It's not too early to think about hunting season

As is normal for this time of year, events are developing in a hurry. Lots of outdoor activities are happening, it seems, all at the same time. Here are some examples.

The monthly Bang ‘n Clang shooting match at Birchwood is scheduled for this coming Saturday. I’m hoping to attend since I’ve missed the last several matches. These shoots usually start around 10 AM with arrival at the range around 9 AM. Also, on June 17, there will be a Schuetzen/Benchrest match at B range starting at 9 AM. There will be a center fire event at 200 yards and a .22 long rifle event at 100 yards. Both matches can be shot with 22 long rifle-caliber rifles. For more information on either the Bang ‘n Clang or the Schuetzen matches, contact Somerset Jones at 907-688-6892.

It doesn’t seem like it, but the upcoming hunting season is not too far in the future. Permits for mountain goat registration hunt RG364 in Game Management Unit 15C (on the Kenai Peninsula) will be available June 14, 2023, in Seldovia, AK from 10AM to 12PM or until all permits are issued. Permits will be issued at the Seldovia Pavilion overlooking the harbor. Permits must be picked up in person and will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. RG364 is open to Alaska residents only. Ten permits will be issued for the hunt.

Since Valley hunters and anglers tend to range everywhere in Alaska, the following is quoted from an ADF&G news release and might be of interest. “In March 2023, the Alaska Board of Game approved and directed the Department to implement a revised Intensive Management Program to increase abundance of the Mulchatna Caribou Herd, which has been closed to hunting since fall 2021. This herd peaked at approximately 200,000 animals in 1997 and then declined to just over 12,000 (~96% decline) by 2017 and remained at that level since then.”

“During the peak, this herd provided up to 4,770 caribou for local communities, and resident and nonresident hunters. Recognizing that there are 48 communities within the traditional range of this once expansive herd, the public requested that the department and board work to rebuild the herd and restore this source of food.”

“Caribou survival can be affected by disease, predation, harvest, and animal nutrition. The Board of Game reasoned that addressing predation is something that can be addressed now. Wolf control by the public, using aerial methods authorized by the Board of Game, has been active during winter since 2012. Even as approved areas for wolf control have expanded, the herd size decreased to its current low level and calf summer survival has been poor.”

“Both bears and wolves have been identified by research as important factors causing low calf survival and potentially limiting the ability of the herd to increase. The board revised the existing wolf control program to include bears and wolves specifically on the caribou calving grounds. Reducing the number of bears and wolves was a logical step in adaptive management to determine if summer calf survival can be improved.”

“While there are other factors to consider with the herds’ decline (e.g., habitat capability, disease), predator control is an immediate tool the department can use to attempt to reverse the herds’ decline. The spring portion of this Intensive Management effort was accomplished by department staff. The objective was to have experienced staff locate and take predators within an area defined as the calving grounds of the western subgroup.”

“This control program is specifically designed as an effort to enhance calf survival. The program has not expanded outside the western calving ground. Predator reduction activities were conducted on state land only. A total of 94 brown bears, five black bears, and five wolves have been removed. The program has concluded for the season….”

“The Department does not have population concerns for these removals of bears and wolves. Bear and wolf populations are healthy in western Alaska. The removals of wolves and bears in the western spring calving control area are occurring in a relatively small area that is surrounded by healthy, intact habitat in State and Federal lands where control activities are not occurring. Those areas are refugia from the spring control activities for predator populations. Based on prior research, full recovery to pre-treatment levels is expected within a few years once the reduction activities have been completed, which is anticipated to occur from a combination immigration of predators into the area and reproduction.”