State doubles next year's Zarembo elk hunt to 2 permits

The number of elk hunt permits issued for Zarembo Island will be doubled next year, from one elk bull available for harvest to two.

It’s a slow climb after the state shut down elk hunting on the island from 2006 to 2023, then allowing just one permit per year in 2024 and 2025.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has been able to develop a better understanding of Zarembo’s elk population, and believes the herd can handle the additional harvest, said Frank Robbins, the Petersburg-based game biologist for the Wrangell-Petersburg area.

The Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee has advocated...