Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
(01/04/11 23:27:35)
FAIRBANKS -- The winter Fortymile caribou hunt on state land along the Steese Highway north of Fairbanks will open today, but hunters won't be able to shoot caribou near the road.
After delaying the opening more than a month because there were too many animals near the road, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Monday the season will open in parts of game management units 20B and 25C.
The area to be opened is 10 to 20 miles from the highway, said management coordinator Roy Nowlin of Fish and Game. It includes the portion of unit 20B south of the Chatanika River drainage and the portion of unit 25C south of the main stem of Birch Creek.
At approximately 51,000 animals, the Fortymile Caribou Herd is the largest herd in the Interior. The harvest quota is just 205 animals. Management of the herd is designed for it to grow and expand back to its former range in Alaska and the Yukon.
According to historical accounts, the Fortymile herd peaked in the early 1920s with a population estimated at 300,000, said Rod Boertje, a state research biologist in Fairbanks. The population declined from there, bottoming out at about 6,000 animals by 1973. The herd numbered approximately 20,000 animals when a recovery plan was established in 1995 to rebuild the herd.
State biologists want to see the herd number 50,000 to 100,000 animals. The harvest quota for Alaska hunters for the past several years has been 850 animals split between a fall and winter hunt. Some Fish and Game advisory committees are proposing a slightly higher harvest starting next year.
"We've asked our hunters to hold off harvesting more than 3 percent of the herd for a long time," said Mike Tinker with the Fairbanks advisory committee, one of five local advisory committees involved in formulating the harvest plan for the herd. "Maybe it's time to congratulate ourselves for getting it up from less than 20,000 animals to 50,000 and start shooting more.
"There was a time when we were hoping to get this herd back up to a couple hundred thousand, but without some kind of extreme predator control efforts where no caribou get eaten at all, we won't be going that way," he said. "Maybe we can build them up to 60,000 or 70,000 over the next 10 years and go from there."
Hunters pursuing Fortymile caribou beginning this week will have to travel a route Nowlin described as "rugged" because of the terrain and lack of snow.
"It's challenging," he said.
But the distance from the road and rough conditions should help the department ensure hunters won't exceed the quota and the hunt will last more than a day or two. "In the past, opening the season near the road when so many caribou were present near the road resulted in one- or two-day seasons," Nowlin said. "We chose to postpone the opening date until caribou were more dispersed to reduce the chance of an overharvest, but the caribou haven't moved."
The winter Fortymile hunt, which is divided into three different zones, was scheduled to open Dec. 1. But thousands of caribou moved into the area in late November and congregated along the Steese Highway, making game managers reluctant to open the hunt.
State game managers have been monitoring caribou locations and movements since late November by tracking animals wearing satellite GPS collars and by aerial surveys of the herd.
Despite this week's opening, thousands of caribou remain in the vicinity of the Steese Highway, Fish and Game spokeswoman Cathie Harms said.
"Right now this is the best we can do," Harms said.
The area adjacent to the highway can be opened by emergency order if caribou move away from the road and the harvest quota has not been filled , Nowlin added.
The season for federally qualified subsistence hunters remains open on federal land in the area.
Where to look for more information on the hunt • MAP: Check the hunting area on the department's website at www.wildlife.alaska.gov. • QUESTIONS: Hunters with questions about the state's Fortymile hunt should call a hotline at 267-2310. Hunters with questions about federal subsistence hunting regulations can call 800-478-1456.Fisherman's Choice Charters
No comments:
Post a Comment