I am bothered by the amount of misinformation in this thread.
First, this closes sheep hunting to ALL users. That includes subsistence hunters. The aim is to give the sheep a breather after the rough winters of 13-14 and 18-19 took out most of the lambs during those years.
This is not designed to eliminate non locals from hunting the sheep. It closes hunting in this area to all users including locals.
Second, the sheep population in that area is way down. Neither side refutes this. I talked with the guys at the Fairbanks F&G two weeks ago. They had just finished the count and confirmed that the population is way down. They disagree with the closure, but they don’t disagree that the population is far below recent and historic levels.
I met with Jack Reakoff in Wiseman and to my mind his heart is in the right place. I have mixed feelings about the closure(mostly due to the precedence it sets), but it is clear that he wants to see the sheep in the area rebound and he believes that this will help.
I hiked the area around Antigun Pass and I saw very little sign of sheep. What I saw is supported by what both Jack and F&G are saying regarding the sheep in the area.
I don’t mean to disrespect anyone here, I just don’t like that this usually knowledgeable group is getting some basic facts wrong.