Subsistence
RSSSubsistence in Alaska is the hunting, fishing, and gathering that rural and Alaska Native residents rely on for food. It covers moose, caribou, salmon, and other harvests managed through seasonal closures, permits, and openings across refuges, rivers, and rural Alaska.
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Photo: Bureau of Land Management via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · Public domain
State wants Tier II rationing ready as Fortymile caribou herd declines
The Fortymile caribou herd has shrunk by an estimated two-thirds since 2017, and the state wants a plan ready to ration hunting if it keeps falling.
The local Fish and Game advisory committee in Tok begins reviewing proposals Tuesday, including that plan and 11 others for the herd.
The herd, which ranges from the hills east of Fairbanks into Canada's Yukon, peaked at about 83,000 caribou in 2017. It has since declined an average of about 14% a year, to an estimated 24,000 to 28,000 in summer 2025, according to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game proposal. The department projects it could fall to 17,500 or fewer by 2028 to 2030.
At that point, the number of caribou hunters could take would drop below what the state has found Alaskans reasonably need for subsistence, 350 to 400 caribou a year. State law then requires what's called a Tier II hunt, which rations permits among applicants based largely on how much they depend on the herd and what other food sources they have. Without a Tier II rule in place, the department says it could have to close all hunting until the Alaska Board of Game acts. So the department is asking the board to put one on the books now.
The fall hunt has already shrunk. Its quota fell from 4,500 caribou in 2021 to 395 in 2025, according to the Fortymile Caribou Herd Harvest Management Coalition. The coalition says Alaska residents took 75% of the harvest from 2021 to 2024, but in the 2025 state season nonresidents took 65%.
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Stories on what’s next
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Effective: Alaska; Wildlife, Harvest, and Access
Park Service final rule allows bear baiting again in Alaska national preserves
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Latest
November 2026
Wrangell-St. Elias keeps winter subsistence moose quota at five bulls
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by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readFrom 
Tanana Chiefs plans advocacy workshop as Board of Game takes up Ambler Road hunting
Tanana Chiefs Conference will hold an advocacy workshop Nov. 20, the day the Board of Game takes up an Ambler Road hunting closure TCC wanted five times wider.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
State skips Kuskokwim subsistence salmon survey after grant request goes unfunded
Fish and Game skipped its door-to-door count of Kuskokwim subsistence salmon harvests this year after its federal grant request went unfunded.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom 
Tribal and federal crews tag about 1,300 fur seal pups on St. Paul and St. George
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
October 2026
Federal managers close subsistence elk hunt on Afognak refuge lands for the season
Federal managers closed Afognak refuge elk hunting for the rest of 2026 after harvest hit 15% of the Waterfall Lake herd.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Fish board agrees to reconsider Area M salmon limits the state voided in May
The fish board voted 4-3 to reconsider Area M salmon limits the state voided in May. The member whose ethics violation led to that voted yes each time.
by Alaska News2w ago3 min read
Federal board opens a late-fall subsistence moose hunt on the eastern Kenai Peninsula
The Federal Subsistence Board opened a late-fall Unit 7 moose hunt by email poll, since the rule putting it into effect didn't arrive until a week in.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom 
Park Service corrects wording of new Alaska harvest rule's "subsistence uses" change
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by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
More from Subsistence
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The Forest Service added a Nov. 4 hearing in Kake on how lifting the Roadless Rule's limits on roads and logging could affect subsistence in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Unit 13 moose closure on BLM land takes effect Tuesday, six months after the vote
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by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
NOAA invites tribes to weigh in on Norton Sound red king crab limits
NOAA invited tribes to consult on next year's Norton Sound red king crab limits, after this year's catch ceiling was cut by about a third from 2025.
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Park Service will again hold local hearings before Alaska park hunting closures
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Park Service drops permit for subsistence users gathering antlers and bones for crafts
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Listening sessions tell AFN tribes want real authority over fish, wildlife and land
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Craig council weighs putting back topics it cut from Shaan-Seet agreement
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Park Service proposes ATV access across Gates of the Arctic for Anaktuvuk Pass residents
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by Alaska News3w ago4 min read
Coming up
Federal Subsistence Moose Season Closure - Unit 5A East of Dangerous River
Unit 5A east of the Dangerous River, Yakutat, Alaska
Public notice
Effective: Alaska; Wildlife, Harvest, and Access
Public notice
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Federal Subsistence Winter Moose Hunt Opens
Public notice
Comments close: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve; Use of Off-Road Vehicles for Subsistence Purposes by Residents of Anaktuvuk Pass
Public notice
Public Comment Deadline: Gates of the Arctic National Park ORV Subsistence Use Proposed Rule
Public notice
About Subsistence
Subsistence in Alaska is the hunting, fishing and gathering that rural and Alaska Native households rely on for food. It takes in salmon, moose, caribou, whitefish, seals and other harvests, taken under permits, quotas and seasonal openings on rivers, refuges and parklands.
Federal and state managers decide when subsistence fishing opens and closes, often river by river, based on run counts and escapement goals. On the Yukon, fishing is also timed so Canadian-bound salmon can pass, and on the Kuskokwim and Copper rivers closures follow weak runs. The Federal Subsistence Board, the Board of Game, the Board of Fisheries and National Park Service rules shape who may harvest, where and with what gear.
Local advisory bodies, such as the subsistence commission for Wrangell-St. Elias, and tribes take part through public meetings and consultation. Subsistence connects to commercial fisheries through bycatch, such as the chum salmon taken by the Bering Sea pollock fleet.
More from Subsistence
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by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read
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by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Rules for a 45,000-fish Western Alaska chum bycatch cap are expected by the end of 2026
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bering Sea pollock fleet nears its 2026 limits as salmon bycatch debate continues
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TM059 moose hunt in Unit 1D closes Monday night at 24 bulls
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Chitina dip net permit holders must report online by Oct. 15
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Federal board gives subsistence hunters 10 more days to hunt moose in the Tetlin refuge area
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Federal subsistence permits and harvest reports move online in new Alaska portal
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The Lake Clark subsistence commission meets Oct. 3 to review federal wildlife rules
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Subsistence fishing reopens on the upper Yukon, village by village
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Tanana subsistence and personal use fishing goes 24 hours
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The park could have added ten days of moose hunting. It added two.
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by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kuskokwim closures lifted because the coho run ended, not because it recovered
Six weeks of Kuskokwim subsistence closures lifted Friday, not because the coho finally came back but because the run is over for the year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Wrangell-St. Elias subsistence commission meets next month in McCarthy
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Federal board extends FM1106 subsistence moose hunt by two days
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BLM Rule Would Cut NPR-A Pad Approvals to 60 Days, Limit Hunting
The BLM's own analysis found a proposed drilling rule would significantly restrict subsistence hunting for three North Slope villages. Hearings begin Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
A bill would guarantee vehicle access for the village inside Gates of the Arctic
A national park was drawn around Anaktuvuk Pass in 1980 without asking. A bill would guarantee the village the right to drive out and go hunting.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
The any-bull option closes in Unit 13C after three moose filled the quota
The any-bull option closes in Unit 13C at midnight Tuesday after three bulls filled the quota. The subunit's allotment dropped from five last year.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wrangell-St. Elias weighs 10 more days of subsistence moose hunting
Rural subsistence hunters in the Wrangell-St. Elias area could get 10 more days to take a moose this fall, with the park set to decide Monday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
