Fish and Game will open a winter bull moose hunt in Units 17B and 17C on Dec. 1

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will open a winter registration hunt for one antlered bull moose in Game Management Units 17B and 17C on Dec. 1 under an emergency order.

The hunt, known as RM585, is open only to Alaska residents. State hunting regulations list it as a hunt that "may be announced" rather than one with a set season. The department also opened it in late 2025. The 2026 hunt lists no cap on total permits.

Permits become available Nov. 18, in person at the Dillingham ADF&G office and online. The season runs through Dec. 31 at 11:59 pm, unless the department closes it sooner by emergency order once hunters reach the harvest quota.

The department said strong population estimates and surveys showing high bull-to-cow ratios support the added winter hunt. Recent surveys put the Unit 17B population within the state's revised intensive management objective range of 2,800 to 3,500 moose.

An earlier department Unit 17 moose management report, covering July 2015 to June 2020, found this December hunt took 17 to 41 bulls a year, about 9% of all Unit 17 moose harvest. The report found reported harvest declining in 17B and 17C and said out-of-season and unreported harvest increases in winter. It concluded that winter hunts there should continue to be managed conservatively through emergency orders.

Not all of 17C is open. The West Wood River Closure starts at the mouth of the Wood River and follows the south shores of the Wood River, Lake Aleknagik, Lake Nerka and Little Togiak Lake west to the Unit 17A boundary. The department said road access puts moose in that area at risk of overharvest.

Anyone who has already taken a moose anywhere in the state this regulatory year cannot take part in this hunt.

Successful hunters must report to the Dillingham office in person or by phone within three days of the kill. Every permit holder, successful or not, must return a report within 15 days of the season's close, by mail, online at hunt.alaska.gov or at any Fish and Game office.