Since 2000, Ted Krieg has worked for ADF&G's Division of Subsistence, researching subsistence practices in Bristol Bay.
Dillingham’s Ted Krieg is retiring from Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Subsistence in Dillingham. He’s been a Subsistence Resource Specialist there since 2000.
“I’ve put a lot of my life into subsistence, and it’s been rewarding to do that,” says Krieg. “But, you know, it feels like it’s time to do something different. I’m not too old yet, you know. I could still do some other things.”
The purpose of the Division of Subsistence is to document customary traditional use. For Krieg as a resource specialist, that meant that one of the key parts of his job was to provide data to for Fish and Game to determine the Amount reasonably Necessary for Subsistence.
“What’s needed for subsistence [fishing] is factored into what’s happening during the season. That’s really the only way it’ll work,” Krieg says, explaining how the division determines the ANS. “It’s harder to do that for moose and caribou. You usually don’t know until after the season. So then you might have to try to do something the next year. A lot of that is more up to the managers.”
The subsistence division doesn’t have regulatory authority. The information it gathers goes to managing bodies like the Board of Fish and the Board of Game.
ADF& G has not yet decided if they will fill Krieg’s position. The Division of Subsistence says that they hope to make that determination by the end of the legislative session.
Krieg will be retiring from his position officially at the end of April, but he will be wrapping up his time in the office in the next two weeks. He’s still ironing out his plans for after he leaves. Among his options, he’s looking forward to traveling and to volunteering with Dillingham’s Sam Fox Museum.
Contact the author at 907-842-5281 or avery@kdlg.org.
