6 minute read
Game Management Unit Spotlight: Hunting the Aleutians
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
Game 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. 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
GMU 10 represents much of the fall and winter range of empo- rer geese, which were recently reopened for limited hunting. The Aleutians also feature great ptarmigan hunts. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Author Paul Atkins had a memorable caribou hunt on Adak Island. The species was introduced by the state in 1958. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Island, which is well known for its everincreasing caribou population (see story page 55). The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 1958 introduction of caribou was meant to provide soldiers stationed there a chance to hunt and emergency meat as needed.
Adak is now a very popular destination for hunters wish to fill their freezers and/or long for an experience like no other. There is no closed season for caribou and no bag limit, except you can only take two bulls in certain areas. So, if you go, be sure and check the regs.
KEY GMU 10 OPENERS
Year-round: Adak Island caribou Aug. 10: Wolf Sept. 1: Wolverine Oct. 1; May 10: Unimak Island fall, spring brown bear Oct. 8: Emperor goose
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WOLVES CAN ROAM PARTS of the Aleutian archipelago as well, and it’s a pretty liberal limit of 10 per hunter. Wolverine can be found too, but only one per hunter.
And if you like hunting birds, you can’t beat the possibilities in GMU 10, especially for ptarmigan, which seem to be everywhere. If you like the feel of
The unit begins at Unimak Island, just o the end of the Alaska Peninsula, and stretches west through the Aleutian archipelago all the way to Attu Island in the Bering Sea. Next stop: Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. (ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME)
a shotgun, then a trip to the islands just to hunt birds is worth it. When I was on Adak a few years ago to hunt caribou it was great, but the days spent chasing ptarmigan made it even better.
You can also find many sea birds, ducks and waterfowl of various species. The emperor goose, which has become a trophy target since reopening for hunting in 2017, can be found in certain parts of the unit, but only one may be taken per person annually, and a permit – either through a drawing or registration – is required. Be sure and check the regs.
OVERALL, GMU 10 MIGHT not be for everybody, but if you’re looking for something different in a land that is unique and special, then you should jump on a jet and head as far west and south as you can get in Alaska. You won’t be disappointed hunting this edge of the Last Frontier. ASJ
Editor’s note: For a detailed map and more season dates on GMU 10, go to adfg.alaska .gov and look under the Hunting tab. Follow Paul Atkins on Twitter (@AkTrophyHunter).
