REVIEW AND APPROVALS

TETLIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Tok, Alaska

ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT

Calendar Year 1990

DATE: 3-/-9/ Refuge Manager

DATE: nager, Refuges & /&~;(~ Regional Office Approval TETLIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE P.O. Box 155 Tok, Alaska 99780

ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT

Calendar Year 1990

u.s. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM )

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge has an active biological program. In part because of public interest in and utilization of furbearers on the refuge, a lynx study was initiated. Here, Wildlife Biologist Doyle is holding Rene, a 35 pound male lynx caught in a soft-catch leg hold trap and soon to be ) equipped with a radio collar. 04-90, TNWR- I 01, WKB )

Environmental education continues to be an important program that the Fish and Wildlife Service in general and Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge in particular can provide to the public. Refuge staff took advantage of the Tok River Fire to provide an outdoor lab for fire ecology education for Tok schoolchildren. 10-90, TNWR-02, LAV ) f INTRODUCTION

The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge was established on December 2, 1980, by an act of Congress (Public Law 96-487) known as the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). As one of over 400 refuges of the National WildlifeRefuge System located throughout the United states, this refuge like all others is managed to perpetuate its outstanding wildlife values.

The purposes of this ANILCA refuge are: 1) to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity, 2) to fulfill international treaty obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife, 3) to provide for continued subsistence uses by local residents that are consistent with the above mentioned purposes, 4) to ensure, to the maximum extent practical, water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge, and 5) to provide, in a manner consistent with 1 and 2, opportunities for interpretation and environmental education.

This one million acre refuge is located in east central Alaska, adjacent to the Yukon Territory border, directly south of the Alaska Highway and north of the Wrangell Mountain Range. The major physical features include broad flat river basins bisected by rolling hills, extensive marsh and lake complexes, foothill areas of the Nutzotin and Mentasta mountains, and two major glacial rivers which combine to form the Tanana River.

The refuge was primarily set aside because of its unique waterfowl values. It has one of the highest densities of nesting waterfowl in Alaska and in favorable years produces about 100,000 ducklings to flight stage. As a migration corridor for all types of birds entering and leaving Alaska, the refuge provides habitat for 143 nesting species and 47 migrants. Spectacular migrations of lesser sandhill cranes and both the tundra and trumpeter swan occur each spring and fall. Up to 200,000 cranes migrate through the corridor which makes up about one half of the world's population. The refuge also has its own expanding population of trumpeter swans and provides habitat for the largest nesting concentration of ospreys in Alaska. Bald eagles are common nesters along the major rivers and shorelines of large lakes.

Big game animals include moose, caribou, Dall's sheep, grizzly bear, black bear, and wolf. Caribou from the Nelchina and Mentasta herds commonly winter on the refuge while small numbers of the 40-Mile and Chisana herds occasionally reach the refuge boundaries. Other mammals include wolverine, lynx, marten, otter, red fox, beaver, muskrat, snowshoe hare, and mink.

Arctic grayling, burbot, lake trout, northern pike, and whitefish are present in refuge lakes and streams. No significant salmon runs reach this far inland, although a small run of chum salmon occurs in late fall and an occasional chinook and coho have been observed. As an interior Alaska refuge, Tetlin enjoys a continental climate with low annual precipitation (10-14 inches). Day time summer temperatures often exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit with nightly lows in the 50's and 60s'. By mid-September, nightly lows are dropping into the upper teens and 20's. Snow can occur at anytime but usually not during June to mid-August. During June and July there is full sunlight andjor twilight around the clock. Winter starts in mid-October and lasts through the end of April. Temperatures from November thru February seldom get above zero and can drop to -80 degrees. This is one of the coldest inhabited places in North America.

As one of only two road-connected Alaskan refuges, Tetlin has the unique opportunity of reaching nearly all the visitors which travel to the state via the Alaska Highway. Visitation has been averaging about 160,000 per year. Access to most of the refuge is by small plane, river boat, or snowmachine. Foot access to the northern portion is available along the Alaska Highway from the Canada border to Gardiner Creek. Stream access for small boats is possible from the highway at Desper Creek and the Chisana River near Northway. Visitors from all of the states and many foreign countries pass along Tetlin's northern boundary every year. This gives the refuge an outstanding opportunity to provide interpretation about Alaskan habitats and the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The entire refuge is open to consumptive and non-consumptive uses throughout the year in accordance with Federal and State regulations. Primary game species taken include: moose, waterfowl, Dall's sheep, northern pike and grayling. Furbearers are taken by resident trappers who supplement their income with catches of lynx, fox, marten, muskrat, beaver and mink.

Permanent refuge staff includes a refuge manager, assistant refuge manager, secretary, fire management officer, park ranger, biologist, pilot, and maintenanceman. Facilities include a leased administration office, garage, and hanger in Tok, four government residences and a leased house also in Tok; a 1700 sq. foot visitor center near the Alaska/Canada border; a bunkhouse and warehouse at Northway Junction; two campground facilities near Northway; three public use/administration cabins; and one boatramp.

The present refuge program is concerned with: 1) assembling biological data primarily with regard to waterfowl, moose, and wolves, 2) developing the public use and interpretation programs with special emphasis on opportunities along the Alaskan Highway and environmental education in area schools and communities, 3) enhancing wildlife habitat through the use of prescribed burns, and 4) writing step-down management plans to carry out all the refuge programs addressed in the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan. INTRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS i

A. HIGHLIGHTS 1

B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 4

C. LAND ACQUISITIONS

1. Fee title ...... Nothing To Report 2. Easements • •••••• 7 3. Other •• 7

D. PLANNING

1. Master Plan •.••• .. Nothing To Report 2. Management Plans ...... • 8 3. Public Participation .9 4. Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resource Mandates ...... Nothing To Report 5. Research and Investigations ...... 9 6. Other • • • • • • • • • ••••• 15

E. ADMINISTRATION

1. Personnel ...•.. . •• 16 2. Youth Programs ...... 23 3. Other Manpower Programs . Nothing To Report 4. Volunteer Program ••• 24 5. Funding ••• 2 6 6. Safety .••.• • ••••••••••• 2 7 7. Technical Assistance ..•.• • • • • • • • • 3 0 8. Other Items •.....•.. . .• 31

F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1. General ...... •• 35 2. Wetlands ...... 36 3. Forests ..•• Nothing To Report 4. Croplands . .... Nothing To Report 5. Grasslands • .Nothing To Report 6. Other Habitats .Nothing To Report 7. Grazing . .•• Nothing To Report 8. Haying . .•• Nothing To Report 9. Fire Management •••••••••••••••• 3 5 10. Pest Control .Nothing To Report 11. Water Rights . .Nothing To Report 12. Wilderness and Special Area ...... Nothing To Report 13. WPA Easement Monitoring ....•. .Nothing To Report

i G. WILDLIFE 1. Wildlife Diversity ...... 54 2. Endangered andjor Threatened Species .•• 54 3. Waterfowl •..••....•... . •• 54 4. Marsh and water Birds .66 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species •• .67 6. Raptors ...... 68

7. Other Migratory Birds 0 0 0 0 71

8. Game Mammals ...••.••. 0 0 0 7 3 9. Marine Mammals ..••... ..Nothing To Report 10. Other Resident Wildlife ••••••••••••••••••• 8 6 11. Fisheries Resources •..•....•. .92 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking .92 13. Surplus Animal Disposal .92 14. Scientific Collections .. Nothing To Report 15. Animal Control ....• . .Nothing To Report 16. Marking and Banding ...... •..•...... 9 3

17 0 Disease Prevention and Control ..... Nothing To Report

H. PUBLIC USE

1. General ...... 94 2. Outdoor Classrooms Students ...... 9 6 3. Outdoor Classrooms Teachers .102 4. Interpretive Foot Trails ..•.. . .••. 102 5. Interpretive Tour Routes ....• .. 104 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations .106 7. Other Interpretive Programs .108 8. Hunting ...... 109 9. Fishing ...... 111 10. Trapping .•••...... 111 11. Wildlife Observation •.•...... 112

12 0 Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation ..•. Nothing To Report 13. Camping .112 14. Picnicking ...... 113 15. Off-Road Vehicling ...... 113 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation. . .. Nothing To Report 17. Law Enforcement •.••..•... . ••.. 113 18. Cooperating Associations ..•• 114 19. Concessions ..•...•...... Nothing To Report

ii I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

1. New Construction ...... 116 2. Rehabilitation ...... 116 3. Major Maintenance ...... 116 4. Equipm7nt ?tilization and Replacement ...... 118 5. CommunJ.catJ.on Systems ••....••.....•...... •...... 118 6. Computer Systems ...... 119 7. Energy Conservation •..••....••••...••...... Nothing to Report 8. Other ...... Nothing To Report

J. OTHER ITEMS

1. Cooperative Programs ...... •.....•...... 120 2. Other Economic Uses ...... •...... 12 0 3. Items of Interest .....•...... •...... Nothing To Report 4 . Credits ...... 121

K. FEEDBACK 123

L. INFORMATION PACKET (inside back cover)

iii A. HIGHLIGHTS * Draft Public Use Management Plan is completed. (Section D.2) * Spring subsistence waterfowl meetings are held in the villages of Tetlin and Northway (Section D.3) * Initial work begins for cooperative study of lynx on refuge lands with the capture of two lynx (Section D.5) * Field work for Phase II of refuge DDT study is completed. (Section D.5)

* Statewide Brood Survey implemented. (Section D.5) * Refuge receives authorization and funding to hire a maintenanceman. Don Carlson is selected to the position. (Section E.l) * outdoor Recreation Planner Lee Westenburg is selected for position at Chincoteague NWR in Virginia. (Section E.l) * summer Seasonals swell refuge staff from 8 to 28 (Section E.l, E.2, E.4) * Assistant Refuge Manager Oliveira is selected for a refuge manager position in the Division of Refuges in Arlington, Virginia. (Section E.l) * Dave Dapkus from the Yukon Delta NWR is selected to fill the vacant Park Ranger position. (Section E.l) * YCC program completes another successful year under the guidance of Park Ranger Craig Perham. (Section E.2) * Assistant Manager is assigned to Exxon Valdez oil spill detail in Regional Office. (Section E.8) * As a result of the State of Alaska being in non-compliance with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the Fish and Wildlife Service takes over responsibilities of game management on refuge lands. (Section E.8) * Refuge develops subsistence hunt proposals for caribou and moose. (Section E.8) * Refuge mini-review held by regional office staff. (Section E.8)

