The Service is currently working with the State Department and the Canadian Wildlife Service to develop possible amendments to the Convention. These amendments would provide a basis for establishing a regulated subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska and Canada during what is presently the closed period of March 10 through September 1. The 1916 treaty was signed by the United States and Great Britain, with Britain acting on behalf of Canada.
In Alaska and Canada, spring harvesting of migratory birds and their eggs by indigenous inhabitants is a traditional and customary source of fresh meat after the long Northern winter. The Service has recognized for many years that residents of certain rural areas in Alaska depend on spring harvest as an important source of food, but the harvest conflicts with the closed season provisions of the 1916 Treaty.
The intent of an amendment is to provide a basis for permitting and regulating a harvest of migratory birds not presently allowed. Legalizing the spring and early fall hunting will contribute to conservation of waterfowl populations through regulations, collection of harvest data, and involvement of local people. Sound conservation of migratory birds requires biologically based and equitable management of harvest in northern areas as well as other areas. The philosophy of waterfowl management will remain the same - to permit hunting without damaging populations or long-term harvest opportunity.
In 1979, the United States and Canada signed a protocol to amend the 1916 Treaty. The signing was the result of a 15-year effort by the Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service to provide a basis for managing subsistence hunting of migratory birds in the north. It was forwarded to the U.S. Senate for ratification but public concern in the U.S. led to a request for its withdrawal. The most commonly voiced objection was that it did not specify how spring hunting would be established and regulated.
The purpose of the April 30 meeting is to increase public awareness of ongoing efforts to modify the Treaty and gather information to be used in establishing a final negotiating position with Canada.
Those interested in obtaining additional information regarding the meetings and the Subsistence issue should contact: Thomas J. Dwyer, Chief, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 634, Arlington, VA 22203, or call (703) 358-1714.
As an agency of the Department of Interior, the Service enhances, protects, preserves, and restores fish and wildlife resources throughout the Nation. Region 3 has responsibility for the states of Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
