ADFG Asking For Deer & Elk Hunter Help Detecting CWD

Taken from a recent ADFG web page:

Deer and elk hunters in the Kodiak area (GMU 8), Prince of Wales Island area (GMU2), and elk hunters in Southeast Alaska are asked to donate the heads from your hunts in 2006. Many samples are needed to determine if our deer and elk populations in these areas are free of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

To test for CWD, samples are taken from the brain stem through the hole at the back of the skull, lymph nodes near the larynx, and tonsils. Samples can be taken with no damage to the skull.

Results take many months to get back, and hunters will only be notified individually if there is a positive result. Total numbers and results will be put on the website on the Chronic Wasting Disease page.

Read the entire ADFG web page >>>

Alaska Protests Federal Subsistence Board Allowing Bear Claws Sale

The Federal Subsistence Board recently took action that allows commercial sales of bear claws and other parts of bears taken for subsistence to continue, despite the State of Alaska's protest. By retaining rules that allow unconstrained sales of bear parts, the Board undermines state, national, and international wildlife protection and enforcement efforts. The State of Alaska filed an appeal with the Federal Subsistence Board:

Read the entire ADFG page with links >>>

Board of Game Hearing in Juneau October 19 on SE Reg Changes

The Alaska Board of Game is holding a public hearing in Juneau on October 19. The purpose of the meeting is to "gather information and listen to public comment" about issues relating to proposed changes in hunting and trapping regulations proposed for Southeast Alaska.

Read the entire ADFG notice >>>

Bristol Bay, Y-K, & Seward Peninsula Federal Subsistence Advisory Councils to Meet

The USFWS Federal Subsistence Management Program announced the meeting of Regional Advisory Councils in Western Alaska:

• The Bristol Bay Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council will meet October 2-3 at the Dillingham City Assembly Chambers. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m.
• The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council will meet October 5-6 in Bethel. The meeting will be held at the Long House Bethel Inn, 751 3rd Ave., and will begin at 9 a.m.
• The Seward Peninsula Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council will meet Friday, October 6 in Nome. The meeting will be held at the Aurora Inn Conference Room and will begin at 8:30 a.m.

The councils will consider subsistence hunting, fishing and trapping regulation changes. For additional information see the news releases >>>

GMU 20A Antlerless Hunt RM764/Zone 2 Closes

From an ADFG News Release:

The Department of Fish and Game is closing antlerless moose hunting in part of Unit 20A south of Fairbanks.

The season in Zone 2 will close at 11:59 pm on Sunday, September 24th, 2006.

The quota of 175 antlerless moose for Zone 2 is projected to be reached by Sunday night. Allowing the hunt to continue would likely result in the harvest quotas being exceeded.

“Excellent weather and strong interest in the antlerless hunt has resulted in achieving our harvest objective rather quickly in Zone 2,” said Fairbanks Area Biologist Don Young. “

The Board of Game authorized registration permit hunt RM764 for antlerless moose in Unit 20A between August 25 and February 28, unless closed earlier by emergency order.

The quota for antlerless moose in all of Unit 20A is 700, but to distribute the harvest more evenly, the Department divided the unit into seven hunting zones and established individual quotas for each zone based on estimated moose abundance. A zone map is printed on the back of the hunt permits.

Hunters with RM764 permits may continue to hunt in Zones 3, 4, and 5 of Unit 20A. Zones 1 and 6 are closed and Zone 7 does not open until October 4th. Successful hunters must report their harvest to the Fairbanks ADF&G office (459-7272) within 2 days of kill for Zone 3 and 5 days of kill for Zones 2, 4, or 5. Reporting online is available. Unsuccessful hunters must report to the Fairbanks ADF&G office within 15 days of the end of the season.

For recorded hunt information call the Unit 20A antlerless moose hunting hotline at 459–7386. Hunters with questions can call 459-7206 or 459-7233 for more information.