1 * Refuge staff plays an important role when the community of Tok is evacuated because of the Tok River fire. Staff also assists in suppression efforts on the fire. (Section E.8) * Former Outdoor Recreation Planner Lee Westenburg receives two awards for his contributions to environmental education and interpretation. (Section E.8) * Special federal subsistence hunts for moose and caribou are held. (Section E.8, H.8)

* Three refuge personnel - Refuge Secretary Melinda Rallo, Refuge Biologist Terry Doyle and Fire Management Officer Larry Vanderlinden receive Special Achievement Awards for their contributions to the refuge programs. (Section E.8) * Hot, dry weather in May and June set conditions for a 100,000 acre wildfire that threatens the communities of Tok and Tetlin. (Section F.9) * Fire effects studies continue with the sampling schedule associated with several Kennebec Fire Study investigations coming up in 1990. (Section F.9) * 1990 sees the highest waterfowl production on record for the refuge. (Section G.3)

* Actual 1990 trumpeter swan production eclipses the 1989 record year by 102%. (Section G.3) * Refuge trumpeter swans sighted on Washington wintering grounds. (Section G.3)

* Sixteen osprey are banded in a cooperative project. (Section G.6) * Nelchina and Mentasta caribou herds arrive earlier and in record numbers for the winter. (Section G.8) * A cooperative moose survey using stratification and random sample plots provides the first accurate moose population estimate ever for the refuge and surrounding area. Results confirm low moose density. (Section G.8) * Moose trend counts indicate decrease in moose survival. (Section G.8) * Wolf surveys. (Section G.8) * Refuge takes initial lead on fire curriculum development for statewide schools. (Section H.2)

2 * National Wildlife Week is a big success. (Section H.2) * College accredited graduate level environmental education courses taught to district school teachers (Section H.3) * Exhibit contract for interpretive displays is advertised and awarded. (Section H.6) * Visitor center begins first full season of operation. (Section H.6) * Visitor center sets new attendance records. (Section H.6) * Landscaping work is completed at the refuge visitor center. (Section I.3)

3 B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

The winter in 1990 was fairly typical. The "normal" cold, dry weather was punctuated by short warming trends and frequent snowfall to break up the monotony. Cloudy conditions that often brought snow also helped to moderate winter temperatures. Although some very cold weather was experienced, the duration of that very cold weather was short. Snowpack was above normal.

Even though some severe weather was experienced, no significant problems with any of the refuge facilities, vehicles, or equipment resulted, and no administrative leave was taken by any of the refuge staff due to extreme weather conditions. Other than some impacts on field work, it was business as usual during the winter of 1990.

Spring was on the way with the sighting of the first snow bunting March 3rd. Thaw began, and by the end of March there was a considerable amount of bare ground evident. Spring came a little earlier than the previous year. By the end of the April the refuge was 95% snow free; the Tanana River ice went out by April 30. However, refuge lakes remained ice covered until late May. Expectations for a wet spring did not materialize. May brought summer-like warm, dry sunny conditions.

June weather conditions continued to be warmer and drier than normal, which resulted in high fire danger. The warm weather caused significant lightning storms throughout the area, but accompanying rainfall held down fire activity on the refuge. The total precipitation for June, July and August was only 2.98 inches, which was well below average. Due to extended drought conditions, many plants exhibited stress responses, with early ripening and low yields of fruits, and the leaves of some deciduous trees turning by the first part of August.

Cool, wet weather finally became prevalent in September. Precipitation for September totaled more than 2.34 inches, which almost equalled the total for June, July and August combined.

It initially appeared that after the hot, dry summer, winter temperatures would be mild. That was not the case, however. Significant periods of -30 to -50 degree cold snaps were experienced during November and December. December started out at 60 below zero, but by the Christmas holidays we were basking in the relative warmth of near freezing temperatures. Snow accumulation through the fall on the refuge was a near normal 20 inches.

4 Table 1. Record High and Low Temperatures - Northway, Alaska

YEAR MONTH YEAR

RECORD LOW RECORD HIGH

1952 -72 JANUARY 34 1976

1929 -71 FEBRUARY 48 1943

1989 -43 MARCH 50 1966

1944 -42 APRIL 69 1976

1945 4 MAY 88 1947

1947 30 JUNE 91 1969

1986 33 JULY 88 1955

1987 12 AUGUST 88 1976

1983 -6 SEPTEMBER 79 1982

1975 -36 OCTOBER 67 1986

1945 -55 NOVEMBER 40 1954

1956 -64 DECEMBER 39 1985

ALL TIME HIGH 91 degrees June 1969

ALL TIME LOW -72 degrees January 1952

5 Figure 1 TEMPERATURES FOR 1990 TETLIN NA110 NAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 100 90 r- 17 •• 80 ~ ~ v ~ v v P' ~ ~ ~ v ~ v ~ ~ 70 v v v [/ ~ v 60 ~ _,1 ~ 1..,... ~ I/ ~ 1..,... I/ _,1 I/ ? ~ / /: v ~ / '//: [/ ~ / /: ~ {'"""\~ 50 [/ ~ v ~ v / ~ ~ - ~ / /: / ~ / / ·v /. '":> v £:. 40 - c ~ 'V l7 ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ v /'-. ~r..[/ ~ [/ v ~ ~ ~ ~ 30 '~ [/[' £:. / v / ,...... / v ,...... v v '\ /~~ / ~ 0 ~ ~ v ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ II- 20 '/ ' '---' ~ / ~ ,...... ,~~ ,...... ,...... l'7 ~ v ~ ,...... / ~ v v ~~ v ~~ Vi'- ~~ ,...... ~ v w 10 '~ r::t: ' [/ ['\ / ['\ ''\ [/[' /f'~ f:::: / '/ v ~ v ~ v ~ v ~ v ~~ ~~ v ~~ v~ / ~ \0 :::l 0 / I- l' - ~ <{ ~ ~ ~ [' 1'\.' 0 ~ r::t: -10 ' ":\ :::: " [' w ['\' '\ " " 0.. ['\ '\ ['\ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -20 ['\ ' ['\ " " ~ w \ ~ ['-. :\ ~ ~ [' I- '- " ' ...... \ -30 [' ~' t::::. ~ '\ ~ '\ ~ ~ ~ !'.. ~ -40 ....., '\ '\ t'--, \ ~ ~ ~ ~ -50 ..... :::::.. '- ~ '- \ ::::.. '[' ~ -60 ...... :::::.. ~ ~ -70 ....:. -80 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

[771 90 High rs=sJ 90 Low MONTHV#/1Rec Hg f\::-.."''\1Rec Lw C. LAND ACQUISITION

2. Easements

Work continued throughout the year on securing a 1500 foot easement across private land owned by a Mr. Louie Frank for access to a refuge lake. The whole process has become extremely time consuming and frustrating due to lack of progress. Although it appears that the easement will probably be granted in early 1991, what appeared to be a simple and straightforward process will have taken nearly 18 months to complete. Early in 1990, a meeting was held between refuge staff, Gary Moore, the Natural Resource Specialist for Tanana Chiefs Conference and FWS realty appraiser Sue Oliveira to discuss the easement. Realty went ahead with an appraisal for the property and determined that the easement would be valued at $5000 for a 25 year lease agreement. Mr. Frank was agreeable to that figure. Since that time the agreement has become bogged down in both our own Regional Office and the Tanana Chiefs Conference Office. The property to be included in the easement was surveyed by the Division of Sport Fish with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. They have been a cooperator in this project since its inception because of their interest in providing fishing access in this portion of the State. By years end, an option had been prepared and submitted for the landowners signature.

3. Other

The refuge was notified early in February that we might be able to acquire a wetland easement on 60 acres of land that had defaulted back to the Farmer's Home Administration. The particular tract of land was of interest because it had a spring­ fed area which remained open all year round and was potentially subject to development. This area, known as Crystal Springs, is located about 10 miles west of Tok and is a popular fishing spot. Upon close examination of the land status and boundaries, it was determined that the actual spring area was not included and that the rest of the land did not have any wetlands associated with it. A recommendation to not acquire an easement was prepared and submitted to the Farmer's Home Administration.

7 D. PLANNING

2. Management Plans.

Work continued throughout the year on the Tetlin Public Use Management Plan. The first draft was submitted to the Regional Office in late February for internal review by the Associate Managers office and the Division of Planning. In late March, ARM Oliveira and ORP Westenburg met with AM Constantino to discuss the plan and revisions that were necessary. RM Breeser and ARM Oliveira met again with AM Constantino in mid-October to discuss further refinements. A final draft was submitted at the end of the year, with the hope that we will have a working document for 1991.

The refuge's fishery management plan was finalized and signed off by the Regional Director on April 30, 1990. The public comment period ended for this plan in late February. Only two comments were received, one from the State of Alaska and one from the Wilderness Society. Comments from the Wilderness Society related to a further explanation of rainbow trout introductions, the introduction of resident lake trout into other refuge lake systems and planned studies that we were proposing on the affects of prescribed burns on aquatic ecosystems. A letter explaining our rationale was prepared for the Regional Director's signature.

A number of study plans were submitted to the Regional Office during the calendar year:

1) Brood visibility, mortality, movements and plumage class development relative to brood surveys. Submitted 2/15/90. 2) The feasibility of conducting one brood survey. Submitted 2/15/90. Year 2 of a 3 year project. 3) Tetlin NWR DDT study. Submitted 3/30/90. 4) Lynx study plan revision. Submitted 5/5/90. Year 1 of a 3 year project.

