Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska What I did not like about Alaska

Went Caribou Hunting last year North of the Brooks Range. My complaints is with the Alaska Game & Fish Department. As a Nonresident I was allowed one Caribou in a Zone to take another I had to move to a different Zone. This is First Class Stupid from the Alaska G&F when Residents were allowed I believe 10 tags and natives 50. They are worried about me taking two in one zone total BS. IMHO. I also don't understand why every Hunter is not given 1 Free Wolf license with a big game license. Most Hunters will never shoot one but a few might. Makes more sense than paying employees from the G&F to shoot them from a airplane.
I hope to return someday

Alaska's wildlife regulations may look simple or stupid to some hunters and I agree that some are confusing. The management of wildlife in Alaska is complex.....very complex......and the state is huge.

Alaska has about 80 local F&G Advisory Committees that pass recommendations to the Board Of Game that sets dates and limits. You are welcome to send in a proposal to the BOG for any changes
you think may have merit and The BOG will review and act upon that proposal with input from local ACs.

I'm not aware of recent aerial wolf shooting on the North Slope so I can't comment there.

Shooters on the ground are not very effective on wolves. In areas with too many wolves the State licenses two-man teams to shoot them from small planes. The wolves they kill are their only pay. In areas too remote to encourage "volunteers" they have used paid contractors and employees.

Put Barrow on the southern Canada border and SE runs down into Florida and the Aleutians stick way out off the coast of California. Bad as you think AK regulations are, I guarantee they are far more tangled in an equal area where you live. Far more tangled.

You can choose to hunt in a two caribou unit to start and kill two caribou there without moving. But you cannot start in a two 'bou area and move to a one 'bou area. Very simple supply and demand math.

I hear Canadian hunts are much, much better.

I agree 100% about giving everyone free, unlimited wolf tags. Pay when you slay?

Not sure on the politics or the caribou. One thing for sure is that residents like to magnify the impact of non-residents while ignoring the impacts of residents.

That is a fact. There are a million ways that residents have to game the system. Community harvest is a favorite where we moose hunt.

I don’t care about non residents. The natives are the ones who really tuck things up with their poaching and slaughtering, wanton waste and general [bleep].

Hard to deny history...

No kidding. I particularly enjoy the formation of an organization whose mission aligns with this concept. Although, it’s a bit misleading that the RHAK chose the name they did. They in no way represent me or how I feel about the situation. A topic for another day, I suppose.

I know of no place that currently issues residents 10 tags and Natives 50, but then I don't read all the regulations for every unit- only the ones I hunt in or have some other interest in.

When the NWACH took a nose dive in the 70's, residents were for a time then issued 5 permits (all one could get on a towed sleds at one time), and once those filled, if they needed more, got 5 more, etc. This was because of run and gun on snow machines, where the kill might be strung out for miles, and carcasses often not recovered. And people killing dozens, piling them up, and not recovering. A big cause of that decline was the chasing with snow machines, which IMO resulted in massive "spontaneous" abortion rate, affecting the decline even more than the wanton slaughter I personally witnessed.

Officially, it was a "mysterious" decline... They went back to no limits for residents once the herd recovered - and biologically, none are needed.

There was no resident limit on caribou take the two years in mid 90's that I spent in Barrow, nor the 8 years 2010-2018 we lived in Kotzebue. The last couple years in Kotz the Advisory Committee got ADF&G to rubber stamp the Native practice of not taking bulls from mid October to February- Rut and skinny...., tho edible shortly after rut.

I called this "the pregnant cows only season". Ostensibly to slow a decline in the caribou herd, but really just to integrate Native practice into regulation..


Yeah.....I know.....

To reinforce Art's description of Alaska's size is this:

If you pick your starting point and direction correctly (at least 2 ways it can be done), one can travel in a straight line for 1500 miles, and be halfway across the state....

