Fortymile Caribou Winter Hunt Set To Start On Wednesday

The Forty Mile Herd caribou hunt will start on Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported this week. Here’s what ADFG said on Facebook:

The Fortymile Caribou winter hunt (RC867) is scheduled to open on Wednesday, October 27 in all hunt zones. 

Caribou are widely scattered between the Elliot/Dalton and Steese highways. There is no open caribou season west of the Elliot and Dalton highways. 

Hunters should have good harvest opportunity during the winter season in the White Mountains and other areas accessible from the Steese Highway. The season is scheduled to remain open through March 31.

Hunters travelling the Elliot and Dalton Highways please be aware the Elliot and Dalton Highways are narrow, winding roads, with steep hills, and narrow steep shoulders. There is also heavy industrial traffic with daily semi-trucks travelling the road. These highways are currently experiencing icy conditions. 

Before you head out, be sure you’re aware of road rules and etiquette so we can all stay safe on our highways:

– Shooting on, from, or across the drivable surface of any 
   constructed road or highway is illegal.
– It is illegal to park in the highway driving lanes.
– Pull your vehicle as far off the road as possible.
– Do not park on corners.
– Be aware that other vehicles, including large commercial vehicles 
   that need plenty of room to slow down, use these roads regularly.
– Do not camp on the road or in the state right-of-way. Rules for   
   camping are different depending on where you are hunting, and   
   it is your responsibility to make sure you are camping in a legal 
   spot.
– There are limited outhouse facilities. Consider bringing along a 
   portable toilet (I.e. Luggable loo) and take all of your trash out   
   with you.  

The resident bag limit is two caribou (either sex) in all Zones to provide additional harvest opportunity and help achieve the harvest objective for 2021. Hunters must obtain two RC867 Registration permits to harvest two caribou. Successful hunters must bring a 4-inch section of the lower jaw, with front teeth of harvested caribou to an ADF&G office in Tok, Delta Junction, or Fairbanks.

Hunters are advised to call the Fortymile Caribou Hotline at 907-267-2310 before departing for the field to obtain the most current information on status of the hunt including zone closures.