FAIRBANKS, AK — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern Interior Field Office, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, will open caribou hunting on federal public lands in Units 20E, 25C, and 20F East of the Dalton Highway and South of the Yukon River on October 27, 2020, to provide harvest opportunities for federal subsistence users.
The harvest limit for the federal subsistence hunt is two caribou. That limit applies to the entire regulatory year and is not additive to other federal or state hunts. The hunt opens Oct. 27 and closes March 31, 2021. Federally qualified subsistence users participating in the hunt must obtain an RC867 joint State/Federal registration permit issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
Hunters should be aware that BLM-managed lands in the White Mountains National Recreation Area and Steese National Conservation Area are generally closed to the use of motorized vehicles other than snowmachines after Oct. 15.
Registration permits for RC867 are available online at hunt.alaska.gov and at ADF&G offices in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Tok, Anchorage, Douglas, and Palmer, as well as from vendors in Eagle, Central and Tok. Hunters should review the RC867 permit conditions.
Successful hunters must report their harvests within three days online at hunt.alaska.gov, by phone at (907) 883-2971, or in person at the ADF&G office in Tok. Hunters who report by phone must also mail their permit reports or drop them off at the Tok ADF&G office. Unsuccessful hunters must return their reports to the Tok office or report online at hunt.alaska.gov by April 15, 2021.
Information and updates on the RC867 caribou hunt are available on the Fortymile Hotline at (907) 267-2310. When the State of Alaska portion of RC867 is open, all Alaska residents may hunt on federal and non-federal land.
The BLM has released two new maps showing winter access points and legal off-highway vehicle (OHV) areas on federal public lands to help hunters be successful while preserving sensitive environmental areas near the Steese Highway.
The maps are available at BLM public rooms around the state, as well as from ADF&G offices. Digital versions of the maps show a user’s location on smart phones or tablets even without cell coverage. Digital maps can be downloaded from BLM’s website at www.blm.gov/maps/georeferenced-PDFs. Ensure the maps are downloaded before leaving cell phone range.
For additional information, contact Eastern Interior Assistant Field Manager John Haddix at (907) 474-2350 or jahaddix@blm.gov.
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