PAXSON -- We are so used to the federal boys controlling subsistence hunting on the federal lands in Alaska, we have ceased to think about it much. Sure, the hunters out of Anchorage and Fairbanks who come through the Glennallen and Paxson area see the "Federal Subsistence Hunting Area" signs...and think, "Oh yeah, that again."
However, there are many caribou permits available through the state system and so many specialty moose seasons that all Alaskans have quite a few opportunities to take game. Federal hunters get to start a bit earlier, but it generally makes little difference. Besides, what can we do about it? That may be the case, but maybe it shouldn't be.
Occasionally, an issue presents itself that we Alaskans need to raise hell about. It is easy to get tired of federal land managers deciding to manage Alaska game in Alaska based only on what federal subsistence users want. It is also apparent that our federal land managers often make arbitrary decisions without input from the public or the state.
An example is the recent opening of the Paxson Closed Area by the Glennallen Bureau of Land Management office. The Paxson Closed Area was created following a proposal from the Paxson Fish and Game Advisory Committee almost 50 years ago.
It is an area closed to the taking of big game for three main reasons:
• To create a moose-viewing area for visitors.
• In late September and October, grizzlies feed on an abundant late sockeye salmon run.
• A large portion of the Nelchina caribou herd crosses the reserve during the fall migration. Hunting pressure in this narrow corridor could greatly disrupt the migration pattern.
The Richardson Highway and the first few miles of the Denali Highway border the reserve. The Richardson overlooks the lower swamps of the closed area. When the caribou come through, shooting from the side of the Richardson Highway would be akin to the proverbial "shooting fish in a barrel."
The Glennallen BLM office recently determined that a portion of the closed area was "unencumbered federal land." Consequently, BLM land manager Dennis Teitzel determined it should be open to subsistence hunting to 900 or so permit holders with no restrictions. No need to honor the 56-year-old closed area in the eastern drainage of the Gulkana River.
Teitzel ran the premise by the BLM lawyers. They told him ANILCA said the federal lands were to be opened for subsistence purposes and that there is no provision of that law that expressly prohibits hunting in a state reserve.
I re-read ANILCA over the weekend. While I am far from a lawyer; I saw nothing in ANILCA indicating federal jurisdiction trumped a state closed area. An hour-long conversation with Teitzel afterward affirmed that he was sticking to his position. I talked with his supervisor in the Anchorage BLM office, Karen Kellerher, who immediately asked me; "What would you like me to do?" "How about keeping it closed until the issue is resolved," was my response. I don't know if she will do that.
The issue of the Paxson Reserve becomes more complicated when one looks at the series of events that led to its opening. BLM told the state Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Division of its decision on July 30.
Meetings were held. BLM opened the area to federal subsistence hunters only, but the area was not included on the maps that were handed out to federally permitted hunters. Two weeks later, an updated map was made available, but the original permit holders were not contacted. However, this map also did not include the Paxson Reserve in the federal hunt area. Finally, a few weeks ago, another map was printed. New permittees received this map. It showed the Paxson closed area was now, at least partially, federal subsistence land.
Additionally, state Fish and Game closed area signs are brown and white, identical to the Federal subsistence hunting area signs.
This will be confusing to the guy hunting with a state moose tag who thinks he is watching a bull in the closed area. The next truck that pulls up is a federal hunter who shoots the moose no matter what the sign says.
Most federal hunters still think it's closed. We who live here just found out -- six weeks into the season -- our reserve is open.
This is a bad decision by BLM land managers. The bureau already has a huge public relations problem from its heavy-handed burning of cabins that were deemed "trespass cabins" and with special federal regulations on a state-controlled navigable waterway.
In this instance, they are not just exacerbating the issues between federally qualified hunters and non-qualified hunters, but also between qualified federal hunters who are in the know and those that are not. This isn't a good way to make friends in the community and positively influence your neighbors.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.