In the early 1900s, migratory bird hunting in North America was not Federally regulated and commercial market hunting of birds took its toll on population numbers. The 1916 Migratory Bird Treaty with Canada sought to stem the rapid declines noted in some bird species. The treaty prevented market hunting, opened regulated sport hunting of “game” species (primarily waterfowl), and protected birds with an extended closed season from March 11 through August 31. Similar migratory bird treaties were subsequently signed between the United States and Mexico (1936), Japan (1972), and Russia (1976). To implement these treaties in the United States, Congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918 with later amendments).
The traditional harvest of migratory birds by northern peoples during the spring and summer months was not taken into account during the treaty negotiations with Canada and Mexico. This harvest, which had occurred for thousands of years, is vital to the subsistence way of life in the north after long winters with little access to food resources and thus continued despite the closed season. To remedy this situation, the United States negotiated Protocols amending both the Canada and Mexico treaties. The U.S. Senate approved the amendments to both treaties in 1997.
The Protocols amended the treaty with Canada to allow permanent residents of villages within subsistence harvest areas, regardless of race, to continue harvesting migratory birds between March 10 and September 1 as had been done for thousands of years. The Letter of Submittal, which accompanied the Protocols, and provides details for implementation, states that lands north and west of the Alaska Range and within the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, and the Aleutian Islands generally qualify as subsistence harvest areas. Treaty language allows further refinement of the subsistence harvest areas through regulations. The Letter of Submittal places limitations on who is eligible to harvest and where they can harvest migratory birds. Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna and Fairbanks North Star Boroughs, and the roaded areas of the Kenai Peninsula, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska generally do not qualify as subsistence harvest areas. The North Star Borough was later modified and now called the Central Interior Excluded Area. Limited exceptions may be made so that some individual communities within these excluded areas may qualify for designation as subsistence harvest areas for specific purposes.
The amended treaty with Canada calls for creation of management bodies to ensure an effective and meaningful role for Alaska’s indigenous inhabitants in the conservation of migratory birds. According to the Letter of Submittal, management bodies are to include Alaska Native, Federal, and State of Alaska representatives as equals. This led to the creation of the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council. The first Alaska Spring/Summer Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest Regulations took effect on July 21, 2003.
