The following press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game may be of interest to some of you. I hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely, Cathy Muñoz

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has extended the deadline for permit hunt applications submitted by mail to December 15, 2010. "As a result of a delay in distribution, application materials arrived late to license vendors. The department is concerned that hunters will not have adequate time to complete the mail-in applications and have them postmarked by the November 30 date specified in the Permit Hunt Supplement," said Pat Valkenburg, Deputy Commissioner of Fish and Game. "We were already working on a tight schedule since printing could not begin until all changes resulting from the October Game Board meeting were made to permit hunt supplements and application forms."

Printed application materials have been arriving at department offices and license vendors over the past week and those locations that have not yet received the supplement should be getting them in the next couple of days.

The deadline for applying online for these hunts remains the same, December 31, at 5 PM and all the application materials are available online at http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/.  Hunters are encouraged to apply online whenever possible to ensure applications are received by the department. Last year, the department received about 80% of all permit applications online.

Hunters interested in hunting Nelchina Caribou should take note. The department will be providing additional information about the Community Harvest Program for Nelchina caribou hunting by November 23rd, on the department website. This information will help hunters to decide which of the three options for hunting Nelchina caribou will be most suitable for them in 2011. The three options are: 1) Copper Basin Community Harvest Program, 2) Tier I registration hunt, and 3) drawing permit hunts.  Information on the Tier I and drawing permit hunts is included in the Permit Hunt Supplements. "The extra time for submitting paper applications will also give hunters more time to better understand the hunt options that are available for this very popular caribou hunt," said Valkenburg.

Copies may be requested from the Commissioner’s Office at: (907) 465-4100.