by, Wilson Justin

Subsistence Hunting by, Wilson Justin
All nine trails on the Nebesna Road were closed
recently by the Superintendent of the National Park
Service by Administrative Order. As of 6am August 11
the Trail closure were lifted and are now open to inholders
and subsistence users. Suslota Trail, Copper
Lake Trail and Tanada Lake Trails are closed to
recreational uses, but otherwise are open for subsistence
purposes. Heavy rains were a major factor in the
Superintendents decision to close the trails. One
immediate benefit was the report of more game sightings
and signs by Fred Nicolai Sr, who spent the weekend at
Big Grayling Lake. This fact had long been written about
and reported over the years in various publications
and meetings. It is only common sense that the presence
of large numbers of hunters changes the habits of local
species and further keeps other species out of local
hunting grounds.
Confusion abounds with the recent court ruling
on the Community Harvest Caribou Hunt in Unit 13 for
moose and caribou. Ahtna has called for additional
names from Cheesh’na that were not included in last
year’s Caribou Community Hunt. The Moose hunt is
closed by order of the court under Community Harvest
Rules. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game visited
Cheesh'Na office on Monday, August 9 and dropped off
a stack of Tier I Caribou application for Unit 13. This is an
attempt by Fish & Game to work with the order of the
court and allow for a hunt to take place that would
complement the efforts of Ahtna. The primary effort is to
place sufficient subsistence foods on the table this fall.
The EIS (Environmental Impact Study) on the
management plan for the Chisana Caribou Herd is out
now and comments are coming in. These are the big
Mountain Caribou that used to hang out in the Tetlin,
Little Tok Platinum/Soda Creek, and Upper Jacksina over
Sanford River. They were sometimes called Glacier
Caribou and other times Medicine People Caribou. Our
families grew up in the areas frequented by these
Caribou. The arrival of four wheelers and constant
pressure by big game guides moved these Woodland
Caribou to the east in the late 70's and 80's.
Page 3
Now they frequent a smaller range and are
currently called the Chisana Herd. The original range of
these Caribou extended down the White River into the
Yukon Territory. In the current EIS draft there is no
mention at all of the interaction of these Caribou with
the local Tribes. The EIS was written, it seems, solely
for the purpose of getting commercial value out the
caribou, now that they have gotten the status of being
rare and unique. A final glaring omission is the fact that
no Tribe on this side of the border was asked or invited
to the table during the discussion leading to the
proposal to turn these caribou into a cash machine for
commercial purposes.
If you are interested in the Environmental Impact Study
on the Chisana Herd, call us at Cheesh'na Tribal
Council 822-3503 or the Wrangell St Elias National Park
Headquarters in Copper Center at 822-5234.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS?
WOULD LIKE TO BE A HOMEOWNER?
If you answered YES to any of the above questions and
you are also a registered member of the Cheesh’na
Tribe, this dream could become a reality!
The Cheesh’na Tribal Council needs participants for the
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT PROGRAM.
This program is designed to assist you with saving
money towards an asset purchase of either a home or
starting a small business within the Chistochina
community. Your savings of up to $2,500 (over a period
of two years) will be matched at a 3 to 1 ratio, for a
maximum of $7,500. The end result will be $10,000 to
be used for the program asset purchase of your choice.
Participation in this program begins in September and
time is running out for application submissions. Don’t
be left out of a great opportunity. Applications and
Program requirements can be obtained either from the
Cheesh’na Tribal Council’s office or you may call Kelley
O’Halloran at 822-3165 or email at
kohalloran@cheeshna.com.