Alaska Area Office copy

REFUGE NARRATIVE REPORT

FY 74

KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

KODIAK, ALASKA

0

KODIAK NATIO~AL WILDLIFE

NARRATI EPORT (.

July 1 , 19 71: to June 30, 1974

Gerry c. Atwell •

Vernon D. Berns •

Daniel L. Boone •

George A. Putney

Kodiak· ., , Alaska

'· "!:.;.-

~·

Refuge Staff

• • • • • •• Refuge Manager

• • • • • • • Assistant Refu ge ~ 1anager

• • • • • •• Refuge Mana ge r (Tra]nee) (EOD 9/02/73)

0 • • • • • • Master/En gineer ~1/V ALEUTIAN TER ; (winter only)

Phyllis A. Fredericksen 0 • • • Administrati ve Cler k

Seasonal Emplorees

Daniel L. Boone • • • • • • • •

~· Jack E. Gustafson • • 0 • • • •

Biological Aid (5/07/73-9/01 /73)

Biological Ai d (6/04/73-9/ 28/7)) B i o 1 o g i c a 1 T e c h ' 1 i c i an (6/03/74-9/13/7 4)

Department of the Interior U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Kodiak~> Alaska

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II.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GENERAL Weather Conditions Habitat Conditions

Water • • Food and Cover

Table 1 Figure 1

WILDLIFE

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• Migratory Birds Upland Game Birds Big Game Animals • •

Mountain Goat Reindeer •

Figure 2 Dall Sheep

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Sitka Black-tailed Deer Kodiak Brown Bear ••

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• • Population Surveys • • ••

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Table 2 Table 3

Problem Hunting

Table

Bears Data 4 •

Table Table

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Fur Animals, Predators, Rodents, and Other Animals Beaver • • • Land Otter •• •

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Fox • • • • • • • Weasel • • • • • • • • Snowshoe Hare Tundra Vole •

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Little Brown Bat • • • • • • Hawks, Eagles, Crows, Ravens, and Magpies

Hawks • • • • • • • • Eagles • • • • • • • • • • •

Table 7 • 0 • • .. • • Figure 3 • • • • • • • • Table 8 • •

Crows, Ravens, Other Birds Marine Mammals • Fish • • • • • •

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Sport Fish • Commercial Fish

Table 9 • •

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III.

IV.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REFUGE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE Physical Development • Maintenance •••••••••• Collections and Receipts •• o •

Fires • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Grazing Lease • • Special Use Permits

Cabin Permits • Other Permits

Trapping • • • • •

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V. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

VI.

VII.

Brown Bear • Figure 4 • Figure 5 Figure 6 • Table 10 • Figure 7 • Figure 8 • Figure 9 •

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PUBLIC RELATIONS Recreation Use • • Refuge Visitors •• Hunting • • • • • • Alaska Native Claims Other • • • • • • •

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GfHER ITEMS Figure 10 Credits •

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Settlement Act • • • • • • • • • • • •

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KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

NARRATIVE REPORT

July 1, 1973 to June 30, 1974

I. GENERAL

Weather Conditions

The entire winter of 1973-1974 was generally mi l d with only minimal snow depths at sea level. Heavy snowfal l ac­cumulate d in the mountains during the last half of t he winter, remaining in quantity above 2,500 feet into mid- Ju l y . The snow pack accounted for a more than adequate run-o ff through July and August. Access to the refuge with our Supe r cub (N720) on floats was provided after April 25 when ice left the munici­pal float plane l ake. Low pressure systems, with accompanyin g high winds and r a in, periodically whipp ed the refuge wi th un­usual frequency in the summer and early fall.

Habitat Conditions

Water. Water levels in lakes and streams were s l ightly above normal because snow melt run-off persisted we l l pa s t midsummer.

Food and Cover. Plants which attract bears to the alpine and subaip1ne zones were held back because of the late snow cover. Vegetation on the steeper south-facing slopes became available first and continued to appear through ear ly August as snow banks receded. By mid-August the older and le s s palatable plants predominated and the bears left for l ower elevations.

Adult salmon, their eggs, and smelts are fed on by a variety of wildlife species which include: Dolly Var den char, rainbow trout, Arctic terns, brown bears, bald ea gle s , ma gp ies, mew gulls, northwestern c rows, hair seals, sea lions , r ed f ox, and land otter. Escapement for the 5 species of sa l mon oc ­curring on the refuge was light this year (Table 1) but co uld not be related to any population changes in the above prey or scavenger species.

Table 1. Salmon escapement in the Kodiak Area, 1973 *.

King

1,543

Red

524,711

Silver

15,226

Pink Chum Total

500,392 1,217,350

*Data compiled by Alaska Department of Fish and Game .

Extensive defoliation of willow, alder, birch, an d cotton­wood occurred on the west side of the refuge along a SO- mile stretch from the Fraser-Karluk Lake flats to Terror Ha y ( Fig. 1). Defoliation was most severe in the southweste rn ltalf of this area, particularly Amook Island, Zachar Bay an d t he flats and foothills north of Karluk Lake outlet. By mid- October a blizzard of small moths had hatched; in some locations their numbers were 100/square meter. They were quite tolerant of cold, wet weather and appeared to withstand freezin ~ tempera­tures. Some moths were still present the first 2 weeks of November. U. s. Forest Service entomologists had been alerted to the defoliation and identified the culprit as a geometrid moth (inchworm or looper) Operophtera hyperboreata. The ento­mologists said it was unusual tor th1s species to att a i n out­break proportions.

Fig. 1. Infrared interpretation of insect de­foliation, Karluk Lake. Leaves and green plan t structures photograph red; defoliated alder, birch , and willow are grouped slightly above center of picture. Atwell photo.

