An Alaska mountain goat. (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game closed mountain goat hunting in the Takhin Ridge area today. The area bordered by the Tsirku River to the west and the north, Takhin River to the south, and the Chilkat River to the east closed after 5 goats were taken this season.
Carl Koch is a biologist with fish and game. He helps manage the unit 1D game area, which includes Haines, Skagway and Klukwan.
According to Koch, mountain goat hunting season is based on a points system. Each hunting area of the Upper Lynn Canal is assigned a certain number of points before the season begins. Every time a goat is taken, points are taken away until they run out and the area closes for hunting.
“An area with more points is an area where I have counted more goats during an aerial survey,” Koch said. Folks in the Haines office always do an excellent job of keeping the map accurate and updated in the window there, so hunters know to come and look at the map and see how many points are left in the area they want to hunt. Then they have an idea of whether it is likely to close soon.”
Male goats are worth one point and female goats are worth two points. If more females are taken the hunt will close faster. This reduces the number of female goats harvested and encourages hunters to target males instead.
This year 27 goats were taken in unit 1D. Although last year’s harvest was smaller, hunters took fewer females and all of the goats were recovered.
Koch said that this season started off strong, particularly for the youth hunt in the Takshanuk range.
“The weekend of September 15th we had 7 or 8 goats harvested. Closed down the youth hunt just that first weekend. That’s the first time that’s happened. I think that really good weather allowed folks to get up high and see goats from far away,” Koch said.
Now the hunt is winding down.
So far it is closed for most of the Takshanuk range in unit 1D. Some of the more remote areas of Haines and Skagway with a lower density of goats are still open for hunting.
For a map of hunting areas in the Upper Lynn Canal and the latest updates for the mountain goat hunt visit the Fish and Game office in Haines.
