THE United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Honorable Jay S. Hammond Juneau, Alaska 99811 Dear Jay: MAY 1 4 1982 Thank you for your letter of April 29, 1982, by which you transmitted the final elements of the State's subsistence management and use program for review under subsection 805 (d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). Based upon our review of that submission, material transmitted to us by the State on December 2 and 23, 1981, and other relevant information, we have determined that the State's program will be in compliance with sections 803, 804 and 805 of ANILCA as of June 2, 1982. As a result of this certification of compliance, the State retains its traditional role in the regulation of fish and wildlife resources on the public lands in Alaska. The State is to be commended for its determined effort to establish a workable subsistence program which accommodates the needs and concerns of Alaska residents and satisfies the requirements of ANILCA. The subsistence issue is complex and sensitive, and we appreciate the measures the State has taken to achieve compliance with Title VIII of ANILCA. We are confident that Alaska's subsistence authority, enacted as law and implemented through the State program, will be exercised in the best interests of rural residents engaged in subsistence uses and in furtherance of the overall resource management objectives of the State. In accordance with subsection 805(e) of ANILCA, a reimbursement payment will be forwarded to the State for costs incurred in the establishment of a regional council system which complies with subsection 805(d). Subject to the execution of an agreement between the Department and the State, additional appropriated funds will be made available to the State for costs to be incurred in the operation of the regional councils and local advisory committees. If you require further assistance, please contact Deputy Under Secretary William P. Horn at (202) 343-5183. Please convey our commendation to all State officials who have participated in this undertaking. Sincerely, Jim Walt SECRETARY 5 AAC 99.010. JOINT BOARDS OF FISHERIES AND GAME SUBSISTENCE PROCEDURES. (a) In applying a subsistence priority, the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game will provide for conservation and development of Alaska's fish and game resources according to the following procedures: (1) each board will assess the biological status of fish or game resources and determine whether a surplus may be harvested during a regulatory year consistent with the conservation and development of the resources on the sustained yield-principle and compatible with the public interest; (2) each board will identify subsistence uses of fish or game resources, recognizing that subsistence uses are customary and traditional uses by rural Alaska residents for food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, transportation, making of handicrafts, custc-ary trade, barter and sharing. (b) Customary and traditional subsistence uses by rural Alaska residents will be identified by use of the following criteria: (1) a long-term, consistent pattern of use, excluding interruption by circumstances beyond the user's control such as regulatory prohibitions; (2) a use pattern recurring in specific seasons of each year; (3) a use pattern consisting of methods and means of harvest which are characterized by efficiency and economy of effort and cost, and conditioned by local circumstances; (4) the consistent harvest and use of fish or game which is near, or reasonably accessible from, the user's residence; (5) the means of handling, preparing, preserving, and storing fish or game which has been traditionally used by past generations, but not excluding recent technological advances where appropriate; (6) a use pattern which includes the handing down of knowledge of fishing or hunting skills, values and lore from generation to generation; (7) a use pattern in which the hunting or fishing effort or the products of that effort are distributed or shared among others within a definable community of persons, including customary trade, barter, sharing, and gift-giving; customary trade may include limited exchanges for cash, but does not include significant commercial enterprises; a community may include specific villages or towns, with a historical preponderance of subsistence users, and encompasses individuals, families, or groups who in fact meet the criteria described in this subsection; and (8) a use pattern which includes reliance for subsistence purposes upon a wide diversity of the fish and game resources of an area, and which that pattern of subsisteree use provides substantial economic, cultural, social, and nutritional elements of the subsistence user's life. Register 82. July 1982 FISH AND GAME 5 AAC 99.010 5 A/C 99.020 (c) After identifying subsistence uses based upon the criteria set out in (b) of this section, each board will determine the approximate amount of fish or game necessary to provide fully for reasonable opportunities to engage in these customary and traditional uses. (d) Each board will adopt regulations that provide an opportunity for the subsistence taking of fish or game resources in arourts sufficient to provide for the customary and traditional uses identified in (5) of this section, and consistent with sound conservation and management practices. In no instance may the subsistence taking jeopardize or interfere with the maintenance of a specific fish stock or game population on a sustained yield basis. (e) Each board will, in its discretion, adopt regulations that provide an opportunity for non-subsistence uses of the resource, to the extent that the non-subsistence uses do not jeopardize or interfere with the conservation and development of fish or game resources on a sustained yield basis, or with the opportunity for taking these resources for customary and traditional subsistence uses as provided ir. (d) of this section. (f) When circumstances such as increased numbers of users, weather, predation, or loss of habitat may jeopardize the sustained yield of a fish stock or game population, each board will exercise all practical options for restricting non-subsistence harvest before subsistence uses are restricted. If all available restrictions for non-subsistence uses have been implemented and further restrictions are needed, each board will reduce the take for subsistence uses in a series of graduated steps, by giving maximum protection to subsistence users who (1) live closest to the resource; (2) have the fewest available alternative resources; and (3) have the greatest customary and direct dependence on the resource. (g) In no event, however, will a board allow uses which will jecpardize or interfere with the conservation and management of fish stocks or game populations on a sustained yield basis. (Eff.5/30/82, Register 82) Authority: AS 16.05.251(b) A new section, 5 AAC 99.020 is adopted to read: 5 AAC 99.020. