Ahtna closes Cantwell-area lands to the public for moose season

Ahtna, Incorporated, the Alaska Native regional corporation, has closed its private lands around Cantwell to hunters and campers for the duration of moose hunting season. The corporation announced it Thursday in a public post on Facebook.

"Ahtna lands in the Cantwell area are closed to the general public during moose hunting season for all hunting activities, including predator control, as well as recreational activities such as camping," the post said. It closed with "Tsin'aen," the Ahtna Athabascan phrase for thank you.

A permit is required to use Ahtna land, starting at $25 a day. Ahtna does not allow bear and wolf hunting during moose season.

Ahtna directed the public to the Ahtna Regional Map App at www.ahtna.com/lands/maps to determine land ownership and ensure they have permission before entering the area. The corporation's Land Department maintains an office in Cantwell and lists a phone number of (907) 320-0660 for access questions.

The closure applies only to private land. State-regulated moose hunting remains open on public lands in Game Management Unit 13 under Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations, which carry the season dates. Cantwell sits inside that unit, at the junction of the Parks and Denali highways.

Ahtna holds the land under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The Bureau of Land Management conveyed 12,195 acres of public land in the Broad Pass area to Ahtna on May 11, 2026, under Section 12(a) of ANCSA, according to a BLM press release. That conveyance brought Ahtna to roughly 67,715 of the 69,120 acres it is entitled to receive as successor to Cantwell Yedatene Na Corporation, the BLM said. About 1,405 acres remain pending transfer.

Ahtna's post does not say how many acres the closure covers. No one at the corporation was interviewed.