(Cordova) – The Sitka black-tailed deer state hunting season in Prince William Sound and all other areas of Unit 6 will end December 31st by regulation.
The federal subsistence deer season for federally qualified hunters continues by regulation on federal lands within Unit 6 until January 31, 2022, unless closed earlier by the US Forest Service (USFS) District Ranger. This season is for one buck if the hunter has not harvested their five deer bag limit before December 31. Federal subsistence hunters will need to obtain a valid 2022 hunting license to continue hunting into January. Deer harvest tickets issued for regulatory year 2021 continue to be valid for the January federal season.
Early and substantial snowfall in November and December has made deer readily available to hunters on beaches. Hunters are reminded that state land ownership extends to the mean high tide line. For a harvest to be legal in January, both the hunter and the deer must be above the mean high tide line.
All hunters who obtained deer harvest tickets, even those who did not hunt, must return completed hunt reports to ADF&G or report online at http://hunt.alaska.gov. Beneficiaries of proxy hunts are responsible for reporting deer harvested on their behalf. Hunters must report federal harvest on their state harvest report.
Biologists are anticipating higher than average deer mortality rates this winter, though the full extent will not be known until spring surveys are conducted. Hunters participating in the last days of the state season are encouraged to target older bucks and fawns which are the age classes most likely to succumb to winter weather. After December 31st, only bucks may be taken.
Contact the USFS Cordova district office at 424-7661 for questions regarding the federal subsistence deer season, or federal land maps. Contact the Cordova ADF&G office at 424-3215 regarding the state deer season.