All study plans were accepted and approved by the Study Review Board. Funding has been received for projects 2,3 and 4.

The first draft of a wolf inventory procedure was developed by Biologist Doyle for the Wildlife Inventory Plan in August.

FMO Vanderlinden prepared the 1990 Annual Fire Management Plan for the refuge. It contained prescriptions for four different prescribed burns and a dispatch plan. It was submitted to the Regional Office and approved in early May.

A planning meeting was held at refuge headquarters on August 30- 31 with the resource management staff of the Wrangell-St. Elias

8 National Park/Preserve. Ongoing programs on our respective lands and opportunities for future cooperation were discussed. During the meeting, the interagency lynx study was discussed with the local ADF&G biologist. Manpower and funding was available from all parties for work to start in early winter. Also discussed was interagency cooperation for the stratified winter moose survey.

RM Breeser was a member of a working group consisting of AM Constantino and Planners Leslie Kerr and Mikel Haase. The group's objective was to get a handle on the regions planning processes and to develop a format for the refuge operational plans. A meeting summary was prepared for all field stations by RM Breeser.

3. Public Participation

Public meetings concerning the Tetlin Public Use Management Plan were held in Tok on January 8 and in the villages of Tetlin and Northway on January 9. The purpose of the meetings was for the public to provide input into the planning process. A general overview of the plan was presented by ARM Oliveira and ORP Westenburg. All meetings were very positive in nature with excellent question and answer periods. General support was given by all communities for current public use activities. The ideas and concerns that were provided at these meetings were incorporated into the draft plan.

Public meetings were held in the villages of Northway and Tetlin in early November to solicit input for the statewide subsistence meetings that were scheduled to be held in Tok later in the month. RM Breeser and PR Perham provided a background on the current Federal Subsistence Program and explained to the villagers what was expected to be accomplished at the statewide meetings. The villages were encouraged to participate and to provide comments either at the meeting or directly to the Federal Subsistence Board. RM Breeser also gave an overview of the upcoming subsistence seasons for moose and caribou that would be occurring on the refuge.

5. Research and Investigations

Winter and summer movements and predation rates of a wolves on the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. A request was made in August to the Regional Office for assistance digitizing and analyzing home range characteristics from the winter wolf study to be used for comparison with the summer wolf study. A negative response was received in January. It is obvious from the number of requests we received for the draft report that this is important information. Final results of this study await

9 publishing.

Impacts of placer m1n1ng on the aquatic resources of the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. We finally received the analysis results from samples collected in 1987 and 1988. Samples collected in 1988 were collected downstream of an active placer mining operation. There were some problems in the quality control of the samples sent to Versar, Inc. but the results were better than nothing. Water, sediment, and fish samples collected in 1989 were shipped to Hazleton Laboratories America, Inc. on February 5th. To our surprise we received some of the analysis results by July! A preliminary look at the data indicate no unusually high levels of contaminants. Some extra help will be hired to enter and analyze this sudden inundation of data.

Word was received that a new placer mining operation was being started up on a tributary of Scottie Creek which feeds into an important waterfowl production area on the refuge. Overflights were made of the area on August 2 and 22. No sign of activity was observed. The placer mining operation in Canada was active again this year but no sediment discharges were observed.

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge DDT Study. This is a one year follow up on the Tetlin hazardous waste (water quality) study. Tissue samples from 20 pike and 16 soil/sediment samples were collected from sites along Moose Creek and from barrel dumps found in the area. The purpose is to evaluate the need/feasibility of a cleanup of an asphalt barrel dump site, and other areas along Moose Creek where wastes were previously stored or dumped. Several new dumps were found and sampled. The sample catalog was submitted on October 21. Samples are being held at the refuge pending approval for shipping.

10 A newly found barrel dump adjacent to Moose Creek. The pink flagging in the center of the photo marks a soil sample site in the drainage connecting this dump to Moose Creek. 09-90, TNWR 90-03, TJD

Kennebec Fire Effects Study. Work on this fire effects investigation continued in 1990 on a 3 year cycle with investigations including: completion of winter track counts to monitor the response of small mammals, small mammal trapping, breeding bird survey, collection of vegetative response data, photo documentation of vegetative responses and disturbed areas at established photo points, and fall moose survey. For details see Section F.3.

The feasibility of conducting a singular duck brood survev. The second year of field work was completed on this project. The primary objective is to determining whether a single duck brood survey provides an adequate depiction of waterfowl brood productivity. Indications are that only minor correction factors need to be applied to a single survey in order to obtain equivalent counts from 2 surveys (Table 2). This study will be conducted one more year. · I ) 11 Table 2. Correction factors applied to singular survey to equal counts from 2 reconciled surveys on the Tetlin NWR, Alaska.

Correction Factor Species 1989 1990

Green-winged teal 0.73 1.12 Mallard 1.71 1.73 Northern pintail 1. 00 3.25 Blue-winged teal 1. 00 0.00 Northern shoveler 1. 00 0.50 American wigeon 0.81 1. 00 Total dabblers 0.90 1.29 Canvasback 1.29 0.50 Ring-necked duck 1. 64 1.05 Scaup 1.26 1.75 Surf scoter 1.00 1.33 White-winged scoter 11.00 0.67 Goldeneye spp. 1. 00 1.20 Bufflehead 0.80 1.19 Total diverjsea ducks 1. 30 1.37 Total ducks 1.13 1.34

Refinement of duck brood surveys for Alaska Region. Refuge staff continued working on the effort to standardize duck brood production surveys state-wide. Several meetings were held during 1990 to develop draft Standard Operation Procedures which were implemented during the 1990 field season. A Habitat Working Group was established and met to quantify the waterfowl habitat in Alaska with a focus on the variables that correlate well with duck production. The goal is to find variables that can be used for expansion of sample duck production survey data and to improve stratification criteria. A production area meeting was held in Fairbanks to allocate sample units and plan logistics. Refuge staff surveyed 3 sample units for the state-wide survey between July 13-17. Because of the large size of the production area relative to the refuge, only one sample unit fell on the refuge. The state-wide survey met the first objective of estimating total number of dabbling and diving duck broods produced within the state at a level of precision equivalent to a 15% coefficient of variation for each of the sub-families (Table B) . The 15% level 12 of precision was also met for several species including green­ winged teal, northern pintail and American wigeon.

The second objective to estimate total number of duck broods produced on individual production areas at a level of prec1s1on equivalent to a 15% coefficient of variation for total broods was achieved only on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta; although both Innoko and Kotzebue Sound strata had coefficients of variation of 16%.

Table 3. Estimated number of broods and young produced in Alaska, 1990.

Number Number Coefficient Species of young of broods of variation

Green-winged teal 603,379 143,629 0.11 Northern pintail 278,079 63,173 0.13 American wigeon 247,259 51,622 0.14 Mallard 236,804 52,583 0.16 Northern shoveler 131,508 28,668 0.18 Gadwall 3,329 666 1.00 Blue-winged teal 2,696 719 0.76

DABBLER SUBTOTAL 1,523,804 341,060 0.08

Greater scaup 313,474 57,708 0.18 Lesser scaup 142,530 23,139 0.36 Bufflehead 29,207 6,459 0.27 Common goldeneye 16,384 2,891 0.49 Canvasback 12,273 2,182 0.41 Redhead 3,662 333 1.00 Ring-necked duck 3,456 665 0.44 Barrow's goldeneye 1,050 300 0.58

DIVER SUBTOTAL 527,535 93,677 0.15

Black scoter 89,368 18,895 0.22 White-winged scoter 31,990 5,479 0.57 Oldsquaw 24,524 5,920 0.45 Surf scoter 16,421 3,154 0.33 Red-breast. merg. 10,374 2,075 0.62 Common merganser 1,170 1.00 Spectacled Eider 2,178 622 1. 01

MISC DUCK SUBTOTAL 189,019 37,314 0.17

TOTAL 2,268,759 479,946 0.08

13 Mortality factors, home range characteristics, and habitat preferences of lynx on the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This study was prompted by lower than expected lynx numbers on the refuge. The overall objective is to gather baseline data on lynx populations. In March Biologist Doyle and Pilot Bohman visited a lynx study area in the Yukon Territory to learn how to use the Fremont leg snare to catch lynx. Live trapping operations on the refuge began in early April and resulted in 2 lynx captured. Hare pellet counts were conducted in major habitat types in the study area to quantify hare density. Refuge trappers were contacted for assistance in quantifying trapping intensity and contributing lynx carcasses for analysis of age and reproductive condition. Increased interest was generated in a cooperative project with the National Park Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Trail establishment and minimal live trapping operations began again in late November.

An adult male lynx weighing 35 pounds was the second lynx caught during 1990. Padded leghold traps can only be used above 20 degrees F to insure there is no freezing damage to the foot. 04-90, TNWR 90-04, WKB ) I 14 Brood visibility, survival, movements and plumage class development relative to brood surveys. A study proposal was submitted and approved by the Regional Office but not funded. The objective of the study is to refine various aspects of the brood survey as they are currently conducted.

6. Other

The Office Automation Plan was developed in February by FMO Vanderlinden and submitted to the Regional Office for review. It was further revised and updated in August. A new plan, the refuge Telecommunication Plan was developed in November, incorporated with the Office Automation Plan, and submitted for approval. The entire package finally received approval late in the year. A considerable amount of time was spent by FMO Vanderlinden on these plan preparations but they have already paid off by justifying the purchase of much needed computer hardware, software, and radio systems.

