The park could have added ten days of moose hunting. It added two.

Federal subsistence moose hunters in part of Unit 11 get two more days — Monday and Tuesday — out of the ten the park could have given them.

The extension covers the FM1106 hunt area in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, running from 12:01 am Sept. 21 through 11:59 pm Sept. 22. Current permit holders can use the permits they already have. Nothing new is required.

The separate RM291 hunt on the upper Copper River, a joint federal and state season, closes Sept. 20 as scheduled and is not being extended. The park has asked hunters to confirm which permit and which area they're hunting before heading out.

Acting Superintendent Joshua Scott had authority from the Federal Subsistence Board to open as many as ten days between Sept. 21 and Sept. 30. He opened two. The Southcentral Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council had asked earlier this month for extensions in Units 11 and 13 running all the way through the 30th.

The numbers behind that decision aren't encouraging. A 2023 survey counted 44 bulls per 100 cows in the FM1106 area, with the population declining after heavy snow in two of the last three winters, and there is no current population estimate. In RM291 the ratio was 30 bulls per 100 cows — exactly the minimum managers will accept before acting.

Harvest has also been running ahead of need. The unit's management report sets the amount reasonably necessary for subsistence at 30 to 40 moose, while the combined harvest has averaged 54 bulls a year.

"The National Park Service is attempting to balance the need for additional subsistence opportunity with the uncertainty surrounding a declining moose population in Unit 11 and the potential for overharvest if too many moose are taken," the action said.

The hunt can still be changed by a further federal special action.