Subsistence Rights
RSSThe legal and political dimension of Alaska subsistence: ANILCA federal priority, rural preference, state-federal jurisdiction fights, and Board of Fisheries and Board of Game rural-use rulings.
Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska
Alaska's spring subsistence bird harvest is older than the U.S. — and a 1916 treaty effectively banned it until 1997. This week's update continues a hunt Native communities never gave up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAIAlaska
On the wild Alatna, a guide makes his case to the state
A Fairbanks guide wants the state's OK to run commercial trips on the Alatna — a Wild and Scenic river so remote the only way in is by floatplane.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAIAlatna River, Alaska
Sullivan's Bycatch Bill Wades Into Alaska's Hardest Fish Fight
Sullivan's sweeping bycatch bill targets trawl salmon catch — a real and raw grievance, even as federal science pins Alaska's river collapses mostly on a warming ocean.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago3 min readAIAlaska
Sitnasuak Buys the River the Gold Rush Left Behind
Land the gold rush claimed a century ago now belongs to Sitnasuak — permanently undevelopable, which lawyers may someday find interesting.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAINome
NOAA says dead pregnant fin whale arrived in Seward on cruise ship bow
NOAA confirmed the Seward whale was a 61-foot pregnant fin whale found on a cruise ship's bow. A necropsy is underway, and federal law enforcement is investigating.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAISeward, Alaska
Peltola releases Alaska fisheries platform anchored in factory trawling ban
Democrat Mary Peltola released a Senate campaign fisheries platform calling for a ban on factory trawling and tribal seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. • Peltola, a former U.S. representative and fishing boat captain, cited declining salmon returns as urgency for the reforms. • The platform also proposes freezing the Federal Subsistence Board's current composition and expanding electronic monitoring for bycatch.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Alaska Native leaders brought a unified salmon co-management demand to NCAI
Alaska Native leaders demanded Tribal co-management of salmon at a national Indigenous conference, citing food security and cultural crises from collapsed runs on Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers. • Subsistence communities have gone years without harvesting salmon while bearing the burden of conservation restrictions. • Current federal and state frameworks exclude Tribes from binding decision authority despite their sovereignty and stewardship responsibilities.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Chitina opens full 168-hour dipnet week starting Monday, even as counts run behind projection
Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting Monday, June 15, despite sonar counts running about 5,600 salmon below projection for early June.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min readAIChitina Subdistrict
Federal rule renames Alaska subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory
Federal wildlife officials renamed the Upper Copper River subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory and aligned spring and summer harvest dates to match local Indigenous Knowledge.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAICopper River, Alaska
Chitina dipnet fishery tentatively set for June 10; low rivers and ice flows could delay opening
Alaska Department of Fish and Game tentatively set the Chitina Personal Use dipnet fishery to open June 10, but low river levels and ice flows from Miles Lake could delay the opening pending sonar salmon counts in early June.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAIUpper Copper/Upper Susitna River Basin
Federal Subsistence Board adopts 52 wildlife proposals for Alaska
The Federal Subsistence Board approved 52 wildlife proposals that will reshape hunting and trapping rules on federal public lands across Alaska for 2026 through 2028.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago4 min readAIAlaska
Alaska Tribes Removed 1.5M Pounds Marine Debris Despite Funding Barriers
Rural Alaska communities successfully cleaned massive amounts of marine debris from shores but face significant barriers accessing federal funding and resources needed to continue protecting subsistence areas.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago3 min readAIAlaska
Supreme Court leaves federal subsistence authority intact
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Alaska's challenge to federal subsistence protections, leaving federal authority intact over hunting and fishing on federal lands statewide.
by Alaska Newsadded 3w ago1 min readAIAlaska
Tanana Chiefs warns Dalton corridor transfer threatens subsistence lands
Interior Alaska tribes warn a 1.4 million-acre Dalton corridor land transfer to state control could threaten subsistence rights, as state management rules differ from federal protections.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAIFairbanks, Alaska
Tribal groups seek $1.1M in fees after beating Alaska on Kuskokwim fishing rights
Tribal groups AVCP and Alaska Federation of Natives seek $1.1 million combined in attorneys' fees after winning a federal case that gave the U.S. government control over Kuskokwim River gillnet salmon harvests instead of Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAIKuskokwim River, Alaska
Okitkun files for Alaska House District 39 seat
Reynold Okitkun filed Tuesday as a nonpartisan candidate for Alaska House District 39, focusing his campaign on restoring fishing and subsistence rights to rural communities.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min readAIKotlik
Four Alaska Native groups call for national tribal unity on salmon
Four Alaska Native groups told tribal nations that salmon declines are eroding subsistence food security and called for stronger tribal voice in fisheries management.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago1 min readAIAlaska
