Spring hunting and trapping

Last week, we discussed beginning to plan your upcoming hunting and fishing trips for the 2026 season. In that discussion, I mentioned several things I was looking into for my upcoming season. I also mentioned a couple of trips I was thinking about making but which I had no firm plans for – yet. While these potential trips are fun to anticipate, the reality is that I probably won’t be doing them this coming year.

I was in a local sporting goods store earlier today and noticed some stacks of 2025 fishing regulations and several piles of 2025-2026 trapping regulations. I began to wonder why the “old” regulations were out and not the “new.” The obvious answer is that these regulations are currently in effect until the “new” regulation books are released to the public.

The new sportfishing regulation booklets are generally available on or around April 1, or at the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show in early April. I usually pick up a couple of booklets off the ADF&G table at that show and begin to refamiliarize myself with the “do’s and don’ts” for the upcoming season.

Likewise, the new hunting regulations booklet isn’t available until around June 1, give or take a week or two. The new trapping regulations and the waterfowl hunting regulations booklets also start to be available around mid-summer.

Since we are in the middle of March, I began wondering what hunting or trapping seasons are still open. Virtually all the big game animal hunting seasons have been over for some time, and, in fact, spring bear hunting is just around the corner. The 2025-2026 hunting regulations booklet contains the current laws governing this activity. The yet to be released 2026 booklet will have the rules for the fall hunting season as well as the 2027 spring rules.

Let’s start with what species are still legal to trap here in the Valley in mid-March, using your trapping license. I’ll just be looking at GMU’s (Game Management Units) 14A and 14B. Beaver are open until May 31 with no limit, and coyotes are open only until March 31 with no limit. Red fox closed Feb.28 as have lynx. Marten, mink, and weasel closed the end of January. Muskrats are open until May 15. River otters close March 31. Squirrels and marmot have no closed season but are unavailable for most of the winter because of their winter hibernation habits. Wolves are open until April 30 and wolverines closed January 31.

The aforementioned animals are referred to as “furbearers” in regulation if you take them under authority of your trapping license. If you choose to harvest these animals under authority of your hunting license, they are referred to as “fur animals,” and probably have a slightly different hunting season. For example, there is no hunting season for beaver while coyotes have no closed season. Red fox closed Feb. 15, and lynx closed on Feb. 28. Squirrels have no closed season.

“Small game” are different than “furbearer” or “fur animal” in regulation. Grouse season closes March 31, as does ptarmigan hunting. Snowshoe hares have no closed season, but bag limits vary depending on which subunit of GMU 14 you are hunting. The next category in the hunting regulations booklet is “unclassified game.” Under that heading, porcupines and mosquitoes have no closed season. Yes, it really does list mosquitoes in the regulations, but I would be surprised if you were ticketed for slapping a mosquito without a license!

Crows and pika have no open season. Another category of unclassified game referred to as “feral non-native game birds” has no closed season. Birds in this group are: chukar, partridge, pheasant, quail, and wild turkey. There is also another category referred to as “deleterious exotic wildlife” with no closed season, but I’ll let you read about what species they are when you review the hunting regulations. The most common of these I have personally seen is the Belgian hare.

I would strongly urge you to pick up a copy of the current and in-effect hunting and trapping regulations before you head out on a trip this time of year. The regulations on bag limits and season dates vary significantly depending on which GMU or subunit you hunt and what you are hunting (or trapping) for.

Remember, you are responsible to know the regulations and an “I didn’t know” makes a poor excuse if you are ticketed and must report to court. Potential loss of a firearm and/or vehicle is a costly lesson, so know the rules.