ACTION ALERT: DEFEND THE FEDERAL SUBSISTENCE BOARD
The Federal Subsistence Board is the decision-making body that manages subsistence use on Federal public lands and waters in Alaska. It is made up of the regional directors of federal agencies, as well as six public members who represent subsistence users.
Recently, Safari Club International (SCI), a large outside sport-hunting group, has petitioned the federal government to change how subsistence fishing and hunting are managed on federal lands in Alaska. If accepted, the petition would, among other changes:
Remove public and tribally nominated seats from the Federal Subsistence Board (FSB).
Force the FSB to defer to the State of Alaska, which cannot legally provide a rural subsistence priority and would transfer decisions to the Alaska Board of Game, which is appointed by the Governor and has no designated seats for biologists or rural Alaskans. This is the same Board that has twice authorized unlawful aerial bear gunning in Mulchatna, authorized aerial bear gunning outside Denali National Park, and was just found to have illegally reauthorized wolf control on the Kenai Peninsula.
What Safari Club proposes would require the federal government to give deference to the state on wildlife conservation matters. The Alaska Federation of Natives and other Native groups believe that the federal government has done a better job than the state in balancing ANILCA’s rural subsistence priority with conservation. AWA has strong concerns about the current Board of Game appointment process, and favors decision-making boards that have designated science and rural seats. Thus, AWA supports the current Federal Subsistence Board system, as it ensures diverse seats and strikes a balance between state and federal management.
How You Can Help
Submit a comment by February 13th at 8:00 pm.
If you need guidance writing your public comment, Sitka Conservation Society has put together a form that will help write a comment pertinent to your concerns.
Attend the Open House
If you are in the Anchorage area, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture are holding a joint open house to receive public input as part of a limited review of the Federal Subsistence Management Program. The meeting will be held on February 3 from 3:00–7:00 PM at the Gordon Watson Conference Room, US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office. There is also an option to join virtually through Microsoft Teams.
Meeting: Federal Subsistence Management Program: Public Open House
When: February 3, 2026 from 3:00 to 7:00 PM
Location: Gordon Watson Conference Room, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503
Virtual option: Microsoft Teams: https://shorturl.at/jeQkU
Call-in: (833) 436-1163 | Conference ID: 829 130 64#