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter,"rural" means outside the road connected area of a borough, municipality, or other community with a population of 7,000 or more, as determined by the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. (Eff. 5/30/82, Register 82) Authority: AS 16.05.251(b) 5 AAC 96.200. ESTABLISHMENT OF A REGIONAL FISH AND GAME COUNCIL SYSTEM. There is established a system of regional fish and game councils to provide a regional forum for the collection and expression of opinions and recommendations on matters relating to fish and wildlife resources, to assist the Boards of Fisheries and Game in deliberations concerning regulations, and to provide for public participation in the regulatory process to help adequately protect subsistence uses. (In effect before 1982; am 6/2/82, Register 82) Authority: AS 16.05.260 5 AAC 96.210 is amended to read: 5 AAC 96.210. FISH AND GAME RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REGIONS. (a) For the purposes of conservation and management of the fish and wildlife resources of the state there are created the six following fish and game resource management regions: (1) Southeast Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Units 1 through 5, and including that part of Unit 6 east of Cape Suckling, and adjacent marine waters; (2) Southcentral Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Units 6 west of Cape Suckling, 7, 9A, 11, and 13 through 16, and adjacent marine waters; (3) Southwest Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Units 8, 9B--E, 10, and 17, and adjacent marine waters; (4) Western Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Unit 18 and that portion of the Kuskokwim River drainage in Game Management Unit 19 downstream from, and including, the George River drainage and the Hoholitna River drainage, and adjacent marine waters; (5) Arctic Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Units 22, 23, and 26, and adjacent marine waters; and (6) Interior Alaska, consisting of all lands and waters of Game Management Units 12, 20, 21, 24, 25 and that portion of the Kuskokwim River drainage in Unit 19 upstream from the George River drainage and the Hoholitna River drainage. (b) The Game Management Units mentioned in (a) of this section are described in 5 AAC 90.010. (c) The Board, its discretion, temporarily change the boundaries of fish and game resource management regions for individual resource issues. (In effect before 1982; am 6/2/82, Register82) Authority: AS 16.05.260 5 AAC 96.250(a)(3) is amended and (a)(5) is added to read: 5 AAC 96.250 5 AAC 96.260 5 AAC 96.250. FUNCTIONS OF REGIONAL FISH AND GAME COUNCILS. (a) Each council has the authority to: (1) hold public meetings on fish and wildlife matters; (2) elect a chairman; (3) review, evaluate and make recommendations to the boards on existing and proposed regulations, policies, and management plans, and other matters relating to the uses of fish and wildlife resources within its region, in consultation with the local fish and came advisory committees in its region and with the department; (4) perform other duties specified by the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game by regulation; d (5) submit an annual report to the boards, the department, and the Secretary of Interior of the United States, by 'ovember 15 of each year, containing (A) an identification of current and anticipated subsistence uses of fish and wildlife populations within the region, and other fish and wildlife uses which the council identifies; (B) an evaluation of current and anticipated subsistence needs for using fish and wildlife populations within the region, and of other fish and wildlife needs which the council identifies; (c) a recommended strategy for the management of fish and wildlife populations within the region to accomodate the identified fish and wildlife uses and needs; and (D) recommendations concerning policies, standards, guidelines, and regulations to implement the strategy. (In effect before 1982; am 6/2/82, Register 52) Authority: AS 16.05.260 5 AAC 96.260(a), (b) and (c) are amended and (d) is added to read: 5 AAC 96.260. UNIFORM RULES OF OPERATION. (a) Rules. Every action taken by a regional fish and game council must comply with the uniform rules of operation setout in 5 AAC 96.060(9), (10), (12), (14), (15), and (16). The rules set out in (b) through (d) of this section supersede the corresponding rules in 5 AAC 96.060(2), (4), and (13). (b) Responsibilities. A council shall perform the functions described in 5 AAC 96.250 in accordance with the provisions of 5 AAC 96 and 97. (c) Membership. Membership of a council must be as provided in 5 AAC 96.230. (d) Meetings. Regular meetings of a council must be at times appropriate to the process described in 5 AAC 96.6:0. The chairman or a majority of a council's members may call special meetings at which any interested person may submit a statement to the council or any matter relating to the purposes for which the meeting is called. Council meetings are public meetings under AS 44.62.310 and 44.52.312 and must be advertised in the region. Public testimony must be allowed at all council meetings. (In effect before 1982; 6/2/82, Register $2). ar. Authority: AS 16.05.260 |