Thoughts on the Federal Subsistence Board meeting

Last week, the Federal Subsistence Board (FSB) met in Anchorage to deliberate proposals that were brought to their attention via Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). The decisions made will impact both federally qualified users (FQUs) and non-federally qualified users (NFQUs) and how they access and hunt on federal lands in certain areas throughout the state.

This was the first time I participated in the process. I submitted a comment pertaining to one of the proposals, WP25-16, that pushed for the closure of Hawkins and Hinchinbrook Islands in Prince William Sound to all NFQUs for blacktail deer hunting. This would only allow FQUs from Cordova and the Sound to hunt on federal lands on those islands for the entire season. I initially submitted my comment in opposition to this proposal and thought I had done my due diligence for the process.

But when it came time for the board to discuss this specific proposal, I decided to hop on the live video call and listen in to the deliberations. The various federal and state agencies and land managers, as well as RACs, all provided their comments for and against the proposal with their supporting evidence. Then it came time for public comment. I was one of over a dozen testifiers that either called in or appeared to the meeting in person to share our thoughts in support or opposition.

I had listened to the meeting for a few hours already that day, and this discussion was by far the longest and most contentious. The comments seemed to be split fairly evenly down the middle and I sat on the edge of my seat throughout the board’s final deliberation. The final vote would be 8-2 in opposition to the proposal.

The federal lands on Hawkins and Hinchinbrook Islands will remain open to NFQUs for blacktail deer hunting, for now. As soon as I got off the call, I reached out to the transporter in the area and while I expressed my satisfaction of the outcome, I knew this battle was far from over. And he agreed.

There were some major public access and hunting developments that occurred during this year’s FSB meeting. In some units, acres upon acres of land became inaccessible for NFQUs.

I’ve seen many furious comments on Facebook in the days since. And all I have to say is, if you don’t want to see the public access to hunt these lands go, you have to take action before the board deliberations happen. Call in, testify with written words and make your voice heard. It does absolutely no good to complain about it after it has happened. Stand up for your lands and your beliefs before they’re gone.