| Featured: Changes to the 2003/2004 Alaska State
Hunting Regulations adopted by the Board of Game
The Alaska Board of Game recently adopted a number of changes to the
Alaska State Hunting Regulations for regulatory year 2003-2004. This
is part of the Board's annual cycle of updating the Hunting and Trapping
regulations for the state.
Note that this is not a
comprehensive list of all the detailed changes. The Alaska Department of
Fish and Game advises that It is the individual user's responsibility
to read the regulations themselves carefully for complete information.
Alaska game regulations are available online from the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game's website.
Keep in mind that these regulations do not become effective until July 1,
2003 so do not affect hunting or trapping seasons that are currently open
or that open prior to July 1, 2003. (such as spring bear seasons and bear
baiting)
BROWN BEAR
Unit 1D, convert nonresident brown bear registration hunt to drawing hunt.
Unit 4, the NE Chichagof Controlled Use Area, reopen the fall brown bear
registration hunt in entire area, Sept. 15-Dec. 31.
Unit 4, create the Bear Cove closed area near Medvejie hatchery south of
Sitka. The area within ¼ mile of beach in the cove is closed to brown bear
hunting.
Unit 11, change bag limit to one bear per year and eliminate resident tag
fee requirement.
Unit 13, lengthen season outside of the Denali State Park Management Area
to extend year round, July 1-June 30. This will become effective before
the current season ends June 15.
Units 14A, B, C and 16A, aligned seasons Sept. 1-May 31.
Unit 16B, extended season to May 31, eliminated resident tag fee
requirement, and clarified one per year bag limit to not count against the
one in four bag limit in other areas of the state.
Unit 16B, delay the start of the brown bear season to Sept. 15 in the area
within 1 mile radius of Wolverine Cove.
Unit 17, lengthened season in portion of 17B upstream from and including
the Chilchitna River to start Sept. 10, and liberalized bag limit to one
bear per year in all of Unit 17.
Unit 20D, included the entire subunit in the resident tag fee exemption.
See entire article here, covering changes to Black Bear, Caribou,
Deer, Elk, Moose, Mt Goat, Sheep, Wolves, Coyote, Fox, Furbearers, and
Miscellaneous regulations.
BLACK BEAR
Unit 1C, prohibit taking white-colored black bears.
Unit 1D, close to black bear baiting, effective spring 2003, the Chilkat
Peninsula south of the Haines Highway, and within 1 mile of the following
roads--Haines Highway, Lutak Road, Porcupine road to the confluence of the
Porcupine and Klehini Rivers, and the Chilkat Lake road from the Porcupine
Bridge to Chilkat Landing on the Tsirku River.
Unit 6D, prohibit shooting black bear from a boat. This will NOT go into
effect until July 1, 2003.
Unit 14A, change season to no closed season. This will become effective
before the current season ends May 25.
Units 14A and B, extend baiting season until June 15. This will become
effective before the current season ends.
Unit 16B, revise baiting restrictions on some rivers; the ¼ mile
restriction will no longer be in effect on the Yentna and Skwentna Rivers
upstream of their confluence. This will NOT go into effect until 2004
baiting season.
CARIBOU
Unit 9B and portions of Unit 17, decrease bag limit for bulls during the
fall season. Bag limit for residents remains 5 caribou, but for Unit 9B,
only one bull July 1- Nov. 30, Unit 17A, drainages west of Right Hand
Point, 17B, and 17C, east of Wood River, only one bull Aug. 1-Nov. 30.
Bag limit for nonresidents reduced from two to one caribou. Season remains
Aug. 1-April 15 for Units 9B, 17B, and 17C, east of Wood River.
DEER
Units 1-5, prohibit the use of artificial light to illuminate deer from a
motorized land vehicle.
Unit 3 align the deer season on the Lindenberg Peninsula with the
remainder of the unit, lengthening it to Aug. 1-Nov. 30, and increasing
the bag limit to 2 bucks.
Unit 3, Mitkof Island, the Petersburg management area, lengthen the season
by 15 days to Oct. 15-Nov. 15, one buck, by bow and arrow.
Unit 8, remainder (outside Kodiak area), retain 3 deer bag limit, change
doe season to start Oct. 1. In area near Kodiak, liberalize November
muzzleloader season to any deer.
Units 1-6 and 8, allow antlers attached to an entire deer carcass as
evidence of sex for deer.
ELK
Unit 3, separate the archery and rifle drawing hunt for elk, and increase
the combined number of permits for the hunts to 300.
Unit 8, redefine hunt areas on Afognak, open Tonki Peninsula, and in the
remainder of Unit 8 (except Raspberry Island), change early portion of
season to a drawing hunt, followed by a late-season registration hunt.
MOOSE
Unit 1C, Gustavus area, increase number of antlerless moose drawing
permits from 10 to 35.
Unit 1D, increase the number of Tier II moose permits from 200 to 250.
Unit 6A, extend moose season to Nov. 30.
Unit 6B, change motorized restrictions for registration hunt RM164. No
motorized vehicles may be used for hunting or transporting hunters or gear
Aug. 15-Sept. 10.
Unit 9D, convert the resident winter drawing hunt to general season.
Unit 14A, increase the number of antlerless moose drawing permits from 400
to 500.
Unit 14C, Elmendorf AFB, increase number of permits to 25, and establish
winter hunt Oct. 15-Dec. 15.
Unit 16B, reestablish resident-only general season hunt Sept. 1-Sept. 20
for spike-fork, 50” bulls. Tier II hunt for any bull Nov. 15-Feb. 28 will
continue.
Unit 17A, establish a resident winter registration hunt for antlered bulls
during a 2 week season to be announced by emergency order in Dec. or Jan.
