Alaska sets 25 online-only permits for Raspberry Island cow elk

Twenty-five Alaskans will get a cow elk permit for Raspberry Island this fall, and the way to get one is to be quick. Registration for hunt RE706 opens at 8 am Thursday, Sept. 24, at hunt.alaska.gov, first come first served, Alaska residents only. The permits are not transferable.

That hunt runs Oct. 23 through Nov. 30. Surveys completed in July put the island's Roosevelt elk herd within the department's target range of 150 to 200 animals, which is why there is a hunt at all.

Sixteen Afognak Island permits are handed out in person at 9 am Tuesday, Sept. 22, eight at the Native Village of Port Lions tribal conference room and eight at the Native Village of Ouzinkie cultural center. Those hunts run Sept. 25 through Oct. 22, one elk each, and a hunter can hold one or the other but not both. Applicants must be Alaska residents and at least 10 years old when the hunt starts. If weather grounds the Kodiak biologist traveling out, issuance moves to the next business day.

Kodiak area biologist Nathan Svoboda is the contact, at 907-486-1880.