In a meeting last month, the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group (WACHWG) voted to give its official support of the Department of Fish and Game’s proposal to modify the caribou hunt structure in five northern hunting units.
WACHWG’s December 19th votes support changes to four different proposals that outline current hunting regulations: most notably, the establishment of registration permit hunts within hunting units 21, 23, 24, and 26.
Those units stretch from Bethel up to Utgiavik, encompassing thousands of acres. Unit 23 is most famously known as home to the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, and, as of last April, is off limits to non-resident hunters. The proposed change to the structure would not affect the ban of non-residents put in place by the federal subsistence board.
The units in question currently use a harvest registration system. Supporting a registration permit hunt would give the Fish and Game board power to require mandatory reporting from people who buy the licenses. The current harvest registration system does not require people to accurately track what they kill. The ability to require reporting can lead to stronger data surrounding herd conditions, allowing for more frequent herd evaluations. If numbers were found to be worrisome, the permits would increase the Department of Fish and Game’s ability to quickly close or open seasons.
The working group also voted to support hunt camp spacing and extending unit 23’s boundaries, while opposing a no-fly zone above hunting units on the North Slope.
With the Western Arctic Caribou Herd’s official support, the Department of Fish and Game will go on at a later time to either pass or reject the supported proposed changes. Passed proposals will come into effect July 1, 2017.
