We touched base with Rost495, another 24HCF member who I’ve been friendly with and corresponded with off and on for years. He’d generously offered to assist in any way he could. A lifelong Texan, the man now makes part of his living guiding in AK for bear, moose and sheep, I believe, and he and his lovely wife have a place in DJ that they live in seasonally.
We spent the night before the hunt comparing notes with Rost495 and having a decidedly crappy dinner at a place called ‘The Cave’. They were generous with the name. ‘The Dump’ would’ve been more appropriate, where they pride themselves in their lousy, expensive food and horrible service. A couple of wildly overcooked burgers (we’d ordered them medium rare) and a few drinks only cost me about a hundred bucks. No matter. I wasn’t there for the fine dining and a night out on the town, after all. I was there to try to kill a bison.
A few words from the AKDFG website including the origins of the Delta Junction herd:
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=deltajunctionbison.main“In 1928, 23 bison from the National Bison Range in Moiese, Montana were transplanted to their historic range along the Delta River. By 1947 the herd of plains bison had increased to 400 animals. Beginning in 1951, hunting was allowed and is currently used to limit the herd to a precalving population of 275–300 bison. The herd is maintained at this level to reduce the potential for damage to agricultural crops and to keep the herd within the carrying capacity of its summer range. 15,000–20,000 people apply each year for 80–120 permits to hunt Delta bison. Delta bison have been used to start three other herds in Alaska.
The Delta herd's summer range is along the Delta River, in the eastern interior of the state, southwest of Delta Junction. In the fall, bison migrate from the Delta River toward Delta Junction. Prior to agricultural development, the winter range included country east of Delta Junction between the Granite Mountains and Tanana Hills. With development of agriculture, bison began using farms extensively during the fall and winter.”
Due to our delay getting heading up to DJ, we had but one full day to scout public and private land and to try to obtain permission to trespass on a number of the privately owned pieces of land that allowed bison hunting. Between public areas legal to hunt and the private land potentially available, the Delta bison range encompasses about 200 square miles, I believe. Not exactly a small parcel of land. Figuring out where we could hunt was kind of tricky, as the map with corresponding units pictured were alternately labeled as ‘no hunting’, ‘hunting allowed with permission required’ and ‘hunting allowed with permission; fee required’. That was pretty straightforward, but many of the units listed had no contact information other than a name.
We made the best of the time we had, and between help from Rost495 and a few of SD’s local friends and connections, we got some good leads. VernAK and Rost495 really shined here in their devoted scouting for the team. All the lads were able to offer helpful info on where bison were being seen. As important as where people were seeing bison was people telling us where the bison *weren’t* being seen. A lot of the combined efforts came together to try to help make this fellow hunter’s dream come true. That generosity, time away from their lives and general good will shall never be forgotten, nor be unrecognized. It meant a great deal to me then, and always will.
