Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 7:35pm


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The springtime bear hunts have been cancelled thanks to COVID-19

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The spring bear hunts in Alaska have been tentatively cancelled by state officials.

For the safety of Alaska’s communities, and especially individuals most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Doug Vincent-Lang has directed the Division of Wildlife Conservation to close all black and brown bear hunts statewide for both resident and nonresident hunters, effective now through May 31.

This decision will be reevaluated as necessary. All subsistence bear hunts will remain open as a way for residents to have an opportunity to fill freezers and provide for families.

The Department of Fish and Game will work with the Board of Game to identify future options for hunters who are planning to come to Alaska this spring, or for residents who have already made arrangements, but will be unable to hunt as planned.


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Unfortunate news for hunters
At least good news for bears.

Will hurt the guiding business.
A lot of deposits on these hunts made as well.
Curious if the State will implement a special Fall hunt in 2020.
Some folks are picky on the seasons they choose.

Phil, what is the hunting like after May 31st? Are the hides more often rubbed? Is the breeding season over?

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Will hurt the guiding business.
A lot of deposits on these hunts made as well.
Curious if the State will implement a special Fall hunt in 2020.
Some folks are picky on the seasons they choose.

Phil, what is the hunting like after May 31st? Are the hides more often rubbed? Is the breeding season over?

The seasons on both the Peninsula and Kodiak are closed by then

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Will hurt the guiding business.
A lot of deposits on these hunts made as well.
Curious if the State will implement a special Fall hunt in 2020.
Some folks are picky on the seasons they choose.

Phil, what is the hunting like after May 31st? Are the hides more often rubbed? Is the breeding season over?

Only for the NON RESIDENT is Bear season closed I am going hunting as usual!!

quote:

Originally posted by tsturm:

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Will hurt the guiding business.
A lot of deposits on these hunts made as well.
Curious if the State will implement a special Fall hunt in 2020.
Some folks are picky on the seasons they choose.

Phil, what is the hunting like after May 31st? Are the hides more often rubbed? Is the breeding season over?

Only for the NON RESIDENT is Bear season closed I am going hunting as usual!!

Around here, few bears about till May anyway.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
Around here, few bears about till May anyway.

Grizz

Similar times here end of April first part of may, closer you get to the Salt water the earlier.
A few tracks showing up on the snow machine trails in the Homer area so far Blackies.
Have a good one!!

quote:

Only for the NON RESIDENT is Bear season closed I am going hunting as usual!!

Copy of an advisory AF&G letter on the DSC Facebook page seems to statewide closure applies to both residents and non-residents.
Am I reading that letter correctly ?

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:

quote:

Only for the NON RESIDENT is Bear season closed I am going hunting as usual!!

Copy of an advisory AF&G letter on the DSC Facebook page seems to statewide closure applies to both residents and non-residents.
Am I reading that letter correctly ?

No you read it right I got the same notification, a phone call the next am cleared it up. The Governor Made an announcement yesterday evening before his cv-19 up date, somewhere was a miscommunication, they don't want new cv-19 exposures in remote areas where there is none yet.

Here you go, http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sta...oug_vincent_lang.pdf

quote:

No you read it right I got the same notification, a phone call the next am cleared it up. The Governor Made an announcement yesterday evening before his cv-19 up date, somewhere was a miscommunication, they don't want new cv-19 exposures in remote areas where there is none yet.

Our Govt. declared a State of National Emergency, giving it powers to prohibit certain behaviour and activities. One of the currently and specifically referred to banned activities is hunting, which is banned until 22 April and may be extended under Govt. review. It's really to stop hunters traveling to go hunting. If you reside on your own land with game you can probably hunt still. My own, bad, feeling is the ban won't be lifted before April ends.

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:

quote:

No you read it right I got the same notification, a phone call the next am cleared it up. The Governor Made an announcement yesterday evening before his cv-19 up date, somewhere was a miscommunication, they don't want new cv-19 exposures in remote areas where there is none yet.

Our Govt. declared a State of National Emergency, giving it powers to prohibit certain behaviour and activities. One of the currently and specifically referred to banned activities is hunting, which is banned until 22 April and may be extended under Govt. review. It's really to stop hunters traveling to go hunting. If you reside on your own land with game you can probably hunt still. My own, bad, feeling is the ban won't be lifted before April ends.

