Bear Week contest GMU Profile: Interior Alaska’s Unit 20 hosts caribou, moose, bears

The biggest member of the deer family, moose are numerous in Unit 20. With its superb habitat it’s no wonder that some of the biggest bulls in Alaska are taken there each year. Centered on Fairbanks, hunters have the advantage of many roads and trails that run through the unit. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

UNIT 20 FAMOUS FOR INTERIOR BULLS, BEARS

GMU PrOFILE

Editor’s note: From the Alaska Panhandle to the “top of the world” in Barrow/Utqiagvik, Alaska contains 26 game management units that feature land for hunting and other outdoor activities. Our Arctic adventurer Paul Atkins is breaking down some of the units he’s hunted in the past in this ongoing feature. This issue: GMU 20.

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

I’ve never hunted Game Management Unit 20, but I know plenty of people who have. There are good friends of mine who not only consistently take record-book animals, but also fill their freezers with some of the best meat on the planet. Unit 20, located in the heart of the Alaska Interior (Fairbanks/Central Tanana), is a mecca for hunters and one of the few places where you can hunt just about every big game animal – except for goats – in Alaska. The list of available species reads like a book: Sheep, bison, moose, caribou and both black and brown bear are the big draws. From what I’ve seen and heard, they all provide some of the best hunting in Alaska.

FAMOUS FOR BULLS AND BEARS The Forty-Mile caribou herd can be found in this unit, but like most in the state, the herd has been on the decline the last several years. Still, these hunts are pretty

special, and even if you only can take one caribou in all areas they’re still a big draw for hunters who venture into Unit 20.

Unlike caribou, bears are numerous in this unit, which allows hunters to take three black bears and one brown bear every year.

But in my opinion, what’s truly special is the moose hunting. Big bulls – some of the biggest in the state – are pulled out of the area every year.

Bison can be found there too, but only if you’re lucky enough to draw one of those coveted tags.

OTHER OPTIONS Sheep are also a big draw, especially to those diehard Dall hunters who live and die by the draw. The Tok and Delta controlled areas have some of the best sheep hunting in the state and also some of the biggest animals. If you don’t believe me, then check out the number of applications that are submitted each November.

Unit 20 is located in the heart of the Alaskan Interior, and includes large portions of the Yukon-Tanana River watershed. It stretches to the Canadian border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory. (ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME)

Maybe the unit’s biggest draw, especially for the hardcore hunter who lives for the extreme, is its epic sheep hunting. The Tok and Delta areas are well known for Dall rams and they not only host some of the best sheep hunting in the state, but see some of the biggest specimens taken each year. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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Unit 20 contains bison, but you can hunt them only if you draw a special tag. Alaska’s reintroduction of these magnificent beasts, bringing them back to huntable numbers, has been nothing but miraculous. Bison are one of the most sought-after species in the state. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

Like most northern units, GMU 20 is big and actually consists of six subunits: A through F. Each is unique and all have special rules, just as many of the state’s other units do. GMU 20 stretches from Denali National Preserve in the west all the way to the Canadian border to the east, with Fairbanks right in the middle. It’s also home to some of Alaska’s most famous rivers, the Tanana and the Yukon.

Within its boundaries, Unit 20 has several special management areas where controlled hunting, whether it’s by draw tags, over-the-counter tags or special permits, is attainable. Some areas are closed, while others lie in national parks where hunting isn’t allowed.

If you plan to hunt GMU 20, it would be a good idea to check out the regulations and do your research first. With so many opportunities and species available, it truly is a hunter’s paradise. ASJ

Editor’s note: For a detailed map of and season dates for GMU 20, go to adfg.alaska .gov and look under the Hunting tab for a link to maps by unit. Follow Paul Atkins on Twitter @AKTrophyHunter.

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