Federal hunting areas

[chef viktor]

I was on the Denali highway and see many areas listed as federal hunting areas. Does anyone know how this system works? It is differant then tier 2? How do you apply or can you even apply? I am curious as you do not see anything in regulation book stating how to hunt these areas. Anyone knowlegeable on this subject please enlighten us. Thanks Chef

 

[martentrapper]

If you stop by some of the federal buildings in anch. or fbks. you may find a booklet entitled subsistence hunting regulations on federal land. Pick up one of those. Generally, federal land is under these subsistence regs, while state, private, and state selected lands are under state regs. It's a confusing way of regulating hunting, but it's what we are stuck with at present. I would assume that since the nelchina herd is under tier 2, any caribou hunting on fed lands in that area would be open to locals only.
After you get the federal booklet, you'll probably need to speak to someone on the phone to fully understand it all. Even the folks working in the subsistence office aren't fully knowledgeable on all this.

 

[bwake]

Federal Tags

Federal Tags

These are available for local area residents only (i.e. Glenallen, Cantwell, etc)and allow one caribou above and beyond the State Tier 2 tag. You can only hunt on the Federal lands as identified by BLM, which are all over the place on the Denali and Richardson highways.

This is the unpopular (to us non-local folks) Federal approach that rewards based soley on residence location. For instance, the head of Wrangell-St. Elias Parks whom just transferred here from out of state and pulls a 6 figure salary could get one simply for living in Copper Center-and he would not even be eligble for a Tier 2 tag! Plus, it makes F&G management of the herd more problematic by having to allow for the Federal Take in their herd estimates.

 

[VernAK]

rural preference

rural preference

Yes, as bwake says, the tags are for rural residents of qualifying communities....regardless of income or citizenship [new immigrants qualify]...BLM distirbutes one moose and two caribou tags to residents of these areas but game taken on these tags counts against the State of AK limits.....

 

[cory100]

"You can only hunt on the Federal lands as identified by BLM, which are all over the place on the Denali and Richardson highways."

Actually the only legal hunting areas are within 1/2 mile of either the Gulkana, Delta rivers, Tangle Lakes and some lands associatted with the pipeline between mp 149-169 and the Rainbow Ridge area. These areas are also open to Tier 2 hunters, that is they can hunt state and federal land. As a "qualified" rural resident I too feel the system is broke. However I would gladly trade my 2 caribou tags for 1 Tier 2 tag that would allow me to hunt virtually anywhere in the unit, minus native lands.