Unit 05B, Alaska

Coastal Gulf of Alaska outwash plain (Malaspina Forelands) backed by active glaciers including Malaspina Glacier (largest piedmont glacier in North America, ~40 miles wide), Bering Glacier, and Steller Glacier. Elevation ranges from sea level tidal flats and cottonwood/spruce coastal forest up through dense alder-willow shrub to alpine ice fields. The Guyot Hills form the western boundary. Bering River drains south 18 miles through ice-marginal lakes (Kushtaka, Ivanov, Starodubstov) to Controller Bay on the Gulf of Alaska. Approximately 60% of the adjacent Wrangell-St. Elias park is glaciated.

No road system access. All access is by floatplane (floats required) landing on lakes, river stretches, or coastal beaches, or by boat via Controller Bay and the Gulf of Alaska coast. The unit is almost entirely federal public land: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (hunting prohibited except subsistence by qualified rural residents) and Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve (sport hunting open). State lands and Tongass National Forest also present in Unit 5 overall. Effectively 95-100% public land.

Coastal spruce-hemlock and cottonwood forest at low elevations transitioning to alder-willow shrub on glacial outwash. Extensive sedge and grass tidal meadows along the Gulf of Alaska coast. Wetlands, bogs, glacial lakes, and braided river channels dominate the forelands. Alpine tundra and permanent ice fields above 1,500 ft. The Malaspina Forelands represent one of Alaska's largest coastal wilderness wetland complexes.

Moose are distributed across the Malaspina Forelands in willow-choked river bottoms and coastal spruce-cottonwood forest. Post-hunt aerial surveys are conducted every other year for 5B Malaspina Forelands; the most recent high count was RY2016. Hunting pressure and harvest are historically low due to extreme remoteness. Brown bears are present throughout, concentrating on salmon streams (Bering River, Canyon Creek) from mid-June through August. Brown bears also forage on coastal sedge flats and glacier forelands. Wolves are present year-round (5 per year, Aug 1-Apr 30). Mountain goat habitat exists in the Guyot Hills and St. Elias Range rocky alpine terrain; permit RG170 covers all of Unit 5.

Unit 5B is defined as the remainder of Unit 5 after excluding Unit 5A (all drainages east of Yakutat Bay, Disenchantment Bay, and Hubbard Glacier). Wrangell-St. Elias National Park overlaps 5B — sport hunting is NOT permitted within the National Park, only subsistence harvest by federally qualified rural residents. Sport hunting (including nonresident guided hunting) is permitted within the National Preserve portions. Nonresident moose hunters must complete the Nonresident Moose Hunter Orientation course before hunting. Nonresident brown bear, goat, and sheep hunters must be accompanied by a licensed guide. No deer season open in 5B (deer: no open season). Subsistence ORV use is prohibited on the Malaspina Forelands above mean high tide on NPS-managed lands. Federal regulations apply throughout NPS units — see ADF&G regulations page 8. Harvest reports mandatory for all RM062 permittees; successful hunters must submit lower jaw teeth to ADF&G in Douglas or Yakutat within 5 days of kill. Brown bear RB090 permits available beginning July 31 from Douglas and Yakutat offices or online at hunt.alaska.gov.