15 ) E. ADMINISTRATION

1. Personnel

Front row: 10, 8, 3, 1. Back row: 11, 2, 4, 7. 11-90, TNWR 90-05, Staff Photo

1. Steve W. Breeser, Refuge Manager, GS 12/4, EOD 1/31/88, PFT

2. Manuel "Bud" Oliveira, Assistant Refuge Manager, GS 11/3, EOD 9/25/88, PFT - Transferred to Division of Refuges, Washington, D.C. effective 11/4/90

3. Terrence J. Doyle, Wildlife Biologist, GS 11/2, EOD 5/29/88, PFT

4. Larry A. Vanderlinden, Fire Management Officer, GS 11/5, EOD 4/24/88, PFT

5. Donald Lee Westenburg, Park Ranger, GS 11/1, EOD 3/2/87, PFT Transferred to Chincoteague NWR effective 7/22/90

) f 16 6. David A. Dapkus, Park Ranger, GS 11/8 EOD 11/18/90 from Yukon Delta NWR, Bethel, Ak 7. William K. Bohman, Airplane Pilot, GS 12/3, EOD 6/6/88, Local Hire

8. Melinda J. Rallo, Refuge Secretary, GS 5/3, EOD 4/24/88, Local Hire

9. Glenn Moore, Maintenancemanjcarpenter, WG 9/1, EOD 4/8/90 resigned effective 4/21/90 Local Hire

10. Don B. carlson, Maintenanceman;carpenter, WG 9/1, EOD 6/25/90 PFT Local Hire

11. Craig J. Perham, Park Ranger, GS 6/1, 3/11/90 - 12/16/90 TFT Converted to Intermittent

12. Elisa Butteri, Biological Technician, GS 5/1, 5/20/90 - 9/23/90, TFT, Converted to Intermittent

13. Peter Butteri, Biological Technician, GS 5/1, 5/20/90 - 9/23/90, TFT, Local Hire, Converted to Intermittent

14. Mike Cronk, Park Ranger, GS 4/1 5/17/90 - 9/30/90, TFT, Local Hire, Converted to Intermittent

15. Steve James, Park Ranger, GS 6/1, 5/17/90 - 9/30/90, TFT, Local Hire, Converted to Intermittent

16. Verda Paul, Park Ranger, GS 4/1, 5/17/90 - 9/30/90, TFT, Local Hire, Converted to Intermittent

18. Linda Scandore, Park Ranger, GS 5/1, 7/9/90 - 8/25/90, TFT

17. Henry Timm, Biological Technician, GS 5/1, 5/30/90 - 9/23/90, TFT, Local Hire, Converted to Intermittent

17 Park Ranger Lee Westenburg in hip eastern threads. 07-90, TNWR 90-06, TJD

) f 18 Biological Technicians Peter Butteri and Elisa Butteri. 07-90, TNWR 90-07, LAV

) I 19 )

Biological Technician Henry "Hank" Timm. 06-90, TNWR 90-08, TJD

f ) 20 Visitor Center staff members 14,15. 07-90, TNWR 90-09, DLW

In 1989, there were no permanent staff changes on the refuge, however in 1990 we made up for that oversight.

Our newly approved maintenanceman position was advertised in February. Twenty-two applicants responded to the notice. Glenn Moore, a local contractor was selected, and began work on 4/8. After completing his first week of work, he notified the refuge 11 that he needed to relocate to the "lower 48 • He resigned 4/21. The job was again advertised with 14 people responding. Don Carlson, another local contractor was selected and is a good addition to the staff. Besides being an excellent carpenter and mechanic, he has a good knowledge of refuge lands and is an accomplished pilot. During the year, he received necessary training and check rides to become an incidental pilot for the refuge.

After serving for three years as the refuge Outdoor Recreation Planner, Lee Westenburg was selected to fill the Supervisory Outdoor Recreation Planner at Chincoteague Refuge in Virginia. ) I 21 His transfer date was 7/22/90. Lee was instrumental in upgrading our fledgling public use program into a first rate interpretive and education showcase for the refuge and the region.

During Lee's last months on the job we converted the Outdoor Recreation Planner position to a Park Ranger position. This was accomplished primarily to upgrade the position and align it with other professional staff people. It is ironic that we had to use a technical series to upgrade a professional series position.

Dave Dapkus, the Outdoor Recreation Planner from the Yukon Delta Refuge was selected for the vacant Park Ranger position. He came on board 11/18/90. Dave brings with him extensive Alaska experience and familiarity with Alaska's problems and potential.

Assistant Refuge Manager Bud Oliveira was selected as a Refuge Manager in the Division of Refuges in Washington, D.C. His transfer date was 11/4/90. Bud was a good contributor not only to the refuge program but also regionally and nationally. His tour of duty on the refuge was a little over two years. He may be best remembered for his innovative ways to hunt the wily spruce grouse.

Park Ranger Craig Perham was brought back on the staff in early March to help in the development of the Teach About Fire curriculum. He also was instrumental in making the National Wildlife Week blitz a large success. Craig took over the helm of the YCC program in June for the third consecutive year.

Temporary employees and volunteers swelled the ranks of the refuge staff from 8 to 28 during the summer months. In mid-May, Park Ranger Steve James returned to duty to take charge of the day-to-day operations at the visitor center. Two local hire Park Rangers, Mike Cronk and Verda Paul, began work at the same time to help with operations at the visitor center.

Biological Technician Elisa and local hire Biological Technician Peter Butteri entered on duty in mid-May. Their primary duties were involved with the refuge's fire management program. Another local hire Biological Technician, Hank Timm, came on board in late May. Hank contributed to the waterfowl surveys, contaminant work, and worked with the public use program.

Linda Scandore was hired as a temporary Park Ranger in early July to run the newly developed coachboard interpretive program. This was a challenge grant program between the refuge and Westours Bus Line.

22 Table 4. Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Staffing FY86-90.

FISCAL PERMANENT TEMP TOTAL YCC VOL. LOCAL YEAR FT - Local FTE HIRE 91 8.0 (3)* 1.4 (8) 6.4 6 8 8 90 7.0 (3) 1.3 (8) 6.3 6 8 7 89 7.0 (2} 1.4 (8) 6.4 4 5 6 88 7.0 (2} .8 (5) 5.8 6 4 4 87 6.0 (1) .6 (3) 5.6 5 2 4 86 4.0 (1} 1.0 5.0 2 1 1 85 4.0 (1) .5 4.5 2 1 1

(}* - number of local hire () - number of temporaries

2. Youth Programs

1. Jim James 6/4/90 - 7/27/90 2. Mark Forkner 6/4/90 - 7/27/90 3. Harold Gene 6/4/90 - 7/19/90 4. Annie Wilson 6/4/90 - 7/6/90 5. Sharon Jimmie 6/4/90 - 7/6/90 6. Richard Charlie 6/4/90 - 7/6/90

YCC grads 1,2 and Park Ranger Perham. 07/90, TNWR 90-10, Staff Photo I • 23 In spite of the distractions of the Tok River Fire and the hot summer weather, our Youth Conservation Corps program was a success. We had a good bunch of kids who rarely complained and stayed together for most of the season. This year, six youths from the village of Northway and the community of Tok participated in the YCC program. Under the able leadership of Park Ranger Craig Perham, enrollees continued improving and constructing "Taiga Trail", the nature trail at Deadman Lake Campground. The YCC crew also maintained and cleaned all highway pullouts, Deadman Lake Day Use Area, as well as Lakeview and Deadman Lake campgrounds for all of the "Happy Campers" driving through Alaska.

1990 was the eighth year in which Tetlin NWR has used the YCC program. It has been extremely beneficial, not only as an excellent public relations tool for the villages and Tok community, but also as an important employment opportunity for the kids. Teenagers, especially in Northway where there are only a handful of jobs available, rely on our YCC positions for summer work. Our positions have doubled the summer job market for teens the past three years. Although the Northway school is fairly small, it's a nice feeling knowing that almost all of the upperclass have gone through the YCC program at one time or another.

4. Volunteer Program

Mainly due to the 1989 opening of the refuge visitor center, the Tetlin Refuge volunteer program has become an essential part of refuge operations, especially in the public use program. Without these volunteers many of the summer season interpretive activities would be curtailed or not exist. People entering Alaska and travelling along the Alaska Highway would have less opportunity to learn about the refuge's natural resources. In 1990 over 2900 hours of volunteer service were donated to the refuge.

TABLE 5. Volunteer Hours Donated to the Refuge 1986-1990

ACTIVITY 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Maintenance 40 40 192 Biological support 472 320 Interpretive programs 640 880 2400 2688 Educational programs 144 100 98 Administrative support 32 80

TOTALS 544 960 1104 2540 2978

24 Student Conservation Association (SCA) volunteers make up the majority of our volunteer hours. The SCA resource assistant program is a consistent way to get qualified and enthusiastic people to volunteer at our remote location. The Student Conservation Association has also proven cost effective in comparison with other volunteer organizations. This year six Student Conservation volunteers worked on Tetlin Refuge in public use programs and one worked in the biological program:

1. Joe James 2. Dian Jones 3. Jim Kemper 4. Olive Kemper 5. Daniel Krummel 6. Linda Jo Scandore 7. Casey Stemmler (biological program)

)

SCA staff at Visitor Center, left to right, Dian Jones, Linda Jo Scandore, Joe James, Jim Kemper, Olive Kemper, and Daniel Krummel. 07-90, TNWR 90-11, DLW

f 25 )

SCA Casey Stemmler documenting observations on a waterfowl brood survey. 08-90, TNWR 90- 12, HT

Volunteer efforts of parents, teachers and friends in the local community greatly assisted us in preparing and teaching several of our environmental education programs. These programs included Nature Activity Day and the Nature Day Camps.

5. Funding

Although the budget axe has been expected to fall over the past three years, we continue to receive increases which have allowed ) us to bring on staff and fund refuge programs up to the planned 26 operational level. Budgets have allowed us to accomplish goals, purchase equipment, and maintain facilities on a relatively new refuge. During FY-90, fire program monies finally became separated from refuge O&M funding. Halfway through the fiscal year, the fire program was changed from 1240 to 91xx funding. Special funding programs such as Challenge Grant, America the Beautiful, contaminants and maintenance management system have all contributed to the station budget. Table 6 shows the five year budget history for the refuge.

