About the Program

The Federal Subsistence Management Program is a multi-agency effort to provide the opportunity for a subsistence way of life by rural Alaskans on federal public lands and waters while maintaining healthy populations of fish and wildlife. Subsistence fishing and hunting provide a large share of the food consumed in rural Alaska. The state's rural residents harvest about 22,000 tons of wild foods each year - an average of 375 pounds per person. Fish makes up about 60 percent of this harvest statewide. Nowhere else in the United States is there such a heavy reliance upon wild foods.

This dependence on wild resources is both cultural, social and economic. Alaska's indigenous inhabitants have relied upon the traditional harvest of wild foods for thousands of years and have passed this way of life, its culture, and values down through generations. Subsistence has also become important to many non-Native Alaskans, particularly in rural Alaska.

ANILCA

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), passed by Congress in 1980, mandates that rural residents of Alaska be given a priority for subsistence uses of fish and wildlife. In 1989, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that ANILCA's rural priority violated the Alaska Constitution. As a result, the Federal government manages subsistence uses on Federal public lands and waters in Alaska-about 230 million acres or 60 percent of the land within the state. To help carry out the responsibility for subsistence management, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture established the Federal Subsistence Management Program.

Public Participation

The program provides for public participation through the Federal Subsistence Board and 10 Regional Advisory Councils. The Board is the decision-making body that oversees the program. It is made up of the regional directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Forest Service. A representative appointed by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture serves as chair of the Board. The Regional Advisory Councils provide recommendations and information to the Board; review proposed regulations, policies and management plans; and provide a public forum for subsistence issues. Each Council consists of residents who are knowledgeable about subsistence and other uses of fish and wildlife resources in their region.

Fisheries Research

Another important element of the Federal subsistence program is fisheries research and monitoring. The Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program supports and funds research and monitoring projects that provide information needed for subsistence fisheries management and to ensure that regulatory decisions are based upon sound science. The Federal Subsistence Board, Regional Advisory Councils and fishery managers use this information when making regulatory decisions. Projects funded by the program are carried out by numerous organizations, including the State and Federal government agencies, universities, Alaska Native and rural organizations, and private contractors.

Program Structure and Processes

Regulations implementing the Federal Subsistence Management Program on Federal public lands within the State of Alaska can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 100, Sec. 1-23. Additional information on how the program is implemented can be found in the 1992 Record of Decision.

Other Laws

While most of the subsistence harvest on Federal lands in Alaska is managed under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, other Federal laws also govern the harvest of some species.

• The harvest of halibut is managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The harvest of seals, sea lions and some whales is co-managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and Alaska Natives under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/
• The harvest of sea otters, polar bears and walrus is co-managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Natives under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/index.htm
• The harvest of waterfowl and other migratory birds is co-managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Natives under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. http://alaska.fws.gov/mbsp/mbm/index.htm