The first elk hunt in Alaska in almost two decades has been authorized by Alaska’s Game Management Board. Although the state Department of Fish and Game was opposed to the hunt by Wrangell and other local communities, the board was able to accept the proposal.
Elk do not live in Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago. They were introduced to Etolin island in the middle of 1980s, and then spread to other nearby islands. Zarembo is visible from downtown Wrangell and measures approximately 10 miles across Zimovia Strait.
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game, worried about the low population, has closed Zarembo’s elk hunting for the past 17 year.
Chris Guggenbickler chairs Wrangell’s Fish & Game Advisory Committee. He claims that locals have maintained the flame for a Zarembo Elk hunt.
He says, “Elk is always something we’re talking about.” “There are many people who have spoken to us about Zarembo’s abundance of elk and their desire to hunt again.”
Frank Robbins is the biologist who oversees Game Unit 3 in the vicinity of Petersburg and Wrangell. He told Board of Game members in January that he has only seen 23 elk at Zarembo Island. Although he estimates that the island has approximately 50 people, it’s not a definitive number as elk can be hard to spot.
Robbins stated to the Board of Game that there is no evidence that Zarembo Island’s elk population has increased in the years since 2006, when hunting was stopped.
Board of Game members were concerned about whether sustainable harvesting elk is possible when there are so few of them. Robbins, a biologist, was skeptical but said it is possible.
Robbins said, “I have been a biologist for over 30 years.” Robbins added, “I managed the Chitina Bison Herd once and we would fly above it year after year and count 50 animals. Each year, we issued two permits.”
Guggenbickler, a member of the committee, doesn’t believe Fish & Game’s population estimates are accurate.
“The last hunt took place in 2006, and six bulls were taken. They decided to close the hunt because there weren’t enough bulls on the island. Guggenbickler said that the proposal was accepted. They’ve had 17 years since they last hunted, so it’s taken them that long to rebuild.
The federal subsistence elk hunt is already in place, but it does not include Zarembo or Etolin Islands.
The Board of Game voted down three other proposals for elk hunting, including one on Zarembo and the nearby islands. It also rejected two modifications to the existing elk hunt on Etolin Island south of Zarembo. They voted unanimously for Guggenbickler and Buness’s January proposal.
A number of hunters from the region wrote letters to the board describing how they have seen more elk on Zarembo Island. Guggenbickler believes that the strong public support for this proposal helped swing the board in its favor.
Burnett stated that his opinion about hunting was also influenced by the fact that elk weren’t considered a native species.
Burnett stated that elk might not be suited for the area.
Robbins, a biologist, referred to a 1990 research project that found significant overlap in the diets for elks and deers, particularly when resources are limited after heavy snowfalls.
Guggenbickler said he explained to board members that deer are a major source of meat in Wrangell and that hunting elk might reduce deer’s need for food.
He said, “We were concerned that if there was an extreme winter, the deer would end up on the beaches, and the elk might have eaten all the food, the Deer would be compromised.”
The October elk hunt approval will be made. Hunters may apply for up to 25 tags to capture one bull. Robbins, an area biologist, will determine the exact number.
Guggenbickler believes the department will be more cautious when issuing tags.
He said that the department would be more conservative as they believe there will be a higher success rate. “Etolin has a low success rate. There are a lot of tags that get out, but only two to three percent of them succeed.”
Guggenbiclker and his colleagues from the Wrangell Advisory Committee might try to add a residency priority for the hunt.
He stated that he was concerned that the whole proposal could fail on this basis. “So, the idea was to just get the whole thing done – let’s baby-step it and then we might be able to get a resident priority.
They are happy that it is over for now.
Guggenbickler states that Elk are “kind of one of the species we don’t get a shot around here, but there’s some big animals.”
If the Zarembo elk hunt is approved in time, hunters might be eligible to submit their names for Zarembo elk tags. The first season will take place in October 2024.