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This is the second year of detectable defoli ation . The possible nucleus of the outbreak was observed in Ju l y 1972 about 4 mile s nort hwest o f Karluk Lake outlet. Wh a t appea r ed to be a s pot t y win terk i ll of willow was noted in a 16 s quare mile area. Th is year the ou tbreak f anned out in the direc t i on of the pre vailin g win d from the 1973 locus.

Forest Service representatives state that little mortality of brush and trees would be expected from one year' s defol i ­ation.

Berry production was about average. Elderberries appeare d in lower than normal numbers but low bush cranberri es and crow­berries were p r esent in good quantities by Septembe r and were being utilized by willow ptarmi gan. High bush cranb erries in moderate amounts were available for bears through t he f irst 2 weeks of November.

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II. WILDLIFE

Migratory Birds

Goldeneyes and mergansers comprise the major i t y of nest­ing ducks on the refuge. A few broods of green-winged teal, scaup, mallards, and harlequin are seen in the Karluk Lake area; however, the Kodiak Island Group has little nesting habitat.

Migrating ducks and whistling swans began to con gre gate along the Karluk River by early September where they fe d on Potamogeton. In late October and November they move d on to saltwater bays.

A few flocks of emperor geese wintered along the coastal beaches on the southern part of the island.

A local resident obtained 13 Vancouver Dusty Canada geese in August of 1973 from the Juneau area and pen-reared them. They were released in late June 1974 on the municip a l f loat pond . This was a poor release site as children and dog s were reported hazing them , nor will they be afforded prote c tion during the fall waterfowl sea son .

Whistling swan nests in t he southern half of the refuge were known to have produced at least 16 cygnets. Two cl ut ches hatched the second week of June. One nest at Brown ' s L~ goon

contained 4 eggs that hatched June 12. At a ne st on t he Karluk-Fraser La kes' Flats 2 of 5 eggs hatched June 13; an overflight a few days later reve a led that the remai ning eggs did not hatch .

Upland Game Birds

The pta rmigan is the only upland game bird founJ on Kodiak. This yea r th is species was near i t s cyclic high, being common in the alpine zone and heath-covered flats. One flo ck estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 birds was sighted on November 6 near Grants Lagoon.

Big Game Animals

Mountain Goat. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biolo­gists conduc ted an aerial sur vey of goats September 18 on and adjacen t to the r efuge; 112 animals were tallied. Th e hun ting season was open f rom September 1 through October 30 with most hunters using Terror Lake (within the refuge) as an acce s s point. The sport harvest was 7 males and 8 females.

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Reindeer. In 1924, 32 reindeer were introduced to south­western Kod1ak Island for husbandry purposes (Fig. 2). Because the local Natives were not trained for this endeavor, and be­cause herding was not akin to their life style, they soon lost interest. Efforts at herding stopped in 1939 or 1940 at which time the reindeer numbered about 1,500. After the refu~e was established in 1941 a 20-year graz1ng lease was issued by the Bureau of Land Management to the Alitak Reindeer AssoLta tion. This lease expired in 1964 with no attempts made to renew it.

Fig. 2. Reindeer on Red River flats, June. Atwell photo.

The reindeer range is west and south of the Karluk Ri ver. Approximately 770 animals were observed during a 1963 aeria l survey and 553 in 1965. No additional surveys have been con­ducted since.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game attempted to ne­gotiate purchase of the reindeer from the Alitak Reindeer Association in 1964 and continued to do so through 1968, at which time agreement and interest began to wane. The Associ­ation contended that there were considerably more animals than tallied in the surveys even though Association members assisted in making the counts.

Two herds of 75 and 35 animals each were sighted this fall in the Sturgeon Flats.

Dall Sheep. An attempt by the Alaska Depar tment o f Fi s h and Game to Introduce Dall sheep to Kodiak Island was initi at e d in 1964 with the release of a single ewe at Mink Poi nt in Uganik Bay. Twelve more sheep, including 5 pregnant fema l es, were put ashore in the same area in May 1965. A few days later 7 females were found dead near the release site . Th ey we r e believed to have died from stress induced by bein g c ap t ure d, held, and then transported by aircraft to Kodiak fr om the Ken a i Peninsula. In 1966, Assistant Refuge Manager Bern s and State Game Biologist Eide discovered a ewe, a lamb, and a r am i n the vicini ty of Barling Bay, approximate ly 30 linear mil es f rom the Ugani k release site. In 1967, the ADF&G capture d l b sh ee p , again from the Kenai Peninsula. Only a ewe and male la mb sur­vived to be released at Three Saints Bay. Since 19b 7 t here have been no sighting of Dall sheep on Kodiak Isl and.

Si tka Black-tailed Deer. Little deer morta lit y wa s re­porte d due to the mild winter and lack of snow cover which allowed access to adequate browse at lower elevat ions.

The ADF&G, through a telephone survey, estimated t he 1973 harve st t o be 817 males (70\) and 349 females (30 %) fo r a total of 1 ,166 animals. Approximately 39 percent of th e har ves t came from the Kodiak Refuge, mainly the Uganik Island area.

Deer are occasionally bein g sighted at ~he southwestern end o f Kodiak Island even though the habitat appears t o be marginal.

Kodi ak Brown Bear

Population Surve~s. Brown bear composition counts were conducted with the a1 of a Piper Supercub aircra f t in 2 alpine areas and along several salmon streams (Tables 2 an d 3). In the alpine zone 8.3 flying hours were expended durin g wh ich an average of 17.6 bears per hour was observed. By mid- August bears using alpine vegetation move to lower elevati on s , f eeding on berries and salmon.

The 5 salmon streams used to sample bear populat ions were: the Sturgeon River, Red River, Connecticut Creek, Pi nne ll Creek and Dog Salmon Creek. During a total of 4.6 hours o f surveying 182 bears, or 39.6 per hour, were tallied.

