Alaska sets March exams for big game guide-outfitters, with applications due Nov. 16

People who want to lead big game hunts in Alaska as registered guide-outfitters have until 5 pm Nov. 16 to apply for the written and practical exams in the state's next round of licensing tests, set for March in Anchorage, the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing announced Friday.

A registered guide-outfitter can contract to guide or outfit big game hunts under state law. Qualifying for the license takes years.

Applicants must be at least 21, according to the state's application. They must have been licensed as an assistant guide in Alaska for part of each of three years, with at least 125 days in the field, and have hunted big game in Alaska for part of any five years. They also need eight favorable written recommendations from hunters they personally guided, with at least two for each of three years as an assistant guide.

And they have to send a video of themselves caping a big game animal, which means skinning out the head and neck for a trophy mount. Domestic animals aren't allowed, according to the state's exam page.

The exams run three days. First, on March 9, is a game management unit exam on a specific hunting area, covering its hunting laws, weather patterns, communication and emergency facilities, geography and landholders. Applications for that exam are due Jan. 25.

A written exam follows March 10, and a practical exam March 11. The practical tests trophy judging under the Boone and Crockett scoring system, estimating animals' ages and telling male from female mountain goats and bears.

Applicants need 75% to pass. Results can take three to four weeks "due to the high number of exams administered," the state says.

The application fee is $200, plus $125 for the qualification exam and $400 for each game management unit, up to three. Those who pass then pay $850 for a resident license or $1,700 for a nonresident one.

The state also has a round of exams set for Dec. 8 to 10, with applications for its first exam due Oct. 26.