Wrangell-St. Elias keeps winter subsistence moose quota at five bulls for a third season

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve has set the quota for its federal subsistence winter moose hunt in part of Unit 11 at five bulls, the third straight season at that level, according to a bulletin from the Federal Subsistence Management Program issued Nov. 6.

The hunt opens Nov. 20 and runs through Jan. 20, 2027, south and east of the Chitina and Nizina rivers. Each hunter may take one bull, and the season closes early if hunters reach the quota.

The bulletin does not give a reason for the number.

The quota was seven bulls in 2017 and in each season from 2019-20 through 2023-24, according to park releases. The park cut it to five in November 2024, citing fall 2023 survey data from an adjacent area of Unit 11 that showed adult moose down about 40% and bull ratios down about 30% since 2013. It kept the quota at five in 2025, citing conservation concerns.

Hunters have not come close to the limit. Park harvest records show eight moose taken from 2016 through 2025, never more than two in a season. The park issued between seven and 21 permits a year, but only one to eight people actually hunted.

The Federal Subsistence Board created the winter season in 2014 and extended it to Jan. 20 in 2018, partly so hunters could cross rivers more safely. A federal analysis says moose south of the Chitina stay high and mostly out of reach in fall, and that winter makes them "more accessible by snowmachine" and lets hunters store meat without freezers.

Residents of Units 11, 13A-D and Chickaloon are eligible under an Oct. 27 federal rule. The park's 2025 release said the one-moose annual limit covers all Unit 11 hunts, so a hunter who took a moose in the fall cannot hunt in winter.

Park staff told the Subsistence Resource Commission a moose population survey is planned for November.