Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council

Program Opportunity Statement (Recommended 300 words or less) ANCC was formed on the belief that people of the arctic ecosystem best understand responsibly managing polar bears as a vital subsistence resource. Through the guidance from our 15 member Tribes and close partnerships with regional Alaska Native organizations, ANCC engages with the USFWS to develop and maintain a co-management relationship. Our work is vital to bringing Tribal voices and authorities to the polar bear management process in the U.S. ANCC is primarily funded through a USFWS contract, which requires ANCC to conduct outreach and communications on its Harvest Management Plan (HMP) and Co-Management Agreement (CMA) with communities, stakeholders, and partners and requires ANCC to travel and participate in other key community outreach meetings and events. While this contract provides important day-to-day operations funding, since 2004, USFWS Alaska’s Marine Mammals Management Office (MMM), which funds polar bear co-management, has been flat funded, effectively reducing available funds to fulfill requirements on outreach, sharing harvest rules and management information, as well as advocating with our federal partners and delegation to expand ANCC’s capacity and push for the support and implementation of programs for both human and bear safety. ANCC’s communities are remote and have varying levels of technological infrastructure and reliability that makes virtual meetings exceptionally challenging. Additionally, education and advocacy work with our federal partners and congressional delegation requires periodic travel to Washington D.C. Funding from FNDI’s grant will help fill a significant gap, making it possible for subsistence users to participate in Tribally driven harvest management and ensuring Tribal voices are heard at the federal level. As ANCC expects USFWS and DOI to finalize determinations on the HMP and CMA, ANCC will need to mobilize and complete community travel to address the approval or denial of the plans with subsistence users and stakeholders throughout the remainder of 2024 and 2025.

Initiate conversation and community engagement to explore issues, challenges, and solutions to addressing preservation of Bering Sea marine resources.