Table 6. FUNDING HISTORY FOR TETLIN NWR, FY87-91

FY FTE* 1260 1210 1240 9100 8610 TOTAL 91 6.4 840 128 33.0 1,001.0 90 6.3 712 104 34.5 850.5 89 6.4 585 34.5 619.5 88 5.8 555 36.5 591.5 87 5.6 536 6.0 33.0 575.0

*Does not include Local Hire personnel

6. Safety

Staff members, including permanent and temporary, and volunteers, are expected to maintain a safety conscious attitude whenever and wherever they are working. This attitude was again demonstrated in 1990 as there were no lost time accidents. We like to think that our active and aggressive training program has a lot to do with this. The station has now compiled 3185 days without a lost time accident.

Monthly safety meetings are held for all staff, with a rotational schedule for staff presentations. Topics in 1990 included radon gas, office safety, home fires, hearing protection, bear avoidance, seat belt usage, safety considerations when working near thin ice, boating safety and snowmobile safety and emergency maintenance.

Safety related training is of special concern to Alaska refuges. The remoteness of most stations and field areas demand that all employees be equipped to handle all types of emergency situations that may arise. As wilderness survival training becomes available, the station tries to send one or two employees who will then bring the information back to the rest of the staff. WB Doyle and FMO Vanderlinden attended a Swiftwater Rescue Course in Glennallen sponsored by BLM and instructed by Rescue 3 from Sonoma, California. It was an excellent hands-on course held on the Gulkana and Klutina Rivers.

27 In June, the refuge held a week long employee orientation/safety training for all staff members including volunteers and YCC. The training utilizes a variety of presentations including staff briefings, videos, and professional trainers. Staff interaction is encouraged. Training topics included:

1. Station safety and administration 2. Defensive Driving 3. Sexual Harassment 4. CPR Training 5. First Aid training 6. Bear Safety 7. Aircraft Safety 8. Boating Safety 9. Radio usage 10. Shotgun/Rifle Handling and firing FMO Vanderlinden, who is a certified CPR instructor and EMT, conducted the CPR training. First Aid training was conducted by Carol Ann Webb from the Interior Region EMS in Fairbanks. FWS Special Agents Mark Webb and Tim Eicher made an excellent presentation on gun handling and bear safety.

Refuge staff at weapons training session. 06-90, TNWR 90-13, Staff Photo ) I 28 A safety measure was taken to ensure that refuge residences would remain operational during power outages with the purchase and installation of portable 4kw generators. Various circuits, including the furnace, circulation fans, and some light banks were wired into a separate panel box located in the garages. If power was cut off because of an emergency situation (the power company almost burned down two years ago), we now have the capability of providing our own limited power to keep the houses warm and lighted.

A gun safe was purchased during the year for secure storage of the refuge arsenal.

Radon testing was carried out in all refuge residences and administrative sites. The first attempt was aborted after two months because of faulty collection chambers provided to us. The second attempt is in the process of being analyzed, but results will not be available until next year. We do know that radon gas is present in the Tok area.

One of the best safety measures that we have on the refuge is a dependable FM radio system which provides almost complete coverage on the refuge and a link with refuge headquarters. We also have recently installed a radio telephone interface which allows access to the phone system from a handheld or mobile FM radio from just about anywhere on the refuge. This has proved very useful for flight following and notification after normal working hours, and could be extremely useful for dealing with after hours emergencies that might arise at field camps.

Station safety inspections were requested a number of times to the Regional Safety Officer, but scheduling conflicts prevented an inspection from taking place. We did, however, conduct an in­ house Station Safety Review with appropriate documentation.

A number of bear encounters happened in the field this year, including both black bears and grizzly bears. One encounter resulted in a black bear advancing on an employee and forcing the employee to wade into a lake until help arrived. Bear safety training can not be overemphasized and neither can the requirement of carrying a firearm in the field.

A dangerous situation developed with our Supercub late in November on a day when air temperatures were in the -30 to -35 degree range. The breather tube froze shut, causing excessive crankcase pressure to build, which blew out all of the gaskets on the rocker arm covers and resulted in a rapid loss of oil. Fortunately, Pilot Bohman was very near Northway and was able to land immediately. The tube was thawed, a pressure relief hole was drilled and Pilot Bohman was able to ferry the plane back to

29 our hangar where it was fixed. A pressure relief hole was inadvertently not made when the breather tube was replaced by OAS during engine modification and 100 hour work done earlier this fall. Thankfully no injuries or significant damage occurred from this incident. It could have developed into a very serious and costly situation.

7. Technical Assistance

During the year, the refuge staff provided considerable expertise to a wide variety of local and regional groups. These contacts included:

a. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park/Preserve for trumpeter swan, moose, wolf, and caribou monitoring. b. Alaska Department of Fish and Game for management and enforcement of moose, caribou, and wolves. We also gave recommendations on State season and bag limits for several wildlife species. And coordinated federal subsistence seasons. c. Northway Natives, Inc. for land exchange, enforcement, and land status information. d. Tetlin Native Corporation for wildlife and subsistence use information. e. Gateway School District on moose telemetry programs and outdoor classroom site selection. f. Tok Fish and Game Advisory Committee on game and fish populations and refuge operations, and subsistence regulations. g. Alaska Interagency Visitor Center Committee on the development of an interagency interpretive stop at the Alaska-Yukon border. h. Alaska Department of Natural Resources on fire planning and land exchanges, and significant equipment and personnel assistance with the Tok River Fire. FMO Vanderlinden served on both Class I and Class II overhead teams. i. Alaska State Troopers on law enforcement. j. u.s. Customs and Immigration on importation and Federal Game Laws. k. Waterfowl Investigations - Juneau, on waterfowl populations in the Upper Tanana Valley. 1. Tok Chamber of Commerce on the Tetlin NWR "I&R Program" and Project 92 m. Bureau of Land Management on subsistence regulations. n. Bureau of Land Management/Alaska Fire Service-­ responded to request for FMO Vanderlinden to function as Planning Section Chief on Class II overhead team on the Howard Lake Fire. He was also requested and served as an instructor at the BLM RX-96 Ignition Specialist course in Fairbanks.

30 o. Fish and Wildlife Service--responded to request for FMO Vanderlinden to function as a primary instructor at Basic Fire Management Training Course in Region 4 in March and in Region 7 in May. RM Breeser and FMO Vanderlinden were asked to critique the trial run of the Fire Management for Line Officers Course at BIFC in November.

8. Other Items

ARM Oliveira was contacted to aid in the continuation of Oil Spill clean-up activities related to the EXXON Valdez oil spill. He was initially requested to go to the Homer field office but ended up in operations at the Regional Office. His primary duties were with the Technical Advisory group dealing with shoreline treatment recommendations. This detail lasted for two months from mid-March to mid-May.

ARM Oliveira was a member of a Service working group charged with implementing and updating the Refuge Management Information System. The major thrust of effort was toward streamlining and computerizing the data collection and reporting system. He met with the National Review team in Portland during mid-March. The team finalized plans for a station profile report and the Public Use report.

RM Breeser was a member of a Regional Office workgroup that finalized the selection criteria for lands acquisition. These criteria will be utilized to prioritize land inholdings within the various refuge units of Alaska.

ORP Westenburg participated as a review team member along with DARD Paul Schmidt and ARD Bruce Batten in the operational review of the Education, Interpretation and Recreation Division of the Regional Office in late March.

As a result of a lawsuit that rendered the State of Alaska out of compliance with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), The Fish and Wildlife Service took over responsibility of game management on federal lands. In addition, the Service was given the task of being the lead agency to administer the regulation development process for implementing hunting seasons on all federal lands in Alaska. This single act placed a tremendous workload on the field to analyze current existing regulations and develop new regulations to implement federal hunts to provide for subsistence needs. Given the time crunch that the Service was under, a decision was made to adapt for the most part the state regulations that were in effect for the 1989 season. Additionally, we coordinated with the State trying to ascertain what new proposals they would be submitting to the Board of Game. Since the State biologists were not sure

31 whether or not the Game Board would approve their proposals, we were only hoping that the proposals would line up.

Federal subsistence regulations were printed before the State Game Board made their final decisions. For the most part seasons meshed well but there were a number of last minute calls trying to get State and Federal seasons aligned.

The refuge took the initiative in providing for new hunt seasons. Two new proposals, one for caribou and one for moose, were prepared and presented to the Federal Subsistence workgroup by RM Breeser. Both proposals were accepted. The moose hunt was open to all Game Management Unit residents. The caribou hunt was by federal permit and was open only for residents of Tetlin and Northway because of customary and traditional use determinations.

The dual management perspective for wildlife in Alaska has been and will continue to be a trying experience. Problem areas such as disjointed land ownership, pending rural determinations, customary and traditional use determinations, and law enforcement will have to ironed out. The State/Federal working relationship still appears to be holding up adequately at the field level. It would be an understatement to say that the hunters were confused. Luckily they are a traditional lot and pretty much did what they were accustomed to doing as in past years.

FMO Vanderlinden taught parts of three fire management courses-­ four sections of the FWS Basic Fire Management Course held in Biloxi, Mississippi March 5-9 and four sections of the FWS Basic Fire Management course held in Soldotna, Alaska May 7-11. He also taught one section of an Ignition Specialist Training course held by the Alaska Fire Service in Fairbanks, May 24 and 25.

The Tok River fire not only provided a threat to refuge headquarters and residences, but to the entire community of Tok. Emergency evacuation orders were given by the State of Alaska, so the refuge office equipment and records, and all refuge personnel and families were moved to a safe location. The staff on hand put in long hours in support of the suppression activities and worked at making the government residences as "burn proof" as possible. Acting Manager Oliveira deserves special recognition for ramrodding the evacuation and support activities. Other staff that assisted with suppression activities were Biologist Doyle, Park Ranger Westenburg, Pilot Bohman, Secretary Rallo, Park Ranger Perham, Bio-tech Elisa Butteri and Bio-tech Peter Butteri. They worked as dispatchers, aircraft monitors, aerial observers, and ground support. Everyone deserved commendation and recognition for their efforts.

Our Annual Station mini-review was held during mid-July by Deputy Assistant Regional Director Paul Schmidt and Deputy Associate Manager Ted Heuer. Although the weather was great, the smoke was

32 exceptionally thick. We did manager to show off our public use program including the highway interpretive stops and the new visitor center. Most discussions were held at the Jatahmund Lake Administrative Cabin to get away from the smoke in town. Our report card indicated that we passed again.

