Alaska Game Management Unit 20B: harvest, draw hunts, land and map
Unit 20B covers 9,099 square miles, by ADF&G's boundary file, in ADF&G Region III. ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 2,360 moose hunters in Unit 20B in the 2025 regulatory year, of whom 324 took one (14%). 3% of it is federal land in USGS PAD-US, the largest piece BLM Central Yukon Field Office (2%), and 78% is State of Alaska land. 5 drawing hunts reach into it; they drew 3,340 applications in ADF&G's 2025 drawing.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: ADF&G interim harvest reports, regulatory years 2020 to 2025. Drawing: ADF&G's 2023 to 2025 results. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1.
Bureau of Land ManagementOther federal landState of AlaskaThis unitNeighboring unit lineHighway
| Size | 9,099 square miles (ADF&G) |
|---|---|
| ADF&G region | Region III |
| Moose, 2025 | 324 of 2,360 hunters took one (14%) |
| Caribou, 2025 | 52 of 198 hunters took one (26%) |
| Dall sheep, 2025 | 1 of 5 hunters took one (20%) |
| Federal land (PAD-US) | 2.9% |
| State land (PAD-US) | 78.2% |
| Largest public areas | State Patented, State Tentatively Approved and Tanana Valley State Forest |
| Drawing hunts | 5: DM788, DM783, DM786, DM789, DM784 |
| Communities | Fairbanks, North Pole, Badger, Chena Ridge, College and Eielson AFB and 15 more |
| Highways | AK Rte 2 (136 mi), Elliot Hwy (103 mi), State Hwy 2 (88 mi) and Steese Hwy (77 mi) |
| Neighboring units | 20A, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20F, 25C |
How many moose do hunters take in Unit 20B?
Unit 20B drew 2,360 moose hunters in 2025, 2nd of the 72 subunits with moose hunters. 324 of them took one (14%); 96% of the hunters were Alaska residents.
| Season | Hunters | Moose taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,431 | 441 | 18% | 2,340 | 82 | 374 | 66 |
| 2021 | 2,154 | 362 | 17% | 2,033 | 120 | 317 | 44 |
| 2022 | 2,049 | 266 | 13% | 1,946 | 102 | 229 | 37 |
| 2023 | 2,115 | 315 | 15% | 1,983 | 124 | 276 | 38 |
| 2024 | 2,520 | 409 | 16% | 2,373 | 147 | 364 | 45 |
| 2025 | 2,360 | 324 | 14% | 2,257 | 103 | 294 | 30 |
How moose hunters in 20B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: highway vehicle 787 hunters (82 successful), 3 or 4 wheeler 684 hunters (79 successful), boat 539 hunters (98 successful) and offroad vehicle 173 hunters (31 successful).
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, moose, reports 330 (success by residency), 130 (sex of the harvest) and 390 (transportation), regulatory years 2020 to 2025. A regulatory year runs July 1 to June 30. ADF&G labels these reports interim: late hunt reports can still change them.
How many caribou do hunters take in Unit 20B?
Unit 20B drew 198 caribou hunters in 2025, 8th of the 53 subunits with caribou hunters. 52 of them took one (26%); 77% of the hunters were Alaska residents. ADF&G's sex table places the 2025 harvest in Forty Mile (51) (herds).
| Season | Hunters | Caribou taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3,365 | 1,400 | 42% | 3,243 | 121 | 669 | 720 |
| 2021 | 2,413 | 951 | 39% | 2,213 | 200 | 467 | 480 |
| 2022 | 1,092 | 107 | 10% | 970 | 122 | 75 | 32 |
| 2023 | 417 | 36 | 9% | 355 | 62 | 32 | 4 |
| 2024 | 552 | 173 | 31% | 467 | 85 | 173 | 0 |
| 2025 | 198 | 52 | 26% | 152 | 46 | 52 | 0 |
How caribou hunters in 20B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: airplane 61 hunters (48 successful), boat 49 hunters (3 successful), highway vehicle 41 hunters (0 successful) and snowmachine 24 hunters (0 successful).
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, caribou, reports 330 (success by residency), 130 (sex of the harvest) and 390 (transportation), regulatory years 2020 to 2025. A regulatory year runs July 1 to June 30. ADF&G labels these reports interim: late hunt reports can still change them.
How many Dall sheep do hunters take in Unit 20B?
Unit 20B drew 5 sheep hunters in 2025, 26th of the 34 subunits with sheep hunters. 1 of them took one (20%); 100% of the hunters were Alaska residents. ADF&G's sex table places the 2025 harvest in Tanana Hills - White Mountains (1) (mountain ranges).
| Season | Hunters | Dall sheep taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 9 | 0 | 0% | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 1 | 13% | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 1 | 9% | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 20% | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
How sheep hunters in 20B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: airplane 2 hunters (1 successful), airboat 1 hunters (0 successful), boat 1 hunters (0 successful) and offroad vehicle 1 hunters (0 successful).
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, sheep, reports 330 (success by residency), 130 (sex of the harvest) and 390 (transportation), regulatory years 2020 to 2025. A regulatory year runs July 1 to June 30. ADF&G labels these reports interim: late hunt reports can still change them.
What drawing hunts reach Unit 20B?