I just returned from our remote cabin in north-central Interior Alaska, from our home on the Kenai Peninsula in South-Central. It's about 750 road miles from house to boat landing, and another 50 river miles to the cabin. And still south of the Yukon.

Alaska is fairly good sized, with multiple ecosystems and population centers, requiring a diverse regulation system, which is now far more complicated than when I first got here in 1968. At that time, the regulations ran to 10 pages or less for the entire state....

Ah, progress!

1100Remingtonman: As a "non-resident" I have Hunted (Mt. Goat & Black Bear) Alaska on 4 different excursions.
I feel blessed to have done so.
After my third Mt. Goat venture the Alaska Fish & Game Department changed the regulations to now requiring a "guide" to Hunt Mt Goats in Alaska as a non-resident.
Okay... that ended those wonderful experiences for me.
Then... I heard that the F&G people made a new regulation allowing for a Hunter to harvest 2 (two!) Mt. Goats per year - with the confusing stipulation (to me anyway!) that the Hunter had to come out of the bush and present himself in person to buy the 2nd (second!) Mt. Goat tag!
Hmmm...... I thought if there are enough Mt. Goats in certain areas of Alaska then why cause a Hunter to often times "fly out" of the backcountry (like I and my Goat Hunting companions did on our Hunts) and then "fly back in"?
Must be a reason and I never did inquire or complain to the Alaska F&G on either change they made - that effected me and would have effected me.
Again I feel privileged to have Hunted in Alaska on those wonderful excursions.
I have thought about your situation and the disparity in tag numbers and can come up with NO rationale for that regulation?
I would like to hear the Alaska F&G's reasoning.
Long live Alaska.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Most G&F regulation writers are somewhat antagonistic to sportsmen and downright hostile to non-residents. A deep read of most states regulations brings up a patchwork of laws unrelated to conservation but entirely related to making your life as a hunter or fisherman difficult. Every state has their own unique stupid set of laws to make things hard.

Care to juxtapose this with what you liked about Alaska?

I loved the Brooks Range and will go back some day. I did not think the Tundra was as hard getting around as I had read. While it was not easy neither is Duck hunting on the Mississippi River going through the mud retrieving a duck, or walk up Pheasants in a Cattail slough with a foot of snow.
This might sound funny the People were the same I found and that's what I expected. What I mean by this is I fly a Corporate Jet all over the lower 48 and Canada and I found out a long time ago people are like a mirror what you show them they show you back. Be nice they are nice,
I can't say I had a great transporter flying us to and from the bush. I heard they sold it, no surprise there. The Pilot we had was great a real nice guy.
I enjoyed my time in Fairbanks and had a couple days to kill while game was being processed for my trip home. I really like the Alaskan Beer I had there and the Brew Pub by Wal Mart.
I did like the haul road for it scenery and I will do it again I hope. These are some of the things I liked pak.

Not sure what is by the Fbx Chinese embassy but you enjoyed it. I'd have reco'd Hoodoo brewery!

Can understand some of your frustration with tne regs. Looked thru your posts a bit. Did you ask questions here prior? Missed it if you did. I'm guessing this was left year's hunt?

Congrats on the 'bou.

My neighbor had an Airman in his unit that married a native girl from somewhere in NW Alaska. He told my neighbor about how her brothers would go and poach like there was no tomorrow. They even told him that no one would do anything about it as they were Alaskan Natives.

But, but, but, they're the defenders of the planet, and they are one with nature, and so forth

30+ years ago-
When a permit was required to drive the Haul Road past Dietrich Camp & one was required to sign in/out by ADF&G.
10 caribou harvests w/ 5 legally bartered for those living South of the Yukon.
Moose,Grizz(w/ $25 tag)Blk Bears,Dall Sheep w/ harvest tags annotated to back of your license.

Today-
Too many restrictions.

If one is logistically challenged-
WHINERS.....stay home.

NATIVES: we want to protect our native ways of life, we respect the animals and want to maintain it for the future.

ALSO NATIVES: we shoot hundreds of cows, out of season....

