Joint board rejects Tier II proposal

WASILLA — The Alaska Joint Board of Fish and Game has rejected a proposal by the Matanuska Fish and Game Advisory Committee that would have removed portions of Game Unit 13 from the state’s Tier II subsistence hunting program.

Under state law, only hunters who qualify under Tier II requirements — a points-based system that takes into account economic and historical criteria — are granted permits to hunt the Nelchina caribou herd. Had the proposal carried, it would have allowed the state to examine eliminating the Tier II hunt in an area bound by the Richardson, Glenn and Parks highways, and instead open the area to a statewide permit hunt.

“It would have allowed us to ask the [Department of Fish and Game] staff to bring in data to see if there has been a significant difference since 1992, which was the last time this was looked at,” said Board of Game chair Cliff Judkins, a Wasilla resident.

The Board of Game voted 4-2 Monday in support of the proposal, but it failed in a 3-4 vote of the Board of Fisheries. A majority of both boards is required for a proposal to carry.

Denny Hamann, who chairs the Matanuska Valley Advisory Committee, said he was “shocked” by the decision.

Following the votes, “I spent the whole day walking around in a stupor,” he said.

Hunters from Anchorage, Fairbanks and the Matanuska Valley were strongly in favor of the proposal, which would have opened up a major caribou herd to road-accessible hunting. Hamann said he doesn’t understand why the board wouldn’t want to look at new data — data he believes would back up claims people in the area no longer rely as heavily on subsistence hunting.

“The bottom line is you’re sitting there looking at 20-year-old data,” he said. “The only way you say no to getting more data is you don’t want to know the answer.”

Cliff Judkins voted in support of the proposal and said Tuesday he believes changes in the area during the past decade warranted a change in the rules.

“I felt because of that there were plenty of reasons to consider it,” he said.

Judkins pointed out that Glennallen, which lies inside the area being considered, has grown significantly in recent years.

“Everything there has changed,” he said.

Opposition to the proposal from residents of the area was much more vocal than those who supported the change, which Judkins said he believes swayed some of the board members.

“There were more that spoke against it,” he said.

Judkins also said opposition was so vocal he believes some board members were convinced the issue would eventually die regardless of the joint group’s actions.

“The only argument I heard was that it was causing such a turmoil against the people that they didn’t figure it would pass in the long run,” he said.

The joint meeting of both statewide boards was a rare opportunity for the subsistence issue to be heard. Judkins said the proposal’s failure likely means those hoping to change the Tier II requirements in the area will have to plead their case elsewhere.

“I just don’t expect it to come back up,” he said. “It’s possible some of the people might bring it to the Legislature.”

Hamann said he’s not sure what the next step will be for those who think the area should be open to all hunters. “I don’t know what my plan is right now. I’m not going to let it die, I can tell you that.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com or 352-2265.