Kenai Peninsula lynx seasons set to open Dec. 15 for two and a half months

Lynx trapping and hunting on the Kenai Peninsula will open Dec. 15 and close Feb. 28, 2027. Trappers face no bag limit. Hunters may take two lynx.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said observations and sealing records indicate lynx populations on the peninsula remain at a level that justifies continued opening of the trapping and hunting seasons this year in Game Management Units 7 and 15.

The same data that supports a season this winter points toward closing the next one. The department said harvest patterns and sealing records from the last six years indicate an increased likelihood of a trapping closure in the 2027 regulatory year as lynx approach the low point of their cycle.

Page 28 of the printed 2026-2027 Alaska Trapping Regulations booklet lists the lynx trapping start date incorrectly as Jan. 1 instead of Dec. 15. The online version has been corrected.

How the Season Came Back

Lynx hunting and trapping on the peninsula were closed until 2020 after a period of low numbers. The Kenai/Soldotna Advisory Committee has proposed that open seasons in Units 7 and 15 run Dec. 15 through the last day of February.

The Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Friends of Chugach State Park and attorney Kneeland Taylor petitioned in September 2020 to close a lynx season the department opened in Chugach State Park. They argued the department relied on observations rather than robust population data.

Authority and Expiration

The order carries Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang's authority by delegation to Wildlife Area Biologist Christopher Bottom. It supersedes the standing season and bag limit rules for lynx in the two units. The department issued it as Emergency Order No. R2-2-26.