A Hunter's Lottery

It's only been a few weeks since one of my personal favorite holidays. It's the day that makes the next 12 months either a marathon of excitement or an agony until the next time it comes around. Non-hunting spouses everywhere equally await the outcome of this fated day, not knowing until the event passes whether or not the budget will be bent to it's limits. The day I am talking about, of course, is the day that the drawing results come out from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the drawing hunts.

Every year I put in for a few specific hunts and then base the remainder of my hunting and fishing seasons around that. Of course there are always the hunts that every hunter wants to participate in. For me, those are: Bison (DI403, and DI404), and Antlerless Moose (DM406, DM402, and DM403). Of course, I put in for Bison every single year, and of course inevitably, a first time entrant gets one of these rare prized tags. I know that one day I will get it and that the money goes to a good cause (almost like voluntary tax dollars that support Fish and Game) so I continue to put in for it. On the beautiful side of things, out of the two times I have put in for Caribou (DC482), I have gotten it both times.

Many people might not fully understand what I am referring to in all of this jargon, so here is a quick explanation. We are a rapidly growing state, and some of our more prized hunting areas and animals are subject to heavy hunting pressure which might endanger the continued use of the natural resources. As a way to more effectively manage this, Fish and Game has a lottery system that costs a small fee per selected hunt. A large amount of people enter, a few people get selected to hunt this area and species.

The hunt that I drew for is in the west side of the Denali Highway, west of Maclaren River. It is a landscape covered in wild expanse larger than I think most people could ever realize without seeing it with their own eyes. It is truly remarkable country. This year, because we were drawn for hunting there we plan on spending a week berry picking, caribou hunting, and sightseeing. I highly recommend this trip to anyone looking to see what “real Alaska” looks like from one of the best places to see it on the road system.

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