The any-bull option closes in Unit 13C after three moose filled the quota

Copper Basin hunters on community subsistence permits lose the option to take any bull moose in Unit 13C at 11:59 pm Tuesday. From Wednesday through the Sept. 20 close, a bull must have spike or fork antlers, antlers at least 50 inches wide, or four or more brow tines on one side.

Fish and Game issued the order Monday because the subunit's quota of three bulls outside those restrictions had been filled. The Board of Game allotted 100 such bulls across the whole community harvest area this year, three of them to 13C, down from five the year before. The same thing happened last September, first in 13E and then in 13C.

Permit holders can still take unrestricted bulls in Units 11, 13A East, 13B, 13D and 13E. None has been closed this season, but quotas can fill quickly, and the department's hotline at 907-822-6789 has current status. Meat salvage requirements are unchanged, and harvests must be reported within 24 hours at 907-822-3461.

The tension in these closures is one the Board of Game has acknowledged. It has found that taking any bull regardless of antler size is an important part of the community subsistence pattern in Unit 13. Ahtna Tene Nené and other appellants have argued that switching midseason from any-bull to antler restrictions is unfair to Copper Basin hunters who planned around the rules they started the season with.