Alaska Game Management Unit 17: subunits, harvest and draw hunts
Unit 17 covers 20,349 square miles in 3 subunits, 17A, 17B and 17C, by ADF&G's boundary file. ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 1,504 moose hunters in the unit in 2025, 467 of them successful (31%), counting hunters who did not name a subunit. 27% of the unit is federal land in USGS PAD-US. 1 drawing hunt reaches into it.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: ADF&G interim harvest reports, 2020 to 2025. Drawing: ADF&G's 2025 results. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1.
How do the subunits of Unit 17 compare?
2025 regulatory year, successful hunters over all hunters, by ADF&G's interim harvest report:
| Subunit | Square miles | Moose | Federal land | Drawing hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 17A | 4,699 | 118 / 486 | 69.2% | 1 |
| Unit 17B | 9,777 | 148 / 340 | 8% | 0 |
| Unit 17C | 5,873 | 201 / 678 | 26% | 0 |
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, report 330. "Subunit not given" counts hunters whose report named Unit 17 without a subunit.
How has moose hunting in Unit 17 changed since 2020?
| Season | Hunters | Successful | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,330 | 397 | 30% |
| 2021 | 1,327 | 354 | 27% |
| 2022 | 1,323 | 380 | 29% |
| 2023 | 1,443 | 402 | 28% |
| 2024 | 1,273 | 343 | 27% |
| 2025 | 1,504 | 467 | 31% |
All subunits of Unit 17 and the reports without a subunit, added from ADF&G's report 330.
Which drawing hunts in Unit 17 draw the most applications?
| Hunt | Species | Hunt area | Applications, 2025 | % drawn, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM570 | moose | Unit 17A | 389 | 5% |
Source: ADF&G Results of the 2025 Permit Hunt Drawing.
Who manages the land in Unit 17?
| Manager | Acres | Share |
|---|---|---|
| State of Alaska | 7,320,217 | 56.2% |
| National wildlife refuge (FWS) | 2,696,816 | 20.7% |
| Bureau of Land Management | 469,188 | 3.6% |
| National preserve (NPS) | 212,009 | 1.6% |
| National park or monument (NPS) | 184,553 | 1.4% |
Source: USGS PAD-US 4.1, measured inside ADF&G's subunit boundaries.
Federal law sets what each kind of land allows. A national preserve in Alaska is run like a national park except that sport hunting, subsistence hunting and trapping are allowed (16 U.S.C. 3201); national park and monument land is closed to sport hunting. On federal public land, rural Alaska residents can also hunt under federal subsistence rules, and the Federal Subsistence Board can close federal land to other hunters for a species. Land PAD-US does not map is mostly private, including Alaska Native corporation land, and needs the owner's permission.
Do nonresidents need a guide in Alaska?
For three species, yes. ADF&G's 2026-2027 drawing supplement: "Nonresidents who are citizens of the United States are required to be personally accompanied in the field by an Alaska-licensed guide OR an Alaska resident relative 19 years of age or older within the second-degree of kindred when hunting brown/grizzly bear, Dall sheep, or mountain goat." Nonresidents who are not U.S. citizens need a licensed guide for those and for every other big game species, by ADF&G's guide requirements. Moose, caribou, black bear, bison, muskox, elk and deer need no guide for a nonresident U.S. citizen.
Questions hunters ask
What are the subunits of Alaska Unit 17?
17A (4,699 square miles), 17B (9,777 square miles) and 17C (5,873 square miles), by ADF&G's subunit boundaries.
How many moose are taken in Unit 17?
ADF&G's interim report counts 467 successful moose hunters of 1,504 in Unit 17 in 2025, all subunits together.
How much of Unit 17 is public land?
USGS PAD-US maps 27% of Unit 17 as federal land and 56% as State of Alaska land.
How many drawing hunts are in Unit 17?
1 ADF&G drawing hunts reach into Unit 17; they drew 389 applications in the 2025 drawing.
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Where these numbers come from
- Harvest: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, interim. Drawing: ADF&G 2026-2027 Drawing Permit Hunt Supplement.
- Boundaries: ADF&G Game Management Subunits; ADF&G GMU 17 information. Land: USGS PAD-US.
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