A history and analysis of the efforts of the Ahtna people of South-Central Alaska to secure a priority to hunt moose on their ancestral lands

A history and analysis of the efforts of the Ahtna people of South-Central Alaska to secure a priority to hunt moose on their ancestral lands

Schacht, Eric

Date: 2015-08

Subject: Ahtena Indians ; Hunting ; Law and legislation ; Alaska, Southcentral ; Moose hunting ; Subsistence hunting

Type: Otherma

Table of Contents: 1. Introduction -- 1.1 Research questions -- 2. Methods -- 3. Background information -- 3.1 North American model of wildlife management -- 3.2 Human dimensions of wildlife management -- 3.3 Alaska's wildlife management model -- 3.4 Determining state subsistence allocations and subsistence permitting systems in Alaska -- 3.5 Federal wildlife management model in Alaska -- 3.6 The co-management model in Canada -- 3.7 The Ahtna: geographical and historical context -- 3.8 Trends in human population, 1940s to present -- 3.9 Contemporary Ahtna -- 3.10 Economic importance of subsistence resources -- 3.11 Ahtna - moose relationship -- 4. Results: the basis of Ahtna Athabascan claims towards GMU 13 Moose -- 4.1 Cultural importance of moose -- 4.2 Incorporating local/traditional knowledge into moose management -- 4.3 Contemporary Ahtna and wildlife management capacity building -- 4.4 Selected human dimensions: subsistence harvest surveys -- 5. Development of state subsistence moose hunting regulations, moose hunter participation, and harvest history -- 5.1 Pre-subsistence regulations, 1960-1982 -- 5.2 The first GMU 13 moose subsistence regulations, 1983-1989 -- 5.3 Post McDowell decision, 1990-2008 -- 5.4 The Copper basin CSH, 2009-present -- 5.5 Copper Basin CSH harvest demographics -- 6. Discussion: recommendations for future allocation of subsistence moose in Game Management Unit 13 -- 7. Conclusion -- Literature cited -- Appendix A. GMU 13 moose hunting regulations and seasons -- Appendix B. Glossary of terms.

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to document the decades-long struggle of the Ahtna people of south-central Alaska to secure the priority to hunt moose in their ancestral lands. The study details the changes in moose hunting regulations in Game Management Unit 13 from the first permit hunt in 1960 to the current era as well as the changes in the number of hunters, number of moose harvests, and success of hunters by area of residence (local vs. non-local). This study summarizes changes in regulations regarding rural preference for subsistence hunters and the court cases challenging those provisions. It outlines the strategies the Ahtna have used over the years to try to secure a priority to hunt moose. It also discusses the importance of moose hunting to the culture of the Ahtna people and the cultural impacts of changes in subsistence harvest regulations. The results demonstrate that under the current management and regulatory structure, Ahtna people and other local residents of the Copper Basin are not getting enough moose and they persistently feel the pressure from non-local hunters. The Ahtna counter this by continually engaging the natural resource management and regulatory process, maintaining subsistence lifestyles, and increasing their wildlife management capacity so that in the future they will have more moose on their land and a greater ability to control this important aspect of their culture. The study also provides recommendations regarding future subsistence moose hunting regulations in the region.