Yakutat-area moose hunt west of the Dangerous River closes after hunters reach 30 bulls

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service will close moose hunting in Unit 5A west of the Dangerous River, on the Yakutat Forelands, at 11:59 pm Saturday, Oct. 17. As of Friday, hunters had taken at least 30 bulls, the 2026 harvest objective for that side of the forelands.

The closure covers the joint state and federal registration permit hunt in that area but does not include Nunatak Bench. The department's closure announcement says the harvest objective "has been met or exceeded" and that the state emergency order is meant "to prevent overharvest." The order cuts the state season there to Oct. 15 through Oct. 17.

The Forest Service issued a matching emergency special action, the department said, so the federal season in the same area ends at the same time as the state season.

The west side has closed early before. The department set a 25-bull objective there in 2013 and closed the area by emergency order as the harvest approached it. The state closed it again in 2014 after the objective was reached during the federal subsistence season, and in 2022. Last year, state and federal closures took effect together on Oct. 19, 2025.

The rest of Unit 5A, east of the Dangerous River, stays open through Nov. 15 or until hunters there take 30 bulls, according to the department. As of Friday, 23 bulls had been taken on the east side. Last year the east side closed first, on Oct. 18, 2025, after its quota was met.