On the heels of the seventh summer without our usual salmon harvest on the Yukon River, I am stunned that Congress and Alaska’s congressional delegation would insert itself into the management of lands that surround us to impose uncertainty and chaos. The threat of losing our federal subsistence rights, and confusion over how caribou, moose and salmon habitat will be managed, is overwhelming. For those of us who live in rural Alaska, these are not abstract policy debates — they are decisions that determine whether our families can put food on the table, whether our culture can continue, and whether our children will inherit healthy lands and waters.
The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan, finalized by the Bureau of Land Management in 2024, is the product of 12 years of effort and consultation. Tribes, local businesses and residents participated in the process, ultimately landing on a plan that balances hunting, fishing, subsistence, resource development, wildlife protections and recreation. The plan guides the management of 13.3 million acres of public lands in Alaska’s Interior — lands that are also our ancestral homelands. These lands have sustained our people for countless generations with salmon, caribou, moose, berries and medicines. They continue to define who we are today.
That is why the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission, which represents 40 federally recognized tribes, worked tirelessly to ensure the plan reflects our voices and our values. Many of our tribes served as cooperating agencies in the planning process, dedicating years of time and resources to make sure the RMP would protect the fish and wildlife that sustain us. Overturning it through S.J. Res. 63 — a Congressional Review Act resolution — would erase this work and silence the voices of the very people who depend most on these lands.
The Congressional Review Act has never before been used to undo a resource management plan — and for good reason. RMPs are designed to be living documents that respond to conditions on the ground. The BLM is required to update them as ecosystems change. In this case, rejecting the 2024 plan would mean reverting to three outdated plans written more than 30 years ago. That would not only be irresponsible — it would also create chaos for land managers and Tribes alike.
The consequences of this uncertainty are not hypothetical. Our communities are already in crisis. Salmon runs that once filled our smokehouses have collapsed. Caribou migrations are shifting. In this moment, stability and clarity in land management are more essential than ever.
BLM-managed lands play a critical role in community health. They support subsistence opportunities, wild food economies, and the cultural practices that tie us together across generations. To overturn the Central Yukon RMP would not only endanger those opportunities but also undermine the trust Tribes have placed in collaborative planning.
I urge Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich to reconsider their support for this disrespectful resolution, which permanently destroys 12 years of hard work from Alaskans and tribes. I urge all members of Congress to reject this resolution and uphold the plan, which was developed through deep collaboration from tribes and community members. Our future, our food security and our cultural survival depend on it.
Mickey Stickman lives in Nulato and is an executive board member of the 40-tribe Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, an elder, a subsistence hunter and a former first chief who lives in Nulato. He is a 12-year member of the Western Interior Subsistence Regional Advisory Council to the Federal Subsistence Board for federal lands, a 25-year member of the Middle Yukon Advisory Committee to the state Fish and Game boards, a member of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group, and spent 20 years with the Arctic Athabaskan Council as a permanent participant.
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