Federal board extends FM1106 subsistence moose hunt by two days

The Federal Subsistence Board has added two days to the federal subsistence moose hunt south and east of the Chitina and Nizina rivers, extending it through Sept. 22. Existing permit holders may hunt the extra days on their current permits.

The extension follows a string of emergency actions the board has used this season to adjust moose hunts. On Sept. 3, it closed federal land along six Interior river corridors to moose hunting by non-federally qualified users through Sunday, Sept. 20. Safari Club International estimates the closure covers roughly 1,300 square miles. It spans a 10-mile corridor along the Yukon River and 5-mile corridors along Birch Creek, the Sheenjek, Porcupine, Black and Chandalar rivers, all in the Unit 25D remainder.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference requested the action to carry out a decision the board had already made in April. In its August request letter, the conference wrote that the board adopted the corridor closure at its April meeting "to ensure the continuation of subsistence uses for moose in that area," and that delays in publishing the final rule in the Federal Register required an interim measure before the season opened.

Safari Club International is calling on federal officials to rescind the closure. In a Sept. 9 statement, the organization said the action was approved "without a meeting or any public comment," by board members acting via email. Jeremiah Williams, president of the group's Alaska chapter, said Congress gave the secretaries, not federal staff or a board acting by email, narrow authority to close federal lands, and only when necessary to conserve wildlife or protect a genuine subsistence need.

The underlying proposal came from the Eastern Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council, which supported it 6-2, citing conservation concerns. The council noted the last moose population count in Unit 25D was conducted in 2015. The board adopted 52 of 78 wildlife proposals at its April meeting.

Federal land in Unit 25D west already carries a separate, year-round moose closure, with exceptions for residents of Unit 25D west and Birch Creek. That season closes once hunters have taken 60 moose there.