5 Alaska Admin. Code § 92.080 : Fish and Game — Game — Statewide Provisions — Methods and Means — Unlawful methods of taking game; exceptions

The following methods of taking game are prohibited:

(1) by shooting from, on, or across a highway;

(2) with the use of a poison or substance that temporarily incapacitates game, except with the written consent of the board; or with the use of an Electronic Control Device (ECD) Taser-type device that temporarily incapacitates game, except under a permit issued by the department; however, the use of a poison for taking deleterious exotic wildlife within a building, vessel, port, vehicle, or aircraft, is authorized without board approval when using Department of Environmental Conservation registered pesticides in their approved manner under 18 AAC 90;

(3) unless otherwise provided in this chapter, knowingly, or with reason to know, with the use of a helicopter in any manner, including transportation to, or from, the field of any unprocessed game or parts of game, any hunter or hunting gear, or any equipment used in the pursuit or retrieval of game; this paragraph does not apply to transportation of a hunter, hunting gear, or game during an emergency rescue operation in a life-threatening situation;

(4) unless otherwise provided in this chapter, from a motor-driven boat or a motorized land vehicle, unless the motor has been completely shut off and the progress from the motor's power has ceased, except that a

(A) motor-driven boat may be used as follows:

(i) in Units 23 and 26 to take caribou;

(ii) notwithstanding any other provision in this section, in Unit 22 to position hunters to select individual wolves for harvest;

(iii) under authority of a permit issued by the department;

(B) motorized land vehicle may be used as follows:

(i) in Units 22, 23, and 26A, a snowmachine may be used to position a caribou, wolf, or wolverine for harvest, and caribou, wolves, or wolverines may be shot from a stationary snowmachine;

(ii) notwithstanding any other provision in this section, in the wolf control implementation areas specified in 5 AAC 92.111 - 5 AAC 92.113, 5 AAC 92.118, and 5 AAC 92.121 - 5 AAC 92.124, a snowmachine may be used to position a hunter to select an individual wolf for harvest, and wolves may be shot from a stationary snowmachine;

(iii) repealed 6/23/2022;

(iv) notwithstanding any other provision in this section, in the bear control implementation areas specified in 5 AAC 92.111 - 5 AAC 92.113, 5 AAC 92.118, and 5 AAC 92.121 - 5 AAC 92.124, a snowmachine may be used to position a hunter to select an individual bear for harvest, and bears may be shot from a stationary snowmachine;

(v) notwithstanding any other provision in this section, in Units 9(B), 9(C), 9(E), 17, 22 and 25(C), except on any National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge lands not approved by the federal agencies, an ATV may be used to position a hunter to select an individual wolf for harvest, and wolves may be shot from a stationary ATV;

(vi) under authority of a permit issued by the department;

(vii) repealed 6/23/2022;

(ix) a snowmachine may be used to approach and pursue wolves and wolverine; an approach and pursuit under this sub-subparagraph is not harassment under (5) of this section, but may not come in contact with a live animal;

(5) except as otherwise specified, with the use of a motorized vehicle to harass game or for the purpose of driving, herding, or molesting game;

(6) with the use or aid of a machine gun, set gun, or a shotgun larger than 10 gauge;

(7) with the aid of

(A) a pit;

(B) a fire;

(C) artificial light, except that artificial light may be used

(i) for the purpose of taking furbearers under a trapping license during an open season November 1 - March 31 in Units 7 and 9 - 26;

(ii) by a tracking dog handler with one leashed dog to aid in tracking and dispatching a wounded big game animal;

(iii) to aid in tracking, recovering, and dispatching a wounded game animal without the use of a motorized vehicle;

(iv) by a resident hunter taking black bear under customary and traditional use activities at a den site from October 15 through April 30 in Unit 19(A), that portion of the Kuskokwim River drainage within Unit 19(0) upstream from the Selatna River drainage and the Black River drainage, and in Units 21(B), 21(C), 21 (D), 24, and 25(D);

(D) laser sight, except that

(i) a rangefinder may be used;

(E) electronically enhanced night vision;

(F) any forward looking infrared device;

(G) any device that has been airborne, controlled remotely, or communicates wirelessly, and is used to spot or locate game with the use of a camera or video device;

