Eagle Glacier to Sawmill Creek goat hunt in Unit 1C closes Sunday night

Mountain goat hunters holding RG012 registration permits have until 11:59 pm Sunday, October 4, to hunt the stretch of Unit 1C from Eagle Glacier and Eagle River to Sawmill Creek. After that, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closes the area to resident and nonresident hunters through June 30, 2027, unless a later order supersedes it. The rest of RG012 (east of Sawmill Creek to Antler Lake) stays open, and the department said all other Unit 1C goat regulations are unaffected.

Area Management Biologist Carl Koch signed Emergency Order No. R1-9-26 under delegation from Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. Under the order, the season in that area runs October 1 through October 4. Hunters may take one goat by registration permit, and taking nannies with kids is prohibited.

The department's case rests on survey counts that have stayed low for years. According to its announcement, surveys recorded 64 goats (42% kids) in 2015, 38 (12% kids) in 2016 and 35 (26% kids) in 2018. An aerial survey on October 3, 2019, found 42 goats, 26% of them kids. The department said numbers began falling after the severe winter of 2006/2007 and had not fully recovered before the severe 2025/2026 winter "likely further reduced mountain goat survival." Research in the area this year again found low numbers, the department said, though the announcement gives no 2026 count.

The department also pointed to how these goats move, or do not. Historical surveys and GPS radio collar data suggest little movement between drainages, and because the goats show high site fidelity, low-density areas "may require longer periods to recover," the announcement said. "Allowing additional harvest before the population rebounds could delay recovery further," the department said, adding that managers consider it prudent to keep the area closed until survey data show a rebound.

This is not a new decision for this drainage. ADF&G closed the same area by emergency order every fall from 2021 through 2025, each time citing the same counts, the newest from 2019; the 2022 order said poor weather had prevented a newer survey. The 2024 and 2025 orders gave this year's reason: keep the area closed until surveys show a rebound. In August, a separate order closed the part of the Endicott Arm hunt north of Windham Bay after one male goat was taken, the harvest the department says that area can support.

Hunters with questions can reach Koch, the Douglas area biologist, at [email protected] or 907-465-4266.