Western Arctic Caribou

[northwestalaska]

Just a quick note from Kotzebue and the Western Arctic Caribou Herd. Jim Dau the State Biologist has just reported that the 2 dozen radio collared (used to track the WACH) are still way up north and east. Jim stated that the animals appear to be about 2+ weeks late down into the NANA region. There are no reports of animals at Onion Portage or any where near Kiana. Both sites are early indicators of the major thrust of the migration.

For you guys comming up any time befor the second week in Sept this might mean that there will be few animals to stalk. The last 3 years the animals have been comming over later and more scattered thatn they use to.

Be prepared for a late arrival of animals into the Noatak drainage.

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
www.northwestalaska.com

 

[Moosie]

Thanx for the Update... With the Animals moving late and leter.. do you think this will change the Seasons for them ?

 

[northwestalaska]

Well the seasons are still controlled by the weather. Even though we are seeing warmer winters and later freeze-ups, winter still arrives every year. The thing to keep in mind is caribou are funny animals, they move almost constantly and they change migration patterns for a lot of reasons including disturbance. The guys who book the early hunts may get pinched, so I guess the advice I hand out is plan on coming up Sept 10 or later and plan on a 10 day hunt. The guys who do float hunts are the ones who are less apt to be affected by the late arrival and the change in patterns because if the hunting is not working at sight "A", float down river 10 or 20 miles and it will get better.

As a hunter you need to be flexible and stay one step ahead of the animals and that means being able to move. Think about the guy who is stuck hunting 5 square miles(drop hunt) verses the guy who is hunting 40-60 miles of river over 10 days.
Walt
www.northwestalaska.com

 

[1_pointer]

NWA- A pard and I are thinking of hunting that herd next year. Any recommendations on air charters? We've been pretty impressed with the price and services offered by Maverik Aire.

 

[northwestalaska]

Westewrn Arctic update

Here is the latest on what is going on up here.

I went up the Noatak river yesterday, got back about midnight! The tundra is blaze red and orange but temps are warm. Woke this morning and the mountains got the first cover of snow! I was impressed. Locals are bringing in caribou and some moose but no big numbers yet.
Good luck!
Walt
Northwest Alaska Backcountry Rentals
www.northwestalska.com
[email protected]