Hi Barrow neighbor!
Dude! I have been to Barrow a few times and even had a job offer many years ago but I always ask the same question� What do you do with your free time? The mountains are so far away and it is sooooo cold even by Kotzebue�s standards.
Ok enough is enough.
Kotzebue and hunting. First and fore most I do own an equipment rental business and I am not throwing a pitch in this post. We have great hunting and the country and the people are fantastic. I worked for the IHS hospital for some time and I have spent a lot of time in every village and many on the North Slope, if you ever have any questions please send me a PM and I will do my best to help you out. About 3 years ago we got a black eye up here because we had a number of flight services who places $ ahead of safety and the customers needs. Many people felt like Kotz was a bad place to hunt and choose to go to other places.
We see about 1,000 hunters up our way in the few weeks of caribou hunting each year and guys who don�t ask a lot of questions some times get dumped on top of other camps. I always insist that an educated hunter will have a much better experience and the only excuse for not knowing everything about where you are hunting is being lazy. We have so many great drainages to choose from that there is something for everyone but you need to get involved early and keep asking questions. I had a guy from back east who was upset with me because I told him it was too late to �throw together� a hunt when he called me in July. All of our good flight services book early and a hunter needs to start planning now for a fall 08 hunt, really now is not too early. I have already booked 4 hunts for next fall because the smart hunter starts early.
The local people are concerned about land use and waste of resources just like everyone else. They are not trying to keep out of region hunters but they do want people to understand where NANA lands are and that is not ok to hunt for horn just to �donate the meat� to the locals because they need it. We, the locals live up here 365/24/7 and have access to the resource year round. I can take as many animals as I need and like many other folks enjoy the hunt just like you do. So �donating or dumping� as we call it is just a no-no on a large scale. A little donated meat is fine and yes it is appreciated by those of us who can�t hunt but when 1,000 hunters expect to �dump� the meat you can see how it is viewed. It is all about respect of the resource and the culture.
If you�re willing to work with someone like me to find and hunt the better rivers you can have a fantastic trip but if you leave it up to the transporter to �Put you down in front of the herd�, well you get what you pay for!
Shoot me a PM if you need any help.
Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
www.northwestalaska.com