By Ceri Godinez
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has reduced the harvest limit for the spring 2021 brown bear hunt to five, including no more than two females. In past years, the combined limit for spring and fall bears hunts has been 16 in Game Management Unit 1D, which includes Haines and Skagway.
In a press release, the department said once the cap is reached, the season will be closed, and “if two females are harvested, the remainder of the spring and fall hunts will be closed.” Non-hunt kills, including bears shot in defense of life and property, will count toward harvest limits.
The press release says the new restrictions are in response to “unsustainable levels of human-caused mortality in 2020.” Last year, at least 49 brown bears were killed in Unit 1D. Of those, 30 were non-hunt kills.
ADFG wildlife biologist Carl Koch said last year’s bear mortality was determined to be “unsustainable” based on a population approximation that assumes the region has a bear population density similar to that of Admiralty Island. This method puts the population at 400, but in past interviews Koch has said he thinks the Chilkat Valley bear population is smaller, as Haines is more developed than Admiralty Island.
“We don’t think there’s four hundred bears on the landscape, especially after what happened in 2020, so this (measure) is designed to help recover the population while maintaining some sustainable hunting,” Koch said, adding, “We’ll see how 2021 goes. If we get more years like we had last year, then we may not be able to have a hunt next year.”
He said this year, ADFG is planning to increase education about bear attractants and how to secure them, as well as making resources available for residents who want to use electric fences to secure property.
Koch said the new harvest guidelines will be discussed in greater detail at an Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee meeting on March 4 at 5:30 p.m.