The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced a month-long wolf trapping season on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The 31-day window is expected to open on Nov. 15.
The harvest of wolves in Game Management Unit 2 (GMU2), which includes Prince of Wales Island and outlying islands, occurs during two overlapping state and federal seasons. The island's hunting season began on Sept. 1. But most wolves are killed during the historically shorter trapping season.
Fish and Game said in a press release that they are projecting about 74 wolves will be killed during the trapping season but managers said the harvest could range anywhere from 62 to 99 wolves. In a press release, Fish and Game said this is a sustainable range and that "Sustainability of the population is unlikely to be affected by harvest in a single year."
Managers determine the number of wolves that can sustainably be killed in any given year using the population estimates from the previous year. That's because managers say the process of getting a wolf count takes about 10 months.
Fish and Game estimated that there were between roughly 184 and 308 wolves on the island before last year's trapping season, a range of numbers they said indicate that the population is being sustainably managed. The wolf season on Prince of Wales closes for both hunters and trappers on Dec. 15.
The state requires all hunters and trappers to report their kills within a week so the hides can be properly tagged by Fish and Game. Managers encourage wolf trappers on Prince of Wales to also provide them with foreleg bones and muscle tissue. The samples will be used for more accurate population estimates and to assess the population's productivity and survival.