Unit 22C RM840 moose hunt closes 12 days early on expected quota

Bull moose hunting under registration permit RM840 in Unit 22C ended at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, 12 days before its scheduled Sept. 14 close, because the season's 30-bull harvest quota was expected to be met. The closure applied to both resident and nonresident hunters, cutting the scheduled Sept. 1 through Sept. 14 window to two days.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Emergency Order R5-06-26 from Nome, superseding the moose season and bag limit regulations for Unit 22C. "The harvest quota of 30 bulls is expected to be met by the season closing date announced in this emergency order and no further harvest is warranted," the department said in its advisory announcement. All other moose hunting regulations in Unit 22 remain unchanged by the order.

The Alaska Board of Game established the Unit 22C registration hunt, which is administered with a quota to prevent overharvest. Area Wildlife Biologist Sara Henslee signed the order by delegation from Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. Some Alaska hunters and commenters have argued that RM840 quotas and emergency closures like this one are overly restrictive, cutting hunting opportunity beyond what conservation requires.

This is the second RM840 area closed within a week. Alaska News previously covered Emergency Order R5-05-26, which ended the resident hunt in Unit 22D Remainder at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 28 after that area's 17-bull quota was expected to fill. A year earlier, ADF&G closed Unit 22C on the same calendar date, Sept. 2, 2025, against a smaller fall quota of 25 bulls.

RM840 remains open through Sept. 14 in Unit 22B West of the Darby Mountains, Unit 22D Kuzitrin Drainage and Unit 22D Southwest.