Sec. 08.54.750. - Use area registration. - Alaska Statutes

(a) At least 30 days before conducting big game hunting services within a guide use area, a registered guide-outfitter shall inform the department, in person or by registered mail on a registration form provided by the department, that the guide-outfitter will be conducting big game hunting services in the use area. A registered guide-outfitter may not withdraw or amend a guide use area registration during the calendar year in which the registration was submitted to the department.

(b) A registered guide-outfitter may not register for, or conduct big game hunting services in,

(1) more than three guide use areas during a calendar year; or

(2) a guide use area that is outside of a game management unit for which the registered guide-outfitter is certified under AS 08.54.600 .

(c) Notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, a registered guide-outfitter may register to conduct big game hunting services within a guide use area at any time before beginning operations in the guide use area and may conduct big game hunting services in a guide use area, or for a big game species in a guide use area, that is not one of the three guide use areas for which the registered guide-outfitter has registered under (b) of this section if the Department of Fish and Game has determined by regulation that it is in the public interest to suspend the registration requirements for that guide use area or for all guide use areas in a game management unit or game management subunit for a big game species within those guide use areas.

(d) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, a registered guide-outfitter who is registered in three guide use areas may also register for and conduct big game hunting services in a portion of one additional guide use area on federal land adjacent to a guide use area in which the registered guide-outfitter is already registered if the board finds that the portion of the adjacent guide use area for which the registered guide-outfitter is seeking to be registered would otherwise remain unused by a registered guide-outfitter because the boundaries of guide use areas do not coincide with boundaries of federal big game guide concession or permit areas.

(e) In this section, "guide use area" means a geographic area of the state identified as a guide-outfitter use area by the former Big Game Commercial Services Board established under former AS 08.54.300 and described on a set of maps titled Guide-Outfitter Use Area Maps, dated June 22, 1994, as amended by the board as the board considers necessary.

(f) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, a registered guide-outfitter who is registered in three guide use areas may also register for and conduct big game hunting services for wolf, black bear, brown bear, or grizzly bear in guide use areas within a game management unit or portion of a game management unit where the Board of Game has identified predation by wolf, black bear, brown bear, or grizzly bear as a cause of the depletion of a big game prey population or a reduction of the productivity of a big game prey population that is the basis for the establishment of an intensive management program in the game management unit or portion of the game management unit or for the declaration of the biological emergency in the game management unit or portion of the game management unit. A registered guide-outfitter may only conduct hunts in a guide use area under this subsection for the big game species identified by the Board of Game as the cause of the depletion or reduction of productivity of a big game prey population.

(g) At least 60 days before providing transportation services to, from, or in an area as may be determined by the board, a transporter shall inform the department, in person or by registered mail on a registration form provided by the department, that the transporter will be providing transportation services to, from, or in the use area. The board may establish transporter use areas and adopt regulations to implement this subsection as the board considers necessary.