Teenagers Accused Of Moose Poaching Near Akiachak

Two Southwest Alaska teenagers will be arraigned next month on charges they illegally took a bull moose near the town of Akiachak along the Kuskokwim River.

KYUK radio had some details:

According to charging documents, on or around March 4, Akiachak residents Brycen Lupie and Cupi Nose allegedly shot and killed a bull moose a short distance from the community’s airport, failed to salvage the meat, and killed the moose using an unpermitted type of rifle.

The moose hunting season for the game management unit where the alleged violation took place closed on Sept. 8, 2024. The zone that includes Akiachak, Bethel, and other lower Kuskokwim River communities generally opens to moose hunting for a single week at the beginning of September each year.

According to a trooper affidavit, Alaska Wildlife Troopers responded to Akiachak on March 5 based on a community tip and found a dead bull moose a few hundred yards from the Akiachak airport runway. Wildlife troopers said that they recovered .22 caliber bullet casings at the scene that matched ammunition found in the residences of Lupie and Nose.

Here’s the Alaska State Troopers dispatch on the incident:

AK25021183

Location: Akiachak

Type: Poached Moose Investigation – GMU 18 

Dispatch Text:

On March 4, 2025, Alaska Wildlife Troopers received a report of a poached moose in Game Management Unit (GMU) 18 near Akiachak.

The investigation determined that two 16-year-old males, both residents of Akiachak, unlawfully took a bull moose during a closed season using .22 caliber rimfire rifles, firing more than a dozen shots. Additionally, they failed to salvage any of the meat, leaving the illegally taken moose to waste.

Charges of Wanton Waste, Take Moose Closed Season, and Take Big Game with a Rimfire Rifle will be forwarded to the Bethel District Attorney’s Office for review.