Yes Sir, It is going to get worse before it gets better I am afraid. Good luck

Was told Alaska fish and game is going have a special meeting to consider opening a spring bear season in 2021 (game management unit 9).
Perhaps filling the gap for this year.
EZ

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Was told Alaska fish and game is going have a special meeting to consider opening a spring bear season in 2021 (game management unit 9).
Perhaps filling the gap for this year.
EZ

This is where they will post it if & when.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/ind...fm?adfg=hunting.main

quote:

p

bog-header-2017
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING OF THE
ALASKA BOARD OF GAME
Notice is given that the Alaska Board of Game (Board) is calling a special meeting via teleconference on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 1:30 pm. The purpose of the special meeting is to develop board generated proposals on the following topics to be scheduled for board action at a subsequent, special meeting.

1.) Open a spring 2021, resident and nonresident brown bear hunting season in Game Management Unit (GMU) 9 under 5 AAC 85.020;

2.) Modify 5 AAC 92.050(6) to allow the transfer of 2020 spring season drawing permits to a future year for hunting black bear in GMUs 1-3, and brown and grizzly bear in GMUs 4, 8, 10, 14C, 22, and 26B.

Action by a majority of the board members at the April 14, 2020 meeting is required to develop and schedule the proposals for a future special meeting. Alaska Statute requires 30-days’ notice for public comment prior to board action on any regulatory proposals the board may develop.

The Board will accept written public comment for the April 14 meeting, due no later than 12:00 p.m. Monday, April 13, 2020. Written comments may be emailed to dfg.bog.comments@alaska.gov, or faxed to (907)465-6094.

The board will not be taking public testimony during the teleconference. A live audio stream of the meeting will be available at www.boardofgame.adfg.alaska.gov for the public to listen.

The meeting agenda, notice, and other meeting materials will be available online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/ind...14-2020&meeting=tele. For more information about the meeting, contact the Department of Fish and Game, Boards Support Section at (907) 465-4046.

If you are a person with a disability who may need a special accommodation in order to participate, please contact the Boards Support Section at (907) 465-6098 no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 10, ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.



/s/ April 8, 2020

Kristy Tibbles, Executive Director Date

Alaska Board of Game

Any updates on this meeting?

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.c...4b-772e25d92962.html



Board considers changes to 2020 bear hunting season

By IRIS SAMUELS iris@kodiakdailymirror.com Apr 15, 2020 Updated Apr 15, 2020



The Alaska Board of Game met on Tuesday to discuss changes to the 2020 bear hunting season, after the Department of Fish and Game announced earlier this month that the season would be closed to non-residents.

“The reason the board has agreed to address the spring bear hunting issue is to cover some of the lost hunting opportunities to and within our state that are caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we understand that there will be a substantial economic loss to the department and other individuals, this is not an effort to mitigate those losses,” said board chair Ted Sparker.

The partial closure of the local season is set to lead to a loss of up to $3 million to the local economy, according to Kodiak bear hunting guide Sam Rohrer.

The board discussed two proposals, which were advanced to public comment. The board will meet again to make a decision about the proposals June 3, and will accept public comment until May 27. If passed, the proposals would allow hunters who cannot hunt this year to defer their hunt to future spring seasons.

However, Sparker said that if travel restrictions are extended through the fall hunting seasons, the board will not be able to take action to defer future hunts.

“Hopefully, travel opportunities are restored in a few months so that our fall seasons can return to something near normal. Although the board and the department are working together to recover some lost opportunities, if restrictions continue until the fall, we will not be able to mitigate additional hunting opportunity losses. Adjusting seasons and permits for a few hundred spring hunters will be taxing,” he said, noting that the ADF&G issues over 10,000 permits for special draw hunts in the fall.

“That would just be beyond the ability for the department to readjust all those hunts, or for the board to authorize all those readjustments.”

The first proposal under consideration would create a spring brown bear hunting season in May 2021 in Unit 9, which covers the Alaska Peninsula. The spring bear hunting season in Unit 9 is a registration hunt that occurs every other year, so the creation of the new season in 2021 would allow hunters who would have otherwise hunted this spring to complete their hunt next year.

The second proposal would allow the transfer of 2020 spring drawing permits to a future year for hunting in numerous hunting areas in Alaska, including Unit 8, which covers Kodiak Island.

