[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35010-35011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09430]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 92

[Docket No. FWS-R7-MB-2020-0134; FXMB12610700000-201-FF07M01000]
RIN 1018-BF08


Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest in Alaska

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Announcement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) announces 
that we are extending the Kodiak Island Roaded Area experimental season 
for subsistence migratory bird hunting and egg gathering by 
registration permit for 1 year (through the spring-summer subsistence 
harvest season [hereafter, ``season''] in 2024). As set forth in a 2021 
final rule, this experimental season began in the 2021 season and was 
set to terminate at the end of the 2023 season. However, we are 
extending the experimental season to provide subsistence harvest 
opportunity for an additional year while an evaluation of harvest data 
from the first 3 years of the experimental season is completed and a 
long-term plan is developed. Extending the experimental season requires 
no revision of the regulations pertaining to subsistence harvest of 
migratory birds in Alaska; we are issuing this document solely for the 
purpose of public information.

DATES: We make this announcement May 1, 2024. The rule that published 
April 19, 2021, at 86 FR 20311 setting forth the regulations pertaining 
to the experimental hunt was effective April 19, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may find supplementary materials for the 2021 rulemaking 
action as well as the comments received at the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R7-MB-2020-0134.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Loya, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1011 E Tudor Road, Mail Stop 201, Anchorage, AK 99503; (907) 
227-2942. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point of contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), the 
Secretary of the Interior regulates the harvest of certain species of 
migratory birds, including establishing regulations for fall-winter 
harvest and for take by the indigenous inhabitants of the State of 
Alaska for their essential needs. The subsistence take of migratory 
birds in Alaska occurs during the spring and summer, when the harvest 
of migratory birds is not allowed elsewhere in the United States. 
Regulations governing the subsistence take of migratory birds in Alaska 
are in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in part 92. 
The regulations in 50 CFR 92.31 specify when and where the harvesting 
of birds for subsistence purposes may occur in 12 different regions of 
Alaska.
    The migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations are developed 
cooperatively by the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council 
(hereafter, ``the Council''), which consists of the Service, the Alaska 
Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. The 
Council's primary purpose is to develop recommendations pertaining to 
the subsistence harvest of migratory birds.

Regulations for the Kodiak Archipelago Region

    On February 26, 2021, we published a proposed rule (86 FR 11707), 
and on April 19, 2021, we published the subsequent final rule (86 FR 
20311), to

[[Page 35011]]

revise the Alaska subsistence harvest regulations. The 2021 rulemaking 
action incorporated regulatory amendments that were recommended by the 
Council in 2019 and approved by the Service in 2020 (85 FR 73233, 
November 17, 2020) and included revisions to 50 CFR 92.31(e), 
pertaining to the Kodiak Archipelago Region. The rule provided for a 3-
year experimental season for subsistence migratory bird hunting and egg 
gathering by registration permit only within the Kodiak Island Roaded 
Area (hereafter, ``the Roaded Area''). The regulations allow residents 
of the Kodiak Archipelago Region the opportunity to participate in 
subsistence harvest activities without the need for a boat. Prior to 
the 2021 final rule, the Roaded Area and marine waters adjacent to the 
Roaded Area (within 500 feet from the water's edge), were closed to 
harvest. Under these regulations, which are still in effect, the Roaded 
Area is closed to hunting and egg gathering for Arctic terns, Aleutian 
terns, mew gulls, and emperor geese.
    The Council expected that the 3-year experimental season would 
begin in 2020 and continue through 2022, and the preambles to the 2020 
proposed and final rules associated those years (2020-2022) with the 3-
year experimental season. However, delays in the 2020 rulemaking 
process prevented the 3-year experimental season from beginning in 2020 
as initially planned. Therefore, in the April 19, 2021, final rule (86 
FR 20311), we stated that our intent to allow a 3-year experimental 
season for migratory bird hunting and egg gathering by registration 
permit along the Roaded Area remained the same, but that this activity 
would now occur during the 2021-2023 seasons with the experimental 
season terminating at the end of 2023. We further stated that reopening 
the Roaded Area after the 3-year experimental period would require a 
subsequent proposal from the Council for continuation of the season 
under either operational or experimental status.
    Accordingly, in 2021, the Roaded Area was opened to spring-summer 
subsistence hunting of migratory birds and egg gathering. Participants 
of this experimental program first must obtain a registration permit 
and later must report their harvest.

Council Recommendation and Service Decision

    In spring of 2023, the Council recommended to the Service that the 
3-year experimental season for subsistence migratory bird hunting and 
egg gathering by registration permit only for the Roaded Area be 
extended an additional year. Because evaluation of the first 3 years of 
harvest data will extend into 2024, the Council determined that the 
experimental period should be extended through the 2024 season.
    The 2023 subsistence harvest season closed after August 31, 2023. 
The Council is now assessing the effect of the experimental season and 
will develop a recommendation regarding the operational status for the 
Roaded Area in 2025 and beyond. The 1-year extension will allow the 
current harvest opportunity to continue until an evaluation of the 
first 3 years of data (2021-2023) is completed and a proposal to guide 
future harvest opportunity in the Roaded Area can be developed.
    The Service concurs with the Council recommendation. Therefore, we 
announce that we are extending the experimental season through the end 
of the 2024 season (August 31, 2024). No revisions to the regulations 
pertaining to the Kodiak Archipelago Region are necessary because the 
regulations at 50 CFR 92.31(e) do not specify an end point for the 
registration permit program.

    Authority: This document is published under the authority of the 
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.).

Jerome Ford,
Assistant Director, Migratory Bird Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-09430 Filed 4-30-24; 8:45 am]
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