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Alaska's
By Ted Homer The Tundra Drums The state's subsistence hunting and fishing dispute with the federal government, set to come to a head Oct. 1, has been more than two decades in the making. Here is a chronology of the major events which have led up to the current stand-off. 1971: Alaska Native claims Settlement Act acknowledged the importance of subsistence hunting and fishing to Alaska Natives, but provided no specific protections. 1980: congress established a framework for protecting subsistence by both Native and non-Native rural Alaskans in Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. ANILCA provided for a rural subsistence preference and gave priority to subsistence practices over other consumptive uses on public lands. 1989: The Alaska Supreme court ruled in McDowell vs. State of Alaska that the state constitution prohibits the rural-preference provisions required under ANILCA. The court declared that all Alaskans, whether urban or rural, have equal access to fish and game resources. 1990: In July, because the McDowell ruling prohibited the state from legally complying with ANILCA, the federal government assumed management of game on federal public lands. Fisheries continued to be managed by the state. 1994: In March, the federal district court for Alaska ruled in Katie John v. US. that all navigable waters should be included in the definition of public lands for subsistence purposes. 1995: In April, Katie John v U.S. was appealed to the Ninth circuit Court, who ruled that federal jurisdiction over subsistence does not extend to all navigable waters but is limited to those waters in which the federal government has reserved federal water rights. 1997: In June, Governor Tony Knowles appointed a subsistence task force which drafted a plan to bring fish and game management back under state control. The plan included proposed amendments to the Alaska constitution, Fish and Game statutes and ANILCA. 1997: On Oct. 1, the federal government will begin to assume control over Alaska fisheries if the state does not come into compliance with ANILCA. | |||
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