The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) will hold a public meeting April 10-14, 1995 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. The Board will review proposed July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996 federal subsistence regulations, which include open seasons, harvest limits and methods and means of taking fish and wildlife for subsistence on federal public lands. The Board will also consider customary and traditional use eligibility determination reviews on the Kenai Peninsula and in the Upper Tanana region, as well as a process to review current determinations throughout Alaska. The public is welcome to attend and provide comment at the meeting.
The Board received over seventy proposals from individuals, organizations and agencies requesting changes to existing federal subsistence regulations. The ten federal subsistence regional advisory councils made recommendations to the Board on those proposals affecting subsistence users in their respective regions. Board staff researched each proposal and reviewed public comments and will present information and recommendations at the meeting. The Boards review of proposed regulations is scheduled from Monday, April 10 through Wednesday, April 12, and on Friday, April 14.
On Thursday, April 13, the Board will reconsider its schedule and procedure for reviewing customary and traditional use eligibility determinations throughout Alaska. Residents of rural areas may harvest those fish and wildlife species for which there is a recognized customary and traditional use under federal subsistence regulations. The determinations in current federal subsistence regulations were adopted by the Board from previous State determinations and will be revised as necessary.
Reviews of customary and traditional use determinations are underway in several areas, including the Kenai Peninsula and the Upper Tanana region. On April 13, the Board will take initial action on a recommendation of the Southcentral Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council for customary and traditional use determinations for residents of the Kenai Peninsula. The Board will also receive a status report on the customary and traditional use review in the Upper Tanana region, which includes the communities of Tok, Tetlin, Dot Lake, Northway and Tanacross.
Mitch Demientieff, Chief of the Native Village of Nenana and Chairman and President of the Toghotthele Corporation, is the newly appointed Chairman of the Federal Subsistence Board. Other Board members include the regional directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska. Representatives of the ten regional advisory councils will attend the meeting and advise the Board of concerns and issues affecting subsistence users in their regions.
The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 10, and at 8:30 a.m. the remainder of the week, and is scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. each day. If you would like additional information, please call the Office of Subsistence Management weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. toll-free at 1/800/478-1456 or, in Anchorage, at 907/786-3888. Hearing-impaired individuals may call 907/786-3487 during the same hours.
-FSB-
