The Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee will meet at least once next week, maybe twice, to review proposed changes to state and federal fishing and hunting rules.

The committee meeting, which is open to the public, will start at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, at the Nolan Center.

If time runs out, the agenda will carry over to a second meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, also at the Nolan Center.

“There’s quite a bit on the agenda,” said Chris Guggenbickler, committee chair.

Local advisory committees around the state meet regularly to review proposed rule changes and submit comments to the Alaska Board of Fisheries and Alaska Board of Game which set the regulations for sport, commercial and subsistence users.

The Board of Game, which sets hunting limits and regulations, will convene for a five-day meeting Jan. 23-27 in Wrangell to consider 69 proposed rule changes for Southeast Alaska. The seven-member board rotates its meetings around the state; it last met in Wrangell in 2006.

Among the proposals the board will consider in January are several dealing with elk and moose hunting in the Wrangell area, including a proposal submitted by the Wrangell advisory committee to allow hunters to harvest more elk in the area. The committee believes the increasing elk herd on Zarembo Island threatens the deer population by overgrazing on the vegetation.

The Board of Fisheries will meet in March in Anchorage to consider a long list of statewide regulations, including a proposal from the Southeast Alaska Guides Association to allow people “(sport)fishing from the same vessel to pool bag and possession limits” rather than restricting the catch to each individuals’ daily limit.

Anyone interested in the attending the Wrangell advisory committee but who cannot attend in person can connect by Zoom at https://bit.ly/4oYzKFB; Meeting ID 833 0310 7854; password WRANG.

Next week’s agenda also includes the election of officers for the 15-member committee.

Guggenbickler said the committee also will take up the issue of safe access points for boaters going to Zarembo Island for deer hunting, possibly sending a letter to the U.S. Forest Service.

The floating dock and causeway at Roosevelt Harbor, a popular access point to the island’s road system for deer hunters, have been out of service since a windstorm damaged the facility a year ago, though the U.S. Forest Service has issued a contract for repairs and expects the dock will be back in use for next year’s deer hunting season.

“Without that structure in place, it’s not as safe,” Guggenbickler said.

A second dock on Zarembo, at St. John Harbor, “is pretty dilapidated,” he said.

St. John Harbor is on the other side of Zarembo from Wrangell, requiring a longer boat ride than reaching Roosevelt Harbor.

In addition to reviewing and commenting on proposed state rules changes, the committee will look at proposed federal rule changes in advance of the Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council which will meet Dec. 17-18 at the Nolan Center.

Similar to the state Board of Game, the federal panel rotates its meetings between communities in the region.

The council will develop recommendations on federal wildlife proposals and closure reviews, submitting its comments to the U.S. Department of Interior for the Federal Subsistence Management Program.

Among the proposals on the Southeast subsistence council agenda is one from the East Prince of Wales Island Fish and Game Advisory Committee to prohibit the take of large land mammals in Units 1-5, which includes the Wrangell area, from civil sunset until civil sunrise.

The Prince of Wales group said the rule change “would eliminate loopholes in existing regulations,” and promote hunter safety.