A proposal from the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council to close caribou hunting on federal lands in Unit 23 to outside users for one year will be up for discussion later this month at its regular meeting in Anchorage.
The proposal takes the form of temporary special action request WSA 16-01 which, if approved, would take effect July 1 and last for one regulatory year.
"The reason the Northwest Arctic council submitted this request is for conservation purposes due to the current decline of the Western Arctic caribou herd and to ensure the continuation of subsistence opportunity for federally qualified subsistence users," explained Lisa Moss, a wildlife biologist at the Office of Subsistence Management, before a public meeting in Kotzebue last week.
The Federal Subsistence Board, which is evaluating the request, is authorized to close an area for conservation of a wildlife resource or to continue subsistence use of that resource, said Moss.
The federal lands in question include those assigned to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service and Bureau of Land Management in Unit 23.
Hunting caribou would be off-limits for all nonfederally qualified users which include nonresidents of Alaska, people who have been residents in Alaska for fewer than 12 months, or Alaska residents who live in urban and road system areas like Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Mat-Su, parts of the Kenai Peninsula, Valdez, Juneau and Ketchikan.
That includes affiliated tribal members who have moved and are now residents of urban areas, a caveat several attendees, like Paulette Schuerch, spoke out against during the comment period.
Schuerch called in from Anchorage, where she now lives, though she was born and raised in the Northwest Arctic. She took a middle road on the proposal, saying she was in favor of protecting the herd but against some of the stipulations.
"A lot of us have to leave home for jobs, so, it's very sad to hear that the federal government is going to consider me a nonsubsistence user, when I've been a subsistence user all of my life, just because of where I live," said Schuerch. "I'm an enrolled tribal member at home. My family lives up there still. I do agree with trying, but I'm upset to hear that I'm a nontraditional subsistence user and I won't be able to hunt at home."
Several residents of the area spoke out in favor of the request, citing declines in the population and concern for the future of subsistence hunting.
"We are trying to do our part in our area to help with the herd, so on a federal level it's really great to see something happening because we're almost in crisis mode when you look at the migration coming later and sick bulls coming in. We really, unfortunately have to start harvesting the females because the bulls are not good," said Carmen Monigold of Kotzebue. "We're not asking for this to happen for the next 50 years. We want a trial period for one year to see if this makes a difference. I understand to the outsider, sport-hunter, nonlocals that this will affect their income and livelihood also and I hope that they will appreciate that this affects our food source and our home. I hope that we can work together."
Siikauraq Whiting, also of Kotzebue, pointed out that locals don't have options to affordably replace caribou as a food staple, which also has a spiritual connection to the land.
"We've always wanted to make sure we have rural priority for hunting just because our cost of living is high. We don't have the luxury of going to Costco. We don't have the luxury of getting our food from the stores as much. Our main diet is caribou," she said.
Hunters from urban areas, including several members of other regional advisory boards and the caribou working group, spoke out against the request.
"I'm sympathetic to your need but in all fairness to Alaskans, I don't think the 5 to 7 percent (decrease in hunting) is going to make a big difference. We're talking 400 to 500 animals, which is maybe about a week on normal take," said Neil DeWitt of Anchorage.
A small handful of Arctic residents whose ability to hunt wouldn't be hindered by the closure spoke out against it, like Wilfried Zibell of Noorvik.
"We can't in good conscience deprive others of that which we ourselves hold so dear. What portion of hunters aren't local? The vast majority of hunting and caribou taken in the area are from local hunters. So, preservation effects of this action would be minimal. Many of those who aren't local and hunt here are transplants, people that used to live here, got accustomed to the lifestyle and moved away. Therefore, I believe that given the low conservational benefit and inherent moral cost of keeping the caribou for ourselves, this action would be irresponsible stewardship as well as going against what we value such as hospitality and sharing. We can't allow this to turn it into us versus them. We are one state," said Zibell.
The public comment period for the special action request is closed, but the council will take public testimony at its upcoming meeting.
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.