Title 5 . Fish and Game

Chapter 92 . Statewide Provisions

Section 990. Definitions

5 AAC 92.990. Definitions

(a) In addition to the definitions in AS 16.05.940 , in 5 AAC 84 - 5 AAC 92, unless the context requires otherwise,

(1) "airport" means an airport listed in the current Federal Aviation Administration Alaska supplement and aviation chart;

(2) "animal" means any species with a vertebral column (backbone);

(3) "bag limit" means the maximum number of animals of any one game species a person may take in a unit or portion of a unit in which the taking occurs; an animal disturbed in course of legal hunting does not count toward a bag limit;

(4) "bait" means any material excluding scent lures, that is placed to attract an animal by its sense of smell or taste; "bait" does not include those parts of legally taken animals that are not required to be salvaged as edible meat if the parts are not moved from the kill site;

(5) "big game" means black bear, brown bear, bison, caribou, Sitka black-tailed deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, muskox, Dall sheep, wolf, and wolverine;

(6) "bow" means a long bow, recurve bow or compound bow that is a device for launching an arrow which derives its propulsive energy solely from the bending and recovery of two limbs, and that is hand-held and hand-drawn by a single and direct pulling action of the bowstring by the shooter with the shooter's fingers or a hand-held or wrist-attached release aid; the energy used to propel the arrow may not be derived from hydraulic, pneumatic, explosive, or mechanical devices, but may be derived from the mechanical advantage provided by wheels or cams if the available energy is stored in the bent limbs of the bow; no portion of the bow's riser (handle) or an attachment to the bow's riser may contact, support, or guide the arrow from a point rearward of the bowstring when strung and at rest; "bow" does not include a crossbow or any device that has a gun-type stock or incorporates any mechanism that holds the bowstring at partial or full draw without the shooter's muscle power;

(7) "broadhead" means an arrowhead with two or more sharp cutting edges having a minimum cutting diameter of not less than seven-eighths inch;

(8) "brow tine" means a tine emerging from the first branch or brow palm on the main beam of a moose antler and projecting forward; the brow palm is separated from the main palm by a wide bay; a tine originating in or after this bay is not a brow tine;

(9) "bull moose" means a male moose;

(10) "brown bear" means Ursus arctos including grizzly bears; the terms brown bear and grizzly bear are synonymous;

(11) "closed season" means the time when game may not be taken;

(12) "cub bear" means a brown (grizzly) bear in its first or second year of life, or a black bear (including the cinnamon and blue phases) in its first year of life;

(13) "dire emergency" means a situation in which a person

(A) is in a remote area;

(B) is involuntarily experiencing an absence of food required to sustain life;

(C) will be unable to perform the functions necessary for survival, leading to a high risk of death or serious and permanent health problems, if wild game food is not immediately taken and consumed; and

(D) cannot expect to obtain other food sources in time to avoid the consequences described in (C) of this paragraph;

(14) "domicile" means the location of a person's primary residence; evidence of domicile includes

(A) a statement made to obtain a license to drive, hunt, fish, or engage in an activity regulated by a government entity;

(B) an affidavit of the person, or of another person who may know of that person's domicile;

(C) the place of voter registration;

(D) the location of a residence owned, rented, or leased;

(E) the location where household goods are stored;

(F) the location of a business owned or operated;

(G) the residence of a spouse or minor children or dependents;

(H) a government to which a tax is paid; and

(I) evidence indicating whether the person has claimed residence in another location for the purpose of obtaining benefits provided by the government in that location;

(15) "drainage" means the area of land drained by a creek, stream, or river, unless further defined in regulation;

(16) "drawing permit" means a permit issued to a person who is one of a limited number of people selected by means of a lottery held for people who have submitted a valid application for the permit and who agree to abide by the conditions specified for each hunt;

