Discussion from the borough fish and wildlife commission meeting

We’ll be discussing a few different topics this week but, first, I’ll remind you that this Sunday is Father’s Day. Remember him with a hug, a phone call, a visit, or a simple night out to dinner. My father has been gone for forty years now and there isn’t a day when I don’t think of him and the memories he left.

I stopped by Greatland Welding and Machine on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway last week to finish some old business with Gary Feaster, the owner, regarding my boat repair from last summer, and address some new business. I noticed a poster hanging in Gary’s office dating from his business opening in 1999. He and his crew have been fabricating metal, building boats, repairing machinery, and virtually all metal-type work for twenty-five years.

Gary and company had survived the Covid years and the rough economy and are still doing the quality work his business has come to be known for. Congratulations to Gary Feaster and Greatland Welding and Machine for providing a needed service to the Mat-Su community and doing it well!

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission (MSBFWC) held an open public meeting last week with the ADF&G Wildlife Division biologists from the Palmer office to discuss the condition of various big and small game species populations found throughout the Mat-Su Borough.

The MSBFWC had previously submitted a written list of questions to the biologists and asked for a written response to each question. I’ll be quoting from the department’s answers and occasionally commenting on them. A big picture overview of things is that we are in the lower end of numbers for almost everything, but there’s no need to panic, yet.

Let’s start with, perhaps, the worst situation discussed. Caribou in Unit 13 had a fall population estimate of under 9,000 animals. There will be no hunting season for them this year. Biologists will be watching how things progress, but this isn’t the first time this population has declined. The bull to cow ratio is okay but calf to cow ratios are significantly lower than normal. Quoting, “It is typical for caribou herds to go through cycles of peaks and declines, and the Nelchina experienced a precipitous decline over the winters of 2021/22 and 2022/23.”

Regarding moose, “Overall (the) moose population is lower now than it has been in a while. The population in 14A peaked in 2017 and we have been intentionally lowering it until 2021 at which point we reduced antlerless permits, and the population is stable near the upper end of the population objective (6,500). In the other units that are managed from Palmer the populations peaked in 2017-2019 but began to decline after the winter of 2019/2020. We then had two consecutive winters with high mortality that reduced the populations. There are no hunts for female moose in these units and the hunting of bulls is not driving the decline of the populations.”

Continuing, “Predation is suspected to be the primary cause of low calf recruitment in units other than 14A. In Unit 14A and all of Unit 16 the population high in 2017-2019 was well above the population objective and was not considered to be sustainable. However, we are currently at levels below what are ideal, and we are implementing practices to grow the population.”

For sheep, “Overall, the Unit 14 sheep populations appear to be tracking what we are seeing with sheep statewide and the decline is not due to hunting or human disturbance.” Biologists suspect weather is the primary influencer on current sheep populations.

Bear numbers are healthy throughout the borough. No predator control for bears is currently happening in Units 13 and 16, and there are no plans to implement predator control for bears in these units. There is an active predator control program for wolves in both Units 16 and 13, with 61 wolves removed from Unit 16 and 176 wolves removed from Unit 13 through these programs.

For small game, both snowshoe hare and grouse populations are near the lower end of their respective cycles. The next peak for snowshoes is expected to occur between 2028-30.

When asked what the biggest problems are for managing wildlife in Southcentral Alaska, the response was twofold. First was the loss of wildlife habitat through land development and changes in productive habitat through ecological progression. The second is, because of the current employee compensation rates, the department is having a challenging time recruiting and maintaining top quality employees to do the required management work.