Federal regulators voted in June to prohibit hunters in northwestern Alaska from harvesting caribou cows. Regulators also decided to close the harvest to non-local hunters. The restrictions, though not as stringent as what advocates proposed, are a response to the continuing decline of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
The new rules adopted by the Federal Subsistence Board, which apply through this and the next season, cover three regions: the Seward Peninsula around Nome, the Northwest Arctic around Kotzebue, and the southwestern corner of the North Slope, including Point Lay and Wainwright.
Kelsi Ivanoff, a Unalakleet resident, works for the Native Peoples Action and
sits on the Seward Peninsula Regional Advisory Council. She said during the meeting that, while many factors contribute to the herd decline, hunting restrictions are one of the few solutions available to protect the population.
“Right now, the human factor is something that is in our control,” she said. “We need to take action now, before it becomes an even more dire situation, because it already is.”
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has been declining for several decades. The latest count, last summer, showed 121,000 animals – a 20% drop from 2023, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. State scientists also noted a low cow survival rate, which they say likely plays a role in the decline.
In previous years, federal managers cut the harvest limit from five animals a day to 15 animals per year, only one of which can be a cow. This year, they initially considered cutting the limit to four animals per year, with one cow allowed. But residents are still allowed to hunt 15 bulls, even with the new federal rules.
That decision came after hours of discussion.
Doreen Leavitt, the director of natural resources for a North Slope tribe, the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, said that residents across the Arctic rely on caribou for food and continuation of their culture.
“We don't recommend reducing the amount of tuttu – of caribou – that we harvest, but reducing the harvest of cows, like I said, makes sense,” Leavitt said.
Tristen Pattee, a resident of Ambler in the Northwest Arctic region and the vice chair of the regional subsistence advisory council, said it will be a challenge if locals are not allowed to harvest cows.
Pattee said the herd is arriving in the region later and later in the season. When residents get a chance to hunt, the bulls are in rut, and their meat is inedible, so residents choose cows instead.
Still, Pattee said protecting cows is the right call.
“Subsistence isn't the only harvest, you know – it's everything that the caribou does for us, it's all about the culture,” he said. “We need to do our best to ensure that we conserve this herd and help her recover, just for the future generations.”
The federal rule to eliminate the cow harvest mirrors a state decision announced in May.
The federal Bureau of Land Management proposed rolling out changes in incremental steps and postponing the discussion on further restrictions until the next winter, but several members argued against the delays.
“This population needs all the help it can get,” said Gregory Risdahl with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We've waited a very long time to do something about it, and I don't think we should be waiting any longer.”
The board ultimately postponed discussions on reducing the bull caribou harvest limit until February 2027.
Closures for non-local hunters
The board also voted to close caribou hunting for hunters coming from outside of the region who are not federally qualified for subsistence hunting. These new closures apply in the Seward Peninsula and southwestern part of the North Slope. Similar restrictions already exist in the Northwest Arctic.
The decision centers around a long-time conflict between subsistence and fly-in hunters.
Kevin Pendergast, the state’s BLM director, said the agency opposes the decision because non-locals harvest very few caribou.
“Our available data suggests that federally qualified users harvest significantly more caribou,” Pendergast said.
The majority of the board members argued that closing non-local harvest will help prioritize subsistence hunters.
“Such a closure is necessary to conserve the caribou population in this unit and to help subsistence users in the area's communities with needs for this resource,” said Rhonda Pitka, First Chief at Beaver Village Council.
The board is scheduled to meet in February next year, when they could discuss further restrictions for the herd’s harvest.
