Goat hunt RG249 north of Valdez Arm closes

Mountain goat hunters in the RG249 registration area north of Valdez Arm, in Unit 6D, have until 11:59 pm Tuesday to be done hunting. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is closing the hunt with five of the seven allowable goat points already reported and more harvest possibly still unreported.

The department's order closes the goat season in the hunt area east of Columbia Glacier, north of Valdez Arm and west of Port Valdez, Shoup Bay and Shoup Glacier. It leaves every other goat hunt in Unit 6 untouched. The hunt would normally run Sept. 15 through Jan. 31, so the closure ends the season roughly four months early.

The most recent aerial survey produced a minimum count of 225 goats, and the department set the harvest limit at seven goat points. A billy counts as one point, a nanny as two, an unrecoverable goat as 1.5. The department notes that aerial counts are minimums, since not every goat can be seen from the air. Hunters have reported three billies and one nanny, five points total, and hunters remain in the field with kills that may not yet be reported. Going over the limit, the department said, could lead to less hunting opportunity in the future.

The department's management plan for Unit 6 calls for closing hunts when harvest reaches, or is expected to reach, the limit. It also closed RG249 early in September 2025.

Questions go to Area Wildlife Biologist Charlotte Westing in Cordova at 907-424-3215.