Unit 21E, closed the Feb. antlerless hunt.
MOUNTAIN GOAT
Unit 1C slightly expand the archery-only registration hunt area near
Juneau (RG014).
Units 1A and 1B, close season on the Cleveland Peninsula, and reduce the
bag limit from 2 goats to 1 goat in the remainder of the units (RG001).
Unit 8, modify drawing season to Aug. 20-Oct. 25, increase number of
permits, and establish November 1- Dec. 15 registration hunt for
residents.
SHEEP
Units 7 and 15(A), expand the Round Mountain permit hunt area to south of
Dike Creek and a line from the headwaters of Dike Creek to Juneau Creek,
west of Juneau Creek, and north of the Sterling Highway and change general
season full-curl hunt to a drawing hunt. The hunt this year (2003) will be
status quo—ewe by permit, full-curl under a general season harvest ticket.
The new drawing hunt for full-curl, along with the expansion of the hunt
area, will be listed in the Winter Drawing Supplement and the new hunt
will be held beginning August 2004.
Unit 11, change resident bag limit from any ram to ram with ¾ curl horn or
larger.
WOLVES
Units 1, and 3-5 decrease the hunting season length by 2 months to
Sept.1-Mar. 31, and the trapping season length by one month to Nov.
10-Mar. 31.
Units 1C, Douglas Island, close to the taking of wolves and create a new
management area with guidelines to provide hunting and trapping
opportunities once the wolf population reaches a threshold level of 7
animals or if the deer harvest declined due to predation. At that time, a
registration permit for trapping would be required and wolf harvest
quotas, methods and means restrictions, orientation requirements, and a
shortened reporting period would be established.
Units 9 and 17, increase hunting bag limit to 10 per day.
Unit 16, increase hunting bag limit to 10 per season.
Unit 16B, mainland, adopt wolf predation control plan, and allow the use
of snowmachines for taking wolves.
Units 20A and 20C, create a new area closed to the hunting and trapping of
wolves. The area consists of those portions bounded by a line beginning at
the confluence of Healy Creek and the Nenana River, east along the south
bank of Healy Creek to the eastern edge of the Southern
Anchorage-to-Fairbanks intertie right-of-way, then south along the eastern
edge of the intertie right-of-way to the southern boundary of Unit 20(A),
then west along the boundary of Unit 20(A) and then across the Nenana
River to the west bank of the Nenana River, then north along the west bank
of the Nenana River to the Moody Bridge at MP 242.9 of the George Parks
Highway, then across the Moody Bridge to the Unit 20(A) boundary, then
north along the boundary of Unit 20(A) to the point of beginning. The use
of snares 3/32 inch in diameter or larger, set out of water is prohibited
in the area. COYOTE
Region II, Units 6-11, 13-17, lengthen hunting season to Aug. 10-April 30,
and increase bag limit to 10.
FOX
Units 11 and 13 lengthen hunting season to Sept. 1- Mar. 15 and increase
bag limit to 10 foxes, only 2 may be taken prior to Oct. 1.
FURBEARERS
Units 9 and 17, lengthen beaver season to Oct. 10-Mar. 31, and liberalize
bag limit to no limit.
Unit 13, extend marten trapping season to Feb. 28 in entire unit and
eliminate sealing requirement.
Unit 13, align opening of muskrat season with beaver season, Sept. 25-
June 10.
Unit 13 and 16, extend beaver season to Sept. 25–May 31.
Unit 17, extend wolverine trapping season, Nov. 10-Mar. 31.
TRAPPING
Unit 1C, Gustavus, prohibit the use of snares greater than 1/32 inch or
larger set out of water, require traps to be checked every 3 days, and
require all trappers to identify traps and snares by attaching a permanent
metal tag, or placing a sign within 50 yards of the sight.
Remainder of Units 1-5, require all trappers using a snare 3/32 inch in
diameter or larger, set out of water, to identify the snares by attaching
a permanent metal tag, or placing a sign within 50 yards of the sight.
MISCELLANEOUS
Unit 1C Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, require an annual
registration and orientation to hunt.
Unit 3, Mitkof Island, create the Petersburg management area and allow
hunting for all game by bow and arrow only.
Unit 7 and 15, establish new Russian River Closed Area. No hunting allowed
in June and July from the outlet of Lower Russian Lake downstream to the
Russian River/Kenai River confluence; within 150 yards each side of, and
including, the river. This will NOT go into effect until July 1.
This news item was provided by the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game. Please note that these regulations do not go
into effect until 1 July 2003. While this information is believed to
be accurate, be aware of the potential for typographical or other errors.
You should confirm the regulations before making travel or
other plans.
Bonus
Feature: Wolf Control Works
by David Johnson
Almost 30 years ago, early in my career as an Alaska state wildlife
biologist, the Associated Press distributed a picture of me nationwide. I
was standing in front of wolf pelts ADF&G was auctioning in Fairbanks. A
Lower 48 reader clipped the photo and inscribed it: "This is so you can
show your children what wolves looked like when they become extinct."
That they are not extinct, or even remotely in danger of becoming so in
Alaska, now more than a quarter century after that photo, is obvious. Why
else would we still be having rancorous discussions about managing wolves?
Standing above the rancor is the simple reality that properly applied wolf
control works. An example from the wolf control program that resulted in
the wolf hides I had my picture taken with illustrates.
See entire article here >>>
David Johnson is a 31-year Alaskan and retired state wildlife biologist
and supervisor who worked in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Juneau and
Anchorage during his ADF&G career. We pay for news items
published in this space. If you have a news or feature item that would be of
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