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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern Interior Field Office will open the Fortymile caribou federal subsistence hunt on federal public lands in Units 20E, 25C and a portion of 20F on August 1, 2023​. BLM made the decision under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, after consultation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Eastern Interior Subsistence Regional Advisory Council. The caribou hunt is limited to federally qualified rural residents hunting on federal public lands only, including federal public lands accessible from the Steese and Taylor highways.  The federal subsistence hunt opens at 12:01 a.m. August 1, 2023, with a harvest limit of two bull caribou. The hunt closes at 11:59 p.m. September 30, 2023.

Hunters participating in the hunt must obtain an RC860 joint State/federal registration permit issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Registration permits for RC860 will be available online at   hunt.alaska.gov and at Fish and Game offices in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Tok, Anchorage, Douglas and Palmer and at vendors in Eagle, Central and Tok. Hunters should review the RC860 permit conditions.

Information and updates on the RC860 caribou hunt are available on the Fortymile Hotline at (907) 267-2310. When the State of Alaska portion of RC860 is open, all registered hunters may hunt on federal and non-federal land. State of Alaska regulations  limit the caribou harvest to one bull in all caribou hunt zones. Under federal subsistence regulations, federally qualified rural residents may harvest a second bull only on federal public lands. Evidence of sex must remain attached.   

To qualify to hunt under federal subsistence regulations, you must have your primary, permanent place of residence in one of the following rural communities or game management units, and you must have lived in Alaska for the previous 12 months.  

• For hunting in Units 20E and 25C—residents of Units 20D, 20E, 20F, 25, 12 (north of Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve), Eureka, Livengood, Manley and Minto 

• For hunting in Unit 20F east of the Dalton Highway and south of the Yukon River—residents of Units 20F, 25D, and Manley 

Seasons, harvest limits, methods, and customary and traditional use determinations for the subsistence taking of wildlife are published in the 2022-2024 Federal Subsistence Management Regulations for the Harvest of Wildlife on Federal Public Lands in Alaska.  

Maps to aid in locating federal public lands open to the federal subsistence hunt near the Elliott, Steese and Taylor highways are available from the BLM Fairbanks District Office or online at: https://www.blm.gov/maps/georeferenced-PDFs. Choose “Alaska” and scroll down to “Federal Subsistence Hunting Map Series” and choose maps for GMU 25C or 20E. These maps are designed for digital use. When used through an application on a GPS-enabled smartphone or tablet, the georeferenced PDF maps show a user’s location, even in areas where cellular service is not available. To work on your device, the application and the maps need to be downloaded prior to leaving cell phone range.  

The BLM advises hunters to be aware of land ownership and ensure that they are familiar with the newly revised motor vehicle limitations. Unit 25C hunters should be aware of the 2022 Travel and Transportation Management Plans that made significant changes to motor vehicle limitations in the White Mountains National Recreation Area’s Nome Creek Valley and throughout much of the Steese National Conservation Area in order to protect sensitive resources during the summer, May 1 – October 14. In these areas, motor vehicles must remain on BLM routes designated for their use unless traveling in an area designated open to cross-country motorized travel. Many of the BLM’s georeferenced PDF maps for the area include information about the motor vehicle limitations including the Summer Recreation in the White Mountain National Recreation Area and Steese National Conservation Area. The BLM factsheet for Summer Motor Vehicle Limitations provides more information about the area’s new limitations including the conditions for off-trail game retrieval in the Steese National Conservation Area.    

For additional information, contact Jim Herriges at (907) 474-2373 or jherrige@blm.gov. 

-BLM- 

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