Forest Service Shuts Down Baranof Island Mountain Goat Harvesting

The following press release is courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service:

Mountain goat harvest closed in Bear Mountain Zone on Baranof Island

Release Date: Aug 24, 2023

Under the authority of:
36 CFR §242.10 and .19
50 CFR §100.10 and .19

SITKA, Alaska – Sitka District Ranger Eric Garner, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, is closing the Bear Mountain Zone to the harvest of mountain goats. The closure will be effective Friday, August 25, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in effect through the rest of the 2023 season, which ends December 31. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has issued a concurrent closure in the same zone. Additional mountain goat harvest in this zone could have long term negative effects on the conservation of the mountain goat subpopulation. The remainder of Baranof Island is open to goat hunting until the season closes, unless closed by special action.

A map and description of the closed areas are available from the Sitka Ranger District and the Sitka area office of ADF&G. Information on Federal subsistence management special actions for the Tongass National Forest can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/news/tongass/news-events. For additional information, call Biologist Cody Mosley at 907-747-4343 or email him at cody.mosley@usda.gov.
Information on the Federal Subsistence Management Program can be found at
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence