ADFG On GMU 2 Wolf Trapping Season Details

Game Management Unit 2 Wolf Trapping Season

(Ketchikan) – Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, determined 31 days of trapping opportunity for wolves in Game Management Unit (GMU) 2. State and federal wolf trapping season opens Nov. 15, 2026, and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2026. State and federal wolf hunting seasons in GMU 2 opened on Sept. 1 and will close concurrently with the trapping season.

Estimating the GMU 2 wolf population takes about 10 months, so each year’s population estimate is used to inform harvest management in the following year. For example, the fall 2025 estimate informs GMU 2 wolf harvest management for this season. For fall 2025, ADF&G estimated the preharvest GMU 2 population to be 187 wolves with high confidence the true population size was within the range of 125 to 279 wolves (95% confidence interval).

The estimate is slightly lower than those from 2021 to 2024, but the long-term trend indicates a stable population that can support a 31-day season.

The season-length based management strategy was implemented in 2019. Since then, harvest has averaged 29% of the preharvest fall population from the most recent estimate.

Season lengths since 2019 were 21–62 days with a harvest of 62–164 wolves. From 2021–2025, a 31-day season resulted in harvest of 45–74 wolves, while the population estimate ranged from 187–268. The consistency in harvest and abundance point to a stable wolf population and sustainable harvest management.