Interesting perspective. By what personal experience did you come by it?

Wanton waste laws don't apply to them either.

I'd have a hard time reading all the rules and regs, then deciding I wanted to go to that place and follow the rules that I chose to and then complain.

I do agree some things don't make a lot of sense. And some may not even be sound. So I get that.

But I"d rather post all the good rather than all the bad. I suppose its differences in human nature.

Sounds like it was good enough if you are spending the cash to go back though. Its not cheap here. Not at all.

RE tundra not hard to get around in. You didn't see it all then by far. Maybe you stayed up high and dry. Maybe you didn't have 13 loads of moose to haul in a pack with chest waders on in the dark and raining. Never say never all I"m saying...and Carolyn still mutters when we walk out of spruce and see a patch of tussocks...

Spot on.

The trend is more drawing hunts and what I think are ridiculous antler restrictions that potentially encourage waste. F&G does some things that I question. All made worse by limited access, as per the recent steese steese hwy caribou hunt. Too many people tearing things up. We need more roads

Roads. Nope. Roads and trails will make AK like CO etc... we just need to be where we are and deal with it. Just because I can't afford to fly out etc... I don't cry about it. Change AK. Nope. Its been done in many other states and it sucks in those states.

Heck anywhere its legal in AK there are more wheeler trails everywhere. Every year. I just don't care for that at all.

My opinion anyway and its worth the same as yours. LOL

Jeff
We’re you able to make it up here this summer?

I'm too old for walk-in hunts but I'd sure like to see more of em.

Like.

Yup

I’m of the same opinion.

He did and was doing some guiding I believe up near Talkeetna but he's back up near Delta Junction now. He must like the cold, he's pretty hardy for a Texan. lol

Good deal.

[bleep] the state has several walk in hunts... the biggest one up north Dalton hwy... I don’t see many folks jumping up and down to do that one... then CCUA off the Denali hwy see very few folks wanting to do that one.. [bleep] you can even ride a bike in there.. well here’s a list.. the last one is highly recommended for all you guys with the “only 2 quads I need are my legs” stickers on your Subaru’s.. I Gauran gd tee you most on here or in Alaska will do any of these walk in hunts especially for moose..

Well chit here they are
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_yanert
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_woodrvr
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_glaciermtn
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_ladue
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_sourdough
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_clearwater
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_delta
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=conservationareas.controlleduse&area=CU_tonsina

LOL. I've done a few of those - suppose I am a slow learner.

Only shot one moose myself in a walk-in area, but somehow I've been involved in 3 or 4 pack outs.

What I didn't like about Alaska was greasy pizza and toll roads and pay to park on at fishing areas. In my 2 trips to Alaska so far that is it. Everything else so far I loved.

I consider you the exception, it just kills me guys crying for more walk in areas don’t realize their are a bunch of them already. Hell one of the most challenging walk in hunt is about to kick off that’s the ship creep drainage moose hunt. I did it once we came in off the hi land side over the pass into ship creek. Never again, I done the 5 mile hump off the dalton one time was good enough for me lol.. I will just stick archery hunting on the dalton..

Toll roads?? Where in the hell were you at??

I don't disagree. I like the idea of limiting access to walk-in as opposed to limiting opportunity via draw. There are plenty of arguments on both sides.

I think the idea of allowing more opportunity to hunt but most likely decreasing the odds is interesting. You are correct that there are lots of areas like that already, but I think some folks would rather see access restrictions than opportunity restrictions.

I guess it also depends on what the goal is too. I think the goal that a lot of us have in mind when we talk about walk-in hunts is that it creates an opportunity that the average guy can take advantage of without expensive equipment. But many of the CUA's allow the use of aircraft, which kind of creates a hunting preserve that only those with planes can access. If the goal is just to decrease the damage to mother earth from the ATVs, then I guess that makes sense.

Kenai

Bumper sticker seen here locally: "Want more roads? Move down south".

