In this July 2013 photo, a black bear hunts for salmon in Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

In this July 2013 photo, a black bear hunts for salmon in Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Council: Subsistence trappers don’t need tags, proposal would allow bear baiting in Southeast

A proposal passed Thursday that would no longer require subsistence hunters to mark their traps with identifying numbers in Southeast Alaska.

The measure was one of three proposals that the Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council voted on Thursday to send to the Federal Subsistence Board. If approved by the board in an April 2018 meeting, the new rules would go into effect July 1, 2018.

The proposal to no longer require hunters to mark their traps aligns regional subsistence trapping rules, which still required trap marking, with looser state trapping rules which don’t require them.

“I see this as a bit of housekeeping to align us with state regulations,” council member Robert Schroeder put it during the Thursday meeting.

In 2006, the state Board of Game, which manages non-subsistence hunting in the Alaska, passed a law to require trappers to attach a metal tag to their snares and traps. The tags were required after Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game expressed concern that a lack of trap identification made hunting enforcement difficult.

In 2016, the Board of Game removed that requirement under the rationale that trappers were generally responsible and trap markings did not prevent illegal trapping.

The Office of Subsistence Management supported the council’s decision to no longer require trap marking, stating that, because the state no longer requires trap marking, subsistence trappers could in most cases avoid required marking by simply trapping under state rules. In other words, law enforcement wouldn’t be able to fine a hunter without required marking, because that hunter could simply claim they were trapping under state guidelines, and not subsistence guidelines.

In addition to passing a proposal to modify trapping rules, the council also forwarded a proposal to allow the small town of Gustavus to harvest goat for traditional reasons and to allow bear baiting in Southeast.

Bear baiting, a popular method of hunting where large drums full of rotting animal parts to lure bear, was previously not available for subsistence hunters in Southeast. If the council’s proposal passes at the Federal Subsistence Board meeting in April, subsistence hunters will be able to operate bear baiting stations.

Several other proposals were passed Tuesday and Wednesday, including one to increase the maximum harvest level of once-struggling Alexander Archipelago wolves on Prince of Wales.

The council also turned down a proposal to establish a subsistence moose hunting season in Berners Bay, north of Juneau, after some confusion over the proposal’s language led them to back off the proposal.

The problem came from a sentence in the proposal that would have closed federal lands to all but subsistence users for a moose hunt from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The council tried to amend the proposal’s language but couldn’t find a way to pass the proposal without fear of taking hunting time or territory away from non-subsistence hunters.

That proposal was voted down 7-4 in the tightest vote of the week for the council.


• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.


Members of the Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council hold its meeting in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017.

Members of the Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council hold its meeting in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

President Donald Trump speaks to a capacity crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Here’s what Trump, after 20 days of his second term, has done so far specifically affecting Alaska

Nixing rules that limit oil drilling, renaming Mt. McKinley, shaking up U.S. Coast Guard among actions.

President Donald Trump walks away from the podium after speaking about a plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during a news conference at the White House in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. President Trumpճ remarks, suggesting that diversity in hiring and other Biden administration policies somehow caused the disaster, reflected his instinct to immediately frame major events through his political or ideological lens. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
All of the Trump administration’s major moves in the first 20 days

The New York Times is tracking the actions of President Donald Trump… Continue reading

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys basketball team pose outside Kodiak High School during their sweep over the Bears this weekend. (Photo courtesy JDHS)
JDHS boys topple Kodiak on the road

Crimson Bears sweep island Bears in two-game series.

Aaron Surma, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Juneau and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council, gives a solo testimony to the Juneau Board of Education on Feb. 6, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
On top of a flat-funded BSA, Juneau Board of Education considers loss of local funding and grants

Principals and mental health advocate give feedback as the Juneau School District plans FY26 budget.

Cars arrive at Juneau International Airport on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Juneau’s airport asking long-ago manager Dave Palmer to return temporarily amidst leadership changes

Palmer would return in April as longtime manager retires; Assembly removes two airport board members.

Pittman’s Pub, which has a bar tent located next to the Hooter chairlift and Fish Creek Lodge, will not open this season, its co-owners told Eaglecrest Ski Area’s board of directors Thursday. Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)
Pittman’s Pub owners say they won’t open at Eaglecrest this year due to cost, space difficulties

Couple says they would like to take over ski area’s restaurant, continue as a year-round operation.

The Alaska Senate unanimously approves a bill Friday rejecting a recommendation to adjust lawmakers’ salaries for inflation. (Official Alaska State Legislature livestream)
Alaska Senate unanimously rejects automatic salary hikes for top state officials

Commission recommendation for adjustments matching inflation takes effect unless lawmakers say no.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read