Federal Roll will Clarify Fishing Jurisdiction for Alaska Subsistence

An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes a modification of the scope and applicability of federal subsistence management in Alaska was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, April 4, 1996. The Advance Notice, prepared by the Department on the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, responds to the Ninth Circuit Courts recent decision in Alaska v. Babbit (the Katie John case). In that case, the Court held that public lands subject to the subsistence priority include navigable waters in which the United States has a reserved water right. Those waters, which are identified in the Advanced Notice, include navigable waterways within and adjacent to the boundaries of National Parks, Forests, Refuges, and other specified Federal land units in Alaska.

The Advance Notice also addresses two other issues that are the subject of rulemaking petitions and related litigation. The three primary parts of the Advanced Notice are these:

1. In accordance with the Katie John Decision, the Advance Notice proposes to modify the interpretation that the Federal Subsistence Board had operated under since 1990,when the Federal program for subsistence management in Alaska went into effect. Under this previous interpretation, the Boards management authority did not extend to navigable waters in most parts of Alaska and therefore did not affect subsistence fishing for most of the inland waters of Alaska. Under the contemplated new rule, the Boards jurisdiction would include management of subsistence fishing in specified navigable waters.

2. The Advance Native also proposes to delegate the authority of the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to take action if hunting, fishing, or trapping activities taking place in Alaska off public lands result in a failure to provide subsistence priority on public lands. The Board is directed to exercise this authority only sparingly and after full consultation with the State of Alaska.

3. The Advance Notice further proposes that the Board maintain jurisdiction over public lands in conservation system units which have been selected by, but have not yet been conveyed to, the State of Alaska of Alaska Native corporations. Because of over selection, many of these lands may never be conveyed and will ultimately remain under Federal management.

"The rule ,making process gives all Alaskans ample opportunity to comment on this proposed rule," said Mitch Demientieff, chairman of the Federal Subsistence Board. "We hope that citizens will participate in this public process by giving us their ideas on how to meet the courts mandates."

"Given the Katie John decision, we had to move ahead with this notice, "said Deborah L. Williams, special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior for Alaskan Affairs. "But we hope, first and foremost, that the State of Alaska will craft a solution to subsistence that would allow the Federal government to return management of all subsistence hunting and fishing management to the State."

The Federal Register also announces that there will be hearings to take public comment on the Advance Notice proposals. Exact times and locations will be announced locally.

To obtain copies, to inquire about, or to make comments on the Advance Notice, call or write: Mitch Demientieff, Chairman, Federal Subsistence Board, c/o Thomas H. Boyd, Office of Subsistence Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503, or call (9907) 786-3888.

The comment period on the Advanced Notice will close on June 14, 1996.

FWS