Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska-2026-27 and 2027-28 Subsistence Taking of Wildlife Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE <SUBAGY>Forest Service</SUBAGY> <CFR>36 CFR Part 242</CFR> DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <SUBAGY>Office of Subsistence Management</SUBAGY> <CFR>50 CFR Part 100</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. DOI-2024-0011; 256D0102DM DS61900000 DMSN00000.000000 DX61901]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1090-AB29</RIN> <SUBJECT>Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska—2026-27 and 2027-28 Subsistence Taking of Wildlife Regulations</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Forest Service, Agriculture; Office of Subsistence Management, Interior. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> This proposed rule would establish regulations for hunting and trapping seasons, harvest limits, and methods and means related to taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board (hereafter referred to as “the Board”) is on a schedule of completing the process of revising subsistence taking of wildlife regulations in even-numbered years and subsistence taking of fish and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board also addresses customary and traditional use determinations during the applicable cycle. When final, the resulting rulemaking will replace the existing subsistence wildlife taking regulations. This proposed rule could also amend the general regulations on subsistence taking of fish and wildlife. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Public meetings:</E> The Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils (hereafter referred to as “the Councils”) will receive comments and make proposals to change this proposed rule during public meetings held between February 18, 2025, and April 2, 2025. The Councils will hold another round of public meetings to discuss and receive comments on the proposals and make recommendations on the proposals to the Board on several dates between September 16, 2025, and October 30, 2025 (see Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council Meetings for 2025; 89 FR 63962; August 06, 2024). The Board will discuss and evaluate proposed regulatory changes during a public meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in April 2026. See <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> for specific information on dates and locations of the public meetings. <E T="03">Public comments:</E> Comments and proposals to change this proposed rule must be received or postmarked by April 4, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> <E T="03">Public meetings:</E> The Board and the Councils' public meetings are held at various locations in Alaska. See <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> for specific information on dates and locations of the public meetings. <E T="03">Public comments:</E> You may submit comments by one of the following methods: <E T="03">Electronically:</E> Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> In the Search box, enter Docket number DOI-2024-0011. Then, click on the Search button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, check the Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment.” <E T="03">By hard copy:</E> Submit by U.S. mail or hand delivery: Regulations, Attn: DOI-2024-0011; Office of Subsistence Management; 1011 E Tudor Road M/S 121, Anchorage AK 99503. If in-person Council meetings are held, you may also deliver a hard copy to the Designated Federal Official attending any of the Councils' public meetings. See <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> for additional information on locations of the public meetings. We will post all comments on <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov.</E> This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see the Public Review Process section below for more information). <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Chair, Federal Subsistence Board, c/o Office of Subsistence Management, Attention: Crystal Leonetti, Director; (907) 786-3888 or <E T="03">subsistence@ios.doi.gov.</E> For questions specific to National Forest System lands, contact Gregory Risdahl, Regional Subsistence Program Leader, USDA, Forest Service, Alaska Region; (907) 302-7354 or g <E T="03">regory.risdahl@usda.gov.</E> In compliance with the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023, please see Docket No. DOI-2024-0011 on <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> for a document that summarizes this proposed rule. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> Under title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3111-3126), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter referred to as “the Secretaries”) jointly implement the Federal Subsistence Management Program (hereafter referred to as “the Program”). The Program provides a preference for take of fish and wildlife resources for subsistence uses on Federal public lands and waters in Alaska. Only Alaska residents of areas identified as rural are eligible to participate in the Program. The Secretaries published temporary regulations to carry out the Program in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on June 29, 1990 (55 FR 27114), and final regulations on May 29, 1992 (57 FR 22940). Program officials have subsequently amended these regulations a number of times. Because the Program is a joint effort between the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, these regulations are located in two titles of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): The Agriculture regulations are at title 36, “Parks, Forests, and Public Property,” and the Interior regulations are at title 50, “Wildlife and Fisheries,” at 36 CFR 242.1-28 and 50 CFR 100.1-28, respectively. Consequently, to indicate that identical changes are proposed for regulations in both titles 36 and 50, in this document we will present references to specific sections of the CFR as shown in the following example: § __.24. The Program regulations contain subparts as follows: Subpart A, General Provisions; Subpart B, Program Structure; Subpart C, Board Determinations; and Subpart D, Subsistence Taking of Fish and Wildlife. Consistent with subpart B of these regulations, the Secretaries established a Federal Subsistence Board (hereafter referred to as “the Board”) to administer the Program. The Board comprises: • A Chair appointed by the Secretary of the Interior with concurrence of the Secretary of Agriculture; • Five public members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior with concurrence of the Secretary of Agriculture; • The Alaska Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs; • The Alaska State Director, Bureau of Land Management; • The Alaska Regional Director, National Park Service; • The Alaska Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and • The Alaska Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service. Through the Board, these agencies and public members participate in the development of regulations for subparts C and D. Subpart C sets forth important Board determinations regarding program eligibility, <E T="03">i.e.,</E> which areas of Alaska are considered rural and which species are harvested in those areas as part of a “customary and traditional use” for subsistence purposes. Subpart D sets forth specific seasons, limits, and other harvest parameters and requirements. In administering the Program, the Secretaries divided Alaska into 10 subsistence resource regions, each of which is represented by a Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council. The Councils provide a forum for rural residents with personal knowledge of local conditions and resource requirements to have a meaningful role in the subsistence management of fish and wildlife on Federal public lands in Alaska. The Council members represent varied geographical, cultural, and user interests within each region. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Public Review Process—Comments, Proposals, and Public Meetings</HD> The Councils have a substantial role in reviewing this proposed rule and making recommendations for the final rule. The Board, through the Councils, will hold public meetings in person and via teleconference on this proposed rule at the following locations in Alaska, on the following dates: <GPOTABLE COLS="3" OPTS="L2,i1" CDEF="s100,r100,xs132"> <TTITLE>Table 1—Winter 2025 Meetings of the Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils</TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Regional Advisory Council</CHED> <CHED H="1">Dates</CHED> <CHED H="1">Location</CHED> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Southeast Alaska—Region 1</ENT> <ENT>March 18-20</ENT> <ENT>Sitka.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Southcentral Alaska-Region 2</ENT> <ENT>March 12-13</ENT> <ENT>Cordova.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Kodiak/Aleutians—Region 3</ENT> <ENT>March 6-7</ENT> <ENT>Kodiak.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Bristol Bay—Region 4</ENT> <ENT>February 18-19</ENT> <ENT>Naknek.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta—Region 5</ENT> <ENT>March 4-5</ENT> <ENT>Bethel.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Western Interior—Region 6</ENT> <ENT>February 25-26</ENT> <ENT>Fairbanks.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Seward Peninsula—Region 7</ENT> <ENT>April 1-2</ENT> <ENT>Nome.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Northwest Arctic—Region 8</ENT> <ENT>March 27-28</ENT> <ENT>Kotzebue.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Eastern Interior—Region 9</ENT> <ENT>February 19-20</ENT> <ENT>Fairbanks.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">North Slope—Region 10</ENT> <ENT>February 27-28</ENT> <ENT>Utqiagvik.</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> During April 2025, the written proposals to change the regulations at subpart D, ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 35k characters. 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