GMU 20A Antlerless Hunt RM764/Zone 2 Closes

From an ADFG News Release:

The Department of Fish and Game is closing antlerless moose hunting in part of Unit 20A south of Fairbanks.

The season in Zone 2 will close at 11:59 pm on Sunday, September 24th, 2006.

The quota of 175 antlerless moose for Zone 2 is projected to be reached by Sunday night. Allowing the hunt to continue would likely result in the harvest quotas being exceeded.

“Excellent weather and strong interest in the antlerless hunt has resulted in achieving our harvest objective rather quickly in Zone 2,” said Fairbanks Area Biologist Don Young. “

The Board of Game authorized registration permit hunt RM764 for antlerless moose in Unit 20A between August 25 and February 28, unless closed earlier by emergency order.

The quota for antlerless moose in all of Unit 20A is 700, but to distribute the harvest more evenly, the Department divided the unit into seven hunting zones and established individual quotas for each zone based on estimated moose abundance. A zone map is printed on the back of the hunt permits.

Hunters with RM764 permits may continue to hunt in Zones 3, 4, and 5 of Unit 20A. Zones 1 and 6 are closed and Zone 7 does not open until October 4th. Successful hunters must report their harvest to the Fairbanks ADF&G office (459-7272) within 2 days of kill for Zone 3 and 5 days of kill for Zones 2, 4, or 5. Reporting online is available. Unsuccessful hunters must report to the Fairbanks ADF&G office within 15 days of the end of the season.

For recorded hunt information call the Unit 20A antlerless moose hunting hotline at 459–7386. Hunters with questions can call 459-7206 or 459-7233 for more information.

Portion of Haines Area Closed to Goat Hunting

ADFG has closed a portion of the Takshankuk mountains near Haines to goat hunting. Most of the remainder of GMU 1D is still open.

Read the entire ADFG News Release (with map) >>>

Kodiak Canada Goose Season Reopens After 20 Years

Waterfowlers will be able to take Canada geese in the Kodiak Archipelago for the first time since the season was closed in 1987, an ADFG press release reports.

The season is possible because of a translocation of 200 Vancouver Canada geese from Southeast Alaska in 1987. Kodiak had no resident Canadas at the time, and the Vancouvers were brought in to establish a population.

The translocated population is now at a level that can support hunting. The season will be October 8 - January 22 with a bag of 1 Canada, and 2 in possession. Some parts of Kodiak are closed to hunting.

Read the entire ADFG press release >>>

Martin River bull moose hunt closed near Cordova

An ADFG press release indicates that resident Alaskan registration permit hunt RM164 for antlered bull moose in the Martin River area of GMU6 closed on 16 September. Hunters are being asked to return their permit reports to the Cordova Office.

The agency reported that at least 19 bulls were taken.

Read the entire ADFG news release >>>

Hunters? A biologist confronts the issue of slobs

Alaska wildlife biologist Jack Whitman is a long time hunter. He writes: "I’m intimately involved in hunting, both professionally (for 35 years a biologist) and personally in my everyday life. I’m proud of that heritage which has been handed down through the generations. I’ll do what I can to maintain it for my children and for their children."

But two things happened recently to Whitman which caused him to become acutely aware of the issue of slobs in our ranks: the senseless killing of two animals: an owl sitting on its eggs, and his own hunting dog.

"Is this the wave of the future on a grand scale, or is this just a select few Fairbanks “hunters” that I’ve had the recent misfortune to encounter?," he writes.

Read the entire article on the Alaska Outdoors Supersite >>>

No 2006 Fall Kenai Brown Bear Hunting Season

The brown bear registration hunt (RB160) scheduled for October 15-31 in GMU 7 & 15, will not open because the total human-caused mortality of brown bears is at the management limit. Human-caused mortality includes defense of life and property kills, automobile collisions, illegally taken brown bears, and hunter kills.

Read the entire ADFG news release (PDF format) here >>>

Kodiak/Aleutians Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council to Meet

The Kodiak/Aleutians Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council will meet Friday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m. at the Comfort Inn in Kodiak.