Every ADF&G drawing hunt whose area includes Unit 20B, with ADF&G's results of its last three drawings. "% drawn" is ADF&G's own figure; one hunter can send several applications.
| Hunt | Species | Hunt area | Applications, 2025 | Permits, 2025 | % drawn, 2025 | % drawn, 2024 | % drawn, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM788 | moose | Unit 20B, Fairbanks Management Area (Certified Bowhunters Only) | 1,490 | 113 | 8% | 8% | 10% |
| DM783 | moose | Unit 20B, Richardson (By bow and arrow, crossbow or muzzleloader only; Residents Only) | 1,194 | 50 | 4% | 5% | 4% |
| DM786 | moose | Unit 20B, Fairbanks Management Area (Certified Bowhunters Only; Qualified Disabled Veterans and Qualified Disabled Active Duty Military Only) | 254 | 37 | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| DM789 | moose | Unit 20B, Creamers Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (Certified Muzzleloader Hunters Only) | 204 | 10 | 5% | 5% | 4% |
| DM784 | moose | Unit 20B, Minto Flats Management Area (Nonresidents Only) | 198 | 8 | 4% | 6% | 6% |
Source: ADF&G Drawing Permit Hunt Supplements, "Results of the Permit Hunt Drawing" for 2023, 2024, 2025. Hunt areas: ADF&G's hunting maps list of drawing hunts.
Who manages the land in Unit 20B?
USGS PAD-US maps 81.2% of Unit 20B as public or tribal land. By manager:
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| State of Alaska | 4,555,809 | 78.2% |
| Bureau of Land Management | 116,429 | 2% |
| Other federal land | 53,337 | 0.9% |
| Not in PAD-US | 1,097,296 | 18.8% |
Named areas inside 20B: State Patented (1,613,795 acres, 27.7%), State Tentatively Approved (1,303,217 acres, 22.4%), Tanana Valley State Forest (738,124 acres, 12.7%), Minto Flats State Game Refuge (364,508 acres, 6.3%), Chena River State Recreation Area (241,948 acres, 4.2%), State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal (144,230 acres, 2.5%), State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes (103,357 acres, 1.8%) and BLM Central Yukon Field Office (85,300 acres, 1.5%).
Source: USGS PAD-US 4.1, fee land by manager, measured inside ADF&G's boundary by FilledTag.
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.
Which areas of Unit 20B have special restrictions?
- Fairbanks Management Area (management area): (B) the area is open to moose hunting by bow and arrow only, except that the portion within Creamer's Refuge is open to moose hunting by bow and arrow and muzzleloader only; (C) up to 25 percent of the drawing permits will be issued to applicants who are qualified disabled veterans and qualified disabled active-duty military personnel; an applicant under this subparagraph must either (i) possess a United States milit...
- Minto Flats State Game Refuge (management area): Minto Flats State Game Refuge 1992 Management Plan, adopted as regulation (5 AAC 95.530), generally prohibits wheeled/tracked vehicles in the refuge. Individuals with private inholdings may be permitted vehicle access on a preauthorized route. However, a General (public) Permit (FH16-III-003-SA-A2) has been issued (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=uselicense.gp_specialareas) authorizing the use of fully trac...
Source: ADF&G areas with restrictions, GMU 20. Read the full boundary there before hunting near one.
What communities and roads are in Unit 20B?
Census places inside 20B: Fairbanks, North Pole, Badger, Chena Ridge, College, Eielson AFB, Ester, Farmers Loop, Four Mile Road, Fox, Goldstream, Harding-Birch Lakes, Livengood and Manley Hot Springs and 7 more. Highways in the unit: AK Rte 2 (136 miles), Elliot Hwy (103 miles), State Hwy 2 (88 miles), Steese Hwy (77 miles), State Hwy 6 (71 miles) and Richardson Hwy (62 miles).
Communities and highways: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and Gazetteer 2024.
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
How many moose are taken in Unit 20B?
ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 324 moose reported from Unit 20B in the 2025 regulatory year, by 2,360 hunters. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count of successful hunters ran from 266 (2022) to 441 (2020).
Who manages the land in Unit 20B?
USGS PAD-US maps 2.9% of Unit 20B as federal land and 78.2% as State of Alaska land; the largest named areas are State Patented (28%), State Tentatively Approved (22%) and Tanana Valley State Forest (13%). The rest is land PAD-US does not list, mostly private and Alaska Native corporation land.
What drawing hunts are in Unit 20B?
DM788 (moose, 1,490 applications in 2025), DM783 (moose, 1,194 applications in 2025), DM786 (moose, 254 applications in 2025), DM789 (moose, 204 applications in 2025) and DM784 (moose, 198 applications in 2025), by ADF&G's results of the 2025 drawing.
Do nonresidents need a guide in Unit 20B?
For Dall sheep, hunted in Unit 20B, yes: ADF&G requires nonresidents to be accompanied by an Alaska-licensed guide or an Alaska resident relative 19 or older within the second degree of kindred for brown bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat. Nonresidents who are not U.S. citizens need a guide for all big game.
Are there closed or controlled use areas in Unit 20B?
Yes. ADF&G lists Fairbanks Management Area and Minto Flats State Game Refuge in Unit 20B.
Get an Alaska hunt plan when they open
Alaska plans are not open yet. They are coming soon. Join the waiting list; the first 50 hunters get one plan free.
Use the map while you wait for your plan.
Where these numbers come from
- Harvest, hunters and success: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, interim, regulatory years 2020 to 2025; each table checked against ADF&G's printed totals.
- Drawing results: ADF&G 2026-2027 Drawing Permit Hunt Supplement and the two before it. Restrictions: ADF&G areas with restrictions.
- Boundary: ADF&G Game Management Subunits. Land: USGS PAD-US. Communities and highways: U.S. Census Bureau.
FilledTag is not part of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. ADF&G's regulations and emergency orders are the final word.
Alaska hunting Unit 20 Unit 20A Unit 20C Unit 20D Unit 20E Unit 20F Unit 25C