Alaska moves to cut white-fronted goose limits again as the Y-K Delta population falls

Alaska wants to cut how many white-fronted geese hunters can take in Game Management Unit 18, and it's the second reduction in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in recent years as the population declines. Fish and Game extended the comment period on the proposal Friday, giving hunters until 5 p.m. Aug. 16 to weigh in.

The birds have already been pulled back once. Current regulations put Unit 18 white-fronted geese at six per day and 18 in possession, down from an earlier limit of 10 a day that was cut after the population fell. The new proposal would lower the limits further, though the notice doesn't yet specify the numbers.

The department's stated aim is conservation, protecting a declining goose population, which for hunters means fewer birds they can take in a day and hold at once. The notice invites comment on what complying would cost individual hunters.

The proposal isn't final. After the comment period, the department can adopt the changes, adjust them, or take no action, and the final limits may differ from what's proposed.