Published 4:30 am Thursday, October 8, 2026
By Jeffrey Kennett Juneau Empire Staff
Mountain goat hunt near Juneau closes after years of low numbers | Juneau Empire
A male mountain goat above Lynn Canal. (Kevin White/Alaska Department of Fish and Game file photo)
Nearly 20 years after a punishing winter sent mountain goat numbers tumbling north of Juneau, the species has yet to fully recover, and another severe winter has raised fresh concerns prompting state biologists to close a section of the hunting season.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed mountain goat hunting between Eagle Glacier, Eagle River, and Sawmill Creek in Game Management Unit 1C at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, citing persistently low numbers and concerns that further harvesting could delay recovery.
Emergency Order R1-9-26 affects the state’s registration permit hunt RG012, which opened Oct. 1 in the area. Hunters had just four days before the restriction took effect. For wildlife managers, however, the problem stretches back considerably longer. Area management biologist Carl Koch authorized the restriction, which expires June 30, 2027, unless superseded.
Trending
- Most candidates for Alaska governor pledge to live in Juneau if elected
- Police seize $275K in drugs during raid on Juneau home
Mountain goat numbers began declining after the severe winter of 2006-07, when harsh conditions took a toll on the population. Subsequent surveys have shown little sustained improvement, despite periods of milder weather.
An aerial survey in 2015 recorded 64 goats, with young animals accounting for 42% of those observed. By 2016, the count had fallen to 38, including just 12% kids. Surveyors found 35 animals in 2018 and 42 the following year, and although those figures showed some fluctuation, they offered little evidence of a meaningful recovery. The latest emergency order indicates that researchers again encountered low numbers during work in the area this year, although the department did not provide a comparable 2026 count.
Compounding those concerns is the winter of 2025-26, which biologists believe likely caused additional losses in a population already struggling to rebuild.
Fish and Game also issued closures covering the same area in 2024 and 2025, citing the lingering effects of the earlier decline. This year’s decision extends a pattern of intervention aimed at limiting pressure on the remaining animals. Recovery is compounded further by mountain goats’ tendency to remain within familiar terrain.
Historical surveys and GPS tracking information suggest relatively little movement between neighboring drainages. As a result, animals in areas with low population densities cannot necessarily rely on goats from nearby mountains to replenish their numbers quickly.
Biologists refer to that tendency as high site fidelity, which can make rebuilding a depleted local population a lengthy process. So allowing additional hunting before numbers improve could slow that recovery even longer term.
