Alaska Permit Drawing application period opens

It’s that time of year once again! Early Sunday morning, the clocks are all turned back one hour, taking us back into Alaska Standard Time and prolonging this 2020 year even more. Thankfully, nothing lasts forever!

The big news for this weekend is the opening of the Alaska Permit Drawing application period for the 2021-2022 hunting seasons. The application period runs from Nov. 1 through 5 pm, Dec. 15. All applications must be online. If that is not possible for you to do, contact your local ADF&G office by 5 pm on Nov. 20 and the department will provide an accommodation for your application.

Let’s mention some of the ground rules, as stated in the flyer, for this application process:

You must obtain or have applied for an Alaska big game hunting license prior to applying (except Alaska residents 17 years of age and younger) …

A hunter must be 10 years of age or older by the starting date of the hunt to obtain a permit.

Each hunt is assigned a unique hunt number. Use only hunt numbers listed in the supplement.

Applicants may submit up to six applications per species, regardless if it is an individual or party application and regardless of how many separate orders are placed. Applicants may apply for the same hunt more than once, or multiple hunts, as long as they do not exceed six applications per species…

The number of permits issued may be adjusted up or down depending on the outcome of the most recent population surveys. Many of these surveys are not completed until after the publication of the drawing brochure. The number of permits may also be adjusted up or down from the number listed in this supplement for administrative reasons.

No person may receive more than one Drawing permit per species per regulatory year.

If you fail to report on a Drawing, Registration (including Tier I, Nelchina caribou), Targeted, or Tier II permit, even if you claim the postal service lost your report, you will be ineligible to receive any permits for the next regulatory year, including all Drawing hunts listed in this supplement.

If you received a Drawing permit last regulatory year, you are ineligible to receive a Drawing permit for the same hunt this regulatory year. This restriction does not apply to those who received an undersubscribed Drawing permit.

Permits are not transferable.

Hunt area maps are available online at HYPERLINK “http://hunt.alaska.gov” http://hunt.alaska.gov.

A couple of the rules that always seem to trip up folks’ applications are applying for more than six hunts per species and applying for the same hunt they received a permit for the prior year. Pay attention to your application so it isn’t rejected because of errors. One other rule is that no application fees will be refunded, period!

The application fee is $5 for each hunt listed, except bison and musk ox, where the fee is $10 per hunt. For example, if you apply for four moose hunts, three caribou hunts, one sheep hunt, and six bison hunts, your cost will be $20 for moose, $15 for caribou, $5 for sheep, and $60 for bison, totaling $100.

I generally view my application fees as a donation to the department since I rarely am drawn for a hunt. I get drawn, on average, around every fourth or fifth year I apply. I applied for 33 years before receiving my Delta bison permit back in 2007. Since becoming eligible to begin applying for the bison permit again, I’ve had no luck. However, that might not be a bad thing for me financially since I hear “trespass fees” to hunt on some of the Delta properties have risen from the $300 when I went to $2500 now! I guess I could always hunt only on the Bison Range public lands.

I didn’t notice any new hunts on my initial viewing of the hunt brochure, so your selection is about the same as last year. My days of mountain climbing are over, so no sheep or goat applications here. I’m not interested in a brown bear or musk ox hunt. I might apply for the Delta bison knowing I would have to restrict my hunting to public lands.

There are plenty of places to hunt black bear without a drawing permit and the same holds for caribou. I’ll be studying the various moose hunt options. Assuming the local advisory committees approve antlerless moose hunts for the 2021 season, I’ll apply for at least one of the hunts in Unit 14A.