Nelchina caribou hunt partially restored

A summer court decision over caribou and moose hunts in the popular Nelchina Basin left the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in a sticky position. With a newly imposed regulatory framework for the hunt invalidated, the court ruling meant hundreds of hunters who had been issued permits under the new system were potentially out of luck. Under the tweaked rules, hunters who had accepted a permit to hunt in the area were not allowed to hunt anywhere else in the state. But the court decision meant they also couldn't hunt in the Nelchina area, putting a lot of folks in a messy bind.

At issue was how permit holders were chosen and whether the opportunity to hunt in the area was administered fairly or if it incorrectly favored a select group of people, namely villagers living in the basin, while at the same time unfairly requiring longtime Nelchina Basin hunters who live outside the region to compete with newcomers for a chance to participate in the hunt.

Last week, the department arrived at a temporary fix: People holding an existing permit will be allowed to hunt in the fall only, and only in the Nelchina area. 1,500 1,000 additional permits were also issued, and the winners of those permits will be announced no later than Aug. 6 on the Fish and Game website. The website also goes into more detail about the negotiated fix for 2010. Unlike the earlier permit awardees, hunters awarded permits in the second round have the opportunity to decline the permit, thus affording them to hunt elsewhere in the state should they choose to do so.

The winter hunt will proceed under a permitting framework known as Tier II, which determines opportunity by seniority and need, established through a point system. Hunters may begin applying for the winter permits on Friday.

Update: The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that a court ruling today (Tuesday) will prevent the state from issuing the second round of Tier I permits it had planned to distribute for the fall hunt. Stay tuned. We'll keep the story updated as information becomes available.

Update @ 6:18 p.m.: The Department of Fish and Game confirms that the court has blocked the issuance of additional Tier I permits for the fall hunt. So as things stand now, 850 original Tier I permit holders will be allowed to hunt in the fall hunt. Another 500 permits will be issued to people who had planned to hunt under the community harvest permit that AHTNA was initially going to administer. The Dept. of Fish and Game wanted to offer the additional permits after confirming the herd was large enough to withstand the additional harvest. Today's court ruling means the second round of permits will not be granted for the fall hunt, but it could open up more opportunity for the winter hunt. The Dept. estimates at least 2,000 permits will be awarded for the winter hunt under the Tier II system, which takes seniority and need into consideration when choosing successful applicants. No regulations are currently in place for 2011.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com.