The percentage of yearlings in both the alpine and stream counts remained low again this year. The reason f o r t h i s drop is not known. The only cub or yearling mortality r ec orded on the refuge within the last year was a 3-month-old anim a l f ound at a den. The carcass was necropsied at Washington Sta t e Uni­versity's De partment of Veterinary Pathology and a Shi ge ll a organism was cultured from lung and liver tissue, sugge st i ng the pathogen had gone systemic and caused the bear's dea th.

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) Table 2. Brown bear alpine composition counts, 1970- 73.

1970 1971 1972 19 7 3-~o. \ No. % No. % No . %

Adults 59 43 16 33 11 2 52 80 55

Subadul ts 32 23 14 29 59 28 ) -j...) 16

Yearlings 28 20 10 21 13 b 5 3

Cubs 19 14 8 17 29 1 4 38 26

Totals 138 48 213 14(1

Table 3. Brown bear stream composition counts, 1970-73 .

1970 1970 19 72 197 3 No. % No. % No. % No . %

Adults 43 36 63 32 93 39 100 55

Subadul ts 37 31 71 37 88 36 47 26

Yearlings 25 21 16 8 22 9 18 10

Cubs 14 12 44 23 39 16 17 9

Totals 119 194 242 182

Problem Bears. A female bear with 2 yearli~ gs was s hot November 9, 1973 on Uganik Island in defense of l if~ and proper ty . Th e deer hunter who killed the bear r ei inquished the hide and skull to the Alaska Department of Fi sh and Game as required by State law. An investigation of the a r ea by refuge personnel failed to locate the young bears ; ho\•ever , yearlings are often forced out on their own at th i s t i me of year and should be able to survive. Earlier, dur ing Augus t, 2 bears were destroyed at Karluk, a Native village immedia tely adjacent to the refu ge. Personnel from the Alaska Dep art ment of Fish and Game investigated both instances.

Hunt ing Data . The f all brown bear hunting season ope ned October ZO and closed December 31; the following spring s e ason was March 1 to May 15.

Good fall weather, combined with an increase in hunting pressure, produced a harvest of 53 bears. An 86 bear spr in g take bro ught the yearly total to 139. An importan t facto r in the increased hunting pressure on the refuge was t he clos ure of the Alaska Peninsula to spring brown bear hunti ng. Tab l e 4 is a summary of bear mortality for FY 74.

Since 1968 a federal permit has been require d to hun t brown bears on the Kodiak NWR. These permits have been i ssued on a first-come, first-served basis and have not been l im i ted in numbe r . The competition for permits in the prime huntin g areas has become so keen that applicants have be gun stand in g in line 8 days prior to t he date of initial permit issuance . This absurdity, as well as other probl ems, hopefully will be eliminated with the revis ion of the permit sys t em in 19 75 .

Hunters have been requested to complete and return questionnaires attached to their permits. The data f rom these questionnaires are summarized in Table 5 and indicate that non­residents are more than twice as successful as residen t hunters. This is due primarily to the requirement that nonre s idents be accompanied by a guide when hunting brown bears in Alaska; apparently the guides know their business.

Bear hides and skulls must be presented to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (or their representative) to be sealed. The hides and skulls are measured and a t oo t h i s ex ­tracted. Through cementum layer analysis of the se ctioned tooth, the age of the bear can be determined. These da t a , which are presented in Table 6, are used for basic management decisions.

Increased hunting pressure has pushed the annua l bea r harvest towards the maximum sustained yield. Next year' s seasons will be monitored closely . In 1975 the revi sed pe rmit system will be implemented, with a reduction in the ha r ves t and an improvement in the overall outdoor experience as ma j or goals.

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Table 4. Summary of brown bear mortalities within the Kodiak Island Group during the Fall (F) of 1973 and Spring (S) of 1974.

On the Refuge Off the Re f uge

Mortality Mode Sex Sub Sex Sub Male Female Unknown Total Male Female Unknown Total -F s F s F s F s F s F s

Sport hunting

Non guided 8 13 13 10 0 0 44 6 7 2 4 0 0 19

Guided 11 36 21 27 0 0 95 0 8 3 6 0 0 17

Scientific purposes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Regulation violation* 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Defense of life and property 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2

Food 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 19 49 35 37 0 0 140 7 15 5 10 1 0 38

*This line is non-add as the bears a re i nclude d under sport hunting .

Table s. Summary of brown bear hunting, FY 74.

Number of permits issued

Number of permits used

Number of questionnaires returned

Hunter success

Resident

Nonresident

Total days hunted

Average number days/successful hunter

Average number days/unsuccessful hunter

Average number bears seen/successful hunter

Average number bears seen/unsuccessful hunter

Number of bears taken

Fall '73

141

106

132

33\

71\

592

5.3

6.5

7.6

4.1

53

10

Spr ing '74

25 6

171

253

30\

66\

1, 22 7

6.2

8 . 1

6.1

4 .4

86

Table 6. Average age, skull and hide size of brown bears taken on the Kodiak NWR, FY 74.

~1ale Female

Sample Sample Sample Sample Sample Sample Ase Size Skull Size Hide Size Ase Size Skull Size Hide Size

Fall '73 5.6 yr 17 23-4/16" 17 7'8-1/2" 19 7.2 yr 30 21-7/16" 30 7' 3'' 33

Spring '74 7.2 yr 46 23-12/16" 46 7'7-3/4" 49 9.2 yr 33 22" 34 6'11" 37

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Fur Animals, Predators, Rodents, and Other Animals

Beaver, Beaver are distributed throughout the refuge and are present in all the larger drainages, Only in the extreme headwaters located in the precipitous mount ain country are these anima ls excluded, For some unknown reason heaver have not moved into the Karl uk Lake drainage althou gh they a re present on tributary streams to the Karluk River. In addition , they are active j ust across a low divide separatin g the Karluk Lake drainage from Dog Salmon Creek,

Beaver populations farther than 4-5 miles from the coast are seldom trapped because walking is difficult and the use of cross country vehicles is prohibited.

