Alaska Game Management Unit 21D: harvest, draw hunts, land and map
Unit 21D covers 12,093 square miles, by ADF&G's boundary file, in ADF&G Region III. ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 605 moose hunters in Unit 21D in the 2025 regulatory year, of whom 240 took one (40%). 61% of it is federal land in USGS PAD-US, the largest piece BLM Anchorage Field Office (23%), and 18% is State of Alaska land. 14 drawing hunts reach into it; they drew 3,347 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.
National wildlife refuge (FWS)Bureau of Land ManagementState of AlaskaThis unitNeighboring unit lineHighway
| Size | 12,093 square miles (ADF&G) |
|---|---|
| ADF&G region | Region III |
| Moose, 2025 | 240 of 605 hunters took one (40%) |
| Caribou, 2025 | 0 of 1 hunters took one (0%) |
| Federal land (PAD-US) | 60.7% |
| State land (PAD-US) | 18.2% |
| Largest public areas | BLM Anchorage Field Office, Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge and State Patented |
| Drawing hunts | 14: DM830, DX080, DM816, DM817, DM818, DM828 and more |
| Communities | Galena, Kaltag, Koyukuk, Nulato and Ruby |
| Highways | None: access is by air, water or trail |
| Neighboring units | 21A, 21B, 21C, 21E, 22A, 22B, 23, 24D |
How many moose do hunters take in Unit 21D?
Unit 21D drew 605 moose hunters in 2025, 17th of the 72 subunits with moose hunters. 240 of them took one (40%); 96% of the hunters were Alaska residents.
| Season | Hunters | Moose taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 547 | 262 | 48% | 530 | 17 | 255 | 7 |
| 2021 | 560 | 242 | 43% | 544 | 16 | 242 | 0 |
| 2022 | 501 | 239 | 48% | 480 | 21 | 239 | 0 |
| 2023 | 576 | 201 | 35% | 547 | 29 | 200 | 1 |
| 2024 | 583 | 254 | 44% | 562 | 21 | 249 | 4 |
| 2025 | 605 | 240 | 40% | 581 | 24 | 239 | 1 |
How moose hunters in 21D got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: boat 559 hunters (225 successful), 3 or 4 wheeler 11 hunters (6 successful), offroad vehicle 9 hunters (2 successful) and airplane 7 hunters (3 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 21D?
Unit 21D drew 1 caribou hunters in 2025, 51st of the 53 subunits with caribou hunters. 0 of them took one (0%); 0% of the hunters were Alaska residents.
| Season | Hunters | Caribou taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 |
How caribou hunters in 21D got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: boat 1 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.
What drawing hunts reach Unit 21D?
Every ADF&G drawing hunt whose area includes Unit 21D, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM830 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Residents Only) | 895 | 10 | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| DX080 | muskox | Units 21D and 24D (Residents Only) | 698 | 3 | under 1% | under 1% | 1% |
| DM816 | moose | Unit 21D, Yuki/Bishop Creek drainages | 440 | 25 | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| DM817 | moose | Unit 21D, Nulato River/Kaiyuh Flats | 282 | 31 | 11% | 10% | 15% |
| DM818 | moose | Unit 21D, Papa Willie Creek | 255 | 25 | 10% | 20% | 12% |
| DM828 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Residents Only) | 205 | 10 | 5% | 6% | 5% |
| DM829 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Nonresidents Nonguided Only) | 172 | 1 | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| DM820 | moose | Unit 21D, Gisasa/Kateel River drainages | 157 | 15 | 10% | 16% | 8% |
| DM814 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage (Residents Only) | 109 | 16 | 15% | 12% | 15% |
| DM827 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Nonresidents Nonguided Only) | 108 | 1 | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| DM815 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage (Nonresidents Nonguided Only) | 19 | 2 | 11% | 5% | 5% |
| DM825 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Nonresidents Guided Only) | 6 | 1 | 17% | 100% | 100% |
| DM823 | moose | Unit 21D and 24C/D, Koyukuk Controlled Use Area upstream from the Gisasa River (Nonresidents Guided Only) | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| DM819 | moose | Unit 21D, Bear Creek drainage (Nonresidents Guided Only) | 0 | 2 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
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 21D?
USGS PAD-US maps 78.8% of Unit 21D as public or tribal land. By manager:
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 2,399,424 | 31% |
| National wildlife refuge (FWS) | 2,295,726 | 29.7% |
| State of Alaska | 1,405,734 | 18.2% |
| Not in PAD-US | 1,638,891 | 21.2% |
Named areas inside 21D: BLM Anchorage Field Office (1,796,678 acres, 23.2%), Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge (1,482,488 acres, 19.2%), State Patented (1,140,567 acres, 14.7%), Innoko National Wildlife Refuge (813,236 acres, 10.5%), BLM Central Yukon Field Office (602,789 acres, 7.8%) and State Tentatively Approved (266,226 acres, 3.4%).
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.
What communities and roads are in Unit 21D?
Census places inside 21D: Galena, Kaltag, Koyukuk, Nulato and Ruby. No state or federal highway crosses it, so hunters reach it by plane, boat, snowmachine or on foot.
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 21D?
ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 240 moose reported from Unit 21D in the 2025 regulatory year, by 605 hunters. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count of successful hunters ran from 201 (2023) to 262 (2020).
Who manages the land in Unit 21D?
USGS PAD-US maps 60.7% of Unit 21D as federal land and 18.2% as State of Alaska land; the largest named areas are BLM Anchorage Field Office (23%), Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge (19%) and State Patented (15%). The rest is land PAD-US does not list, mostly private and Alaska Native corporation land.
What drawing hunts are in Unit 21D?
DM830 (moose, 895 applications in 2025), DX080 (muskox, 698 applications in 2025), DM816 (moose, 440 applications in 2025), DM817 (moose, 282 applications in 2025), DM818 (moose, 255 applications in 2025), DM828 (moose, 205 applications in 2025), DM829 (moose, 172 applications in 2025) and DM820 (moose, 157 applications in 2025), and 6 more, by ADF&G's results of the 2025 drawing.
Do nonresidents need a guide in Unit 21D?
Only for brown bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat: 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.
Get an Alaska hunt plan when they open
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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 21 Unit 21A Unit 21B Unit 21C Unit 21E Unit 22A Unit 22B