The Mulchatna herd and bears...

[adamkolesar]

Came across this during my morning reading.

https://alaskabeacon.com/2025/03/15/anchorage-judge-rules-states-brown-bear-killings-are-unconstitutional/

 

[280rem]

Well that’s a sad thing. Need to manage the bears somehow.

 

[Smtn10pt]

The could easily manage them by lifting the NR guide requirement, but I highly doubt that would ever happen.

 

[FAAFO]

The could easily manage them by lifting the NR guide requirement, but I highly doubt that would ever happen.

thanks for the laugh!

 

[diamond10x]

The could easily manage them by lifting the NR guide requirement, but I highly doubt that would ever happen.

Has ZERO to do with it. If they lifted the requirement, highly likely there would be less bears killed in that area by NR than there are now with guides.

 

[Alder_]

That area is very remote with the only access being bush plane.
NR would likely add single digit kills to that area even if the BOG lifted the guide requirement.
NR can think they'd take care of business all they want. The reality is they wouldn't put a dent in things.

 

[Smtn10pt]

I just think theres a few guys that would shoot a bear on their caribou or moose hunt if there were allowed. I dont see how that would decrease the numbers of bears taken. Still may not be enough but would be a step in the right direction. I know if I was allowed to buy a griz tag I would have had one when I was hunting Alaska, and there would be one less griz in the state.

 

[idelkslayer]

That area is very remote with the only access being bush plane.
NR would likely add single digit kills to that area even if the BOG lifted the guide requirement.
NR can think they'd take care of business all they want. The reality is they wouldn't put a dent in things.

I agree that few NR hunters would go on a grizzly specific hunt, but allowing hunters already in the field for moose and caribou the option to harvest grizzlies seems like it would result in more than a handful of bears harvested. It seems like almost every hunting report from caribou and moose hunters includes sightings of grizzlies. Although unlikely that the guide interests would relinquish their monopoly on those hunts.

I just think theres a few guys that would shoot a bear on their caribou or moose hunt if there were allowed. I dont see how that would decrease the numbers of bears taken. Still may not be enough but would be a step in the right direction. I know if I was allowed to buy a griz tag I would have had one when I was hunting Alaska, and there would be one less griz in the state.

Seems to make sense. Do any Alaska guys mind explaining why they think it wouldn't matter?

 

[william schmaltz]

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

Edit before someone purposely missing the point jumps on me: I believe it’s a legislative decision, not a BOG one.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

Count me in to make it 21

 

[Bluumoon]

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

I'm in for it.

From an outsiders perspective I understand the guide lobby at face value, but it is a very weak long term financial mindset. Not enough caribou/moose to sell caribou/moose hunts.... Hmm how could we have more caribou and moose on the landscape and sell more hunts?

I can't imagine they are selling enough Grizz/brown bear hunts to off set a lose of Caribou/moose hunts.

 

[dallen]

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

Cash is king

 

[Legend]

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

Edit before someone purposely missing the point jumps on me: I believe it’s a legislative decision, not a BOG one.

Agree!!

I'm your 22 and I'll bring 23 and 24 with me.

It's just a bear and there is nothing mythical about hunting them that us NR couldn't figure out.

And it sounds like the caribou could use the help.

 

[Alder_]

Take the time to write a proposal and put it in front of the Board.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Well that sounds great until a NR or three gets mauled to death recovering a wounded bear, then we're all saying whoa that's not good, and we're back to guide requirements because the industry says "see we told you this would happen.".

Bears kill a lot of animals, but lets say the Hoholitna or Noatak is opened to NR for brown bears and only a weak handful get shot by chance out of hundreds of NR hunters...the value isn't there and the price of a guided bear hunt is weaker if NR can get an OTC tag. State politics and APHA lobbyist would reject the F out of that proposal regardless of the tens of bears that were shot by NR statewide.

In the state's view, predator control needs to be a military style assault when timing and conditions are perfect for the flights...and ineffective left to secondary harvests by NR or R for that matter. To them it's like killing a squad leader or two from one unit of terrorists without dropping a drone strike on the whole brigade.

I don't see it making a divot or a dint in brown/griz pops statewide, region wide, or unit wide. And certaqinly predation is only a fraction of what's trending declining caribou populations.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Why does the state feel it's their responsibility to keep hunters safe? People run into problems bears all the time while hunting, plenty of threads on here that talk about the bears stole all the meat but left the antlers for them to take home. Might as well let the non res pay the state a couple cool grand for a tag and shoot the bear.

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[Murphy]

Yeah I'm not sure if I believe the reason nr aren't allowed to hunt grizzlies is to protect us. It's undoubtedly outfitter welfare.

 

[Cascade_Sherpa]

Completely agree with the post below....when my buddy and I hunted out of Kotz in '22 we saw no fewer than 3-5 full grown griz/brown bears per day for a week straight, of course some of those bears were seen repeatedly..., but whatever direction we hiked from our camp on the river we saw plenty of really big bears every day.....it added a lot of anxiety once we had our caribou meat/horns stored a couple hundred yards from camp.

If the NR caribou hunters were allowed to help manage the bear population it would only help balance those regions out.....

I could name 20 NR guys that would have a deposit down by the end of the week if they were allowed to hunt a grizz DIY. It’s all within easy range for wheel and float operators from Dillingham, Bethel, and Illiamna; and the price would be cheap because you just need to extract a hide. Even if you had a special NR unguided tag for $2500, a guy could do it no problem for sub $10k. Guys would be lined up. I’ve been around that Mulchatna PCA a fair bit, it’s a target rich environment. Put 100 guys out there and let ‘em have at it, 25 dead calving ground bears is a win.

How many more tens of thousands of WA caribou would we have if guys could shoot camp bears instead of (according to BOG and APHA the safer option) staying up all night and scaring them off their meat and camp. The must be guided rule may be one of the dumbest and most dishonest game rules in the state.

Edit before someone purposely missing the point jumps on me: I believe it’s a legislative decision, not a BOG one.

 

[mostlybirch]

For some reason I find it hard to believe that the answer to declining caribou populations is NR hunters helping us "balance those regions".

 

[FAAFO]

For some reason I find it hard to believe that the answer to declining caribou populations is NR hunters helping us "balance those regions".

Come on! You don’t think rockslide Randy with his .22, drop tested scope isn’t going to make a difference? He will be running his exo pack with Inreach strapped to the outside doing his part for conservation? 19 stickers on the gun case at the airport telling everyone he’s a DIY guy.

Within 5 years the bears will be on the endangered species list.