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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – After consultation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Eastern Interior Subsistence Regional Advisory Committee, and under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, 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 at midnight on October 27, 2022. The federal subsistence hunt includes a harvest limit of one caribou and will close at 11:59 p.m. March 31, 2023. The federal subsistence hunt applies to federally qualified rural residents hunting on federal public lands only. 

Hunters participating in the hunt must obtain an RC867 joint State/federal registration permit issued by ADFG. The RC867 registration permits are available online at hunt.alaska.gov and at ADFG offices in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Tok, Anchorage, Douglas and Palmer and at vendors in Eagle, Central and Tok. Hunters should review the RC867 permit conditions.  

Information and updates on the RC867 caribou hunt are available on the Fortymile Hotline at (907) 267-2310. Any State or federal closures will be announced on the Hotline. If the harvest quota is met, the State season may close, but the federal subsistence season typically remains open.  

To qualify to hunt the RC867 caribou 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 Federal Subsistence Management Regulations for the Harvest of Wildlife on Federal Public Lands in Alaska and are available on-line at https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/wildlife. 

The BLM advises hunters to be aware of land ownership and ensure that they know and follow off-highway vehicle (OHV) regulations. Be aware that the summer off-highway vehicle limitations for BLM-managed lands near the Steese and Elliott Highways were extended through October to allow for the continued use of wheeled vehicles while snow cover is thin. Read the full BLM news release here.  

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. Also, checkout BLM’s other georeferenced PDF maps. Many of the maps include access information and OHV limitations necessary for trip planning. They are a useful tool that shows a user’s location in real time through an application on smart phones or tablets, even in areas where cellular service is not available.  To work on your device, both the application and the maps need to be downloaded prior to losing cellular coverage.  

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

-BLM- 

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