Storm-impacted communities on the Kuskokwim Delta coast and upriver will have additional opportunity to harvest moose, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
Management coordinator for ADF&G in Bethel, Phillip Perry, said that the department wanted to do what it could to help, while still healthily managing the moose population.
“We look at what the moose population is, what could be harvested if there's more additional harvesting [that] could happen this year,” Perry said. “And that's where we came up with 100 permits.”
ADF&G will be offering 100 permits for a portion of Unit 18, beginning at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River and extending up towards Kalskag. The area is also commonly referred to as Zone 1 of the RM615 moose hunt area. The permits can be obtained by any Alaska resident and are not limited to residents of the Unit 18 region.
ADF&G announced on Monday, Oct. 27 that the extension is intended to support communities impacted by ex-typhoon Halong, which devastated parts of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta earlier this month. Many residents report significant losses to subsistence food stores, in addition to the loss of homes and property. ADF&G cited the threat of food insecurity going into the winter season as part of the reason for the extension.
But many of the people who suffered flood damage to their subsistence food stores in their homes and freezers have evacuated out of the region. Instead, Perry said that extending the hunt is in part meant to allow people to lend a hand. He said that he’s received calls from people across the region asking to hunt an extra moose to gift to storm-impacted families.
“If you shoot an extra moose this year, I know there's some infrastructure to get a hold of people and be able to give that may be able to get distributed to some of the other places where people are going to be this winter,” Perry said.
Permits will be issued online at hunt.alaska.gov starting at 9 a.m. on Nov. 5. All Alaska residents are eligible to participate if they have not harvested a moose since July 1, 2025 and possess a valid Alaska resident hunting license.
The extended season will run until Jan. 19, 2026. The bag limit is one moose. Proxy hunting is allowed for the hunt.
