Petersburg’s Borough Assembly voted unanimously to support a new bill that would tighten residency requirements for hunting, trapping, and sport fishing at Monday’s regular meeting.
Assembly member Scott Newman called on the assembly to write a letter in support of the bill. He said he wants to make sure those who are harvesting with resident licenses really live in Alaska.
“People can leave the state and still claim residency, and still can come back and enjoy the benefits of being a resident of Alaska, even if they’re gone for an undetermined amount of time,” he said. “So, it’s my opinion that this system’s been abused.”
House Bill 201 would align the requirements for a resident hunting, trapping, or sport fishing license with the requirements to receive a Permanent Fund Dividend, or PFD. That would limit the amount of time a person can be absent from Alaska and still qualify for a state license.
People’s primary residence must be in the state of Alaska to qualify for both the PFD and resident harvesting licenses. The PFD requires residents to physically be in the state for at least 180 days of each year. There is no minimum yearly requirement for a resident hunting, trapping, or fishing license in Alaska.
House District 2 Representative Rebecca Himschoot sponsored the bill with co-sponsor Sara Hannan. She said that she’s heard stories from her constituents of people abusing the resident licenses.
“They come in with this freezer, they fill it with fish and game resources from the local area that they harvest, and then they run that freezer on propane, and they take it back south with them,” she said.
Resident licenses are cheaper than out of state permits. They also have higher bag limits, meaning residents can harvest a lot more game and fish.
Himschoot said that the beauty of the bill is that while it sets a higher standard for residency, it doesn’t make more work for law enforcement.
“The goal of this is to decrease bureaucracy, if at all possible,” she said.
She said the bill is meant to increase efficiency by creating a single proof of residency through eligibility for the PFD.
Primary residency for licenses is currently assessed on a case by case basis, looking at things such as plane tickets and evidence of residency in other states.
