Unusual winter benefits wildlife

MAT-SU -- While snowmachiners and skiers have spent the past weeks mourning the lack of snow, the Valley's wilder critters haven't had as much to complain about.

This peculiar winter, with its late snow and unseasonably warm temperatures, may have been a blessing for local moose, bears and even salmon and trout, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game experts.

"It's certainly helping the moose," said Nick Cassara, a wildlife technician at the Palmer office of Fish and Game. With barely enough snow for skiers even as high as Hatcher Pass, Cassara said moose are continuing to find easy meals even in the upper elevations.

"And that is where they find the best feed in post-rut areas," Cassara said.

Valley drivers have probably noticed fewer moose along local roadways compared to most winters. Usually this time of year, the long-legged ungulates are forced out of the mountains by deep snow.

"This year, they're still there," Cassara said. "It's good for the bulls, which have expended an incredible amount of energy during the rut … and it's also good for the calves. There's no stress on them nutritionally and weather wise."

It isn't clear what the long-term affect of this winter will be, and Cassara said the lack of snow prevented Fish and Game from flying its normal fall moose counts. But for now, moose appear to be staying fat and happy in the highlands.

Bears are also extending their fall habits into the mild winter. The Palmer Fish and Game office is continuing to seal bears harvested just in the past few weeks, considerably later than usual. This means bears are postponing their hibernation.

Cassara said he suspects sows and cubs probably retreated into their dens about on schedule, but the boars may be staying out later because they can continue to browse for food. On the Kenai Peninsula, according to a recent Anchorage Daily News article, biologists flying over dens are observing bears sticking their heads out for a look around.

"If we had snow, they'd be sleeping," a Fish and Game biologist said.

If bears are still up and around, does this mean they are expending energy they would normally conserve by hibernating? Cassara said this probably isn't a concern -- the only reason bears would still be out and about is because they can find something to eat.

For bears and other animals that hibernate, the key this year, too, isn't just the lack of snow but the mild temperatures. Snow insulates dens and keeps sleeping animals warm.

"If it was no snow and 20 below, it would probably be disadvantageous," Cassara said. "But the temperatures have been so mild."

As long as the snow and cold arrive around the same time, denned animals should sleep well for the rest of the winter.

Mammals might not be the only beneficiaries of the so-far mild winter. Rainbow trout and other fish are continuing to enjoy well-oxygenated water as local waterways remain unfrozen much later than normal. And the future 50-pound king salmon may also be faring better. Cassara said one of the most significant hardships for salmon eggs and juveniles is freezing gravel in streambeds. So far this year, local creeks and rivers are not freezing that deep, if at all.

In addition to making life easier for familiar wildlife, this bizarre weather may even be welcoming new critters to the area. A Sitka blacktailed deer was spotted near Potter Marsh last weekend. Fish and Game biologists speculate the unexpected visitor could have come across the mountains from Prince William Sound because of the light snow.

Perhaps the only wild animals at a disadvantage this winter have been those that rely on the white snow for camouflage, including snowshoe hares. Here in the Mat-Su Valley, however, Cassara said the hare population was already not doing well.

"Judging from the number of people who come in asking 'Where can I find some?' I'd say the population has crashed," Cassara said. Typically the numbers of snowshoe hares peak and crash on a seven-year cycle, but the Valley is an anomaly. Cassara said the population peaked several years ago for the first time in what some people say was 20 years and has since crashed.

"We don't know what's going to happen now. We could be going into the doldrums for another 10 or 15 years. We just don't know," Cassara said.

Snowshoe hare aside, this winter appears to be an early Christmas gift to wildlife. Moose are munching away, bears are staying up late and the fish aren't frozen over.

"In Mat-Su, I think it's been a plus," Cassara said of the mild winter.