Land Otter. As with beaver, trapping is largely accomplish ­ed along the coast and in this case often right on the beach . Otter sign is common on most streams.

Fox. Foxes are seen periodically throughout the year , usuarry-on beaches of bays and the larger lakes. Twice during brown bear aerial surveys in early August foxes were observed "dogging" bears along salmon streams by only a few feet, probably in anticipation of acquiring leftover tidbits. Arctic foxes commonly follow polar bears on the pack ice, t heir tracks plying identical routes for miles, so it is not surprising that the red fox occasionally acts the same way.

Tundra vole numbers have increased markedly this year , a fact which should benefit Kodiak's foxes.

Weasel. The "high" of tundra voles will be of special value to weasels, a spec ies that is especially dependent on these rodents.

Snowshoe Hare. Nos t suitable hare habitat was ocutp ied by moderate numbers.

Tundra Vole. As reported earlier, there was a r emarkable upserge 1n voles during the summer of 1973. Runway s , burrows , diggings, droppings, cuttings, and the animals thems elves we re frequently in sight from sea level to 3,300 feet, These critters do well even in the alpine zone where grasses, sedges , and £orbs are available.

One interesting aspect of the high vole population is i ts relation to bears. Bears not only catch an occasional vole as a cho ice taste treat but also benefit from this animal's propensity to cache food for winter use. A bear ( #2-73) r adio ­collared October 9 was kept under surveillance as part of a predenning study. Scats voided when the bear was anesthetized in a muskeg situation were repleat with hundreds of miniature

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corm-like structures which showed no visual signs of he ing altered from passing through the alimentary tract. Sa mp les sent to the Herbarium Curator at the t~iversity of Alask a were tentatively identified as the bog orchid, Malaxis mon ophy lla. As these plants do not grow in concentratea pure stan ds the curator questioned how the bear could obtain such a supply. Although bear #2-73 continued to forage in the same area for several days we were unable to determine the techni que wh ich allowed the bear to acquire the corms in large numbers .

Some time afterwards, while discussing the hi gh ~ic rotus population with old time bear guide, Morris Talifson, of Olga Bay the answer was learned. Mr. Talifson said when vole numbers swing up, those living on the muskeg will sear ch out areas that are higher than the surrounding terrain ( such as tussocks or hummocks) and there cache supplies of a small white bulb. Bears wander over the muskeg searching out these caches at the expens e of untold numbers of Microtus activity hours of labor. This is exactly what 12-73 was do1ng.

Little Brown Bat. Two or three bats stayed in a covered and elevated water barrel at Camp Island. This wooden and unused barrel has housed bats in the past. Dilapidate d can ­nery buildings offer bats ideal daytime retreats. The buildings at Cannery Cove on Olga Bay harbor a concentration which may number several hundred.

Hawks, Eagles, Crows, Ravens, and Magpies

Hawks. Goshawks are occasionally seen at Karluk Lake, probably because this is where the field team spends much of its ground time.

Eagles. Production per active bald eagle nest wa s deter­mined for 2 predetermined sample areas censused twice annual ly. Of 57 active nests observed in ~lay, 41 were relocate d in August. Twenty of these nests were active and cont ained a total of 29 eaglets or 1.4 young per active nest. Pr oduc tion comparisons for the past 7 years are presented in Table 7.

By early November bald eagles were congregating at Ka rluk Lake in response to late beach spawning red salmon (Fi g. 3). The 30 mile shoreline count by skiff took longer this year be­cause of moderate wave action and temperatures in the 20 ' s . Seventy-six eagles were tallied (Table 8).

Bald eagles were observed both perched and huntin g in the alpine zone in July and August by the field team wor king on the brown bear hab itat study. Although it was assumed these birds were hunting ptarmigan, no kills were noted.

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Table 7. Eaglets fledged per successful nest.

Number of Nests Total Number Young With Fledglings Number Per Successful

In July or August Fledglings Nest

1965 19 26 1.4

1966 24 38 1.6

1967 37 63 1.7

1968 24 42 1.7

1970 22 24 1.1

1972 16 24 1.5

1973 20 29 1.4

Fig. 3. Spawning red salmon, Karluk Lake. Atwell photo.

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Table 8. November eagle census, Karluk Lake.

Eagles Observed

Date Census Time Adults Subadults Total

1972 Nov. 18 2 hrs. 58 min. 58 (52\) 53 (48%) 111

1973 Nov. 13 4 hrs. 49 (64\) 27 (36%) 76

Crows, Ravens, and Magpies. No population changes of these 3 common spec1es were known to have occurred.

Other Birds

A pair of parasitic jaegers was located on tundra 5 miles south of the mouth of the Red River on June 11. These birds acted as if they were nesting. Pellets with tundra vole skeletal remains had been deposited on several of the higher hummocks in the area.

Five northern shrikes spent several days at Karluk Lake outlet in early June.

Marine Mammals

Mar ine mammals in Alaska for which the Department o f the Interior is responsible include: the polar bear, se a otter, and walrus. Of these 3 species only the sea otter occurs occ asionally in the bays adjacent to the refuge.

Both se a lions and seals are harvested by Nati ves from the outlyin g vil lages. The number of these animals taken fo r food and/or hides was not high this year.

