Fish and Game and Forest Service set 31-day wolf trapping season for Prince of Wales

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the USDA Forest Service have set a 31-day state and federal wolf trapping season in Game Management Unit 2, which includes Prince of Wales Island. Trapping opens Nov. 15 and closes at 11:59 pm Dec. 15, the same 31-day length trappers have had every season since 2021.

The population estimate behind this year's decision is the lowest of that five-year stretch.

Counting Unit 2 wolves takes about 10 months, so each year's estimate guides the following season. The fall 2025 survey estimated 187 wolves before harvest, with 95% confidence the true number falls between 125 and 279. The department's announcement called that slightly lower than its 2021-2024 estimates but said the long-term trend shows a stable population that can support a 31-day season.

The 187-wolf estimate falls below the population objective the Alaska Board of Game set in January. Meeting in Wrangell on Jan. 26, the board voted 6-1 to adopt the department's proposal raising the range that annual harvest is to be managed to keep wolves within, from 150-200 wolves to 200-300. The department cited the wolves' isolation from neighboring populations and their low genetic diversity. Neither the season announcement nor the emergency order mentions the objective.

The department began setting Unit 2 season length to manage harvest in 2019. Since then, harvest has averaged 29% of the estimated fall population, with seasons of 21 to 62 days producing as many as 164 wolves. From 2021 through 2025, 31-day seasons yielded 45 to 74 wolves while estimates ranged from 187 to 268. Regional Supervisor Anthony Crupi said in a November 2025 release that the roughly 30% average harvest rate "has proven sustainable so far."

An accompanying emergency order also closes wolf hunting, open since Sept. 1, when trapping ends. Unit 2 wolf harvests must be reported to the department's Ketchikan office within seven days and hides sealed within 15 days.

The population estimates draw partly on a hair-trap network the Hydaburg Cooperative Association began running in 2016. Scented boards collect wolf hair, and individual wolves are identified from DNA in the hair follicles.

The agencies scheduled a Nov. 2 public meeting in Klawock to hear from residents before setting this season.