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Fish and Game

Intensive Management in Alaska

Harvesting wild game is extremely important to many Alaskan families. Participating in the hunt and sharing the bounty of economical, wild-grown meat are long-standing traditions.

The Alaska Legislature recognized the importance of wild game meat to Alaskans when it passed the Intensive Management Law in 1994. This law requires the Alaska Board of Game to identify moose and caribou populations that are especially important food sources for Alaskans, and to insure that these populations remain large enough to allow for adequate and sustained harvest.

If moose or caribou populations drop below what the Board of Game (Board) determines is needed for continued harvests by people, the Board directs the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to undertake intensive management of that population. Intensive management is a process that starts with investigating the causes of low moose or caribou numbers, and then involves steps to increase those numbers. This can include restricting hunting seasons and bag limits, evaluating and improving habitat, liberalizing harvest of predators, and predator control.

ADF&G is committed to maintaining healthy populations of all our resources, including moose, caribou, wolves, and bears. We will continue to manage Alaska’s wildlife populations with the health of all wildlife, sustainable harvests, and conservation as our guiding principles.

Understanding Predator Management

Wolves and bears are very effective and efficient predators on caribou, moose, deer, and other wildlife. In most of Alaska, humans also rely on the same species for food. In Alaska's Interior, predators kill more than 80 percent of the moose and caribou that die during an average year, while humans take less than 10 percent. In most of the state, predation holds prey populations at levels far below what could be supported by the habitat in the area. Predation is an important part of the ecosystem, and all ADF&G management programs, including control programs, are designed to sustain predator populations in the future.

Alaska’s Predator Control Programs

Predator control programs are currently deployed in six specific areas in Alaska, covering approximately 10% of the state’s land mass. These programs are designed to reduce predation by wolves or bears and increase depressed moose or caribou populations that are a needed food source of Alaskans.

Each predator control program employs specific methods to provide success. In these areas, predators will be temporarily reduced, but not permanently eliminated. Successful programs allow humans to take more moose and caribou, while allowing healthy populations of predators to continue to thrive.

Before any predator control program begins, the Alaska Board of Game adopts a predation control implementation plan. Those plans, formally adopted in the Alaska Administrative Code at 5 AAC 92.125, contain detailed information about each predation control area.

Overview/General Information
Information on Specific Predation Control Areas
News Releases

Research and Resources

For persons wishing to participate in any of Alaska’s predator control programs, see the 2009 – 2010 Predator Control Supplement. (PDF 433 K)