(H) any camera or other sensory device that can send messages through wireless communication;

(I) wireless communication to take a specifie animal by a person until after 3 :00 a.m. following the day after the use of the device, except that

(i) in a unit 20(D) bison hunt, the use of ground-based radio communications, including cellular or satellite telephones, to locate bison is allowed;

(ii) in targeted moose hunts in 5 AAC 85.045, the use of ground-based wireless communication to locate individual animals is allowed;

(J) artificial salt lick;

(K) explosive;

(L) expanding gas arrow;

(M) bomb;

(N) smoke;

(O) chemical (excluding scent lures);

(P) a conventional steel trap with an inside jaw spread over nine inches; or

(Q) a killer style trap with an inside jaw spread over 13 inches;

(8) with a snare, except for taking an unclassified game animal, a furbearer, grouse, hare, or ptarmigan;

(9) repealed 7/7/94;

(10) from a motorized land vehicle, except that in those portions of Units 7 and 15 within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, a motorized land vehicle may be used to take game by a person with physical disabilities, as defined in AS 16.05.940, who requires a wheelchair for mobility, under authority of a permit issued by the department and in compliance with Kenai National Wildlife Refuge regulations, and a snowmachine or ATV may be used to take game as described in (4) of this section;

(11) unless specifically authorized by regulation, with the use of a crossbow in any restricted weapons hunt that authorizes taking by bow and arrow;

(12) with any bow designed to shoot more than one arrow at a time;

(13) taking upland game birds in Unit 26 with a shotgun using any shot other than nontoxic material approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, including loose shot used in muzzleloading firearms, and while in immediate personal possession of lead shot;

(14) taking game in Unit 18 with a shotgun using any shot other than nontoxic material approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, that is sizet, .20 caliber or smaller, including loose shot used in muzzleloading firearms, and while in immediate personal possession of lead shot;

(15) with the use of urine from any species of the deer Cervidae family, and while in immediate personal possession of urinefrom any species of the deer Cervidae family, including scent lures;

(16) on or after January 1, 2013, with the use of footgear with soles of felt, or other absorbent fiber material, while wading in freshwater streams in this state;

(17) in restricted-weapons hunts in Units 1-5, in hunts open to the use of muzzle loader and how and arrow, or shotgun and bow and arrow, the use of crossbows is allowed unless specifically prohibited by regulation.

(18) repealed 6/23/2022.

5 AAC 92.080

Eff. 7/5/85, Register 95; am 6/19/86, Register 98; am 8/8/87, Register 103; am 8/20/89, Register 111; am 8/12/90, Register 115; am 7/1/92, Register 122; readopt 5/13/93, Register 126; am 7/7/94, Register 131; am 4/25/96, Register 138; am 7/1/98, Register 146; am 7/1/2000, Register 154; 1st add'l am 7/1/2000, Register 154; 2nd add'l am 7/1/2000, Register 154; am 7/1/2001, Register 158; am 7/1/2002, Register 162; add'l am 7/1/2002, Register 162; am 7/1/2003, Register 166; am 7/1/2004, Register 170; add'l am 7/1/2004, Register 170; am 1/1/2005, Register 172; am 7/1/2005, Register 174; em am 1/26/2006 - 5/25/2006, Register 177; am 4/12/2006, Register 178; am 7/1/2006, Register 178; am 12/1/2006, Register 180; am 7/1/2007, Register 182; am 5/20/2008, Register 186; am 7/1/2008, Register 186; add'l am 7/1/2008, Register 186; am 7/1/2009, Register 190; add'l am 7/1/2009, Register 190; am 7/1/2010, Register 194; am 7/1/2011, Register 198; am 7/1/2012, Register 202; am 7/1/2014, Register 210, July 2014; am 7/1/2016, Register 218, July 2016; am 7/1/2017, Register 222, July 2017; am 7/1/2018, Register 226, July 2018; am 7/1/2019, Register 230, June 2019; am 7/1/2020, Register 234, July 2020; am 6/23/2022, Register 242, July 2022; add'l am 6/23/2022, Register 242, July 2022

Authority:AS 16.05.255

AS 16.05.258

AS 16.05.920