Alaska Department of Fish and Game photo.
The wolf hunting season on Prince of Wales and surrounding islands will close at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the U.S. Forest Service.
Hunters have taken 10 wolves as of Dec. 16, and the combined state and federal limit for this season is 11. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials agreed to close the season on Wednesday, because trappers have up to two weeks to report a kill, and biologists don’t want to exceed the harvest limit.
The quota for this winter’s annual wolf season was up slightly from last year’s quota of nine. The most recent population estimate of wolves in Game Management Unit 2 was 108, which was an increase from last year’s estimate of 89.
The federal subsistence hunting and trapping season on POW started Sept. 1st and ran through Nov. 15. The state season started on Dec. 1.
