Some dates to circle on the calendar early in the new year

Here we are beginning another year! I hope your New Year’s celebrations went well! Things were quiet around my house, as usual, but I was pleasantly surprised about one thing. The neighborhood fireworks stopped just before 1 a.m. as per borough ordinance. In years past, the explosions usually continued until 4 or 5 a.m. The extra sleep was much appreciated!

Since you have just hung up that brand new 2018 calendar, let’s start filling in some dates you might want to track.

The Wasilla Hockey Booster Club Gun and Outdoor Show is scheduled for Jan. 20-21 at Wasilla High School. I have always enjoyed attending this show and, over the years, have found some good buys there. For instance, I’ve bought odd diameter (.348) cast lead bullets, a 10-gauge shotshell reloading setup, and several Thompson Contender pistol barrels in hard to find calibers. As you can see, my taste in firearms accessories tends to be somewhat eccentric!

The next date is Feb. 10-11. That weekend has the Matanuska Sportsman’s Association Gun Show happening at Raven Hall, on the state fairgrounds in Palmer. Last year, I missed both the Wasilla show and this one because I was recovering from my shoulder replacement. I’m hoping this year to attend both, although with scarce funds available, I may be doing a lot more looking that buying!

Sometime last fall, the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) shifted its Central/ Southwestern regional meeting location from Anchorage to Dillingham. This meeting encompasses, among others, Game Management Units (GMUs) 11, 13, 14A and B, and 16. I was planning on attending the meeting when it was scheduled for Anchorage because I have a proposal (number 71) coming up at that meeting I was hoping to testify for and be available to answer questions about, but with the location shift, I will only be able to submit written comments. The deadline for submission of those comments is Feb. 2.

There are several proposals of interest to Valley hunters coming before the BOG at this meeting. Renewal of the antlerless moose hunts, proposals dealing with sheep and goat hunting, and proposals affecting the community harvest hunts, among others, are all topics of discussion before the board. If you wish to comment on any of them and you’re not able to attend in person, your only option is a written comment.

The proposal book, meeting agenda, and other meeting related information is posted on the BOG website, which is accessible off the main department website. This is a great chance to make your thoughts known on any of these topics and to learn about what is arguably the most open hunting regulation process in the country.

Another written comment deadline is Feb. 1. This one involves the ongoing situation raised by a lawsuit filed by the Central District commercial drift fleet about how the salmon fishery in Cook Inlet is managed. The court ruled that the federal government must rewrite their Fishery Management Plan (FMP) about how salmon fisheries will be managed in federal waters in the middle of Cook Inlet. To learn more about what is happening, go to: https://www.npfmc.org/fishery-management-plan-team/salmon-fmp/.

The feds could take over the entire management of salmon in federal waters or they could sign an agreement with the state stipulating each agencies’ authority and responsibility in co-management. The feds really don’t want to take over sole management, so some cooperative agreement is the probable outcome.

However this whole federal fisheries management situation plays out, and it will probably take years to do so, salmon fishing in Cook Inlet, both commercially and recreationally, will be affected. What happens out in the saltwater will ultimately be reflected in return strengths in the freshwater systems of the Northern District!

I only found out this past Wednesday evening that the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was holding a public meeting yesterday, Thursday, in Anchorage to discuss turbidity in both the Kenai and Little Susitna Rivers. The DEC is proposing to declare both waterbodies as impaired and that both rivers are threatened by petroleum hydrocarbons. This is another situation where significant restrictions could be placed on recreational use of these rivers. This is the only meeting scheduled on this topic. The public comment period for this closes on Jan. 29.

The portion of the Little Susitna River potentially affected would extend from one mile upstream of the Public Use Facility (PUF) to 7 ½ miles below the PUF. Any significant restrictions on boating in this area would greatly impact the sports fishery!