The Wrangell-Petersburg area moose season closed on Tuesday, October 15th. The preliminary numbers show this harvest coming out above the 10-year average.
Rich Lowell is the area wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation.
Despite early numbers indicating an unremarkable RMO-38 moose harvest, Lowell says it turned out to be well above average.
“Things came in much better than we had anticipated. As of Wednesday, the day after the moose season was over, a total of 85 moose have been checked in from the local moose hunt,” says Lowell.
Lowell says that because hunters have five days after the close of the season to check in their moose, that number will likely go up.
The 10-year average for this hunt is 74 moose per year. In the past decade, the annual numbers have ranged from 47 moose to 108.
Lowell says that puts this year’s preliminary count at the third largest on record for the hunt.
“And it was exceeded only by the harvest of 108 moose in 2009 which was the first year the moose antler restrictions were liberalized to include moose with two brow tines on both antlers. Then, the harvest in 2011 of 88 moose also surpassed this year’s harvest. But other than that it was a great season and very productive,” says Lowell.
See the full story at KSTK: RMO-38 moose harvest is third largest on record
