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 a portion of 20F on Aug. 1, 2020, to provide opportunities for federal subsistence. The 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.
Hunters participating in the hunt must obtain an RC860 joint State/federal registration permit issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The federal subsistence hunt opens at 12:00 a.m. Aug. 1, 2021 and closes at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30, 2021. The harvest limit is two caribou.
Registration permits for RC860 are 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.
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
Maps to aid in locating federal public lands near the 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.
The BLM advises hunters to be aware of land ownership and ensure that they know and follow off-highway vehicle (OHV) regulations (see https://www.blm.gov/maps/georeferenced-PDFs).
Hunting under an RC860 permit under State of Alaska regulations opens Aug. 10, with a bag limit of one caribou. If federally qualified rural residents harvest one caribou under State regulations with a bag limit of one caribou, a second caribou may be harvested only on federal public lands and under federal subsistence regulations.
For additional information, contact Jim Herriges at (907) 474-2373 or jherrige@blm.gov.