ARM Oliveira was detailed as Acting Manager for the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime NWR for 30 days. He reported that the scenery was great when he could see it and the fishing was fair if the wind allowed him to go offshore.

Biologist Doyle continued as a member of the Regional Office workgroup developing standard operating procedures for the statewide brood production survey.

FMO Vanderlinden was nominated by the Regional Office to serve on a national commission on wildfire disasters that is being formed at Secretary of Interior Luhan's request. The commission will provide recommendations on how to effectively deal with problems increasingly associated with disastrous fires that occur in the urban-rural interface.

Special achievement awards were received by three staff members during the year. Awards were presented to Refuge Biologist Terry Doyle, Refuge Secretary Melinda Rallo, and Fire Management Officer Larry Vanderlinden for their excellent contributions to the refuge program. Park Ranger Westenburg and ARM Oliveira were also nominated for awards, but they moved to greener (or at least bigger) pastures during the year.

The station was informed in September that former Park Ranger Lee Westenburg had been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Interpreters. He also received the Young Professional Award from the Alaska Recreation and Park Association.

33 Park Ranger Lee Westenburg accepting the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Interpreters in Charleston, South Carolina. 12-90, TNWR 90-14, Staff Photo

RM Breeser and FMO Vanderlinden attended a trial run of the newly developed FWS Fire Management For Line Officers Course held in Boise, Idaho November 26-30, 1990 to evaluate the course and provide constructive input for improvements. This is an excellent course. FMO Vanderlinden was designated as an instructor for the first presentation of the course by FWS instructors scheduled at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in January of 1991.

I ) 34 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT

1. General

The need persists for development of vegetation maps and ownership maps for the refuge with a greater degree of accuracy than exists with current products available. A budget request to fund color infrared imagery for portions of the refuge that have burned since our existing photography was approved for FY91.

2. Wetlands

Water levels on the refuge were within normal ranges during 1990. Rainfall and glacier melt occurred gradually enough through the summer to result in only minor flooding along the lower Chisana River.

9. Fire Management

Wildfire Activities

Wildfire management activities on the refuge continue to take place within the scope of the Alaska Interagency Fire Management Plan and Refuge Fire Management Plan. The Alaska Interagency Fire Management Plan covers all fire-prone federal, state and private lands in Alaska. The interagency plan was developed with the following objectives:

A. Aggressive and continued suppression action will be taken on fires which threaten human life, private property, and man-made developments. B. Levels of fire suppression and dollars spent on fighting fires should be commensurate with the value of the resources warranting protection. c. Selection of fire management options will optimize the ability of the landowners/managers to achieve their individual management objectives for lands and resources they administer.

The interagency plan provides for a range of suppression responses to wildfires. The plan specifies which areas receive which type of response. There are four designated response zones--critical, full, modified and limited. Inhabited and developed areas are designated as critical response zones. These areas receive the highest priority of protection from wildfires and the most aggressive suppression effort. Undeveloped privately owned lands and areas with high resource values that

35 require fire protection are designated as full response zones and also receive aggressive suppression action.

Modified response zones serve as buffers between full response and limited response zones. Wildfires occurring in modified response zones may only receive low intensity suppression action such as indirect attack. After a designated date late in the fire season each year, modified response zones normally convert to limited response.

Limited response zones are designated in remote areas where values at risk do not justify the expense of aggressive suppression or where fire has been identified as a benefit by the land manager (such as wildlife habitat enhancement or maintenance of a natural vegetation mosaic). Wildfires in these zones may only receive a monitoring response. A monitoring response is appropriate only as long as the fire in question does not threaten to encroach into higher priority areas or does not cause major smoke problems. Monitoring is considered a suppression response. Monitoring activities include detailed mapping of the fire perimeter, mapping of fire fuels in the path of the fire, measuring and describing current fire behavior, developing predictions of fire behavior and fire spread based on observed and predicted weather, identification of any resources which may potentially be threatened by the fire, and providing recommendations for future action. Approximately one half of the refuge is designated as limited response. A map showing actual designations for the refuge is presented in Figure 2.

36 Figure 2. Tetlin NWR map showing suppression response zones, wildfires, and prescribed burns discussed in this section.

TETUN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

~CHORAGE, AIC • ...... _

Total acrecoo ailbla rlfUQO: 930,000 • Ac. ·---- !

I) 'l I lollkoa'

L

Wrooo~ll - Sl. Elloa Holloaol Pte-

KEY

1Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn (1986, 1988, 1990) 2Hidden Lake Wildfire (1990)

3Kennebec Burn (1982)

4Tok River Fire Southern Boundary (1990)

C--Critical Response Zone

F--Full Response Zone

M--Modified Response Zone

L--Limited Response Zone

37 In Alaska, the Bureau of Land Management has been given authority to provide suppression services for wildfires occurring on Department of Interior lands as delineated in 910 DM Chapter 3. The Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service basically serves as a fire department for the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish & Wildlife Service, and National Park Service. Land managers retain the ultimate responsibility for all fire management activities occurring on their respective lands. This approach reduces duplication and redundancy of suppression resources.

The state of Alaska has entered into a cooperative agreement with Bureau of Land Management to provide suppression services for some federal lands in Alaska in exchange for Bureau protection of some state lands. This aligns protection services with locations of state and federal suppression resources such as field stations and area/district headquarters. Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge is in one of the areas for which the State of Alaska provides fire suppression services. This arrangement requires close cooperation between the refuge, the State of Alaska and the Alaska Fire Service. It works largely due to the successful implementation of the Interagency Fire Management Plan and good communication between the involved agencies.

Despite dry conditions and several lightning storms which passed over the refuge in June, July and August, only one wildfire occurred on Tetlin NWR during the 1990 fire season. The one fire that did occur on the refuge was started by careless campers next to Hidden Lake on July 7. Although the fire occurred in a limited response suppression zone, it was extinguished because of extreme burning conditions. The fire was initial attacked by smokejumpers and was held to 1/2 acre in size.

Even though the wildfire activity on the refuge was minimal, the entire refuge staff was highly involved with wildfire suppression activities during July. On July 1, a fire was started by lightning approximately eight miles southeast of Tok on Tetlin Indian Reservation land. Despite prompt initial attack by the state of Alaska, this fire rapidly increased in size and developed into a project fire by July 3. By July 4, the fire was 12,500 acres and posed a threat to Tok and the Coast Guard Loran Site 4 miles southeast of Tok. On July 5, backfire efforts at the Alaska Highway as well as burnout efforts along constructed dozer lines failed, and the fire overran the Incident Command Post. The community of Tok was evacuated to Tanacross. All valuable records and equipment were removed from the Refuge Office headquarters in Tok to a safe location by the refuge staff. The staff also initiated protective measures at refuge housing clearing some hazard trees in proximity to some of the structures and placing sprinklers on the roofs.

38 House to house "combat" by engine crews assigned to the fire took place as the fire moved into the outskirts of Tok. Miraculously, a wind shift associated with a thunderstorm deflected the head of the fire to the north of town. Although a few outbuildings were lost, the fire ultimately resulted in zero losses of inhabited structures. The fire burned to within 1/3 mile of the refuge headquarters and to within 100 feet of the residences of Park Ranger Westenburg and Maintenanceman Carlson.

ARM Oliveira, Biologist Doyle, Park Ranger Westenburg, Pilot Bohman, Park Ranger Perham, and Biotech's Peter and Elisa Butteri, and Volunteers Stemler, Joe James, and Daniel Krummel assisted the state of Alaska with suppression activities functioning as dispatchers, aircraft monitors, aerial observers and ground support personnel as the commitment of resources to the fire expanded during the first week. Refuge equipment was loaned to the state for use on the fire which included two riverboats and trailers, a facsimile machine, a typewriter, a Xerox machine, and a Type 3 engine.

The Tok River fire was the top priority fire in the state for two weeks. The fire ultimately burned to within 3 miles of the refuge boundary and threatened the village of Tetlin. Some statistics are noteworthy. The final fire size was 97,325 acres, 90% on Tetlin Indian Reservation and 10% on state lands. Maximum head count of suppression forces assigned to the fire was 1150. The final fire cost approached $25 million. Suppression activity continued well into September.

Although the summer population of Tok is just over one thousand, the Tok River Fire underscored the problems associated with fires that occur in the urban-rural interface. Dense mixed spruce forest covers much of the valley Tok is located in. Little thought was given to fire protection when subdivisions were created to the north, east and west of town over the past twenty years. What has resulted is a bad case of urban sprawl in a low density populated area. Because of the low density sprawl, primarily along highway corridors, presuppression placement of fire breaks to provide advance protection is neither very practical, nor offers much security. If the local population was concentrated in a more confined area, protection would be much easier and more effective. This concept, however does not mesh well with the "get away from it all" attitudes prevalent among people settling in the area. Everyone wants a chunk of real estate out in the woods away from other people. As it stands now, Tok is "protected" from wildfires which may occur east of town, but potentially significant threats to the community still exist if wildfires are ignited to the north and west of town.

Biotech's Peter and Elisa Butteri spent a significant portion of the summer (approximately six weeks) assigned to the Tok River Fire as helispot managers. FMO Vanderlinden was assigned as a

39 fire behavior analyst and burnout specialist to the fire for three weeks in August. FMO Vanderlinden missed the early excitement on the Tok River Fire due to a two week assignment as Planning Section Chief on an overhead team assigned to a 250,000 acre fire on Yukon Flats NWR.

