Date: September 18, 2014
Contact: Kris Fister, 907-683-9583
DENALI PARK, Alaska: During the evening of Sunday, September 14, the National Park Service was contacted by a hunter in the Stampede Trail area, reporting that two hunters had entered the park via an off road vehicle (ORV) and had shoot a moose within the park.
National Park Service rangers responded that night, but could not contact the reporting party. They did see headlights from an ORV driving in an area over a mile inside the park boundary. Early Monday morning rangers made contact with the reporting party and could see the hunters' camp, including meat hanging from a pole, near where they had noted headlights the previous evening. While following the ORV trail to the camp to contact the two men, rangers passed three visible park boundary markers, one approximately three feet from the trail used
by the hunters.
The field investigation has been completed, and charges are pending. The two men, who hail from the Matanuska Valley, stated that they did not know they were in the park, but they had a
map, a GPS unit, and a regulation book with them.
The National Park Service (NPS) reminds hunters that sport hunting is allowed only in the Denali National
Preserve, located on the western corners of Denali National Park and Preserve. Guided sport hunting in the preserve must be provided by NPS authorized hunting guides.
Subsistence hunting and trapping by federally qualified local rural residents is permitted in all of
the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands and Conservation Act (ANILCA) additions to Denali National Park and Preserve. The use of vehicles off designated roads is only authorized for subsistence related activities on specific trail corridors near Cantwell. No other off road vehicle use is allowed within the
park and preserve.
The former Mount McKinley National Park area of Denali National Park and Preserve is closed to all
hunting and trapping.
It is a hunter's responsibility to know their location while hunting, and the applicable state and federal
regulations. Information on Denali National Park and Preserve hunting regulations and the GPS coordinates for the boundaries of the park and preserve
are available on the park's website at https://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/hunting-information.htm.
The National Park Service is actively enforcing hunting and off-road vehicle regulations. Reports can be made anonymously by calling
(800) 478-3377 and by contacting Denali National Park and Preserve at (907) 683-9555. Persons convicted of illegal hunting in Denali National Park and
Preserve can face stiff penalties, including jail time, fines, and loss of hunting privileges and the equipment used in the crime.
Additional information on hunting regulations within the national park and preserve are available on the web at www.nps.gov/dena.
www.nps.gov