According to Sparker, one option under this proposal would be that only non-resident hunters will be able to defer their Kodiak bear hunt to the spring of 2021. If passed, there would be no non-resident draw in the Kodiak region for the 2021 spring season.

Additionally, the board is considering allowing all unused resident permits to be transferred to the 2022 spring season, because spring 2021 resident permits have already been drawn.

According to early estimates, only about 20 hunters will be able to participate in the 2020 Kodiak season. All other hunters do not reside in Kodiak and would not be able to travel to the island without violating the governor’s travel mandate, which prohibits non-essential intrastate travel.

Under this scenario, only about 20 resident permits will be issued for the 2022 spring season, accounting for the number of hunters participating in the 2020 season.

“We want to make sure that no one gets to hunt twice,” Sparker said.

Larry Van Daele, a longtime Kodiak resident and member of the Board of Game, said “the devil is in the details.” The Department of Fish and Game will be tasked with developing the details of the season deferral, which will likely be complex and multifaceted, given the numerous hunting areas and regulations in the state.

“It’s going to be a convoluted process to get this done,” Van Daele said. “We want to give the department plenty of time to think about it, but we want to give the hunters the message that we intend to do something about it, so there is something on the horizon they can look forward to.”

According to ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang, some hunters who drew a tag for the 2020 spring season have requested a refund. Board members said that if hunters receive a refund, they may not be able to defer their hunt to a later date.

“It’s a one-shot deal. We can refund your money now and you’re out, or you can carry on and hopefully we get things straightened out and there’s a hunt, depending on the outcome of this vote,” said board member Stosh Hoffman.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the board received written comments from 73 individuals regarding the proposed changes to the hunting season. Some said that if the board does not provide provisions for hunters to defer their hunt to a following year, some may be tempted to travel to Kodiak to complete their hunt despite the governor’s travel restrictions.

“If these draw permits are not allowed to be reissued sometime in the future, I fear some resident hunters who have these permits will make their way to Kodiak to use it since these are such coveted and hard to draw permits. And this could potentially put Kodiak at risk of having the virus brought to the island,” wrote Bill Bast, an Alaska resident who drew a spring 2020 Kodiak brown bear tag.

Dave Bergman also wrote to the board in favor of the Kodiak spring season deferral, noting that he has been applying for the Kodiak season for eight year before finally drawing a tag this year.

Jason Bunch, a Kodiak-based hunting guide and outfitter, wrote in favor of deferring the 2020 spring season drawing permits to the spring 2021 season.

“This decision will ensure current financial contracts can be upheld providing some measure of relief to guide businesses affected by the 2020 closure. It will also ensure non-resident hunters, who were fortunate to draw a permit in any of the highly competitive areas, can participate in that hunt. In addition, this will aid businesses in retaining non-resident hunters who are currently contracted for subsequent years,” Bunch wrote.

Non-resident hunters completing a bear hunt in Alaska must hire a guiding service, which often totals more than $10,000 per hunt.

Some members of the public expressed concern over the hunt on the Alaska Peninsula, where the bear population may be more vulnerable. According to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, ADF&G has previously presented evidence that the bear population in Unit 9 is declining.

“It is economically important to keep this bear population stable, not only for guiding, but wildlife viewing,” wrote the alliance’s executive director Nicole Schmitt in a letter to the board, noting that wildlife viewing contributed $17.3 million in labor income and 490 jobs in the region.

“Adding a consecutive brown bear season, especially during an overall population decline and lacking cohort, will only exacerbate the losses for wildlife viewing industries in future years.”

guidelines for resident hunters who plan to travel

ADF&G published instructions on Tuesday for resident hunters regarding adhering to the governor’s travel mandate prohibiting intrastate travel. The mandate is scheduled for reevaluation on April 21.

“Although travel between communities is prohibited under the health mandate, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game informs Alaskans that they may still travel to hunting areas,” according to the department.

Hunters are instructed to follow these guidelines:

1) Try to find the resource you intend to pursue as close to your home residence as possible.

2) Before you leave, find and understand the local mandates in communities through which you plan to travel. You must abide by them.

3) Totally provision your trip from your community of origin. Don’t plan on buying food, drinks or even fuel if possible, after you begin your trip and until you return home.

4) Wear face coverings as suggested in Health Alert 10 (issued April 3).

5) You are required to practice social distancing mandates with anyone not in your immediate household, including while traveling to and from your community to your hunting location. Avoid interacting with residents of communities through which you travel.