I have never seen a toll road on the Kenai.. Far as pay to park fishing that’s the norm.

Negative on toll roads. Greasy pizza? Pizza Hut been closed a long time.

Whittier tunnel is about the closest thing we have to a toll road, but that's definitely not Kenai.

Hahaha, i've done that hunt before, saw a whooper of a bull shortly after going about half way down the Ship Creek side but he decided he wanted to go down to the bottom, didn't see another bull after that but did see some pretty nice bears. I must be a glutton for punishment as I'm thinking about doing it again this year. Also did the 5 mile hump on the Dalton, that one wasn't near as bad but I was a lot younger back then.

Good luck! Hope you get a nice one!

Got two moose out of one of those areas, both solo. Put a friend's 12yo on a caribou in another area...that was a lot of packing for the two of us. Someone better equipped and prepared than I could have shot a whole herd of wolves on that caribou trip...

Awesome hunts, all 3, wish there were more similar opportunities. I'd do either the moose hunt or the caribou hunt again as an out-of-stater if I can ever think that far ahead.

The pics counting the load outs?

Sorry for your bad fate mate. I have visited Alaska several times and I can't but be honest that Alaska is warm and the people are amazing. I enjoy hunting in Alaska for several reasons, especially the magnificent nature and all round hunting condition is magnificent.

I cannot wait to visit again. Maybe you should visit again, don't let one experience cloud your overall judgement, [bleep] happen sometimes, and that is life.

I hate to weigh in on this because it seems like all of you have your minds made up already, but I have to say that there is a lot of BS on this thread. I lived in one of the Brooks Range villages and I can tell you that there are no "tags" for residents or natives for caribou. We have harvest limits of 5 caribou a day and it is open almost year around. During certain months you can only take bulls, other months you can only take cows. There is no annual limit on the number of caribou taken, so in theory you could take 35 a week or 150 in a month. But the most successful hunter I know from the village I lived in takes about two dozen a year and he is giving the majority of that to elders.

And wonton waste does happen but it is not the norm(societal pressures are HUGE op here). I know of one moose that was shot by an idiot local out of season during the rut and was left to rot. The owner of the rifle refused to talk and he served jail time for the illegal killing and wonton waste. The actual killer of the moose didn't get in legal trouble but the community banned him from hunting.

But wonton waste is not the norm. The villagers I hunted with used more of the caribou than the average white person does. I am speaking specifically of stewing the bones for broth from the marrow and cooking the meat from the head. It pisses me off when people say that the natives "waste" a lot of what they kill-my experience has been the exact opposite.

SO WHY ARE NON RESIDENTS ONLY ALLOWED 1 CARIBOU IN SOME NORTH SLOPE AREAS????? The answer is simple: "they" don't want you hunting here because the locals rely on the caribou for their subsistence as they have for thousands of years. That is the simple answer. The NR limit was dropped from 2 caribou to only 1 caribou in hopes that this would push non residents to hunt other areas. After all, who would be dumb enough to pay all that money to fly all the way up to the NS just to shoot one caribou?

And that 1 caribou limit seemed to work for a while but the number of outside hunters is increasing and the locals are pushing back. I will not be surprised if the special use areas are increased as the locals blame sport hunters for disturbing the caribou migration. No one really knows why the caribou migrate right past a village one year and then don't migrate through the next- The villagers blame the sport hunters, but I wonder if it has something to do with the villages having a dump that burns trash several times a week and has half a dozen planes landing each day to deliver fuel and take villagers "into town" as they call there trips to Faibanks. It's not uncommon for villagers to go into town once a month.

Honestly I would like to see outsiders banned from hunting in ways that impact the caribou migration because it would force the villagers to look at what they are doing that may or may not be affecting the migration.