Some of the burnout operations on the Tok River fire were successful. This operation along a constructed dozer line was orchestrated by FMO Vanderlinden. 08-90, TNWR 90-15, LAV

) I 40 Refuge operations were disrupted at times by smoke from the Tok River Fire. 09-90, TNWR 90-16, WKB

The 1990 fire season in Alaska ended up being the third most active in recorded history in terms of acres burned, and set an all time record for number of fires. 932 fires burned a little less than 3.2 million acres. 82 of those fires burned 1.3 million acres on R-7 refuge lands. The demand for suppression resources so greatly exceeded supply that even some fires burning in full suppression zones were never suppressed. The Alaska Interagency Fire Management Plan played an important role in focusing the allocation of resources to fires in critical and full suppression zones and generally avoiding the deployment of scarce resources in remote limited areas.

) I 41 Prescribed Fire Activities Prescribed fire activities continue to take place within the scope of the Refuge Fire Management Plan and in accordance with the preferred alternative of the Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan. Prescribed Burn Plans were prepared and approved for four prescribed burns in 1990: the Mile 1243 Prescribed Burn, the Tsolmund Lake Blackline Prescribed Burn, the Tahamund Waterfowl Habitat Enhancement Prescribed Burn, and the Chisana River Prescribed Burn. Because of wildfire activity and smoke conditions statewide, open burns (including prescribed burns) were prohibited by the State of Alaska Division of Forestry for most of the summer. A portion of the Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn was accomplished in late September. The Mile 1243 Prescribed Burn Plan was carried over from 1989. The purpose of this 2 acre burn was to provide a roadside interpretive opportunity for visitors to the refuge to better understand the beneficial effects and uses of fire on the refuge. This burn was not accomplished in 1990 because prescription criteria were not met early in the year and subsequent open burn restrictions prohibited ignition later in the year. The Tahamund Waterfowl Habitat Enhancement Prescribed Burn Plan was also carried over from 1989. The purpose of this burn was to provide improvements to waterfowl habitat by removing dead graminoids in dry lake beds and along lake margins to increase vegetative production of new shoots utilized by waterfowl, recycle nutrients, and open up areas on or adjacent to waterbodies where dead graminoid vegetation is accumulating. This 600 acre burn was not accomplished because of the open burn restriction. The Chisana River Prescribed Burn Plan was developed in 1990. This large 18,300 acre block was divided into three units. The purpose of this burn was to enhance the vegetation mosaic and vegetative diversity in decadent black spruce stands within the burn unit boundaries through the use of fire. This burn was not accomplished in 1990 because of open burn restrictions. The Tsolmund Lake Blackline Prescribed Burn is part of a project that has been underway since 1986. The purpose of this burn was to continue the firebreak blackline work accomplished in 1986 and 1988 (1600 acres previously burned) to reduce the likelihood of fires occurring in the southern limited and modified suppression response areas of the refuge from spreading into full and critical suppression response areas in the northern portion of the refuge. Open burn restrictions for the area including the refuge were lifted in mid September. Burning conditions were within prescription only one day subsequent to the lifting of open burn restrictions prior to the end of the fiscal year. FMO Vanderlinden took advantage of this very limited window of 42 opportunity and burned 5 acres of one of the units on September 21. He was assisted by Biological Technicians Peter Butteri and Elisa Butteri.

)

Biological Technician Peter Butteri ignites a portion of the Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn. 09-90, TNWR 90-17, LAV

) f 43 Fire Effects Studies

Fire effects studies which continued or were initiated in 1990 included fire effects data collection on the Kennebec wildfire, which has been ongoing since the fire occurred in 1982, and post­ fire effects data collection on a portion of the Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn site (burned in 1988).

Kennebec Burn Studies. Data collected on the Kennebec Burn during the summer of 1990 included vegetation response, photo points, small mammal trend plots, and a bird survey. Furbearer track counts and a moose survey were accomplished during the winter. The vegetation response, small mammal trend plots, bird survey and furbearer track counts were accomplished on burned and unburned transects in three different vegetation types. Each transect consists of ten 0.1 mile segments totalling one mile. Burned and unburned transects for each vegetation type intersect at the burn perimeter and generally run perpendicular to it.

Furbearer utilization of the burn area is of particular interest, since trapping is an important subsistence activity on the refuge, and subsistence opportunities are mandated by law to be provided on the refuge.

Winter track counts were only accomplished twice during the winter of 1989-90. The mid-winter count was not made due to poor weather and snow conditions.

Table 7. Early winter track counts from the Kennebec Fire Study Transects in 1989-90.

11-29-89 11-29-89 11-30-89 Species Black Spruce Mixed Forest Tundra Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Wolf 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lynx 0 1 0 0 1 0 Fox 4 8 3 5 2 6 Wolverine 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marten 3 1 2 7 0 0 Otter 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mink 0 0 0 0 0 0 Short-tailed Weasel 15 1 0 0 0 0 Least Weasel 0 1 0 0 10 0 Snowshoe Hare 8 40 22 40 2 23 " (trails) (1) (27) (14) (9) (0) (52) Red Squirrel 1 3 0 3 0 1 " (trails) (0) (0) (0) (3) (0) (0) Microtines, Shrews 18 2 3 5 51 5 " (trails) (0) (2) (0) (1) (0) (0) Grouse 100 0 0 0 2 22 " (trails) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0)

44 Table 8. Late winter track counts from the Kennebec Fire Study Transects in 1989-90.

03-09-90 03-12-90 03-12-90 Species Black Spruce Mixed Forest Tundra Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Wolf 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lynx 2 0 5 1 0 1 Fox 0 0 0 0 2 5 Wolverine 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marten 1 0 0 2 0 0 Otter 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mink 0 0 0 0 0 0 Short-tailed Weasel 5 0 4 0 4 2 Least Weasel 0 0 0 3 0 0 Snowshoe Hare 1 45 121 93 2 51 " (trails) (0) (6) (3 3) ( 36) (0) (9) Red Squirrel 0 7 3 11 7 7 " (trails) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (1) Microtines, Shrews 1 4 8 0 1 13 " (trails) (0) (1) (0) (0) (0) (0) Grouse 1 0 0 0 5 1 " (trails) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0)

Some observations can be made concerning the track count data. Shrub regeneration in the burn has not yet reached the point where it offers significant cover and protection for snowshoe hares. Consequently, in areas where the fire took out much of the understory (especially in the black spruce and tundra vegetation types), hares appear to avoid using those areas. Not surprisingly, red squirrels are not utilizing areas where the overstory spruce were killed by the fire. Grouse have begun to use some of the open hillsides that were formerly black spruce forest, feeding on buds from willow and alder that are regenerating. Predators such as lynx, marten, weasels and fox are utilizing both burned and unburned areas.

45 Table 9. Bird census results from Kennebec Burn Transects. JUN 12 90 JUN 28 90 JUN 14 90 BLACK SPRUCE MIXED FOREST TUNDRA. SPECIES burned unburned burned unburned burned unburned gray-cheeked thrush 6 2 1 rusty blackbird 1 3 common raven 2 1 1 1 boreal chickadee 1 gray jay 4 5 4 3 1 3 junco 9 6 11 american robin 7 7 1 1 1 3 lincoln sparrow 2 5 1 1 5 6 savannah sparrow 6 4 20 12 white-crowned sparrow 12 4 3 3 yellow-rumped warbler 4 3 1 3 +:- 2 Q'\ ruby-crowned kinglet 1 common redpoll 3 1 pacific loon 1 1 snipe 1 2 alder flycatcher 1 4 dark-eyed junco 1 8 2 8 lesser yellowlegs 9 1 1 2 2 bufflehead 3 olive-sided flycatcher 1 1 2 swainson's thrush 4 5 2 4 woodpecker spp 2 1 1 1 bonaparte's gull 1 northern flicker 1 1 white-winged crossbill 4 1 northern hawk owl 1 chipping sparrow 1 western wood peewee 1 bohemian waxwing 1 3 hermit thrush 2 northern waterthrush 1 orange-crowned warbler 1 solitary sandpiper 1 1 tree swallow 1 sharp-tailed grouse 3 northern harrier 1 Table 10. Percent cover of plant species on burned and unburned transects sampled on 1982 Kennebec Burn. Black Mixed Tundra Spruce Forest 6-12-90 6-28-90 6-15-90 PlANT SPECIES Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Burn Unbu Herbaceous Plants. Mosses and Lichens* carex spp T T T Mosses 40 65 30 60 40 45 Calamaqrostis canadensis 10 T T Epilobium anaustifolium T 5 T Eguisetum aryense T T T T T T Eguisetum pratense T T Eguisetum scirpoides 5 T T T T T Eguisetum silyatiqym 10 T T T Eriophorum spp T T 50 40 Geocaulon liyidum T T T Gramineae spp 10 T T T 5 Lichens T 20 T 10 T T Lupinus arcticus T T Mertensia paniqylata T T Mushrooms T Pediqylaris labradorica T T T T Petasites friqidus T T T T T T Pinguicula yillosa T T Potentilla fruticosa T T T T Potentilla palustris T Pyrola qraniflora T T T T Pvrola secunda T T T T Bubus chamaemorus T T T T T T Rubus idaeus T Rumex arcticus T Saussurea anqustifolia T T Stellaria spp T T T Ash 5 35 T puff 10 5 T T 5 5 Litter 20 10 20 30 5 5 Mineral soil T T total 100 100 100 100 100 100 s Alnus crispa T 5 T Andromeda polifolia T T Arctostaphylos rubra T 5 5 T 5 Arctostaphylos uya-ursi T T Betula qlandulosa T T 15 10 Betula nana Betula occidentalis T T Cbamaedaphne calvculata T T T T E1npetrum niarum 10 10 T Ledum palustre decumbens 5 5 10 Ledum palustre qroenlandicum 30 10 20 15 5 5 Linnaea borealis Oxycoccys microcarpus T T Ribes hudsonianum T Rosa aciqylaris T 5 T Salix qlauca 5 T T T T T Salix arbusculoides T 5 T 10 5 Salix bebbiana T Salix myrti1lifolia T T T Salix planifolia T Salix pulchra T Salix spp T Vaccinium oxycoccos Vaccinium uliqinosum 10 10 T 10 10 10 Vaccinium yitis-idaea 10 20 20 20 10 10 viburnum edule

Betula papyrifera T T 5 Picea qlauca T Picea mariana T 10 T 15 T 5 Populus balsamifera T Populus tremuloides T T

T--denotes trace amount (< 5%) * Percent cover for herbaceous plants, mosses and lichens adds up to 100%, shrub and tree categories do not.

