State wildlife officials closed the registration permit hunt RG245 for mountain goats in game management unit 6D on Nov. 9 in the wake of the harvest of eight billies to prevent unsustainable harvest.
The emergency order ending the hunt includes that portion of Unit 6D west of Browns Creek south of Lowe River and Port Valdez, and north of Jack Bay and the main channel of Jack River.
The last aerial survey of the area found a minimum count of 176 goats in the registration area, said wildlife program technician Samantha Renner, of the Cordova office of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The maximum allowable harvest is eight goat points and as of Nov. 7 the reported harvest was eight billies, each counting as one goat point.
Meanwhile hunters remained in the field and it’s likely that additional goats have been taken and not yet reported, she said.
Other mountain goat hunting regulations in the rest of Unit 6 were not affected by the emergency order.
