Muley, as a resident, hold on to your shorts, I get most of my harvest tickets for free. As residents, we get harvest tickets for most of our game. Alaska has tags for Grizzly and Muskox, but these are also the only ones we pay for, Grizzly ($25) & Muskox ($500), and currently, there are areas where I don't pay for the Griz tag. We do have to pay for the license
though. If I want a tag through the draw, then that's a different story. Most draw tags are exceptionally hard to get, 1-5% chance (or less), and the easy draws generally have access issues that cost an arm & leg. All of our species can be hunted from the road system, either walking in, using an ATV or some other type vehicle. They can be taken with either the above harvest ticket, or a registration permit. This just means you have to go to an applicable Fish & Game office to "registir" for your permit. Keep in mind, where you can easily access animals from the road, then so can many others. Just like in the lower 48, we have folks that love to ride their ATV's, trucks, or other vehicles, up and down the trails/roads, hoping that the animal will just pop out in front of them. Sometimes it does happen that way.
Just because we can access the game from the road, doesn't mean it's the best way to hunt them. If you can't afford other means to access game, then you most likely have no choice but to hunt off the road system. Some folks just choose not to spend money on fly outs and prefer to hunt close by. There is nothing wrong with that, and in many cases these folks get their game by outsmarting many, many other hunters as well as their intended animal.
Sheep & Goats are generally our hardest species to hunt because of the terrain they live in. I know folks who hunt off the road system, but ATV in 30-40 miles, then walk another 20+ miles to get to their hunt areas.
When residents plan their hunts, we have to take in consideration, how many people do we want to deal with. I'll use myself as an example. I don't mind hunting off the road system, but I find I'll have much better luck (greater success)on a flyout or boat trip. I get away from most people, though not all. For me, its worth the cost to get away from people and see the Alaska we live here for, if that makes sense. Like the lower 48, most hunters up here are DIY folks. Most of us don't make enough to afford guided hunts all the time, and if you do, it's much more fun to plan and harvest your game without a guide anyway.
There are a lot of friendly people up here, willing to help out to an extent. Most folks will not tell you where to go specifically, as most have been burned before by taking folks into a spot, only to find out that person is taking other friends into the same spot. Contrary to what the television shows portray, we do not have animals behind every tree. Most of us work hard to find productive areas and generally protect those areas. If folks are willing to do their homework and not expect things on a silver platter, most anyone can find a decent place to hunt from the road or otherwise.
But, most of our species is obtainable from the road, though you'll see the success rate isn't high, and does require much more effort than the lower 48. Oh, and don't forget the now much higher prices for gas, $3.52 today in Anchorage, much higher the further away from Town you get.
I hope this answers your questions.
Take care,
Garion33
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