Alaska Game Management Unit 26B: harvest, draw hunts, land and map
Unit 26B covers 16,332 square miles, by ADF&G's boundary file, in ADF&G Region III. ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 2,316 caribou hunters in Unit 26B in the 2025 regulatory year, of whom 1,029 took one (44%). 29% of it is federal land in USGS PAD-US, the largest piece Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (22%), and 62% is State of Alaska land. 3 drawing hunts reach into it; they drew 10,387 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)National park or monument (NPS)National preserve (NPS)Bureau of Land ManagementState of AlaskaThis unitNeighboring unit lineHighway
| Size | 16,332 square miles (ADF&G) |
|---|---|
| ADF&G region | Region III |
| Caribou, 2025 | 1,029 of 2,316 hunters took one (44%) |
| Dall sheep, 2025 | 11 of 45 hunters took one (24%) |
| Moose, 2025 | 3 of 12 hunters took one (25%) |
| Muskox, 2025 | 4 of 5 hunters took one (80%) |
| Federal land (PAD-US) | 29.2% |
| State land (PAD-US) | 62% |
| Largest public areas | State Patented, State Tentatively Approved and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge |
| Drawing hunts | 3: DX112, DM996, DB987 |
| Communities | Prudhoe Bay |
| Highways | Dalton Hwy (168 mi) and AK Rte 11 (168 mi) |
| Neighboring units | 24A, 24B, 25A, 26A, 26C |
How many caribou do hunters take in Unit 26B?
Unit 26B drew 2,316 caribou hunters in 2025, 1st of the 53 subunits with caribou hunters. 1,029 of them took one (44%); 45% of the hunters were Alaska residents. ADF&G's sex table places the 2025 harvest in Central Arctic (1,029) (herds).
| Season | Hunters | Caribou taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 712 | 432 | 61% | 499 | 209 | 422 | 9 |
| 2021 | 973 | 536 | 55% | 504 | 467 | 529 | 6 |
| 2022 | 1,178 | 622 | 53% | 602 | 576 | 609 | 12 |
| 2023 | 1,596 | 680 | 43% | 830 | 763 | 673 | 7 |
| 2024 | 2,223 | 1,151 | 52% | 1,157 | 1,065 | 922 | 229 |
| 2025 | 2,316 | 1,029 | 44% | 1,048 | 1,268 | 879 | 149 |
How caribou hunters in 26B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: highway vehicle 1,321 hunters (531 successful), airplane 335 hunters (250 successful), boat 315 hunters (101 successful) and airboat 227 hunters (81 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 26B?
Unit 26B drew 45 sheep hunters in 2025, 12th of the 34 subunits with sheep hunters. 11 of them took one (24%); 78% of the hunters were Alaska residents. ADF&G's sex table places the 2025 harvest in Brooks Range (11) (mountain ranges).
| Season | Hunters | Dall sheep taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 62 | 15 | 24% | 50 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| 2021 | 75 | 18 | 24% | 58 | 17 | 18 | 0 |
| 2022 | 25 | 7 | 28% | 17 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 27 | 9 | 33% | 16 | 11 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 36 | 10 | 28% | 24 | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| 2025 | 45 | 11 | 24% | 35 | 10 | 11 | 0 |
How sheep hunters in 26B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: highway vehicle 19 hunters (2 successful), airplane 16 hunters (9 successful), boat 5 hunters (0 successful) and foot 2 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.
How many moose do hunters take in Unit 26B?
Unit 26B drew 12 moose hunters in 2025, 65th of the 72 subunits with moose hunters. 3 of them took one (25%); 100% of the hunters were Alaska residents.
| Season | Hunters | Moose taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 17 | 4 | 24% | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | 0% | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2025 | 12 | 3 | 25% | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
How moose hunters in 26B got to the field in 2025, by ADF&G's transportation report: boat 5 hunters (2 successful), highway vehicle 5 hunters (0 successful), airboat 1 hunters (0 successful) and airplane 1 hunters (1 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 muskoxen do hunters take in Unit 26B?
Unit 26B drew 5 muskox hunters in 2025, 7th of the 9 subunits with muskox hunters. 4 of them took one (80%); 100% of the hunters were Alaska residents.
| Season | Hunters | Muskox taken | Success | Resident hunters | Nonresident hunters | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8 | 5 | 63% | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 9 | 8 | 89% | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | 5 | 4 | 80% | 5 | 0 |
Source: ADF&G Harvest General Reports, muskox, 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 bears do drawing permit holders take in Unit 26B?
ADF&G's harvest statistics for the bear drawing hunts that reach Unit 26B count 21 bears taken by 46 permit holders who went hunting, 2021 to 2025 together.
| Hunt | Species | Hunt area | Years reported | Hunted | Bears taken | Males | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB987 | brown bear | Unit 26B | 2021-2025 | 46 | 21 | 10 | 2025: 7 of 15 |
Source: ADF&G brown bear harvest statistics and black bear harvest statistics, drawing hunts. Bears taken on general-season harvest tickets and registration permits are not in these rows.
What drawing hunts reach Unit 26B?
Every ADF&G drawing hunt whose area includes Unit 26B, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DX112 | muskox | 26B, east of the Dalton Highway (Residents Only) | 10,063 | 4 | under 1% | under 1% | under 1% |
| DM996 | moose | Unit 26B, excluding the Canning River Drainage (Residents Only) | 233 | 10 | 4% | 5% | 3% |
| DB987 | brown bear | Unit 26B (Nonresidents Only) | 91 | 20 | 22% | 12% | 10% |
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 26B?
USGS PAD-US maps 91.1% of Unit 26B as public or tribal land. By manager:
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| State of Alaska | 6,475,424 | 62% |
| National wildlife refuge (FWS) | 2,257,274 | 21.6% |
| Bureau of Land Management | 481,006 | 4.6% |
| National preserve (NPS) | 229,679 | 2.2% |
| National park or monument (NPS) | 79,579 | 0.8% |
| Not in PAD-US | 928,851 | 8.9% |
Named areas inside 26B: State Patented (3,307,633 acres, 31.6%), State Tentatively Approved (2,401,173 acres, 23%), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (2,257,274 acres, 21.6%), James Dalton Highway Corridor (922,215 acres, 8.8%), BLM Central Yukon Field Office (363,661 acres, 3.5%), Gates of the Arctic National Preserve (229,708 acres, 2.2%) and Arctic District Office (117,501 acres, 1.1%).
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 26B?
Census places inside 26B: Prudhoe Bay. Highways in the unit: Dalton Hwy (168 miles) and AK Rte 11 (168 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 caribou are taken in Unit 26B?
ADF&G's interim harvest report counts 1,029 caribou reported from Unit 26B in the 2025 regulatory year, by 2,316 hunters. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count of successful hunters ran from 432 (2020) to 1,151 (2024).
Who manages the land in Unit 26B?
USGS PAD-US maps 29.2% of Unit 26B as federal land and 62% as State of Alaska land; the largest named areas are State Patented (32%), State Tentatively Approved (23%) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (22%). The rest is land PAD-US does not list, mostly private and Alaska Native corporation land.
What drawing hunts are in Unit 26B?
DX112 (muskox, 10,063 applications in 2025), DM996 (moose, 233 applications in 2025) and DB987 (brown bear, 91 applications in 2025), by ADF&G's results of the 2025 drawing.
Do nonresidents need a guide in Unit 26B?
For Dall sheep and brown bears, hunted in Unit 26B, 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.
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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 26 Unit 24A Unit 24B Unit 25A Unit 26A Unit 26C