Area moose hunt tops 100 for eighth year in a row

Moose hunting season came to an end on Oct. 15, and the trend to top 100 kills in the region continued for the eighth year in a row.

According to Frank Robbins, Alaska Department Fish and Game wildlife biologist, 85 moose were killed in Unit 3, which includes Wrangell, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Woewodski and Zarembo islands. Of those 76, five were on Wrangell.

Unit 1B, which encompasses Farragut Bay, the Stikine River, Thomas Bay and other mainland areas, had 34 legal kills. The Stikine had the majority at 20.

There were two illegal kills in 1B and eight in Unit 3. Robbins said some of the illegal kills are due to hunters obtaining the wrong state moose hunting permit, for which they were cited. Other hunters got the state general season harvest ticket instead of the permit for the Petersburg/Wrangell area. Still other violations involved antler restrictions. Fish and Game seeks to keep the illegal kills under 9% of the total harvest.

Sgt. Cody Litster of the Alaska State Troopers said some of the illegal kills were due to poaching.

"There are some out-and-out poaching and wanton wastes that have happened this year," he said. "Some of those cases are under investigation."

Litster said most of the moose that had illegal antlers in this year's hunt "were brought in for inspection, citations were issued, and the meat was donated to local charities so communities benefit."

Les Woodward, a commercial fisherman based in Wrangell, killed a young bull up the Stikine near the Canadian border on Sept. 15, opening day of the season. Woodward and his wife Arlene piloted their floathouse up the river, anchoring near the border to hunt.

"It was kind of a process to get up there and get positioned where I wanted," Woodward said. He hunted in a meadow, where moose will sometimes come into the clear. He got a bull with a spiked fork double-brow tine. "It wasn't a young, young one, but it was a nice one."

Since the bull was partly in the water when he killed it, Woodward had to use a chainsaw winch to get it out.

Hunting in Southeast is quite different from "up north" where Woodward learned to hunt growing up, where there aren't as many trees to contend with. "The terrain is in the favor of the moose (in Southeast)," he said. "You hunt meadows where there are no trees, so you need to have a stand or climb a tree. It's a lot of patience. Up north, you climb a hill and you can see for miles and miles."

Robbins said the forested terrain of the Southeast is one of the reasons Fish and Game doesn't track moose populations, since they can't be seen from the air.

Outside of the difficulties of bagging his moose, Woodward had to beware of a bear that was sniffing around.

"(After killing and cleaning the moose) I was coming out at dark. There was a bear at my boat - My wife could see it. It was a big brown bear," he said.

Arlene was worried about the bear even more after Les had returned and informed her of his moose. "She wanted me to go back and protect the moose through the night. I said, 'No. We'll get it in the morning.' 'But it might eat it.' 'Well, if it does, it does.'"

The moose was safely brought home, and Woodward will use the meat to feed his fishing crew over the next year or so, he said.

2021 moose harvest by the numbers

Game Unit 1B

Location Legal Illegal

Farragut Bay 7 1

Stikine River 20 1

Thomas Bay 3

Game Unit 3

Location Legal Illegal

Mitkof Island 3 2

Kake area 29 3

Kupreanof Island 26 3

Kuiu Island 21

Woewodski Island 1

Wrangell Island 5

Game Unit 1C: 3

Total: 129