AND THE VILLAGERS DO DEPEND ON CARIBOU FOR FOOD. When the caribou don't come everyone is on edge. This has been there way of life for many generations. Sure they could give up this lifestyle and eat store bought meat. They would probably even save money once you figure in the cost of their Argo and snow machines. But without those Argos and snow machines they would be stuck in the village and wouldn't be able to camp/fish/berry pick and do all the other things that are important to them. They would lose their entire way of life.

And I know that a lot of you say "funk-em!" but just remember that they are trying to hold on to a way of life that most of us are trying to recreate to some extent. Us non natives who hunt and fish to feed our families(or even those who hunt and fish for pleasure) are swimming against the current. Modern civilization would have us all living in cities, punching the timeclock, buying our meat from the store and never leaving the confines of our city. Those of us who hunt(regardless of our background) are fighting against this tide. It would be nice if we could see our similarities instead of focusing on our differences.

So you are for, favoring one user group over the other 10-4...

Guess I better go throw away all those marrow bones I kept and get rid of the tongue and face meat while I’m at it.

Over a long period of time I spent a bit of time in different villages and was even selected for a huge legal case involving wanton waste by Natives. You have to have some serious tunnel vision to miss ww.

If you are talking about out of state hunters vs the people who have lived here for generations, then yes I do favor the locals. When you live in a area you should have preference to the limited resources of that area over those who are traveling into the area from outside. I also favor Alaska residents over non residents. Don't you?

And notice that the regulations don't favor natives over non-natives. They lump everyone together as "local residents" so white dudes like me have the same legal privileges as the native residents.



I said "The villagers I hunted with used more of the caribou than the *average* white person does." You obviously know how much those bones are worth! I know that many whites use as much of the animal as the natives. I also know that when I'm hunting with other white guys I get a lot of sideways looks when I am salvaging the bones along with the meat. They can't imagine why anyone would waste time and energy on the bones. I would bet that you have run into the same thing.



I only have experience in two villages. I haven't seen much waste in either village. But notice that I did not say that there was no waste. Hell, here in Barrow there was a chunk of maktak(whale blubber/skin) on the ground by the steps outside the post office for about six weeks. I always wondered how in the heck that got there and why no animal or bird carried it off. Any hunter who says that he has never wasted any meat ever is a liar- and I don't care what your background is.

Yeah because of that pesky state constitution. On another note the feds have done a great job eliminating us road system hunters from hunting in certain remote areas of the state.. Don’t forget their are no Indian reservations up here So don’t go thinking the villagers have their own special privileges. So they all ie everbody has to follow state law and federal subsitance laws.. I also don’t favor certain user groups, if you are from Alabama and want to go hunt the porcupine caribou herd go have fun.. if you are from wasilla and want to go hunting around Kotzebue. More power to you. If you live in Barrow want to come to unit 13 to hunt moose?? Ph uck no go back to Barrow this is our precious resource..

You gave me a good laugh. And then I began to wonder if you were serious....

Anyway, I do like the idea of giving locals preference on resources. It seems that all states do this as far as resident vs. non-resident. And when you have locals who have relied on a resource for their survival for generations it makes sense to make sure that said resource is available to them.

Even though it wasn’t Sitka deer that typed that but me. Yes I’m serious, what you are preaching goes both ways.. as the state constitution says all residents of Alaska. The state constitution doesn’t say only ol Joe living in Ambler gets special preference..

+1Essentially this...

I think they’re fairly well-provisioned through their native corporations, no?

What I didn’t like about Alaska; time passes too quickly.
When a 3 week trip ends before you’ve had a chance to see everything you had hoped to see and do.
Umm, it’s a long plane ride from Michigan?
Sorry. That’s all I got. 🙂

Mark,
You need to drive up and take those aggravating airports out of the equation.

I’m glad the folks in delta didn’t chase us off last Sunday while hunted for cranes.. we limited out in no time.

They receive money through their native corporations(+-$10k per year). That money goes toward paying for things but it doesn't buy caribou, and caribou is kinda like their religion.

