HUNTERS RIGHTS AND PROTECTING OUR HUNTING HERITAGE
We actively support campaigns aimed at challenging wildlife initiatives that limit opportunities for hunting. We initiated a lawsuit to force the Federal Subsistence Board to follow specific guidelines in making rural determinations. While we support subsistence hunting, we oppose the unfair and illegal granting of special privileges that undermine the rights of non-subsistence hunters, limiting their opportunities in what should be a hunter’s paradise for all.
Efforts Being Made to Help Save Hunting
- Leading advocacy for preserving the freedom to hunt in Alaska: Together, they are recognized as leaders in opposing restrictions on public land access and promoting pro-hunting policies. They actively work to maintain hunting rights amid federal and state regulatory challenges.
- Sustaining wolf management programs:
- Opposing federal overreach in subsistence and hunting management, ensuring fair access for all hunters (including non-subsistence users) while respecting priorities.
- Opposing large-scale closures to non-resident hunters: SCI (with strong involvement from the Alaska Chapter) successfully advocated against proposals to close over 40 million acres of public lands in Alaska to non-resident and non-local caribou/moose hunters. This included extensive written comments, verbal testimony, and a petition with over 2,400 supporters, resulting in deferral of the restrictions and preservation of access.
- Fighting Federal Subsistence Board restrictions: They have repeatedly opposed temporary or permanent closures on federal public lands (e.g., Units 23 and 26A for moose and caribou), helping keep seasons open and advocating for no-net-loss of hunting access.
- Broader public land access defense: Contributed to SCI’s positions against access restrictions on millions of acres (e.g., potential losses in Alaska public lands) and support for expansions of hunting on National Wildlife Refuges.
- Crushed the HSUS effort to introduce federal legislation restricting how bears are hunted.
- Successfully lobbied federal officials to lift a temporary ban on importation from Canada into the U.S. of deer, elk, moose and other ruminants legally harvested.
- Persuaded legislators in California to reject punitive tax on ammunition as well as a new California restriction on hunting with dogs.
- Helped persuade the New York Governor to veto legislation banning hunting on any fenced property, regardless of size.
- SCI is in court defending against a lawsuit attacking hunting on 38 national wildlife refuges.
- SCI is encouraging federal agencies to improve hunting access on public lands nationwide.
- SCI is in court fighting a lawsuit to stop hunting of 11 species on public lands in northeastern U.S.
- SCI is pushing federal agencies to manage wolves as a game species in western U.S. and to allow hunting to control wolf predation on deer and elk.
Subsistence Closure Map
