Applications for McNeil River Bear Viewing Permits Due March 1
- ADF&G Press Release

Cora Campbell, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, Alaska 99811
Phone: (907) 465-6166 - Fax: (907) 465-2332


Press Release: January 6, 2014

Contact: Ed Weiss, ADF&G Refuge Manager, (907) 267-2189

Applications for McNeil River Bear Viewing Permits Due March 1

(Anchorage) – The application deadline for lottery permits to visit Alaska’s premier brown bear viewing site at McNeil River State Game Sanctuary is fast approaching. Online applications must be submitted by midnight on March 1, or mailed and received by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game by March 1.

Online applications and printable application forms are available at www.mcneilriver.adfg.alaska.gov through the “Permits” tab and “Viewing Permits” link. More information about visiting McNeil River is available on the website or by calling (907) 267-2257.

A nonrefundable application fee of $25 per person is required and up to three people may apply together as a group. Applications are entered into a lottery and if drawn, Alaska residents must pay a $150 permit fee and nonresidents $350.

Located 100 air miles west of Homer, the McNeil River hosts the world’s largest known gathering of brown bears; hundreds of people apply each year for permits to watch bears drawn to the river to feed on migrating salmon.