The Council will call for proposals to change subsistence hunting and trapping regulations, hear updates on Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program projects and discuss current issues affecting subsistence in the Kodiak/Aleutians region.

The meeting will also provide an additional opportunity for the public to comment on the Federal Subsistence Board's rural review process. Rural status determines eligibility for the Federal subsistence priority. Kodiak has been proposed for a change in status.

This meeting is open to the public.

For additional information, special accommodations or an agenda for the meeting, contact Council Coordinator Michelle Chivers at least 72 hours prior to the meeting at (800) 478-1456 or (907) 786-3877 or by e-mail at michelle_chivers@fws.gov. Additional information on the Federal Subsistence Management Program can be found on the web.

From a USFWS News Release dated 12 September 2006

Moose Hunt in western Alaska GMU 22B Closes

ADF&G has closed western Alaska moose permit hunt RM840 by emergency order as of September 11. This closes the state and federal moose hunt for this area.

GMU 22B located on the SE Seward Peninsula, east of Nome.

Read the complete news release >>>

Proposals for SE Alaska Game Regulation Changes Published

The Alaska Board of Game has published the book of proposals for changes to the Alaska hunting regulations to be considered at its November 10-15, 2006 meeting to be held in Wrangell.

You can see the proposals online here. Proposals must be received by October 27th to be included in board members' workbooks.

Anchorage Hillside Moose Hunt Back in Business

A second Anchorage Hillside moose hunt is scheduled to start in early November. The hunt is controversial in Anchorage, but according to biologists, something must be done to reduce the area moose population.

Only four moose will be taken this year, according to KTVA News. Last year's hunt was the second hunt in this area in recent years.

Read the entire story >>>

Yukon Flats Athabascans Working Towards Bison Reintroduction

Yukon Flats Athabascan Indians are working steadily towards reintroduction of bison to their part of Alaska. Oral tradition indicates that wood bison lived in Alaska until recent times, but before western civilization came to Alaska. Stevens Village has established a bison ranch in Delta Junction as part of this overall push to bring bison back.

The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports that "The idea to reintroduce bison to the Yukon Flats first surfaced about 15 years ago. Bison lived in the area until quite recently, but once theyÂ’d been gone for a few generations, people stopped talking about them, and there was little written record. "“There were no pencils back then,"” said Craig Fleener of Fort Yukon, a wildlife biologist pushing for the reintroduction as executive director of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments."

Read the entire story >>>

ADFG Details NW Alaska Hunting Competition Problems

From Alaska Wildlife News:

"A yearly problem is about to unfold again in Game Management Unit 23; the Kotzebue region of northwestern Alaska. And the hunting and wilderness experience of a variety of user groups hangs in the balance.

Broadly, the problem is about what happens when different perspectives on hunting collide and access to wilderness, wildlife, and hunting opportunity is insufficient to meet everyone’s needs. More specifically, it is about the increasing number of guides, transporters and visiting hunters converging on northwestern Alaska during the short fall hunting season — at the same time that local subsistence users (who have hunted in the region for generations) are getting their winter meat. The problem also embraces the issue of wasted meat, and the fear that too many people can love a very special place into ruin."

Read the entire article >>>

Groups, Retailer Help Burned Out Village Hunters

Hooper Bay hunters, whose village was burned out by a fire in August, are receiving help from other Alaska hunters, according to KTVA News in Anchorage. In addition to Salvation Army and Red Cross, NRA Alaska, the Alaska Hunter Heritage Foundation, and Safari Club International are helping with hunting equipment.

Read the entire story on KTVA >>>

F&G Boards Call for Advisory Committee Improvement Ideas

The Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game are soliciting proposals for improvements in the local fish and game advisory committee system. They also want to see proposals for identifying state "nonsubsistence" areas.

The Boards particularly want to hear proposals on enhancing the effectiveness of the advisory committee system. Proposals are due in December and will be considered the following year.

Read the entire news release >>>