Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the January and March 2021 Board of Game meetings have been postponed until 2022. On March 18th the Alaska Board of Game held a Special Meeting via web conference and took the following actions:
Reauthorized all proposed antlerless moose hunts except for those in Units 1C, 5A, and 6C;
Reauthorized all proposed brown bear tag fee exemptions;
Established 7-day reporting and 15-day sealing requirements for wolves killed in Unit 2 (Prince of Wales Island);
Aligned seasons and bag limits for moose in Unit 15B on the Kenai Peninsula
Unfortunately agreed to submit written support to the legislature for Senate Bill 22, which repeals the termination date for the intensive management hunting license surcharge.
Assigned a subcommittee to develop a plan for holding regulatory meetings via webconference if the COVID pandemic continues to impact the board’s ability to meet in person.
Re-opened the Call for Proposals for the Central/Southwest Region scheduled for January 2022, and the Statewide Regulations meeting scheduled for March 2022, with a proposal deadline of Friday, May 28, 2021.
See the full summary of hunting and trapping regulatory changes made at the special meeting here.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s advocacy at the Board of Game
At this special meeting, AWA submitted comments in regards to Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Proposal 194.
Note: Proposal 194 was accepted by the Board of Game as an Agenda Change Request for consideration at the Central/Southwest Region meeting originally scheduled for January 2021. Because the board meeting was postponed to January 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board scheduled action on this proposal at a special meeting on March 18, 2021.
PROPOSAL 194 5 AAC 92.170. Sealing of marten, fisher, lynx, beaver, otter, wolf, and wolverine.
Establish a requirement for all wolves taken in Unit 2 to be sealed within 7 days of harvest as follows:
Wolves taken during either the hunting season or during the trapping season must be sealed within 7 days of take.
What is the issue you would like the board to address and why? In 2019 the Department of Fish and Game (department) proposed the board eliminate the 14-day sealing requirement for wolves harvested in Unit 2, resulting in the sealing requirements for Unit 2 wolves to revert to within 30 days of harvest under a hunting license and within 30 days of the close of the season under a trapping license. Since that change the department has determined the short sealing period had enabled the department to estimate the number of wolves more accurately in Unit 2. Accurate population estimates are key to setting annual season length and maintaining the population within the objective range for this contentious population. The population objective for wolves in Unit 2 is 150-200 wolves.
PROPOSED BY: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (HQ-F20-ACR5)
Click the link to read our comments on Proposal 194, or see below. Note, you may need to refresh your browser to see the attachment.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance is currently suing the State of Alaska for their mismanagement of wolves in this region. Click here to read more about our lawsuit and the context of Alexander Archipelago wolf management on Prince of Wales Island.
Alexander Archipelago wolf on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The Board deliberated at length on the proposal, ultimately amending the proposal so that all wolves killed in Unit 2 must be sequentially numbered/marked by the hunter or trapper, and hunters and trappers must call the department within 7 days of killing a wolf to report the date and location of the kill, and all wolf hides must be sealed within 15 days of being killed.
Our case against the State is moving its way through the court. Stay updated on any announcements regarding this litigation by joining our newsletter (sign-up at the bottom of this page) or following us on social media.
Call for Proposals
The Board also agreed to re-open the Call for Proposals for the Central/Southwest Region scheduled for January 2022, and the Statewide Regulations meeting scheduled for March 2022, with a proposal deadline of Friday, May 28, 2021.
Central/Southwest Region Meeting, postponed to January 9, 2022
Topics include proposed changes for hunting and trapping regulations for the Central/Southwest Region (Game Management Units 9, 10, 11, 13, 14A, 14B, 16, and 17) and proposals addressing the Mulchatna caribou herd for the entire range, including Units 9A, 9B, 17, 18, the portion of 19A south of the Kuskokwim River, and 19B.
Statewide Regulations Meeting, postponed until February 18, 2022
Topics include proposed changes to specific regulations having statewide applicability, Brown Bear Tag Fee Exemptions, Reauthorization of Antlerless Moose Hunts, proposals for amending 5 AAC 85.050(a)(3) to open a musk ox hunt in a portion of Unit 26A, and proposals to amend portions of 5 AAC 85.025(a)(15) and (20) for the targeted hunt for Fortymile caribou in Units 20 and 25C will also be accepted.
Note: Proposals previously published for the Central/Southwest Region and Statewide Regulations meetings, and those approved as agenda change requests, will be retained and scheduled for board action at the 2022 meetings. Submitters of previously published proposals may modify and update their proposals by submitting new proposals and providing a written explanation in the justification statement.
Proposal Deadline: May 28, 2021.
For more information about the March 18, 2021 board meeting including the proposals, public and advisory committee comments, actions taken, and the audio recording, please visit the meeting website or contact Kristy Tibbles via email at kristy.tibbles@alaska.gov.