(17) "edible meat" means, in the case of a big game animal, except a black bear, the meat of the ribs, neck, brisket, front quarters as far as the distal joint of the radius-ulna (knee), hindquarters as far as the distal joint of the tibia-fibula (hock), and the meat along the backbone between the front and hindquarters; in the case of a black bear, the meat of the front quarters and hindquarters and meat along the backbone (backstrap); in the case of wild fowl, the meat of the breast; however, "edible meat" of big game or wild fowl does not include meat of the head, meat that has been damaged and made inedible by the method of taking, bones, sinew, incidental meat reasonably lost as a result of boning or a close trimming of the bones, or viscera;

(18) "falconry" means the sport of taking game by means of a trained raptor;

(19) "full-curl horn" of a male (ram) Dall sheep means that

(A) the tip of at least one horn has grown through 360 degrees of a circle described by the outer surface of the horn, as viewed from the side, or

(B) both horns are broken, or

(C) the sheep is a least eight years of age as determined by horn growth annuli;

(20) "fur animal" means a beaver, coyote, arctic fox, red fox, lynx, flying squirrel, ground squirrel, or red squirrel that has not been domestically raised; "fur animal" is a classification of animals subject to taking with a hunting license;

(21) "furbearer" means a beaver, coyote, arctic fox, red fox, lynx, marten, mink, least weasel, short-tailed weasel, muskrat, land otter, red squirrel, flying squirrel, ground squirrel, Alaskan marmot, hoary marmot, woodchuck, wolf, or wolverine; "furbearer" is a classification of animals subject to taking with a trapping license;

(22) "highway" means the driveable surface of a constructed road;

(23) "household" means that group of people domiciled in the same residence;

(24) "hunting area" for a species means that portion of a game management unit in which a season and a bag limit for that species are set out in 5 AAC 85;

(25) "jet aircraft" means an aircraft powered by an engine or engines that have no external propellers;

(26) "moose antler" definitions:

(A) "50-inch antlers" means the antlers of a bull moose with a spread of 50 inches or more measured in a straight line perpendicular to the center line of the skull;

(B) "spike-fork antler" means an antler of a bull moose with only one or two tines; male calves are not spike-fork bulls;

(C) "36-inch antlers" means the antlers of a bull moose with a spread of 36 inches or more measured in a straight line perpendicular to the center line of the skull;

(27) "motorized vehicle" means a motor-driven land, water, or air conveyance;

(28) "open season" means the time when game may be taken; an open season includes the first and last days of the period prescribed;

(29) "peace officer" means a police officer of the state or a person authorized by the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game under AS 16.05.150 ;

(30) "permit hunt" means a hunt for which a permit is issued on a drawing or registration hunt basis;

(31) "person" means a natural person and does not include a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society;

(32) "poison" means a substance that is toxic or poisonous upon contact or ingestion;

(33) "registration permit" means a hunting permit issued to a person who agrees to the conditions specified for each hunt; permits are issued in the order applications are received; and are issued beginning on a date announced by the department and continuing

(A) throughout the open season, or until the season is closed by emergency order when a harvest quota is reached; or

(B) until a predetermined number of permits have been issued;

(34) "regulatory year" means July 1 - June 30;

(35) "road-connected area" means the location of domiciles that are normally accessed by motorized highway vehicles operating on constructed roads that connect to the main highway system in the relevant area, including roads that can be negotiated during any portion of the year; in this paragraph, "normally accessed" means that it is reasonably feasible to transport persons, food, and other supplies to domiciles by motorized highway vehicles;

(36) "sealing" means the placement of an official marker or locking tag (seal) by an authorized representative of the Department of Fish and Game on an animal hide or skull, and may include

(A) collecting and recording biological information concerning the conditions under which the animal was taken;

(B) measuring the specimen submitted for sealing; and

(C) retaining specific portions of the animal for biological information, such as a pre-molar tooth from a bear;

(37) " 7 / 8 curl horn" means the horn of a mature male Dall sheep, the tip of which has grown through seven-eighths of a circle (315ΓΈ), described by the outer surface of the horn, as viewed from the side, or with both horns broken;

