Federal Amendments Don’t Change Requirements for Alaska Waterfowl Stamps, Hunting Licenses
- ADF&G Press Release

Sam Cotten, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, Alaska 99811-5526

Press Release: March 17, 2016

Contact: Dan Rosenberg, State Waterfowl Coordinator, Anchorage, (907) 267-2453

Federal Amendments Don’t Change Requirements for Alaska Waterfowl Stamps, Hunting Licenses

(Juneau) — Springtime is only weeks away and Alaska’s skies will soon fill with returning ducks and geese. This is an important time of year for rural hunters seeking a traditional food source, but amendments made in 2015 to the federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act have left many with questions about current federal and state waterfowl hunting laws.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reminds subsistence waterfowl hunters that the federal amendments do not change Alaska’s state waterfowl stamp or hunting license requirements. Waterfowl hunters in Alaska must have a current, signed $5 Alaska state waterfowl stamp and hunting license in possession while hunting waterfowl anywhere in the state at any time during the year. This regulation applies to all waterfowl hunters except for Alaska residents who qualify for exemption based on age, income, or veteran’s disability. For details, see the 2015-16 Alaska state waterfowl hunting regulations booklet available in department offices, or view it online at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/waterfowl.pdf .

Amendments made last year to the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act raised federal waterfowl stamp prices from $15 to $25 and redefined who must possess a federal stamp to hunt waterfowl in Alaska. Under the amendments, the following Alaska residents are not required to purchase federal waterfowl stamps while hunting waterfowl in Alaska:

  1. Permanent rural residents of an “included area.”
  2. Permanent rural residents who are eligible for subsistence under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

“Included areas” are those areas where spring/summer migratory bird subsistence harvest is currently legal. Included areas and subsistence harvest regulations are available at: http://www.fws.gov/alaska/ambcc/Regulations.htm.

Subsistence waterfowl hunters in western Alaska are reminded that regulations for hunting emperor geese have not changed. There is no open season for emperor geese in 2016.

Subsistence waterfowl hunting seasons are scheduled to open on April 2. For questions concerning federal stamp requirements, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement at (907) 786-3311.