Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council Regional Body Holds Meeting

Emperor Geese. (Photo by James Petts / Flickr)

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The regional body of the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council will meet Monday.

The regulations surrounding migratory birds have shifted a lot for both hunters and artists this year.

In March, the federal government determined the Emperor Goose population had recovered enough to open up limited hunting for the bird. It’s the first time in over 30 years people have been able to hunt the Emperor Goose.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website, its population remains vulnerable. The state’s annual harvest quota is 1000 geese. Island-wide, the fall-winter hunt starts October 8 and there’s a regional quota of 175 geese and an individual quota of 1.

Another big change happened this year – this time for Alaska Native artists.

According to an AMBCC press release, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 had made it illegal for crafters to create and sell art that uses feathers and other inedible bird parts.

That changed in July.

The release says, four years ago, requests from Kodiak artists prompted AMBCC to put together a committee on the issue.

That committee represented Alaska Native groups state-wide in addition to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A few months ago, the committee’s new regulations with into effect and artists can now make use of migratory bird parts in their work.

The Kodiak Regional Management Body meets on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Sun’aq Tribe building. Among the topics they’ll discuss are migratory bird subsistence harvest recommendations.

Edit 9/08: A former version of this article incorrectly reported that the Emperor Goose hunt was a subsistence hunt.

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