(38) "skin," "hide," and "pelt" are all the same thing and mean any untanned external covering of any game animal's body, but does not include a handcraft or other finished product; "skin," "hide," or "pelt" of a bear mean the entire external covering with claws attached;

(39) "small game" means all species of grouse, hare, other than Belgian hare, ptarmigan, waterfowl, crane, and snipe;

(40) "tine" or "point" means any antler projection that is at least one inch long, and that is longer than it is wide, measured one inch or more from the tip;

(41) "transport" means to ship, carry, import, export, or receive or deliver for shipment, carriage, or export;

(42) "trophy" means a mount of a big game animal, including the skin of the head (cape) or the entire skin, in a lifelike representation of the animal, including a lifelike representation made from any part of a big game animal; "trophy" also includes a "European mount" in which the horns or antlers and the skull or a portion of the skull are mounted for display;

(43) "unclassified game" means any species of game not otherwise classified in this section as "big game," "deleterious exotic wildlife," "fur animal," "furbearer," or "small game";

(44) "unit" means one of the 26 geographical areas defined in 5 AAC 92.450;

(45) "within the second degree of kindred" means a mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, brother- or sister-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, step-father, step-mother, step-sister, step-brother, step-son, and step-daughter;

(46) "year" means calendar year unless another year is specified;

(47) "Tier I" means the circumstance where the board has identified a game population that is customarily and traditionally used for subsistence and where it is anticipated that a reasonable opportunity can be provided to all residents who desire to engage in that subsistence use;

(48) "Tier II" means the circumstance where the board has identified a game population that is customarily and traditionally used for subsistence and where, even after non-subsistence uses are eliminated, it is anticipated that a reasonable opportunity to engage in that subsistence use cannot be provided to all residents eligible at Tier I who desire to participate;

(49) "salvage" means to transport the edible meat, skull, or hide, as required by statute or regulation, of a game animal or wild fowl to the location where the edible meat will be consumed by humans or processed for human consumption in order to save or prevent the edible meat from waste, and the skull or hide will be put to human use;

(50) "naturally shed antler" means any portion of an antler that has the base (burr) intact and that has not been physically removed from the skull by cutting, sawing, or breaking;

(51) "snowmachine" means a motor vehicle of 850 pounds or less gross vehicle weight, primarily designed to travel over snow, and supported, in part by skis, belts, or tracks; "snowmachine" includes the motor vehicle commonly known as a snowmobile;

(52) "deleterious exotic wildlife" means any starling, English sparrow, or raccoon; any Norway rat, rockdove, or Belgian hare that is unconfined or unrestrained; and any feral ferret or feral swine;

(53) "buck" means any male Sitka black-tailed deer;

(54) "processed for human consumption" means prepared for immediate consumption or prepared in such a manner, and in an existing state of preservation, as to be fit for human consumption after a 15-day period;

(55) "front quarter" means the front leg and shoulder, including the scapula, as far as the distal joint of the radius-ulna;

(56) "hindquarter" means the hind leg, excluding the pelvis;

(57) "handicraft" means a finished product in which the shape or appearance of the natural material has been substantially changed by skillful use of the hands, such as by sewing, carving, etching, scrimshawing, painting, or other means, and which has substantially greater monetary and aesthetic value than the unaltered natural material alone;

(58) "field" means the same as that term is defined in AS 08.54.790 ;

(59) "harvest objective" is the human consumptive use goal set by the board in consultation with the department, and means the number of animals to be made available for human harvest from a game population or portion of that population on an annual basis;

(60) "population objective" means the desired size of a game population or portion of that population, set by the board in consultation with the department;

(61) "antler" means the annually cast and regenerated bony growth originating from the pedicle portion of the skull in members of the deer family;

(62) "antlerless" means the absence of the annually cast and regenerated bony growth (antler) originating from the pedicle portion of the skull in members of the deer family;

