Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR Part 92.6

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is changing to the permanent subsistence migratory bird harvest regulations in Alaska in response to recurrent requests from Alaska indigenous representatives to use inedible parts (mostly feathers) from birds taken for food during the subsistence hunt in handicrafts for sale. Federal regulations currently state that people may not sell, offer for sale, purchase, or offer to purchase migratory birds, their parts, or their egg(s) taken under the Alaska migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations (50 CFR part 92.6). These regulations would enable Alaska indigenous people eligible for the spring-summer subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska to sell in a limited manner authentic native handicrafts or clothing containing inedible parts from migratory birds taken for food during the subsistence harvest season. The regulations were developed by a committee of the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council (AMBCC) including the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and AMBCC native representatives from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Bering Strait-Norton Sound, North Slope, Kodiak Archipelago, Bristol Bay, Gulf of Alaska-Cook Inlet, Aleutian-Pribilof Islands, and Northwest Arctic regions. We propose to add a provision to 50 CFR part 92.6 to allow sale of handicrafts that contain the inedible parts of birds taken for food during the Alaska spring-summer migratory bird subsistence harvest. To limit sales of handcrafts including parts of migratory birds, we propose to add definitions for (a) “authorized migratory birds;” (b) “authentic native article of handicraft or clothing;” and (c) “sales by consignment.” This information collection is a recordkeeping requirement. This proposed rule requires that a certification (FWS Form 3-2484) or a Silver Hand insignia accompany each Alaska Native article of handicraft or clothing that contains inedible migratory bird parts. It also requires that all consignees, sellers, and purchasers retain this documentation with each item and produce it upon the request of a Law Enforcement Officer.

The latest form for Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR Part 92.6 expires 2024-01-31 and can be found here.

Recordkeeping - Documentation - Alaska Handicrafts

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