Dear residents of the Bering Strait region, Tribal Leaders, Alaska Native Corporation Leaders,
In May 2025, the Safari Club International, a global recreational hunting, and fishing lobbying group, filed a petition to the Department of Interior to change the regulations around subsistence management on federal lands, and to change how the Federal Subsistence Board is structured.
The Safari Club petition asked the Secretary of Interior, Doug Burgum, to put the State of Alaska in charge of subsistence regulations, which would do away with our rural subsistence priority!
Safari Club has also asked for all public seats on the board to be removed, leaving only the federal agency heads. If the changes are made, rural Alaskans would have no representation on the Board.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
First, you can submit comments! Submit comments asking the Secretary of Interior keep the public seats on the Federal Subsistence Board, to preserve rural representation.
Tribal Leaders and Alaska Corporation Leaders can request formal Tribal Consultation on this issue with the Department of Interior. To do so, contact: Kara Moriarty, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior for Alaska Affairs, by email at kara_moriarty@ios.doi.gov or by phone at 907-786-3888 (toll free 800-478-1456).
Second, you can attend an upcoming Rural Advisory Council meetings. You don’t have to be there in person – you can attend over the phone or zoom to provide comments. Here is a list of upcoming RAC meetings and links to the agenda, along with online attendance information.
- Seward Peninsula Subsistence Resource Advisory Council Meeting
January 20-22, at UAF Northwest Campus in Nome
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/sp_materials - Northwest Arctic Borough Subsistence Resource Advisory Council Meeting
January 7-8, in Kotzebue
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/nwa_materials - Bristol Bay Subsistence Resource Advisory Council Meeting
January 12, Hyatt Place in Anchorage
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/bb_materials
- Southcentral Subsistence Resource Advisory Council Meeting
January 13-14, Hyatt Place, Anchorage
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/sc_materials
- Yukon Kuskokwim Subsistence Resource Advisory Council Meeting
January 20-22, in Bethel
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/regions/ykd_materials
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS:
Comments are due by February 13, 2026. Written comments and materials concerning this review or an appointment request to provide oral comments can be emailed to: subsistence@ios.doi.gov
Comments can be submitted at the following website: www.regulations.gov docket number DOI-2025-0170.
Comments can also be mailed to Office of the Secretary, Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs, 4230 University Drive, Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99508.
The Kawerak Full Board of Directors, Kawerak Administration, and Kawerak Natural Resources Division, encourage everyone to send in comments as soon as possible so that those comments are included in the scoping report that is given to the Secretary of Interior when he considers options for action.
The Department of Interior will be holding a public meeting in Anchorage, but no date has been announced for that meeting. Please monitor the following website for any announcements: https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/FSMP_Scoping_Process
To view the federal register follow this link: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-12-15/pdf/2025-22837.pdf
For more information, feel free to reach out to:
Brandon Ahmasuk, Vice President of Natural Resources at Kawerak, Inc. at 907-443-5231, or by email at: bahmasuk@kawerak.org
Lisa Ellanna, Social Science Program Manager at 907-304-1195, or by email at: lellanna@kawerak.org
Charles Menadelook, Subsistence Program Director at Kawerak, at 907-443-4265, or by email: at cbmenadelook@kawerak.org
Kara Moriarty, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior for Alaska Affairs, by email at kara_moriarty@ios.doi.gov or by phone at 907-786-3888 (toll free 800-478-1456).
