The Alaska chapter of Safari Club International took a group of Kipnuk men subsistence hunting in November, an excursion that might come as a surprise, given the historical clashes over state and federal management of subsistence hunting and fishing grounds. The hunters were evacuees from a storm that ravaged the Western Alaska coast, unleashed by Typhoon Halong. After more than a month of being cooped up in shelters and hotel rooms in Anchorage, they were happy to accept the invitation. But what transpired turned out to be more than just a hunt.
John Sturgeon, a longtime Safari Club member, said his group felt it was the right thing to do — to help hunters displaced by the storm, whose families depend on wild fish and game.
“The Safari Club and the subsistence people are much closer together than most folks would think,” Sturgeon said. “We’re hunters. They’re hunters.”…