Unless you have been around them I'm not sure that you can understand importance of caribou to them. For generations their people have relied on the caribou migration to provide them with the bulk of their food. Only a couple of generations ago(about 50 years) they were still following the caribou as they migrated and literally living or dying based on the adequacy of their "catch". Every elder in the village has stories of living through the lean times which killed some of their siblings and relatives due to starvation.

Today no one is dying due to starvation today, but there is a sort of "starvation of the soul" that comes when the caribou migration fails. No amount of store bough food can correct this deficit. I know that some of you would say that their historical reliance on caribou doesn't give them any more right to the resource than the guy who flies up from San Diego looking for adventure and something to hang on the wall, but I wonder if you guys really believe that deep down.

Another huge thing about the Feds in AK... Under the Statehood Compact they agreed to give the State a lot of land. 61 years later we are still asking. In the interim they locked up vast portions by unilaterally creating many parks. Another huge chunk was given to Natives (without legal standing) to clear the rights-of-way for TAPS without giving the State the opportunity to select some lands along roads and rivers for access.

And now they want to stop all but locals from accessing Federal lands. The feds can GFT.

no one has said non-residents should have the same rights as residents. As residents we are all supported and protected by the State Constitution and any allocation of resources has to follow it.

"Caribous come!"

There is a world of excitement and meaning in those two words for those in the Arctic, and points south.

I seriously thought of leaving a snow machine in Kotzebue when we moved back to th Kenai, just to takr advantage of winter caribou hunting. Pregnant cows eat good.....

Thanks to Jimmah.

Happy birthday yesterday to him! 😏🤔

Jimmy did no favors for Alaska or Alaskans.

You are correct, sir.

I thought that was exactly what 79S was saying:

Thanks Vern.
Since the missus and I are now retired, driving is a much better option. There’s lots of beautiful country between Michigan and Alaska. Hopefully next year or the year after.

Do it. I dare ya!

Are we confusing non-residents of AK with non-locals of Game Management Units?

I spent three years there. Did not like anything there .. was glad as HELL to leave.

Hard to imagine being happy anywhere if that is true.

Throughout history, the setting of geopolitical boundaries has caused many a problem.

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm, or not.

It’s not. Hubert has posted similar before.

It’s definitely not for everyone (fortunately) and I highly recommend everyone interested in visiting/moving to AK, to rethink that.

I Mentioned porcupine herd for a reason.. that seems to be the only herd the subsitance hunters don’t target, because they are so far out of the way. Then again I’m for NR hunting wherever.. If the NR were that big of an impact on the herds you guys hunt then someone/state would’ve implemented unit 13 rules for caribou in the unit you reside in. As of now sounds like a bunch of keyboard biology going on, up in the north slope.. Also grandpa Gusty talking about millions of caribou running through town back in 1947..

On one of the Facebook pages couple yrs ago when anwr was open for oil exploration. A lady from kotzebue posted a rant. On how the current pipeline altered the migration route for the caribou in kotzebue. Her grandpa told her how the caribou ran through downtown kotzebue apparently. I told her that’s the western arctic herd and they hardly get anywhere near the pipeline. She tells me I don’t care what herd it is we don’t need oil drilling in anwr.. I was like ph ucking ignorant idiots.. Then you have the ones blaming white eyes for shooting all their caribou.. nevermind 7 Pregnant cows you just shot..

Well 3 years ago

3 years ago there was a road with a toll booth in the middle of the road with the road built around it. My friend (an Alaskan) wanted to drive down the the river to see if any netting was going on. We would have had to $20 as I recall just to drive to the river. So we turned around.

You mean Jimmy Carter, history's greatest monster?

Sounds like a city of Soldotna pay station for the campground.

The KP *should* have a toll booth at turnagain pass.

Or any of the parking areas during dipnetting. Hardly a toll road, regardless.

That is the one!

Besides that they pay a lot to clean up after the touristas!

I agree keep all the KP riff raff home during moose and caribou season..

I’m with ya buddy!

stop worring what Hubert says..