Fish

Sport Fish. Karluk River, which flows 20 mile s from the outlet of Ka rluk Lake to Karluk Lagoon, continues to prov ide a major part o f the refuge's sport fishing. Access is via a ircraft capable of l anding on the river at Portage or by raft from Karluk Lake af ter chartering a float-equipped or amphibious plane from Kodiak. A 2 mile overland trail originating at the head of Larsen Bay provides access from salt water. King salmon draw the most fishermen with angling for this species at its best from mid-June through mid-July. Silver salmon are present in Septemher and October but steelhead is the most sought after species in the

) fall until fre e ze up precludes fishing someti me i n early November . Doll y Varden trout are available t h r o ughout the year in large numbers.

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It i s estimate d that the number of people using th~

natural resources associated with the river i s incrcd~ing by 2 0\ annually.

Commerc i al Fi sh. The staf f is not direct !)' in\ o lved in management of t he commerci a l fishery; however. most of Kodiak Island's s a lmon spawnin g groun ds lie within the r efuge . These fishes act as fo od for a variety of wildlife f orms as i,Ji cated previously.

Kodiak's economy is based on the commercial fishing i n ­dustry which includes monies generated from herrin g , sh r imp . halibut. scallops. r a zor c lams; king, tanner, and J ungenes s crabs; and all 5 species of Pacific salmon.

During 1973 bo a ts li cen ses to fish salmon i n the kodi ak District included: 373 purse seiners, 54 beach s einer~ , an d 219 gill net skiffs for a total of 646 units. Th e 1973 sa lmon catch compared to past years i s presented in Tabl e 9 .

Table 9. Commercial salmon catch in the Kodiak District, 1960 through 1973.*

Year King Red Silve r Pink Churn Total

1960 1,191 362,19 4 54,213 6,684,798 1,133 ,412 8,235,8 08

1961 864 407,979 28,57 9 3,926,023 518,935 4,882,38 0

1962 1,095 784,664 53,831 14,115,832 794,717 15,750,139

1963 286 407,040 57,011 5,480,158 305,061 6,249,556

1964 1,302 477,938 35,567 11,861,785 932,219 13,308,811

1965 705 283,403 11,433 2,832,723 412,319 3,540,583

1966 566 608,137 64,127 10,591,649 753,815 12,018,294

1967 1,735 308,404 10,354 187,343 226,217 734,071

1968 1, 936 760,348 56,013 8,760,533 749,854 10,328,684

1969 2,241 603,798 35,126 12,492,576 536,808 13,670,549

1970 1,086 915,115 65,326 12,017,740 916,141 13,916,408

1971 926 484, 965 20,7 53 4,369,635 1,546, 985 6 ,4 23,26 4

19 72 1 ' 2 86 221 , 43g 1 3 , 9 3.2 2 , 476 , 98 2 1 , 154 , 66 8 3 ,8 68, 307

197 3 800 167 , 341 3, 573 511, 708 317 , 921 1 , 00 1, 343

...... *Data compiled by Alas ka Department of Fish an d Game. -....)

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1 8

I II. REFUGE DEVELOP t-.1ENT AND ~1AINTENANCE

Physical Development

The old garage at the residence, which was a WW IT 511-

vaged "Yak Hut", was torn down to make room for a Pan-Ahode. The sound lumber was salvaged and used in constructin g an alpine cabin. The 12 x 20-foot Pan-Abode cedar lo g ,,·areho use was contracted to be set up on pilings by Septemher. The refuge staff put in the gravel pad and cresote pilin ps; ho~ ­

ever, the contractor was only starting to assemble the hui ldin ~

by the end of the fiscal year. Painting of the new building will be done by refuge personnel.

The staff precut a 12 x 14-foot cabin for use i~ the Uganik alpine bear study area. The package was flown to the study area via Coast Guard helicopter on June 26 and the cabin was being lived in ~ days later.

Maintenance

Maintenance included minor repairs of outboards ~nd boa ts; cleanup around the workshop and recreation cabins; safety in­spections of heating units and fire extinguishers; and i n­stallation of fire ~arning devices in the residence. The resi ­dence was scraped but wet weather prevented painting .

Collections and Receipts

Ten bald eagles were sent to Patuxent Research (~lter fo r pesticide analysis. The birds met their de~ise in d v.tric ty of ways: one flew in to the propeller of a taxiing C- 1 ) ' l , one collided with a guy-wire in the Coast Guard antenna f1eld, a third was caught in a fox trap, and others were found dead a­long the beaches and road system.

Fires

No fires occurred on the refuge during the year .

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IV. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Grazing Lease

The only active grazing lease is administered by t he Bureau of Land Management. The original 20-year leas e , which consists of 38,000 acres, is due to expire in 107 5. The leasee has found that 1 i ve stack and brown bears are 1n­compatible and now has limited his stock to 9 or 10 goa ts which he keeps on some offshore islands.

Special Use Permits

Cabin Permits. The majority of the 55 permits i s sued are for cabins at gill net sites along the coastal beaches. There are 7 cabin sites in the interior of the refuge us e d by professional guides but these are to be phased out i~

1975. The revenue received from these SUP's amounted t o $1,470.

Other Permits. During the summer mo~ths permit s were issued to Shell (hl Company and Exxon Co., U.S.A. to ·oncluct surface geology mapping. Two separate parties fro m t he Uni­versity of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California also rec e ived permits for conducting geological mapping as part of their graduate studies.

Trapping

Fifteen trappers were issued permits; however, o~l y 7 reported expending a concerted effort: 2 had a comb i~cd catch of 112 foxes, 41 land otter, and 27 beaver, while the remaining 5 trappers reported taking 32 foxes, 29 land otter, and 10 beaver.

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V. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

Brown Bear

Segments of 2 brown bear field studies were co11duc ted during this period. A 3 year investigation of alpi~e !tahitat requirements was initiated in July and during the fall months bear movement and denning activities were studied for t he second consecutive year.

