alaskaoutdoorcouncil.org

Facebook Sustaining Business Members Member Clubs Memberships - Donations Banquet Tickets Events Contact Us Search ... Submit AOC Mission : "Dedicated to the preservation of outdoor pursuits in Alaska - hunting, fishing, trapping, and public access - and conservation of the habitats upon which they depend." AOC Vision: "To unite the voices of our membership and member clubs to effectively represent their outdoor interests in all facets of public policy. Alaska Outdoor Council 2020 Election Endorsements By Rod Arno If you do not believe politicians have a lot to say about how you can participate in Alaska ’ s great outdoors, you have not been paying attention. New laws and regulations governing off road vehicle use, trapping, hunting, fishing, camping, boating, snow machining, aircraft landings and use are made year around. (That’s why Alaska Outdoor Council staff participate in the rulemaking process year around, often one of only a few advocating for individual Alaskans who actually use public lands/waters) That’s on both federal public lands as well as State of Alaska owned lands and waters. The U.S. Congress not only writes the laws governing federal lands/waters, but they also control their budgets. When federal land managers policies are inconsistent with laws created by Congress it is Alaska’s Congressional Delegation of three who are in Washington D.C. to try and do something about it. Alaska Congressional delegation - 2020 Election Over 60% of Alaska is under federal land/water managers authority. The National Park Service, National Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Military all close millions of acres of lands/waters. No one can hunt or fish (only rural residents), no one can ATV on a public trail (only rural residents and federal agency staff), no airboats allowed, no aircraft landings, no access for anyone (even if on foot), to even what shed antlers you can pick up. Those are examples of a few of their rules to regulate public use of public federal lands/waters. Alaskan outdoor folks are dependent on its Congressional delegates to defend the state’s authority to manage fish and game on all lands/waters. Plus, it is Alaska’s Congressional delegation who can pressure the federal land management agencies to follow access provisions to public land/waters in Alaska guaranteed by federal law. Congressman Don Young - Deserves the endorsement of the Alaska Outdoor Council. Congressman Don Young’s successful use of the Congressional Review Act in 2016 to repeal the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services (FWS) rulemaking on “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska” returned 80 million acres of prime wildlife habitat back to the State of Alaska. Outdoors folks could not ask for more than that from Alaska’s sole Representative in Congress. Gathering 225 out of 400+ votes to repeal the FWS rulemaking was no small task, it clearly demonstrated how much clout Don Young has in Washington D.C. Senator Dan Sullivan - Also deserves your vote. The Alaska Outdoor Council endorses Senator Dan Sullivan and strongly support his re-election. Senator Sullivan is quite familiar with losses of opportunities for outdoor folks to access and enjoy federal public lands/waters in Alaska. Had it not been for Senator Sullivan’s strong relationship with the U.S. Secretary Of the Interior the agency would have most likely fought harder to defeat the repeal of the FWS rulemaking, H.J. Res. 69, in the House, before Senator Sullivan gained the support to get the resolution passed by the Senate. The Alaska Outdoor Council has worked with Dan Sullivan, as the state’s Attorney General Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and as one of only two Alaska Senators in Washington D.C. numerous times on behalf of Alaska’s outdoor folks who want to continue accessing federal public lands/waters. Local concerns from many Alaskans prompted Senator Dan Sullivan to successfully shepherd legislation through the U.S. Senate (The Save our Seas 2.0 Act) to help fund the cleaning up of plastic and marine debris from Alaska’s coastline. Senator Dan Sullivan is a conservationist in the true sense of the word, working to make Alaska’s habitats healthy and allowing for sustainable harvest of the public’s fish and game resources for the good of all Alaskans. Alaska State Legislature - 2020 Election The 31st Alaska State Legislature has not functioned in the best interest of Alaska’s outdoor folks. There are few candidates left after the 2020 primary who warrant support from the Alaska Outdoor Council for re-election. These legislators, who the Alaska Outdoor Council has worked with successfully on our behalf, and two candidates looking to replace legislators unsupportive of our goals, are listed below. They deserve your vote. The Alaska Outdoor Council supports elected officials who honor the Common Use clause enshrined in Alaska’s State Constitution. “Wherever occurring in their natural state, fish, wildlife, and water are reserved to the people for common use.” Alaska State Constitution, Article 8, Natural Resources, Sec. 3. Common Use Alaska Senate 2020 election, candidates endorsed by the Alaska Outdoor Council David Wilson (Mat/Su, District D) Shelley Hughes (Mat/Su, District F) ,Josh Revak (Anchorage, District M) Alaska State House of Representatives 2020 election, candidates endorsed by the Alaska Outdoor Council Mike Prax (North Pole, District 3) Keith Kurber (Fairbanks, District 4) George Rauscher (Sutton, District 9) David Eastman (Wasilla, District 10) Delena Johnson (Palmer, District 11) Cathy Tilton (Wasilla, District 12) David R Nelson (Anchorage, District 15) Mel Gillis (Anchorage, District 25) Ben Carpenter (Nikiski, District 29) Sarah Vance (r, District 31) CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AOC-AFWCF_RIN_1024-AE63_Proposed_Rules_2020.pdf Update U.S. Supreme Court Hears John Sturgeon case again and we won 9-0. U.S. Supreme Court to hear Alaskan's appeal of the National Park Service's authority to takeover access restrictions on state managed waters for a second unprecedented time. John Sturgeon We need donations to help keep this lawsuit going forward. John Sturgeon Lawsuit Donations (tax deductible) can be made via our website If you want to mail in a check, make it out to AFWCF (Alaska Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund) Mail your tax-deductible donation to: Alaska Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund 310 K Street, Suite 200 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Fax: (888) 932-3353 Here are a few links with additional info. https://mustreadalaska.com/breaking-sturgeon-wins-supreme-court-on-river-access/ https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/alaska-man-can-use-hovercraft-while-moose-hunting-supreme-court-says https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2019/03/26/supreme-court-rules-9-0-in-favor-of-john-sturgeon-and-alaskas-rights/ U.S. Supreme Court Rules in favor of John Sturgeon (8-0) U.S. Supreme Court to hear Alaskan's appeal of the National Park Service's authority to takeover access restrictions on state managed waters. AOC is asking for your help in paying John Sturgeon's legal fees as he elevates his access case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Sturgeon, an Alaskan citizen, has achieved a feat that the state of Alaska and Alaska’s Congressional Delegation has been unable to correct for the last 20 years. Mr. Sturgeon was unwilling to be forced off state owned waters by National Park Service (NPS) Rangers just because of a 1996 federal rulemaking by the Department of the Interior. Mr. Sturgeon has been battling "up the chain" of federal courts since 2011 trying to stop NPS from forcing him off state managed waters. That has cost him a lot of attorney fees. The additions to the NPS lands created by ANILCA were not small postage-size enclaves like in the Eastern U.S. They included whole ecosystem surrounding millions of acres of state, Alaska...