Hunting on the Blackerby Ridge area closed Wednesday after one male goat was harvested.
Local mountain goat populations are increasing, but still haven’t climbed back to what they were before a pair of high snow winters in 2006 and 2007, wildlife managers say.
A fly over survey conducted in the area in 2014 showed a low count of 22 animals between the south side of Blackerby Ridge and the north side of Salmon Creek Reservoir. A pair of high snow years in 2006 and 2007 meant an increase in avalanches.
The slides may have killed as much as 40 percent of the population near the Juneau road system. Wildlife managers have been cautious since then.
The increase in mountain goats you can see off the Juneau road system has been steady, but still hasn’t returned to the levels seen after the pair of harsh winters.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s emergency order can be found at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/webintra/wcnews/2018/releases/10-02-2018b.pdf.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 and kgullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.
A mountain goat crosses a stream in Tracy Arm Fjord in May 2013. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
