The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to issue regulations to facilitate the implementation of the sustainable harvest management obligations under the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population. To that end, FWS is soliciting public comment on the development of a regulatory program and local management structures for carrying out the responsibilities under the U.S.- Russia Agreement and title V of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.
FWS is also interested in entering into a cooperative agreement with an Alaska Native Organization for the purposes of involving subsistence users in conservation and management of polar bears in Alaska, including the creation of effective two-way communication pathways; collecting and exchanging local observations on polar bears for the development of sound management practices for polar bears in Alaska; managing and monitoring the harvest of polar bears for subsistence use; and developing a polar bear co-management structure.
FWS will accept comments on these issues received or postmarked by the end of the day on January 9, 2017.