Animal populations around the state

From a wildlife and fisheries perspective, we’re not doing all that well in Alaska right now. ADF&G says we probably won’t see catchable king salmon numbers for another decade or so. Coho salmon returning numbers are notoriously hard to predict but have been below normal for the last few years. Many folks think moose numbers in unit 14A are low but, actually, the population has dropped back into the “normal” carrying capacity range for the habitat. The population was well beyond the high end of the carrying capacity range for a number of years.

I was in a conversation with a friend recently who told me he had been speaking with a retired ADF&G wildlife biologist who stated that caribou numbers were down all over the state. We don’t need to look any further than the Nelchina herd to see this situation. Hunting has been reduced or eliminated recently. The same is true for the Fortymile caribou herd too. If you’ve been following the news, a controversy has been brewing about predator control for the Mulchatna caribou herd in western Alaska.

For the past two years, ADF&G has been implementing a predator control program to reduce the numbers of both black and brown bears, as well as wolves, killing Mulchatna caribou calves during the spring birthing period. This was done through private aerial wolf control and department employees shooting from helicopters. Over the past two years, about 200 bears, mostly grizzlies, and about 20 wolves have been taken from the area.

The Mulchatna herd had peaked at around 200,000 animals in the 1980’s and 90’s but had fallen to a low of about 13,000 animals currently. For the herd to grow and return to what is considered a healthy number of 30,000 to 80,000 animals requires a strong survival of each year’s calf crop, which wasn’t happening with current predation levels.

A lawsuit was filed claiming ADF&G and the Board of Game (BOG) failed to follow requirements for public notice in considering this predator control program. Another claim was that the department failed to take into consideration the effects these predator control actions might have on the bear and wolf populations.

A court ruling a few weeks ago found for the plaintiffs and ordered ADF&G to stop the program because it was unconstitutional. ADF&G felt reducing calf mortality to predators was crucial and filed an emergency request with the BOG, meeting this last week in Anchorage. The board passed the emergency request on the last day of the meeting and the department is gearing up for their third year of predator control.

The plaintiffs stated in their lawsuit that weather, disease, and poaching were the reasons for the caribou population decline and that predator kills weren’t a factor. I have a tough time imagining that predator kills, especially of newborn calves, wouldn’t be at least an equal factor to the other reasons stated. Further, ADF&G can’t control the weather or disease situations to help the herd rebound. The one thing they can influence is predator kills.

The department is moving ahead with their plans for predator control as we speak. I’m sure there will be another lawsuit to stop this program, but I don’t see it stopping this year’s predator control program. ADF&G has stated they have seen positive results in higher calf survival over the last two years, so the program is helping.

Time will tell if this was an acceptable approach to help rebuild the herd to allow subsistence harvest for the surrounding villages, which I understand is currently either closed or greatly reduced.

Oh, did I mention that by all accounts I have heard, bear populations, both black and brown, are doing well all over the state? That’s the one bright spot in big game hunting in Alaska – if you want to hunt bears, there are no shortages.

By the time you see this in print, I should be home beginning my recovery from shoulder joint replacement surgery. The plan is to do a “reverse” replacement instead of the “standard” replacement I had done on my right shoulder almost ten years ago. When I asked why the change, the surgical assistant told me that things have changed and significantly advanced since my previous surgery.

Even the recovery has differences from the previous procedure. Now, instead of working the joint as it heals to minimize scar tissue, they tell me to let it heal and “stiffen up.” Then working on regaining flexibility begins. We’ll see how well this all works out.