Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Chasing the Dream

There are a few lodges for sale in Elfin Cove. You won't need a car as there are no roads there. Trapping there is excellent. However fishing in Cross Sound has declined some. I think the cove has seen its hayday come and gone. But if you had the right vision, motivation, and drive there could be a world of oppertunity there.

The thing to consider with anything tourist industry related is you have a 4 month season, mid-May to mid-September. Trying to get 1 years worth of income out of 4 months is a pretty tough go, and a lodge, charter or B&B is a capital and labor intensive gig that takes a few years to get established. With the US economy shaky, and the same for foreign economies, the tourist industry is a pretty risky thing to invest in.

Not only will you be working long hours over the short summer season to make your $, that's what many of us consider the best time of year, the time of year you want as much free time as possible.

My advise is figure out what unique skills and specialty you have and use that to fill a niche. When I said spend a couple years checking out Alaska I didn't mean spend two years as a gypsy. Come up, find a place to rent somewhere that isn't too expensive, find some odd job and live frugally while looking for opportunities and traveling around as much of the state as possible. With your experience ranching, I'd suggest checking out Palmer.

If you're thinking about opening a lodge, i'd suggest you talk to someone that has done that. A friend of mine opened a lodge in Coffman Cove, his name is Mike aka Gooch and he's a helluva nice guy. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing his thoughts on it with you.

http://www.coffmancoveak.com/

I really want to thank everyone for helping me with this. If you think of anything else that I should think about or consider, please add on.

BBCody

Anybody familiar with GMU 19? I see it is part of a black bear predator control area so I'm assuming its got a ton of blacks. What about the moose in that area? Dall Sheep? Any info appreciated.

The State's Intensive Management law applies for most if not all of Game Management Unit 19. The unit is separated into four sub units; 19A, 19B, 19C and 19D. Sub Units 19A and 19D have active predator control programs.

Depending on specie, large portions of Sub Units 19A, 19B and 19D are either off-limits for non-resident hunters or have severe restrictions for non-resident hunters.

Most of Unit 19 has a five black bear (per person) bag limit. Black bear are abundant throughout most of Unit 19.

Moose harvest is controlled by a 50-inch or 4 brow time requirement and portions of the unit have a meat-on-the-bone restriction. Moose season for non-resident hunters is Typically 20 days duration.

Dall sheep are found in small pockets of habitat along the eastern fringe of Game Management Unit 19, in Sub Units 19B and 19C. Federal restrictions apply to Dall sheep hunting in portions of those sub units. non-resident hunting of Dall sheep is further restricted by a State "guide requirement" law, which also includes a 2nd-degree kindred allowance. Dall sheep numbers are at low density in Unit 19.

Game Management Unit 19 is a unique destination and it has some rather beautiful topography and diverse plant communities. It also boasts an array of wildlife species. It was once a "shangri la" for recreational hunters (aka; trophy hunters). Nowadays, it's but a shadow of its former self.

Wolf limit is 10 per day! Assuming lots of wolves and that along with the bears probably contributing to the moose decline?

Depending on the sub unit, wolf numbers are rather low.

For instance, in Sub Unit 19D, the Intensive Management law was triggered in 1998 and a wolf predation control plan was eventually adopted and then implemented shortly thereafter (2002). Since then, wolf numbers in that sub unit have been substantially reduced and distribution is relatively even.

Moose numbers in Unit 19 (as a whole) declined between 1985 and 2005. Currently the population is stable and in at least one sub unit, have been steadily increasing. The reasons for the previous decline are many; severe winter weather, over hunting, habitat deterioration and predation, in that order.

When ungulate populations reach low density, high predator numbers can sustain that low density at a low level equilibrium. Thus, removal of predator recruitment is sometimes necessary to reverse a low level equilibrium ungulate situation, if the habitat can support and increase of ungulates.

Horseshit!

Predation was the smallest cause of the decline? I would hate to have to pay your drug bill! Some of us might have actually hunted 19 through the time frame you are hallucinating about.

With predator control the area was able to support a lot of moose on a very uniform basis. The tough winter weather of the late '80s did not begin to slow down the moose population. The severe weather of the last couple years, absent monster wolf packs has not slowed the population growth.

Yet habitat deterioration was a larger cause than the wolves?

And ADF&G wonders why so many hold them in contempt! With ex-game board members even lower?

The latest brown bear population study for the Kenai is a prime example (yes it is a federal project, not ADF&G but they are all lumped) with numbers they cannot defend for underrepresented sow numbers and population programs that prove their numbers do not work they still came up with far more bears than they had been claiming.

Four years is "shortly thereafter" according to you and ADF&G? In and of itself that is somewhere between pathetic and funny.

What a freaking moron!

An interesting paper from a study area not terribly far away...

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.23...4&uid=3739256&sid=21101945050417

Good morning, Calvin.

Sorry you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and that you've been left out of the loop and that you're still out of the loop in reference to what's happening in Alaska, in terms of present wildlife and the management of said wildlife. That's too bad. Poor baby.

Maverick

Let's discuss differences of opinion in a civil manner please.

Oh, and by the way, Calvin:

The literature you cite?

Well, it happened to be authored by my two dear friends and a close associate. I'm very familiar with that writ.

Fact of the matter is, I have a library filled with many other writs, including those pertaining to natural resource law.

I'm certainly not lost on history and current practices and what will be, in the future.

Maverick

Calvin?

You are as lost as always...

Libraries are one thing... reading comprehension obviously another... Critical thinking obviously a lot farther down a different road for you...

No, actually, practical experience, Bud.

Now that is funny!

Not really, when you consider the length and breadth and longevity of that experience.

On another note; the GMU 20 literature you cited was also a strong influence on the article I authored and published, as well. At the time, that article created quite a stir and gave a lot of fuel to the consumptive-use side of the argument. The non-consumptive side of the equation took a hard stance against me, back then.

haha, I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Let me guess, we have another "progressive" guide on the board.

Progressive is an interesting angle... I was thinking Revisionist Ballwasher is closer to the thing...

But he does spout party line predator pap, so you are likely dead on...

Sorry about the name reference, Calvin. During the past year or so, I've somehow come to associate your name with that of Sitka Deer. My apologies. I don't know why you guys "seem" to be so similar to me, but I apologize for that. Maybe it's the younger age thing? Whatever the case may be, I shouldn't refer to you as him and vice-versa. Anyway, carry on .....