Board of Game further explains caribou hunt

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned an upcoming meeting of the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) that will involve another attempt to regulate the Nelchina caribou hunt in Game Management Unit 13 (GMU 13). I just received a flyer giving some particulars about that meeting, which will also consider black bear trapping regulations.

According to the flyer, the meeting is being held in response to a court order. As you may recall, a court decision this past July, as the result of a lawsuit, found that a portion of the current regulation of the Nelchina caribou hunt was unconstitutional. I also mentioned in a past column that the public call for proposals for this meeting was out and I gave an approximate deadline of when those proposals were due.

The proposals are now posted online at boards.adfg.state.ak.us/gameinfo/meetinfo/2010-2011/octobernelchina/PropBook-final.pdf. If you are interested in reviewing these proposals, that’s the place to find them.

If you wish to comment on any or all of the proposals, the flyer states: “Written comments may be submitted to the Board of Game at any time before the proposal is taken up by the board in deliberations, but as a practical matter, written comments should be submitted to the Boards Support Section at the above address (Alaska Board of Game, Boards Support Section, PO Box 115526, Juneau, AK 99811-5526) or FAX number [907-465-6094] by 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010 to ensure inclusion in the board workbooks.

“Written comments over 100 single-sided or 50 double-sided pages in length from any one individual or group relating to proposals will not be accepted. Written comments submitted after Sept. 30, 2010 will be limited to 10 single-sided or five double-sided pages in length from any one individual or group. Written comments that are submitted are public record and are subject to public inspection.”

The BOG meeting is scheduled for Oct. 8-12 at the Coast International Inn, 3333 West International Airport Road in Anchorage. The daily meetings usually start around 8 a.m. If you’re planning to attend the meeting and provide oral testimony, the flyer continues: “The public hearing portion of the meeting will begin immediately after staff reports and continue until everyone who has signed up and is present when called has been given the opportunity to be heard. The deadline to sign up to testify will be announced at the meeting. The board will take oral testimony only from those who register before the cut-off time. The length of oral statements may be limited to three to five minutes, or less.”

If you’re not able to attend the meeting but wish to listen to the proceedings and have access to the internet, a live audio stream of the meeting is intended to be available on the Boards Support Section website at boards.adfg.state.ak.us.

This meeting is happening primarily to address the court decision. This is not a regularly scheduled occurrence, although it might become one if some legal solution isn’t finally found to deal with the Nelchina caribou issue.

The “normal” BOG meeting which addresses Central/Southwest Region hunting and trapping proposals is scheduled for March 4–10 in Wasilla at the Best Western Lake Lucille Inn. The GMUs involved in this meeting will be units 9, 10, 11, 13, 14A, 14B, 16, and 17. If you’re not familiar with these areas, we’re located in 14A. The call for proposals for this meeting has a deadline of 5 p.m. Oct. 29.

A second regularly scheduled BOG meeting to address Southcentral Region proposals will be held from March 26-30 in Anchorage. The GMUs involved in this meeting are: 5, 6, 7, 8, 14C, and 15. The proposal deadline is the same as stated above.

If you want to submit a proposal for either or both of these upcoming meetings, you can do so online at: boards.adfg.state.ak.us/gameinfo or you can get a proposal form from the Fish and Game office in Palmer, the Boards Support Section office in Anchorage, or from the website. If you need help in drafting your proposal, contact the Fish and Game office in Palmer, 746-6300, and they can help. They will not do your work for you but will help you with any information you may need and will explain how to fill out the form properly.

This board cycle is one with a double “whammy” for folks in our area who hunt and fish. Not only are the aforementioned BOG meetings happening where regulation changes and additions will occur affecting our local hunting and trapping efforts, but the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) Upper Cook Inlet meeting, where proposals potentially affecting our local sports and personal use fishing will be considered, is also happening. That meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 through March 5 in Anchorage as well.

When I was involved with the local Fish and Game Advisory Committee, years like this meant almost weekly meetings and a lot of time committed to developing and reviewing proposals and attending board meetings. The same thing will happen this year.

If you truly care about our local hunting and fishing situations here in the Mat-Su, you will get involved this cycle and tell both boards what needs to be done to protect and enhance our local fish and game resources.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.