It's been 30 years since hunting restrictions have been placed on Arctic caribou herds, but with dropping numbers in both the Western Arctic and Teshekpuk herds, the Alaska Board of Game had no other option.
Restrictions on bag limits and season length will start on July 1, and will affect both resident and nonresident hunters.
The decision to impose the limits, and which restrictions to implement, was a collaborative decision between government bodies and local advisory groups made up of hunters and other stakeholders in the herds.
The Alaska Board of Game met in Anchorage last week and voted unanimously to adopt the restrictions.
"I would like to recognize the sense of cooperation involved in this decision," Kotzebue wildlife biologist Jim Dau told the Game Board in Anchorage.
"All these villages and advisory committees are willing to restrict themselves, willing to take a hit to conserve caribou," said Dau, who has studied and managed the Western Arctic herd for more than 25 years. "It's really amazing given the importance of caribou to subsistence users, and I would have to say working with the villages and the advisory committees on this is one of the highlights of my career."
In presentations to the board, Dau and Lincoln Parrett, a Fairbanks-based wildlife biologist who closely tracks the Teshekpuk caribou herd, which ranges to the east of the Western Arctic herd, each explained the herds' declines.
The Western Arctic herd is Alaska's largest and, at last count in July 2013, numbered about 235,000 animals, Dau said. That's a decrease from 325,000 caribou estimated in 2011, and well below the 2003 peak of 490,000.
Dau said in December while he doesn't have hard data to back it up, he thinks the change in weather started the initial decline. The last few winters have had low snow levels where the caribou roam, which has been good for mortality rates, but a few bad years with heavy icing or lots of snow can do much more damage than a few easy years can do good, Dau said. And while the herd size is dwindling, the number of predators has gone up.
"Caribou numbers fluctuate naturally," said Dau in a release. "Disease does not appear to be a factor, caribou have generally been in good body condition throughout this decline, and we don't think harvests initiated it. But, if harvests remain stable, they will increasingly affect the population trend as herd size goes down."
The restrictions, depending on the Game Management Unit, included closing bull hunting during the rutting period and reducing the daily bag limits for resident hunters. Cow and bull restrictions vary based on time of year and region.
Parrett lamented a similarly declining pattern within the Teshekpuk herd, outlining the herd's population drop from 55,000 animals in 2011, to 32,000 in 2013, to fewer than 25,000 projected in 2015.
He believes calf survival is a factor in the Teshekpuk decline.
"Annual calf survival is 30 percent," Parrett told the board. He added that, unlike the Western Arctic herd, nutritional stress seems to be driving the decline in the smaller herd. Winter weather events, insects, and range degradation all appear to play a role in the health of animals.
"Predation is a further aggravating factor," said Parrett, "And the risk of predation may even be exacerbated by poor body condition."
A large contingent of Northern residents traveled to Anchorage from Kaktovik, Kivalina, Barrow, Buckland, Wainwright, Nome, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Kiana, Unalakleet, Kotzebue, Kobuk, Noatak and beyond to share with the board their growing concerns and ideas about maintaining these caribou herds.
While there was no real opposition to the restrictions, hunters in some areas where caribou is relied upon took a while to get on board, Parrett said last Monday.
On the Seward Peninsula, access to the herds is limited to winter, precisely the time when the restrictions are in place.
"I think they had to think hard about it and it wasn't so much opposition but they had to take a big leap to get in line with everybody else," Parrett said.
With the Teshekpuk herd in worse shape than the Western Arctic herd, Parrett said they have to really take a step back because the animals are already being overharvested.
But some hunters still maintain that they need a year-round season.
"When they need a caribou, they want to be able to go get a caribou," Parrett said.
A reduction in bag limits also didn't sit well with some, as making multiple trips is expensive so they want to be able to get all their caribou in one outing.
On the North Slope in particular, Parrett said, the restrictions were challenged and entities including the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management wound up leaning more toward self-regulation.
"I think their intent is through education and voluntary reductions to say 'hey, only take what you need' and I think the state basically decided to give those guys a chance to make some real changes on their own," Parrett said.
Parrett added that cooperation and communication are keys to making these restrictions work and ultimately to restore healthy caribou numbers.
"The regular public is going to have to get involved," he said. "As a manger I want to maximize the limited harvest that we have available but I need to know what people are doing. That's going to be a new level of engagement for the general public, but I'm looking forward to it and I think we can do it."
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.