Small Game Hunting in Alaska
Overview

Successful hunter with her dog Small game hunting provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce young and new hunters to the heritage of hunting. It offers an easy, cost effective, and accessible opportunity to begin a friendship, tradition, and outdoor activity that can last a lifetime. Small game hunting tends to be much more casual than big game hunting, does not require special permits, tags, or stamps, and a group can enjoy a midday hunt and be home for dinner. A child introduced to hunting through flushing hares out of a local willow draw or walking a gravel road for spruce grouse will become hooked on the tradition and friendship that going outdoors with friends and family provides. Small game hunting in Alaska offers abundant opportunities to work with or train a hunting dog and experience the thrill of watching your dog hold a point on a resting grouse.

In Alaska, small game includes hares, grouse and ptarmigan. We are extremely fortunate to have diverse and abundant small game populations throughout the state. Alaska has four species of grouse (ruffed, sharp-tailed, spruce, and sooty), all three world-wide species of ptarmigan (willow, rock, and white-tailed), and two species of hare (snowshoe and Alaska). All of these species are native to Alaska and can be legally hunted by both residents and non-residents under liberal season dates and bag limits. A hunter can travel anywhere in the state and have an opportunity to observe and harvest at least one if not four or five of these species in one location.

ADF&G Small Game Program

The Department's Small Game Program was created to promote the conservation of Alaska's small game resources for future generations. Biologists are not only working to study and understand the grouse, ptarmigan, and hares of Alaska but also develop educational opportunities through courses and seminars for interested individuals to become better informed on the hunting opportunities that are available. There are also numerous handouts and even a poster to help identify and understand these dynamic animals.

A number of short video clips are available under the Small Game Species tab showing grouse and ptarmigan in action, as well as ptarmigan capture, processing and radio collaring.

Contacts

Cameron Carroll is the Small Game Program Coordinator based in Fairbanks and can be reached at 907-459-7237 and Cameron.carroll@alaska.gov. She or your local ADF&G biologist can help you interpret the regulations, answer hunting questions, identify small game species, or answer other small game related questions you may have.

Visit the contacts section of the website for more information.