed and voted on by the SRC. All approved proposals will be considered by the Federal Subsistence Board in April of 2022.
Three of those proposals were in relation to the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission (AITRC) Community Harvest System (CHS). The system has been in development since 2017 and was adopted by the Federal Subsistence Board at the beginning of 2021. It concerns moose and caribou in units 12 and 13, and moose in unit 11.
According to AITRC’s website, “This system allows AITRC to manage the community harvest system by registering federally qualified rural residents of the eight Ahtna tribal communities, where individual federal bag limits can be pooled for the benefit of participants.”
The eight Ahtna tribal communities are Cantwell, Chistochina, Chitina, Copper Center, Gulkana, Mentasta, and Tazlina.
The first two proposals were described as “regulatory fixes'' by the meeting’s moderator, Barbara Cellarius, subsistence coordinator for WRST. Wildlife Proposal 22-01 (WP22-01) would help clarify “who is/is not a participant in a community harvest program and effects on harvest limits.”
According to the proposal’s analysis, “While developing the framework for the unit 11, 12 and 13, community harvest system, it was pointed out that the current federal regulations stipulate that animals harvested under a community harvest limit count towards the harvest limits of everyone in the community whether or not they choose to participate in the community harvest system.”
Cellarius said the proposal would change the language so that individuals who are eligible to participate in a community harvest but choose not to wouldn’t have their individual harvest limit affected. The issue was previously addressed on a temporary basis, and this proposal would be a permanent statewide fix.
The second proposal, WP22-02, would “rescind restrictions for designated hunters in areas with community harvest systems.”
“If adopted, the federal regulation would no longer prevent members of communities with community harvest systems from designating another person to take wildlife on their behalf either to fulfill their individual harvest limits or to count towards a community harvest limit,” Cellarius said.
A few members were concerned the proposal would unintentionally allow for overharvesting. After discussion of the issue, the language of the proposal was modified to stipulate that only community members who choose not to participate in the CHS could use a designated hunter. Since individuals who take part in a CHS can have other participants in the program hunt for them, they would not be eligible to use designated hunters.
A third proposal related to the CHS, WP22-36, would establish a community moose and caribou hunt in the part of unit 12 that falls within the Ahtna Traditional Use Territory and “modify community hunts in units 11 and 13.” Cellarius said it is meant to make existing temporary regulations permanent while clarifying community boundaries, what the quota is, and how harvest reporting will take place.
All three proposals were approved by the SRC.
WP22-33 was proposed by Kaleb Rowland of McCarthy at the SRC’s spring meeting. It would eliminate sealing requirements for black bears in units 11 and 12.
The proposal stated that harvest ticket reports provide sufficient information to monitor black bear populations with. Noted justifications include the additional salvage needed to meet the sealing requirements and the burden placed on hunters living remotely who must drive long distances to a Dept. of Fish & Game office to have the bears sealed.
It was approved by the commission.
WP22-34 sought to modify sheep salvage requirements in units 11 and 12 by requiring hunters to leave edible front and hind quarter meat, as well as rib meat, on the bone until it is removed from the field or processed for human consumption.
The proposal analysis said that while it would burden sheep hunters, it may result in better harvest practices and less waste. It led to a discussion about the difference in harvest practices between subsistence and sport hunters.
While there wasn’t evidence presented to support the theory that sport hunters were responsible for most of the waste, Brad Honerlaw, chief ranger for the park, said that he has noticed an uptick in related citations primarily among sport hunters.
Public comments submitted for the proposal said citations were a more effective way to encourage better harvest practices and that the regulation would punish hunters who already do. Other comments argued that the added work of carrying the extra weight out, which often involves miles of hiking over difficult terrain, could unintentionally lead to meat spoilage by requiring hunters to make several trips.
The commission voted unanimously to reject the proposal.
There was also a lengthy discussion about WP22-35, a proposal to establish a Nelchina caribou season in unit 11. The proposal’s analysis and several attendees expressed concern about the impact the season would have on the Mentasta caribou herd, which intermingles with and is visibly indistinguishable from the Nelchina herd.
The hunt’s eligible area would include rural residents north of the Sanford River in unit 11, 12, 13a-d, Chickaloon, Healy Lake and Dot Lake, and residents south of the Sanford River in unit 11, 13a-d and Chickaloon.
Jim Simon, a consultant with the AITRC, said subsistence user prioritization may help ensure the maintenance of the Mentasta herd. If the hunt is established and it’s determined there isn’t enough caribou to meet the needs of subsistence users in the defined area, an analysis would be conducted under section 804 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to decide which communities are most dependent on the resource.
A modification to the proposal would also help address overharvesting concerns by delegating the management of the hunting season to the park superintendent, who would set season dates and harvest limits each year based on the herds’ movements.
The proposal was approved by the commission with an additional recommendation that a working group that includes tribal involvement be established to monitor the Mentasta caribou herd.
In addition to wildlife proposals, the SRC also discussed a handful of proposals for the Alaska Board of Game which will be covered in an upcoming issue of the CRR.
Applications for candidates to fill a vacant seat on the SRC are currently being accepted. For information on how to apply, contact Barbara Cellarius, (907) 822-7236 or barbara_cellarius@nps.gov.
Read our coverage of the SRC’s 2021 spring meeting here.
