Moose Harvest Ticket Hunt Will Open In Unit 26B On April 1

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Moose General Season Harvest Ticket hunt to open in Unit 26B

(Fairbanks) – The moose population in Unit 26B has been steadily increasing since a decline in 2014 and has now surpassed the management objective of 200 moose. The 2024 population estimate was 390 moose. Therefore, we have issued an emergency order to open the hunt from April 1–14, 2025. The bag limit is one bull under a General Season Harvest Ticket in Unit 26B, excluding the Canning River drainage.

The moose population in arctic Alaska expanded in the early 1950s into the limited riparian habitats along river drainages and reached a peak at an estimated 1,400 in the 1980s. The population continued to fluctuate into the 1990s when the population went below the management objectives and the hunting season was closed. In 2006 the population rebounded enough to re-open the hunting season until 2014 when the population once again declined. The same hunt structure was reinstated in 2023 with a fall drawing permit hunt and a 14-day late winter general season harvest ticket hunt.

The hunt area includes two restricted areas: Prudhoe Bay Closed Area, which is closed to hunting, and the remainder of the Dalton Highway Corridor Management Area (DHCMA) within 26B. If hunting in the DHCMA, moose may be taken by bow and arrow only and bowhunter education certification is required. One bull moose can be taken between April 1–14, 2025 with a harvest ticket, and hunters must possess a valid 2025 Alaska hunting license. This is a resident only hunt. All hunters who obtain a harvest ticket are required to report either within 15 days of taking the bag limit or within 15 days after the close of the season, even if you did not hunt or did not take an animal. Hunters that have already harvested a moose during this regulatory year (after July 1, 2024) are not eligible to participate in this hunt.