With u.s. Coast Guard l1elicopter (H-3) assistance a field camp was airlifted to the 2,500 foot elevation in the mou,tains between Uganik Lake and the head of the South Arm of Uu anik Bay . (Fig. 4). The tent camp was manned continuously from July 3 through September 7.

Refuge Manager Trainee Dan Boone was responsible for the field work (Fig. 5). Assisting him was Jack Gustafson, a bio­logical aid with alpine flora experience in Colorado. Atwell and Berns assisted with the field work as other duties allowed.

Fig. 4. Base camp for brown bear alpine habitat study. Boone photo.

A total of 99 plant species was collected, preserved, and identified on the 21.6 square mile study area. The ide,ti­fications were verified by Dr. David Murray, llerbar iuM Curator, at the University of Alaska. Seven distinct plant communities were delineated and mapped (Fig. 6). The names of these com­munities and their respective sizes appear in Table 10.

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Fig. S Refuge manager trainee, Dan Boone, examines brown bear day bed in volcanic ash - .Ju 1 y. Atwell photo. ~

Fig. 6. Bi o l o 1cal aid, Jack Gustafso~ , updates a vegetation ~a' while a summer storm ho~ ls just past the canvas. Atwell photo.

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Tab le 10. l'la•1t co•lrtn'tlcs of tnt· alpi·u:· study ar t.

Plan t Communi t y Acre s I' • cen t

Erica ceous knolls and mixed­meade"· hummocks

Willa" fields and subalpine meadoKs

Alder communi ty

Carex -forb me adow

Talus slopes and bare ro ck

High stress xeric slopes

Rocky Carex-forb meadow

5,550

2,647

2,646

1,215

83 7

709

247

13,851 ( 21.6 mi.2)

A total of 164 hours was spent ob se rving 84 famil v

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l Y

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9

6

5

2

groups a~d individual bears (Fig. 7). Their activiti ·s we re coded and p l a ced on fie l d forms for data process ing. ''ear ly hal f the observations were mad e in the Ca rex- for b mea • ;m communi ty which is typified by lush s tands of Care x mac r ochae ta. This species occurs as a minor component in 2 othe r 'Zt)-rtmunl t1es, be ing sought there by bears as well. Bears fed on 4 rliffe r ent pl ant spec i es but at least 80% of the time their errorts were di rected towards c. macrochaeta . Mou thfulls of t he c~t ire

pl ant, l ess roots~ were cont1nually i ngested durin g feed in g sequence s which averaged a half hour (Fig. 8). fe ltitg s now ­banks re leased new growths of Carex t hrough July and in t o August. Use of this 4-6" hi gh plant was most intense \\hen it was 10-20 days old, sharply dec lining thereafter.

Data indicate that most al pine food requirements a r e sa tisfie d in the Carex-forb mea dow communi ty wh ich offe r s th ick stands of c. macrochaeta a sou th-southwest fa c ing s lopes ha ving a good nutrient flush and snowb anks lastin g into Augus t.

A s tudy was continued in the ar luk Lake area t o dete r min e brown bea r fall movement patte rns/ sow -yearling diss ociations , an d predenning activities. Du r ing the se cond week o f Oc tobe r 5 bears were ane s th~Xized with phency clidine hydrochlo r ide i n ­j ected from a proptrf sive sy r inge dart . A helicopter (Alouette) acted as a mobi le s~oo tin g plat form, allowing for a hi gh deg r ee o f animal <;electivity. The bears we re instrumented wit ! in di-

..

Fig. 7. Refuge manager, Gerry Atwell, observes brown bear activities in typical weather encountered during alpine habitat study. Gustafson photo.

Fig. 8. Brown bear (Number 06) feeding on Carex macrochaeta. Gustafson photo.

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vidua ll. ~:clur-~...o~..lcd radio ~..ollars, each tuned t n .1 , 1 ·-re re nt freque n~... . ~ lovenents "·ere monltorcd ele~t ronical l 1 r m a FWS fixed-wing aircraft. In some instances compa c t prr u

1 It re­ceivers were used to locate animals from the gro u h. nc cas i on­ally, visua l sightings were accomplished without ·; - ; ta'1 ce from the r adio equipment. A total of 98 "si gh tin t ", ~: omp rised

of 40 visual and 58 electronic fixes, was obtain ed l' l'lul to mid- Nover·1her at which time the bears were either , t 1r i n their dens.

Of t he 5 animals radio-tracked, data from 2 ar• . rticular­ly int ere sting. Number 58-8, a female with 2 yea r lt'l o ffspr i ng, was in stt umented October 9, 1973 near the Thumb Rive r outlet in to Ka r l uk Lake. Four fixes were obtained th rou ~-,h rad io signa 1 s by Octobe r 14; however, on that date the radio mal fu rh . tioned. When s igh ted 4 additional times between October 14 an (! October 22 th is be ar was still wearin g the color-coded co l l~n. During this period the f amily stayed i11 the vicinity of \- lter Thumb River ent ers Karl uk Ldke, fi ;hi'lg for late spa\\lllll' r ul salmon in th e ri ver and along t he lake sho re. The great· t s i11 gle movement noted was one-half mile to Thumb Lake an d ret urn. When last sighted these 3 bears were on the Karluk Lake beach one quarter mile from where the sow was anestheti zed .

This sow was first captured in July 1968 at Thu1 h Lake. A year l a ter she was recaptured on upper Thumb Ri ver , ag ain as a solita ry animal. Afte r being instrumented \-lith a rad io­collar s he mo ved 9 mil e s e as t to Uya k Bay but s oon ret urned to Thumb Lake. In October 1972 she \\ as ac c ompanied by 3 cub s of the year \,hen re captured nea r Thumb Rive r outl e t. ">he retained her r adio - collar for only 5 days during which time s 1 t wa s elect ro'lic ally "fixed" 5 times. Number 58-8 and her cub s were observed visually on 4 occasions between October 2 S .1 1 Novem­ber 16 \\he n she was recaptured and reinstrumented. Cn 1ta ct was lost Nove mber 23 after 6 fixes.

