Nelchina caribou are finally beginning to cross the Richardson Highway. Spring is progressing slowly, with snow still deep on their calving grounds in the northern Talkeetna Mountains. That raises the specter of 2013, when many caribou calved short of the normal location while still on the move. Calf mortality was high.
But calf survival has been good for the herd this past winter. Low snow conditions almost everywhere, except Denali Highway country, made winter easier than normal. Nelchina caribou travel far between their summer range in the Alaska Range and the Talkeetna Mountains and their winter habitat near the Canadian border.
Nelchina is a large herd, some 35-40,000 animals. They need room to roam. During the winter, caribou feed primarily on slow-growing lichen, commonly called "caribou moss." A sizeable caribou herd can decimate an area for years. Caribou can smell lichen under the snow, as long as the snow isn't too deep, so they know where to dig. They also eat sedges, dwarf birch and some willow during winter months. It takes a lot of country to feed 40,000 animals.
Smaller Macomb herd
Another herd often found near the road is the Macomb caribou herd that roams near Delta Junction. It ranges from the Delta River east to the Robertson River near Tok. Calving grounds are on the Macomb Plateau south of the Alaska Highway between Delta Junction and Tok. The herd's winter range depends on snow cover, but the animals are commonly seen from August to May on Donnelly Flats, 15 miles south of Delta.
The Macomb herd is much smaller than the Nelchina herd, with fewer than 1,000 animals. However, in 2006, herd number increased dramatically to nearly 1,500 caribou. No one seems to know exactly where the extra animals came from. It is possible that a portion of the Nelchina herd wandered through Isabel Pass and joined up with the Macomb herd. There have been several winters in the past decade when caribou from south were seen far up in the pass, north of Alyeska's Pump Station 10 on the trans-Alaska Pipeline.
From there, it is a short hop over into the headwaters of the Jarvis River, which is the northern edge of the Macomb herd's range. This herd isn't the far-ranging caribou herd that comes to mind when many people think of caribou. Travel from summer calving to winter-feeding grounds is generally less than 50 miles.
In my experience, this herd seems to depend less on lichen and more on dwarf birch than other herds. Up to 100 animals commonly winter on the Donnelly Flats, and they feed almost exclusively on birch during the winter.
There are a few caribou that do not travel to the normal calving grounds on the Macomb Plateau, choosing to calve near the Donnelly Flats. These caribou stay relatively safe; while a few wolves pass through the area, and an occasional grizzly, there is no hunting for caribou allowed in Unit 20D west of Jarvis Creek.
Harvest of 70 caribou sought
The remainder of Unit 20D, which encompasses the Macomb herd's range, is a registration hunt area. The season is short, Aug. 5-27, and for the most part, it is nonmotorized. During the August season, the majority of the herd is found in the Tok Controlled Use Area, which is non-motorized until Aug. 25.
The past few years, about 200 permits have been issued with a harvest objective of about 70 animals. This past season, 52 caribou were harvested. ATV hunters account for most of the Macomb harvest, either during the last two days of the season when motorized hunting is allowed or near the Robertson River, where there are no motorized restrictions.
The nonconsumptive use of this herd is important. If one wants to see caribou on the roadside, outside of Denali Park, drive to Donnelly Flats. Big bulls are common throughout the summer and fall. The huge Nelchina herd is more impressive, but finding Nelchina animals entails a lot of driving and relatively low success.
However, it is easy to spot the Nelchina herd over the next two or three weeks. They are on the Richardson Highway, mostly north of Sourdough. Bulls sport the beginnings of new horns, while the cows have yet to shed. Your best prospects for seeing the herds is during late afternoon when the snow is soft. Morning snow is crusty with frost and the animals prefer to travel later when the going is easier.
The leaves are turning green in Fairbanks and there is new grass on the roadside in Delta, but the snow is waist deep in the Alphabet hills on the way to the Nelchina calving grounds. Lets hope for some warm spring winds to speed the cows on their way.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.