HUNTING THE EDGE OF ALASKA
GMU PrOFILE
There aren’t as many game species in Game Management Unit 10, far Southwest Alaska, as elsewhere in the state, but the unit’s Unimak Island is home to some of the biggest bears in the Last Frontier, if not the world. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
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 10. BY PAUL D. ATKINS
G
ame Management Unit 10 comprises Southwest Alaska’s Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, and Unimak Island and all seaward waters and land within 3 miles of their coasts. This is a very unique place – to say the least – and if you’re a visitor hunting there, it’s that much more of an experience. To want to hunt the islands on that long
“arc” that stretches into the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean is quite the undertaking, but one that you won’t soon forget. The wind-swept mountains, weatherbeaten beaches and active volcanoes are beautiful to see, but the GMU’s history makes the trip worth it. Compared to other units in the state there isn’t as much to hunt, but it can still be grand.
LET’S FIRST START WITH the bears of the
Aleutians. The brown and/or grizzly variety can be found in the northernmost part of the unit, specifically on Unimak Island, which is known for some of the biggest bears in Alaska – and the world, for that matter. The island’s brown bear population is dense. You can only take one bear every four years and many tags have to be drawn, especially for nonresidents (when the state allows nonresidents to hunt, which is currently prohibited due to COVID-19 pandemic). Unimak is also home to a few outfitters and guides who operate in the area. Further out in the Aleutians is Adak
aksportingjournal.com | JUNE 2020
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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