Fortymile Caribou Hunt Closed in a Portion of Game Management Unit 20E

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Correction: An earlier version of this news release incorrectly listed the state Fortymile caribou hunt in Unit 25C as closed south of Crooked Creek Fork and south and east of Birch Creek.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska —A portion of the winter federal subsistence hunt for the Fortymile Caribou Herd in Game Management Unit 20E closed on Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. The closure affects that portion of Unit 20E south of an east–west line passing through Milepost 112.6 (Fortymile Bridge) on the Taylor Highway.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Eastern Interior Field Office Manager Lenore Heppler took this action because of the lack of Fortymile caribou in the area as well as the ready access to Nelchina and Mentasta caribou (the Taylor Highway has remained driveable). The Nelchina quota has already been exceeded, and there is no open season on Mentasta caribou. Consultation on the closure was conducted with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Tok and Glennallen, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, National Park Service and local subsistence hunters.

The state and federal winter season for Fortymile caribou remains open in Unit 20E north of MP 112.6 on the Taylor Highway. No changes have been made to the Fortymile caribou season in other parts of the hunt area. In Unit 25C all federal lands remain open for federally qualified residents to hunt the Fortymile herd. The state portion of the Fortymile caribou hunt remains open in Unit 25C south of Crooked Creek Fork and south and east of Birch Creek,and south of the Chatanika River drainage in Unit 20B.

For additional information, contact Eastern Interior Field Manager Lenore Heppler at 907-474-2320 or lheppler@blm.gov. The Fortymile Caribou Hotline phone number is (907) 267-2310.