Tlis bear has sported 4 radio-collars in the l ast 5 years. She ha5 heen located 40 times and with one except io'l as always been in the Thumb-Karluk drainage.

Kumber 4-3, a lone subadult male, was instrumc·lt,!d October 9, 1 9 73 at Camp Point on Karluk Lake. Prior to Novem Jc r 16 this bear was located 19 times visually; in addition, 16 f i xes were obta i ned through radio signals. Two parties of bear hun ters at Karluk Lake saw Number 4-3 on several occasions fee din g at a bear carcass. This animal stayed at the carcas s f r om October 28 through Nove mb er 8 an d then moved 2- 1/ 2 miles e<t t to the Moraine Cree k dra in a ge . On November 12 he moved up ' ra ine Creek. Trac ks in the snow showe d he had visited t he ,len o f bear Number 1-3 (another s i n gle subadult). Tracks at the den site indicat ed that 4-3 had either approached the de n se ver a l times or 1-3 ha d emer ge d and confronted the intruder. Th e

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folloHing day Number 4-3 \\aS sighted one quarter mile ~"urt hcr

up the drainage digging a den at the 1.100 foot co1t 1r . The last contact for the fall wa s on ~ovember 16 when tic fie ld station was closed. <~ that date the bear ~as I ayinr on the snow a bou t 15 yards from the den; fresh dirt ind icntc I he was still digging.

Numbe r 4-3 emerged from his den sometime between \p ril 30 and May 6 (Fig. 9). Although the radio transmitter cea~ed functioning during the winter, the color-coded co llar remained on the animal through the reporting period. Duriq~ t~c las t 10 days of June he took up residence at the Karluk luke outlet weir and utilized early run red salmon as food. Thi hear's record will be continued in the next Narrative Report.

Fig. 9. View through entrance of brown bear den . Snow depth exaggerated by wide-angle lens. Atwell photo.

\I. PlJBLl C REL1\TIO:-.JS

Recreation Use

Be a r hunting, sport fishing, wildlife photog r;q'l · , and rafting are the primary recreation uses of refu ge 1-t , Is . Secondary activities include: trapping, berry pi c' i •1 , ob ­servin g s a lmon runs, hiking, bird watching, and " Just J.c1 '1g there".

Karluk Lak.e's dimensions of 12 by 2 miles make it t he largest inland body of water on the refuge. A 2 -en r L ' l e

amphibious Gruman Go ose flies the 70 miles from muni ·ip a l Kodiak to Karluk Lake in about a half hour under good condi­tions. Access via aircraft equipped to land on ~ater, coupled with s pa\min g salmon, a Publi c Use Cab in, tremen dous scenery, and co h.:entrati o '" nf lHOhn bears and caglec;, caus e t is to be on e of the mos t popu lar wilderness areas on the J c, 1an I , Karluk Lake a ,u.l c"lvirons dbsorb aprroxuately 6,00 0 L ivity hours of recre at i onal us e annua lly. Lven thoug h 1 i t 1)\ most standards , much of this use is localized and warran t~ ~: l ose

scrut iny to prevent spot overutilization.

Refuge Visitors

Professional wildlife photographer, David de n c~ , s pent several days at t he Karluk Lake Public Use Cabin in 11id - \ugust to re sea rch possibilities for filming a television 0Lumenta ry on bear -eagle-salmon interrelationships. If the proi ~t be ­comes a reality he would return next summer under co,tract to Time- Li fe, Inc. for 4-5 weeks, probably concentratin ~ ac tivi­ties in the O'ttalley Creek area.

Hunting

Boundaries of brown bear hunting areas we re sl i' n tly re­align cJ to allow for easier field identificati on by permit tees. A refu ge map delineating the boundaries and coupled to a nu ­merical coding system directed a t the hunting are as was printed as an aid to the public.

Inequities in the current permit system for huntin g brown bears on the refuge have necessitated contemplatin g chan ges . On January 15 the Kodiak staff met with ADF&G perso~nel , bear guides, and officers o f the Alas ka Professional Hun ters Associ­ation t o elicit comments on renovating the system.

Regional Solicitor, Robert Price, said May 3rd t ltat the only approach to the permit system he could sanct ion was a drawing in which all applications, regardless of state resi­dency, would be p laced together and withdrawn one hy one unti l

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a pre determined number was reached. This way there ,,·oul tl be no discrimination between Alaska residents and thos e from othe r states. This i nformation was presented to a mee tinn nf p. uides at Kodiak t--1ay 17. The guides were opposed to a dr a i't~' beca us e it would leave to chance the number of clients (i f i~Jced any) a guide might obtain. FWS personnel present in addition t o the Kodiak staff included: Gordon Watson (Area Direc tor) and Dick Hensel and Marvin Plenert (ANCSA).

A meeting at the Anchorage Area Office conven ed lay 21 with discussion continuing between guides and FWS r ep resenta­tives. It was decided to continue the present perrrit system through the 1974 fall season but attempt to effect .1 chan ge by spring 1975. Area Director Watson told the guide s th~y should not commit themselves to clients beyond 1974 becaus e system alterations might not allow guides the luxury of determ ining several months in advance of a season the number of 1un ters each would contract. The FWS will devise and eval u t l' seve ral permit systems, the most suitable of "''h ich \\l. ll be u l rni tted for publication i'l the Federal I egister as Propose d l'11 lemaking.

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

Statements were taken from several local residents for possible use at ANCSA hearings to be conducted at Kodiak hy an Administrative Law Judge. Larry Coe, Reality (Port} .1·1d ) and Dick Hensel, Native Liaison (Anchorage), along wit h the refuge staff, procured statements in December. Sid Morgan, LF. (Juneau) , spent much of January in Kodiak at the same task.

