Hydaburg Mayor Anthony Christianson has been appointed by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to chair the Federal Subsistence Board, which oversees management of fish and wildlife resources on federal lands and waters for subsistence uses.
The appointment was concurred by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
Christianson also serves as natural resources director for the Hydaburg Cooperative association, a federally recognized tribal entity, and has participated in a number of programs and studies related to fish and wildlife management in Southeast Alaska.
As chair of the subsistence board, Christianson will lead management of fish and wildlife resources for subsistence uses on 230 million acres of federal land in Alaska.
Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott praised Jewell’s decision, saying that given his deep personal knowledge and experience with subsistence needs and policies, Christianson was the perfect choice.
“He has contributed his life to working with and for Alaska Native peoples and the community of Hydaburg to make Alaska an even better place to live,” Mallott said.
“His previous experience as a representative of rural Alaskans on the board indicates that he will bring a needed and important perspective to its continued critical work.”
Under the 1980 Alaska National Interest lands Conservation Act, the Federal Subsistence Management Program provides priority access for rural residents of Alaska to subsistence uses of fish and game resources on federal lands and waters.
The Federal Subsistence Board was established in the early 1990s by the secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to administer the Federal Subsistence Management Program. The board is composed of the Alaska directors of the National Park service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, and a chair and two public members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior with concurrence of the Secretary of Agriculture.
