Federal rule renames Alaska subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized 2026 Alaska migratory bird subsistence harvest rules that rename the Upper Copper River region as the Ahtna Territory and align spring and summer harvest dates across the region.

It revises the Alaska subsistence harvest regulations for migratory birds and eggs, which allow customary and traditional spring and summer harvests outside the regular fall and winter migratory bird hunting framework.

The rule does not create a broad statewide overhaul. Its most concrete changes are in the Copper River area.

The agency said the name change recognizes that the region, which includes Game Management Units 11, 12 and 13, is the traditional territory of the Ahtna people.

The final rule also adds GMU 12 to the main regional harvest-area language for all eight listed communities, then removes a redundant subsection. USFWS said that simplifies the regulation and makes the harvest area clearer.

The rule aligns GMUs 11 and 13 with GMU 12 for the 2026 spring and summer season.

USFWS said the date change better matches local Indigenous Knowledge and improves alignment of the 30-day closure with the principal nesting period. The Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council recommended the change in April 2025, and the Pacific Flyway Council supported it in September.

The rule was developed through the co-management process involving USFWS, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native representatives.

USFWS said the change is unlikely to have population-level effects. The agency pointed to the region's relatively small rural population and said threatened spectacled and Steller's eiders are not present in the affected area. Those eiders also remain closed to subsistence harvest under separate protections.

The agency received six comments on the proposed rule. It made no changes to the regulatory text in response, but added discussion on harvest closures, consultation and Indigenous Knowledge.

The rule takes effect when published in the Federal Register.