44hunter45
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New Subsistence board proposals effecting deer hunting in Unit 2
- Thread starter 44hunter45
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Bluffgruff
Well-known member
So no POW deer hunting by Ketchikan folks, nonresidents, or any big city Alaskans?
44hunter45
Well-known member
Ketchikan is now qualified for subsistence in unit 2. That is what caused a lot of these proposals beginning last year. There is a major concern that there are so many Qualified just a ferry ride away. I understand. It is not primarily about the fly-in hunters, but still it is.
I listened to the meeting on MS TEAMs. There was a compromise that kept the current rules. They will now allow only one doe per year for Qualified hunters. Still 5 deer per year, but now 4 bucks/1 doe. Non Qualified hunters will still be allowed to hunt after August 15th. The Southern exclusion zone has been eliminated, so that rule applies to the whole of Unit 2 now.
So "Sport" hunters really only gave up the Southern exclusion zone. The proposals as they were modified and accepted were all verbal. I will verify these changes once they are published.
Two things came out clearly in the comments.
One is alarm about the rapid upswing in development on the island. This was expressed in terms of the availability of grocery outlets on the island and their affordability to the Haida/Tlingit. There is a fear that new residents will both consume the limited supply of groceries, and drive the price out of reach for indigenous residents. Thins, in turn, increases fears about competition for game.
The other is a negative undertone regarding "sport hunters" (vs subsistence). There is a feeling that the deer are harder to get to now. Hunter days per harvest stats have increased.
(I've probably driven them up single-handedly with my 20 days in the field and no harvest....) It was said by one of the council members that the deer are "harder to get to". I take this to mean farther off the road system. I was told my first trip to the island that if I was willing to get even 1/4 off the road system, I could harvest a deer. This is kind of true when you realize that 1/4 mile might be straight up and choked with Devil's Club. The message of the person who advised me this was that most locals shoot deer off the road system. Just like North Idaho. You betcha.
It was acknowledged on the TEAMS call that one of the reason for the deer being harder to find is the succession of the habitat. The co-operative work on habitat enhancement done by the Blacktail Deer Foundation was given high praise by indigenous and non-indigenous speakers alike. Many expressed a desire for a lot more co-operative projects.
This is my plug to say if you can afford to fly to POW and hunt, you can afford to support the BDF. Join today.
www.blacktaildeer.org
By and large, in spite of my own hypersensitivity, the tone of the meeting was very much about what is good for the species and how to get them back into a growth status ASAP. Everyone would love a world where there are enough deer for everyone (AKFG still maintains this to be true.) In that world, everyone gets their 5 deer and we NR still come spend a ton of money on the island.
I listened to the meeting on MS TEAMs. There was a compromise that kept the current rules. They will now allow only one doe per year for Qualified hunters. Still 5 deer per year, but now 4 bucks/1 doe. Non Qualified hunters will still be allowed to hunt after August 15th. The Southern exclusion zone has been eliminated, so that rule applies to the whole of Unit 2 now.
So "Sport" hunters really only gave up the Southern exclusion zone. The proposals as they were modified and accepted were all verbal. I will verify these changes once they are published.
Two things came out clearly in the comments.
One is alarm about the rapid upswing in development on the island. This was expressed in terms of the availability of grocery outlets on the island and their affordability to the Haida/Tlingit. There is a fear that new residents will both consume the limited supply of groceries, and drive the price out of reach for indigenous residents. Thins, in turn, increases fears about competition for game.
The other is a negative undertone regarding "sport hunters" (vs subsistence). There is a feeling that the deer are harder to get to now. Hunter days per harvest stats have increased.
(I've probably driven them up single-handedly with my 20 days in the field and no harvest....) It was said by one of the council members that the deer are "harder to get to". I take this to mean farther off the road system. I was told my first trip to the island that if I was willing to get even 1/4 off the road system, I could harvest a deer. This is kind of true when you realize that 1/4 mile might be straight up and choked with Devil's Club. The message of the person who advised me this was that most locals shoot deer off the road system. Just like North Idaho. You betcha.
It was acknowledged on the TEAMS call that one of the reason for the deer being harder to find is the succession of the habitat. The co-operative work on habitat enhancement done by the Blacktail Deer Foundation was given high praise by indigenous and non-indigenous speakers alike. Many expressed a desire for a lot more co-operative projects.
This is my plug to say if you can afford to fly to POW and hunt, you can afford to support the BDF. Join today.
Blacktail Deer Foundation
www.blacktaildeer.org
By and large, in spite of my own hypersensitivity, the tone of the meeting was very much about what is good for the species and how to get them back into a growth status ASAP. Everyone would love a world where there are enough deer for everyone (AKFG still maintains this to be true.) In that world, everyone gets their 5 deer and we NR still come spend a ton of money on the island.
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