"The system, frankly, today is broken," Salazar said during a taped speech to the Alaska Federation of Natives.

The department will review management policies and programs on federal lands to make them work more effectively to meet the needs of Native Alaskan communities, he said.

Federal law passed in 1980 guarantees a "rural" preference for fish and game on the vast federal holdings in Alaska more than 60 percent of the state. The law is in conflict with the Alaska's state constitution, which says fish, wildlife and water will be reserved for the common use of all Alaskans with no preference based on race or geography.

Hunters and anglers in Alaska communities designated as "urban" contend that a preference for Alaska's fish and wildlife should not be determined by where a person lives.

The Alaska Legislature has rejected proposals to place a constitutional amendment proposal before voters that would grant a rural preference and win back state management of fish and game on all lands within the state.

Salazar said the federal government began managing the subsistence priority nearly two decades ago and that it was time to look at what has happened and what must be done to meet the federal law's obligations.

Kim Elton, the Interior Department senior adviser for Alaska affairs and a former state senator from Juneau, said subsistence is critical to sustaining both the physical and spiritual culture of Native Alaskans. The review will consider leadership and budget issues, he said.

"A fundamental premise will be that we can no longer expect the state to regain subsistence management on federal lands," he said. "We are here to stay, so we have the obligation to provide the best management system that we possibly can."

Elton said Salazar wants a clear subsistence plan by early next year. The revamped subsistence management plan will use decisions based on science and traditional knowledge, an understanding of subsistence, and a commitment to the promise made in federal law that subsistence will not be compromised or relegated to a low priority status.