Alaska Game Management Unit 21: subunits, harvest and draw hunts
Unit 21 covers 43,872 square miles in 5 subunits, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D and 21E, by ADF&G's boundary file. ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 1,291 moose hunters in the unit in 2025, 569 of them successful (44%), counting hunters who did not name a subunit. 60% of the unit is federal land in USGS PAD-US. 23 drawing hunts reach 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 21 compare?
2025 regulatory year, successful hunters over all hunters, by ADF&G's interim harvest report:
| Subunit | Square miles | Moose | Caribou | Federal land | Drawing hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 21A | 10,796 | 61 / 147 | 1 / 8 | 45.8% | 0 |
| Unit 21B | 9,330 | 65 / 217 | 0 / 2 | 63.3% | 7 |
| Unit 21C | 3,660 | 18 / 42 | 3 / 10 | 59% | 0 |
| Unit 21D | 12,093 | 240 / 605 | 0 / 1 | 60.7% | 14 |
| Unit 21E | 7,993 | 185 / 278 | 0 / 1 | 73.5% | 2 |
| Unit 21, subunit not given | 0 / 2 |
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, report 330. "Subunit not given" counts hunters whose report named Unit 21 without a subunit.
How has moose hunting in Unit 21 changed since 2020?
| Season | Hunters | Successful | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,106 | 549 | 50% |
| 2021 | 1,254 | 617 | 49% |
| 2022 | 1,116 | 548 | 49% |
| 2023 | 1,291 | 541 | 42% |
| 2024 | 1,330 | 651 | 49% |
| 2025 | 1,291 | 569 | 44% |
All subunits of Unit 21 and the reports without a subunit, added from ADF&G's report 330.
Which drawing hunts in Unit 21 draw the most applications?
| Hunt | Species | Hunt area | Applications, 2025 | % drawn, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM830 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 895 | 1% |
| DM837 | moose | Unit 21E | 884 | 5% |
| DX080 | muskox | Units 21D and 24D | 698 | under 1% |
| DM816 | moose | Unit 21D, Yuki/Bishop Creek drainages | 440 | 6% |
| DM806 | moose | Unit 21B, lower Nowitna River Corridor | 285 | 3% |
| DM817 | moose | Unit 21D, Nulato River/Kaiyuh Flats | 282 | 11% |
| DM810 | moose | Unit 21B, upper Nowitna Corridor | 263 | 4% |
| DM818 | moose | Unit 21D, Papa Willie Creek | 255 | 10% |
| DM828 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 205 | 5% |
| DM829 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 172 | 1% |
| DM802 | moose | Unit 21B, east of the Nowitna River Corridor | 170 | 39% |
| DM820 | moose | Unit 21D, Gisasa/Kateel River drainages | 157 | 10% |
| DM809 | moose | Unit 21B, upper Nowitna Corridor | 113 | 3% |
| DM814 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage | 109 | 15% |
| DM827 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 108 | 1% |
| DM808 | moose | Unit 21B, west of the Nowitna River Corridor | 91 | 86% |
| DM839 | moose | Unit 21E | 75 | 24% |
| DM805 | moose | Unit 21B, lower Nowitna River Corridor | 73 | 3% |
| DM815 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage | 19 | 11% |
| DM811 | moose | Unit 21B, upper Nowitna Corridor | 6 | 100% |
| DM825 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 6 | 17% |
| DM823 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River | 1 | 100% |
| DM819 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage | 0 | 0% |
Source: ADF&G Results of the 2025 Permit Hunt Drawing.
Who manages the land in Unit 21?
| Manager | Acres | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 9,098,779 | 32.4% |
| National wildlife refuge (FWS) | 7,679,158 | 27.3% |
| State of Alaska | 7,243,081 | 25.8% |
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 21?
21A (10,796 square miles), 21B (9,330 square miles), 21C (3,660 square miles), 21D (12,093 square miles) and 21E (7,993 square miles), by ADF&G's subunit boundaries.
How many moose are taken in Unit 21?
ADF&G's interim report counts 569 successful moose hunters of 1,291 in Unit 21 in 2025, all subunits together.
How much of Unit 21 is public land?
USGS PAD-US maps 60% of Unit 21 as federal land and 26% as State of Alaska land.
How many drawing hunts are in Unit 21?
23 ADF&G drawing hunts reach into Unit 21; they drew 5,307 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 21 information. Land: USGS PAD-US.
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