State asks Board of Game to restore wolf removal for Mulchatna caribou after court ruling

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to put wolves back in the predator control program for the Mulchatna caribou herd in Southwest Alaska, and the Board of Game will decide Wednesday, Dec. 2, whether to take up the request.

A state Superior Court judge in March struck down the wolf part of the herd's management plan, finding problems with the board's 2022 record. The department's request would let wolves again be removed, including by aerial shooting, across nearly 40,000 square miles. During this spring's bear removal, crews saw wolves on the calving grounds, and wolves killed at least two adult caribou and five calves, the department says.

It's one of five requests the board will consider outside its regular schedule. Under board policy, it takes those up only for conservation concerns, a regulatory error or an unforeseen effect on a hunt.

The others:

• Nelchina caribou: Robert Cyr, who identifies himself as vice chair of the Copper Basin Advisory Committee, asks for an intensive management program to help the Unit 13 herd reach its minimum objective of 35,000 animals. He writes that the herd fell below 8,000 after three hard winters.

• Emperor geese: The department wants to reopen the hunt in 2027-28 after two closed seasons. A survey index of breeding pairs fell below the harvest threshold in 2024 and 2025 but recovered this summer, the department says. Residents would get one goose by registration permit under a 250-bird state quota.

• Hodzana Hills caribou: The department wants to end the season Oct. 31 instead of March 31 in parts of Units 24A and 25D. The herd, 400 to 600 animals, has shrunk by nearly half since 2014, and a new state decision allows winter snowmachine travel on trails in the Dalton Highway corridor, which the department says could push harvest past what the herd can sustain.

• Mitkof Highway: Joel Randrup of Petersburg asks the board to again close the highway corridor near Petersburg to big game hunting except for wolves. He says animals hit by arrows could wander onto the road or near the Blind River Rapids boardwalk.

The board meets online at 11 am and won't take oral testimony. Written comments are due Nov. 23 through the board's website.