Mountain goat hunt north of Port Valdez closes Wednesday night after harvest tops limit

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Area Wildlife Biologist Charlotte Westing has ordered registration permit hunt RG248 for mountain goats north of Port Valdez closed at 11:59 pm Wednesday, Oct. 21. Hunters have reported three billies and three nannies, totaling 9 goat points against a maximum allowable harvest of 8.

The department's announcement says hunters remain in the field and more goats may have been taken and not yet reported. Harvest over objectives "could lead to reduced future hunting opportunity," it says.

The hunt's season was listed as Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, so the closure ends it 10 days early. Under the emergency order, the closure runs through June 30, 2027. The closed area covers the mainland drainages of Sheep Creek; north of Port Valdez, Robe Lake and the Richardson Highway; and east of Shoup Glacier. Other mountain goat hunting in Unit 6 is not affected.

The department counts harvest in goat points: a billy (male) counts as one point, a nanny (female) as two and an unrecovered goat as 1.5. The most recent aerial survey counted a minimum of 207 goats in the hunt area, the same minimum and 8-point cap the 2025 RG248 announcement reported.

RG248 is the latest Unit 6D goat hunt the department has shut this fall, after the RG249 closure north of Valdez Arm in September and the RG245 closure south of Port Valdez on Oct. 1. In both, reported harvest was at or below the limit when the department acted.

The hunt allows one mountain goat per permit, prohibits taking nannies accompanied by kids and encourages taking males. A hunter who takes a nanny faces a five-regulatory-year ban on Unit 6 goat hunting. The hunt's permit page lists up to 50 permits for residents and nonresidents combined.