Bulletin: Federal Subsistence Board Acts on Three Wildlife Special Action Requests for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – At its June 3 public meeting, the Federal Subsistence Board (Board) considered three Wildlife Special Action Requests pertaining to the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH). The Board’s decisions followed public testimony from an April 9 public hearing, analyses from the Office of Subsistence Management, input from Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils (Councils), the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Tribes and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Corporations, National Park Subsistence Resource Commissions, the Interagency Staff Committee, and public testimony received at the meeting. 

Wildlife Special Action Request WSA26-01 asked to reduce the caribou harvest limit in Units 22, 23, and 26A west of the Colville River drainage upstream from the Nuka River and drainages of the Chukchi Sea, south and west of and including the Kuk and Kugrua river drainages (Unit 26A SW) to 4 caribou per year, only one of which may be a cow for the 2026/27 regulatory year. Wildlife Special Action Requests WSA26-02 and WSA26-03 asked to close Federal public lands to caribou hunting by non-federally qualified users for the 2026-2028 wildlife regulatory cycle in Units 22 and 26A SW, respectively.

The Board adopted WSA26-01 with a modification to eliminate the cow caribou hunt through the 2027/28 regulatory year and to defer action on reducing the bull caribou harvest limit until the Board’s fisheries regulatory meeting in February 2027. The Board stated that eliminating cow caribou harvest would have the greatest impact on WACH conservation and recovery, and this change was supported by both the Seward Peninsula and Northwest Arctic Councils. The Board noted that ADF&G recently issued an emergency order closing the cow caribou hunt under State regulations, and this modification would maintain regulatory alignment, supporting a unified conservation approach and clear public messaging. 

The Board deferred action on the harvest limit reduction because bull to cow ratios indicate bulls may still be harvested without impacting conservation. In addition, the Alaska Board of Game will consider similar proposals at its January 2027 meeting, and the Board determined it was appropriate to revisit the issue after that discussion. 

The Board also adopted WSA26-02 and WSA26-03, stating both closures are necessary for the conservation and continued subsistence uses of the WACH as well as to maintain a subsistence priority as required by law and in deference to the Councils.

Information about the Federal Subsistence Management Program may be found on the web at www.doi.gov/subsistence or by visiting www.facebook.com/subsistencealaska. 

Missing out on the latest federal subsistence issues? To receive emails updates on Federal Subsistence Management Program activities, send a request to subsistence@ios.doi.gov. 

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