News Release

Federal Subsistence Hunting Permits for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Available Starting July 26

Date: July 11, 2018
Contact: Margie Steigerwald, [phone]
Contact: Barbara Cellarius, [phone]

Copper Center, AK – Federal subsistence registration permits for permit hunts in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve will be available starting Thursday, July 26, at the park’s Visitor Center in Copper Center and the Slana Ranger Station. The Visitor Center is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the end of September and Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during October. In October, please call ahead (822-7250) to ensure that someone will be available to issue permits. The Slana Ranger Station is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of September. Starting August 3, permits will also be available at the Chitina Ranger Station, which is open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., through Labor Day. In the McCarthy-Kennecott area, contact District Ranger Stephens Harper for permits.

Permits will be available for moose hunts in Unit 11 and a portion of Unit 12, a goat hunt in Unit 11, and sheep hunts for people 60 years of age or older in Units 11 and 12. There is no federal registration permit for the general sheep hunts in Units 11 and 12. Federally qualified hunters wishing to harvest sheep in Units 11 and 12 during the regular season may do so under the federal harvest limit, but must obtain a state harvest ticket and comply with the state’s reporting and horn sealing requirements. The state sealing requirement for Unit 11 applies to all rams, even rams with less than full-curl horns. Sealing is not required for sheep harvested under a federal registration permit during the elder hunts. Please bring your State of Alaska resident hunting license, a photo ID (such as a driver’s license), and proof of local physical address when you come to get a permit. Examples of documentation of physical address include a voter registration card or a utility bill listing your physical address.

Permit applicants must be federally qualified subsistence users and meet special eligibility requirements for lands managed by the National Park Service. They must have their primary permanent residence in rural Alaska, and their community must be listed in the “Species/Customary & Traditional Use Determination” (C&T) column of the Federal Subsistence Management Regulations Booklet for Wildlife for the intended species and location. Individuals wanting to hunt on National Park lands (as opposed to in the National Preserve) must additionally have their primary residence in one of the park’s 23 resident zone communities.

For more information, contact Barbara Cellarius, Subsistence Coordinator, at [phone].