(63) "barbed" means, in the case of an arrowhead, having any fixed portion of the rear edge of the arrowhead forming an angle less than 90 degrees with the shaft when measured from the nock end of the arrow;

(64) "peak draw weight" means the peak poundage at which a bow is drawn through or held at full draw by the shooter at the shooter's draw length;

(65) "mechanical blade-type broadhead" and "retractable blade-type broadhead" means a broadhead with cutting edges that are retracted during flight and open upon impact to a minimum cutting diameter of not less than seven-eighths inch and does not lock open after impact to create fixed barbs;

(66) "boat" means a vehicle, vessel, or watercraft operated in or on water deep enough to float it at rest and includes hovercraft, airboats, personal watercraft, and amphibious vehicles;

(67) "inboard motor" includes a motor located within the confines of a boat;

(68) "motorized land vehicle" means a motorized vehicle operated on land, and includes hovercraft and airboats;

(69) "calf" means a moose, caribou, elk, muskox, or bison less than 12 months old;

(70) "harass" means to repeatedly approach an animal in a manner which results in the animal altering its behavior;

(71) "possession limit",

(A) for migratory game birds, means the maximum number of lawfully taken migratory game birds of a single species or designated aggregate of species that may be possessed by any one person in any specified geographic area for which a possession limit is prescribed;

(B) for resident game birds, means whole birds or the edible meat of game birds, excluding those that are canned, frozen, smoked, dried or otherwise processed for human consumption after a 15-day period;

(72) "3/4 curl horn" means the horn of a mature male Dall sheep, the tip of which has grown through three-quarters of a circle (270ΓΈ), described by the outer surface of the horn, as viewed from the side;

(73) "nuisance wildlife" includes

(A) a feral domestic bird or mammal, deleterious exotic wildlife, unclassified game, small game, fur animals or furbearers, except wolf, wolverine, or lynx, or migratory bird for which there is a federal depredation order for this state under issued 50 CFR Sec. 21.43;

(B) an animal that invades a dwelling, cause property damage, or is an immediate threat to health, safety, or property;

(74) "property" means

(A) a dwelling, permanent or temporary;

(B) an aircraft, boat, automobile, or other conveyance;

(C) a domesticated animal;

(D) fenced gardens and landscaped plants, excluding native vegetation;

(E) other property of substantial value.

(75) "ATV"

(A) means a motorized tracked vehicle, or a vehicle with four or more wheels, operated on land weighing less that 1,000 pounds dry weight;

(B) does not include a snowmachine.

(b) For the purpose of AS 16.05.783 , "shoot" or "assist in shooting" means to intentionally take or assist in taking an animal by discharging a lethal projectile from a firearm.

History: Eff. 7/5/85, Register 95; am 6/19/86, Register 98; am 7/3/86, Register 99; am 8/8/87, Register 103; am 4/24/88, Register 106; am 7/14/88, Register 107; am 8/20/89, Register 111; am 8/10/90, Register 115; am 8/12/90, Register 115; am 1/17/91, Register 117; am 8/10/91, Register 119; add'l am 8/10/91, Register 119; am 7/1/92, Register 122; am 5/5/93, Register 126; am 7/7/94, Register 131; am 7/8/95, Register 135; am 7/9/95, Register 135; am 6/28/96, Register 138; am 7/1/97, Register 142; am 7/26/97, Register 143; am 10/4/97, Register 144; am 7/1/98, Register 146; add'l am 7/1/98, Register 146; am 7/1/2000, Register 154; am 7/1/2001, Register 158; am 7/1/2002, Register 162; am 7/1/2003, Register 166; am 7/1/2004, Register 170; am 7/1/2005, Register 174

Authority: AS 16.05.255

AS 16.05.258

Editor's note: The 8/20/89 amendment of 5 AAC 92.990 included renumbering of various definitions to present them in alphabetical order.