The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has published for public comment a proposed rule for the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska during the spring and summer of 2022.  

The regulations allow for the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and are developed annually by the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council (AMBCC), a co-management body that includes representatives of the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native peoples. Founded in 2000, the AMBCC's primary purpose is to conserve migratory birds through development of recommendations for the management of the spring and summer subsistence harvest in Alaska. The AMBCC recommended changes be made to the subsistence harvest regulations for the 2022 spring-summer season to include: 

1) Clarify that subsistence hunters whose communities petitioned successfully to be added to the list of included areas appearing at 50 CFR 92.5(a)(2) may harvest migratory birds within the entirety of the subsistence harvest areas designated for their community, including portions of harvest areas that occur within designated excluded areas. 

2) Remove the term “village areas” from 50 CFR 92.5(b)(2) to clarify the geographic extent of excluded areas that are closed to harvest in their entirety, except those portions that occur within a harvest area that has been designated for a specific community.  

3) Clarify the boundaries of the excluded areas of the Kenai Peninsula roaded area and the Gulf of Alaska roaded area.  

4) Clarify the harvest area boundaries for the communities of Port Graham and Nanwalek in the Gulf of Alaska Region and for the community of Tyonek in the Cook Inlet Region. 

5) Clarify that Cordova is one of the communities that petitioned successfully to be added to the list of included areas for the Gulf of Alaska Region appearing at 50 CFR 92.5(a)(2)(ii).   

The Service is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through April 13, 2022. 

You can read the proposed rule and submit your comments on the internet at: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R7-MB-2021-0172. 

Comments may also be submitted by mail to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R7-MB-2021-0172; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO/3W, 5275 Leesburg Place, Falls Church, VA 22041‒3803. 

Learn more about the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council