The hearings are in regard to 7 "villages" th · t the t..Ja t ive Regional Corporati.on, KONIAG, Inc., is attemptin g tr ·tua lify for benefits under ANCSA. The benefits would inc 1 uJ" ". i th­drawal of refuge lands. The HIS did not protest 5 l )•ta fide villa ges which have the potential of selecting about 290 ,300 acres fr om the Kodiak NWR. These vi 11 ages are: Old 'l arbor, Akhio k, Karluk, Larsen Bay, and Port Lions. The pn t ·c:;ted villages, none of which had the required populatio~ of 25 Natives as of April 1, 1970 are: Aiaktalik, Ayakuli~ , Kaguyak, Uyak, Uganik, Bells Flats, and Anton Larsen Bay. Three of these villages have had no residents for 10-25 year s, 2 have 2-3 families summers, 1 had 1 family summers, and the la st had 2-3 Native people as full time residents and several mo r e summers. If these villages all were qualified th ey ~ou ld be entitled to select approximately 368,600 acres from the refuge, bringing the total withdrawal capability to 658,900 acres .

Two of the hearings were held at Kodiak in May: Uyak on the 16th and Kaguyak on the 17th. The FWS, repre sented by De­partment of Interior Attorney John Mdlunn (San Francisco), re­ceived a favorable decision on Uyak and an unfavora ble decision on Kaguyak. The 5 remaining hearings, scheduled for Ju ly and

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August, will be discussed in the next Narrative Repor t .

Other

Two radio-transmitter collars, used for electro~ic tracking of brown bears, were donated to Russian s cien tists. The basic electronic components were exposed on on e co llar which did not include batteries or protective cover i 1gs ; the second collar was a complete package.

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VII. OTHER ITI2 t-!S

Daniel L. Boone, Biological Technician during the summer field seasons of 1972-73, was selected for the newly created position of Refuge Manager Trainee effective September 2, 1973. Initially this was a part-time permanent appointment; it was converted to full-time in June 1974. Dan and his wife, Pat, occupy the Fish and Wildlife Service residence.

Jack Gustafson was employed as a biological technician during the 1973 field season and we were fortunate in having him join us again in June 1974 for the second season of the brown bear habitat study. The plant collection compiled by him during the study is an important contribution to t he refuge's herbarium. Duplicate mountings of all specimens (99 species) were donated to the University of Alaska.

In line with our EEO program objectives, considerable effort was expended contacting Alaska Native organiza tions, academic institutions, and employment agencies in an attempt to locate a Native student interested in summer work on the bear habitat study. Thus far we have been unsuccess f ul.

All refuge personnel benefited from participation in conferences and training sessions during the reportin P period. The staff attended the Alaska Area Conference in Anchorage January 7-11 at which Director Greenwalt and several other outside visitors were present. In January Assistant Refuge Manager-Pilot Berns took the FAA written test for an instru­ment rating; this was followed by instrument training from February through June. Since the training was available only intermittently, it was not completed by the end o f the fiscal year. Dan Boone, Refuge Manager Trainee, attended t he "20th Annual Conservation and Resource Management Course" at the University of Alaska February 25 to March 2 . He als o attended the Northwest Wilderness Conference in Seattle for one day in April while on leave status. Refuge Manager Gerry At well com­pleted the CSC course "Supervision and Group Performance" held April 23 to May 3. Phyllis Fredericksen, Administrative Clerk, attended the National Secretary Association's one-day Spring Seminar at the K'odiak Community College.

An administrative inspection was made at Kodiak May 17 by Harry Doern and Ida Chadd of the Portland office and Area Administrative Officer Ron DeVall. Our last such thorough inspection was conducted in 1969 by Frank Jacox of Portland.

In September 1972 Refuge Manager Atwell initiated work on an extensive environmental impact statement in respect to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's proposed rehabilita­tion of 1,280-acre Akalura Lake near Olga Bay. Through the use of sulfoxide-synergized rotenone, the State's Fisheries

30

Rehabilitation and Enhancement Division has planned a 25-year project to eliminate competitor fish species and reesta l, lish a depleted sockeye salmon run. After several revisions, plus reviews by the Washington Office, Area Office, and otl1er con­cerned agencies, work continues on the document. The editorial expertise of Sandy Dauenhauer, Assistant to the Area Office Environmental Coordinator, has been much appreciated, as has the assistance provided by Roger Blackett of the ADF&G.

The M/V ALEUTIAN TERN, research vessel skippered by Master/ Engineer George Putney, attached to the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge but home·based at Kodiak, returned to Kodiak July 21 following completion of the '73 spring/ summer Aleutian field studies. I~ between drydocking and maintenance periods the TERN was utilized by other Bureau divisions and/<lr agencies with refuge personnel occasionally assisting their operations. The TrRN departed Kodiak March 29 for the Aleutian's '74 field season which carried over well into the next fiscal year.

The metal components of a Russian flintlock were fou,d on a refuge beach (Kiavak Bay) by bear guide Andy RunyJn (Fig. 10). This interesting piece was extensively rusted; even so it was in remarkably good condition. Mr. Runydn Jlre­sented his find to the Kodiak Museum where it is no~ on display.

Fig. 10. Metal components of Russian flintlock found on beach at Kiavak Bay by bear guide Andy Runyan. Atwell photo.

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Credits

This year's Narrative Report represents a cooperative effort of the entire staff, both in writing and assembling .

Submitted by:

Date 3/ Rt:P /7 S" ---;+---~,~----------

Approved by:

-~L.::::::.~~..!...:-~,c.;:;:;:.~~~ ;;::~J ~ Vernon D. Berns Assistant Refuge :tanager

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