47 In comparing the vegetation data to previous years, some basic observations can be made. Feathermosses and sphagnum moss are increasing re-establishing in the burned areas. Lichens are appearing in burned areas but only in trace amounts. Grasses, especially Calamagrostis canadensis, are not as prevalent as in earlier years. Sedges, notably Eriophorum spp, are fully re­ established in burned tundra areas. Willow and birch are re­ appearing and becoming more prevalent as root sprouts and runners flourish, espicially in lightly or moderately burned areas. Ledum spp have only recently become very prevalent in burned areas (see photo on next page). Picea mariana seedlings are only recently becoming established in burned areas. The variety of plant species found on burned transects approaches that of the unburned transects.

48 )

Biological Technicians Peter and Elisa Butteri document vegetation composition at one of the points on the burned black spruce transect. Ledum palustre groenlandicum was in full flower. Willow, birch and blueberry regrowth are also evident. 06-90, TNWR 90- 18, LAV

) I 49 )

)

View from the beginning of the burned black spruce transect on the Kennebec Burn. Willow, alder, birch and ericaceous shrubs are well established eight years after the burn. 06-90, TNWR 90-19, LAV

Established photo points were visited and photographs were taken in 1990. Photo documentation occurred every year for the first five years after the fire and now is on a three year cycle. Areas which exhibited some erosion as a result of suppression activities after the fire have stabilized for the most part.

) f 50 )

This trench fireline on the Kennebec burn was constructed eight years ago through tussock tundra. The fire never reached this line. Sedge tussocks are slowly growing back in from the sides of the trench and horsetails are established in portions holding water. Rehabilitated line that had debris placed back in the trench showed much better results. 06-90, TNWR 90-20, LAV

Aerial moose surveys from 1982-1990 indicate the area including the Kennebec Burn is only lightly utilized by moose, primarily because the area is somewhat isolated from traditional rutting f / 51 areas, calving areas and wintering areas. In 1990, surveys of the burn were accomplished on February 13, March 29 and December 6. One cow was observed in the burn area on February 13; no moose were observed in the burn area on the other two dates.

Small mammal trapping on the burn transects yielded inconclusive results. out of a total 175 trap-nights, only three animals were caught. One northern redbacked vole and one meadow vole were caught in the burned tundra transect, and one northern redbacked vole was caught on the unburned black spruce transect.

Tsolmund Lake Burn Studies. The studies underway on the Tsolmund Lake Burn were initially associated with monitoring requirements to determine if burn objectives were met. Vegetation composition data was collected from two transects established before the 1988 ignition of the burn. Post-burn data was collected in 1989 and 1990 on these transects. The acreage burned thus far on the Tsolmund Lake Burn has been of light to moderate intensity. Seeds and root systems of many herbaceous plants and shrubs survived intact, resulting in fairly rapid vegetative regeneration in the burned areas.

52 Table 11. Pre-fire and post-fire occurrence of plants on one Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn vegetation transect.

Open Low Mixed Shrub Tussock Tundra1 PLANT SPECIES year sampled> 88 90 + Cyperaceae spp X Equisetum arvense X Equisetum pratense Feathermosses (Hylocomium spp) X X Geocaulon lividum X X Goodyera repens Gramineae spp X X Lichens (Cladonia spp) X Mertensia paniculata Pedicularis labradorica Potentilla fruticosa Pyrola graniflora Pyrola secunda X Rubus chamaemorus X X

Alnus crispa Andromeda polifolia Arctostaphylos rubra Arctostaphylos uva-ursi X X Betula glandulosa Betula nana Chamaedaphne calyculata X Empetrum nigrum X Ledum palustre decumbens X X Ledum palustre groenlandicum X X Linnea borealis Rosa acicularis X X Rubus chamaemorus X X Salix spp X X Vaccinium oxycoccos X Vaccinium uliginosum X Vaccinium vitus-idaea X Viburnum edule

Betula paprifica X Picea glauca Picea mariana X

KEY (-) indicates pre-fire occurrence (+) indicates post-fire occurrence "Ocurrence" means new live growth present 1Tsolmund Lake Prescribed Burn--transect burned in 1988

53 G. WILDLIFE

1. Wildlife Diversity

More than 170 species of birds utilize the refuge (see bird list in information packet) as well as 44 species of mammals, 15 species of fish, and one species of amphibian (wood frog). No reptiles are found on the refuge. The location of the refuge places it at the northern range of a number of bird species not found in other areas of Alaska. In addition, the refuge is located in the main migration path of birds entering and leaving the interior part of the state. The extreme winter weather sends most birds winging south by fall, leaving only about 25 resident avian species. On the other hand, caribou don't seem to mind the cold weather. In the past 3 years, caribou from the Nelchina and Mentasta herds have increased their winter usage of the refuge.

2. Endangered and Threatened Species

There is only one endangered species found on the refuge, the American peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) . While the peregrine is not known to nest on the refuge they do feed on the refuge during migration. All peregrine falcon sightings in 1990 were seen within a 12 day period in September. The first was seen in the Northway area on September 12 chasing and being chased by a northern goshawk. Two were seen chasing each other in downtown Tok on the 19th. Three others were wearing radio transmitters and were picked up by a radio receiver on a microwave tower in Tok.

The State of Alaska's threatened and endangered list includes 30 plant species. Although none of these have been identified on the refuge there are three which can be found within a 150 mile radius of the refuge. These are: Aster Yukonensis, Smelowskia borealis villosa, and Thlaspi acticum.

During the year no active management was done for any of these animal or plant species.

3. Waterfowl

For the second year in a row, warm temperatures and little precipitation produced ideal conditions for waterfowl throughout the spring and summer.

The June breeding pair survey was forgone for the second year in favor of a third brood survey as part of The feasibility of conducting a singular duck brood survey study.

54 Data from The feasibility of conducting a singular duck brood survey study was used to obtain an estimate of waterfowl productivity for the refuge. Refuge staff conducted on ground brood surveys on 124 waterbodies in 11 clusters distributed across the refuge. This year's counts were conducted from July 9 to August 14. Brood data for the early and late survey were reconciled according to the procedures used in Blankenship et al. (1953), whereby newly hatched broods since the first brood survey are added to the count from the first brood survey to obtain a final count. An estimate of the total number of young produced on the refuge is obtained using actual brood sizes and expanding the sample by water area on the refuge.

Over 37,000 ducklings were estimated to have been produced on the Tetlin refuge in 1990 (Table 12). This estimate is the highest on record, up 11% from 1989 and 49% from the 7 year average. Mallard, northern pintail, scaup, bufflehead, ring-necked duck, and goldeneye were all up from the long term average while American wigeon, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, white­ winged scoter and canvasback were down.

55 Table 12. Estimated number of ducklings produced on the Tetlin NWR, 1983-1990. Calculations based on an unstratified cluster sample, expanded by water area. Brood counts based on an early count timed to maximize number of dabbler broods and a late survey timed to maximize number of diver broods. Counts are reconciled to eliminate duplicate broods and broods moving onto sample waterbodies after the early survey.

Species 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Average 1990

American wigeon 2,911 4,523 1,534 4,641 2,371 2,937 2,144 3,009 2,194 Green-winged teal 3,147 2,163 2,675 3,894 3,928 2,477 2,329 2,945 2,265 Mallard 3,186 2,635 826 1,377 1,486 1,274 1,191 1,711 3,185 Northern pintail 1,377 118 197 3,894 1,168 672 873 1,186 2,229 Northern shoveler 79 629 708 1,219 1,238 0 26 557 318 Vl Blue-winged teal 0 747 0 0 248 0 0 166 0 0\ Total dabblers 10,700 10,815 5,940 15,025 10,439 7,360 6,563 9,549 10,191 Scaup spp. 8,142 4,483 10,541 4,720 4,034 6,511 11,725 7,165 18,400 Bufflehead 3,579 2,242 1,298 2,163 1,628 1,451 2,143 2,072 3,008 Ring-necked duck 3,658 1,062 2,675 433 1,097 212 5,240 2,054 3,291 White-winged scoter 3,147 708 1,573 2,989 495 1,345 3,546 1,972 531 Canvasback 1,259 2,360 236 551 106 495 1,641 950 354 Goldeneye spp. 1,141 669 393 197 1,628 566 1,905 928 1,026 Surf scoter 0 79 0 0 0 1,026 1,085 313 778 Scoter spp. 0 0 0 0 778 0 159 134 0 Ruddy duck 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 Total diverjseaduck 20,965 11,603 16,716 11,053 9,766 11,606 27,444 15,593 27,388

Total ducklings 31,665 22,418 22,656 26,078 20,205 18,966 34,007 25,142 37,579 The ring-necked duck was the second most common breeder on the Tetlin refuge in 1990, producing nearly 3,300 ducklings. Nearly all of Alaska's ring-necked production comes from the Tetlin refuge. 06-87, TNWR 90-22, Staff Photo

Four lakes located near Tetlin Village have been surveyed for broods in 24 of 30 years since 1961. These counts are conducted on or about July 15th of each year and therefore are biased towards dabblers. Butterfly, Island and Old Albert Lakes are canoed around while Gasoline Lake is walked. The Migratory Birds office conducted the survey through 1985 but because of declining budgets were unable to continue. Since 1986 refuge staff have taken over the responsibility of surveying the lakes.

The annual duck brood count on Dathlalmund (Butterfly), Gasoline, Island and Old Albert lakes was conducted on July 16th by WB Doyle and RM Breeser. This years brood count was down 10 % from 1989 but was the third highest since 1970 (Table 13). Diver broods continue to make up a significant proportion (35 %) of the total count though less than last year (Figure 3). Diving ducks I 57 probably nested earlier this year than normal because of the early spring. Because this survey is done on the same date each year the divers are better represented this year than in others. The dabbling duck broods are up again for the second year in a row but remain below the long term average.

58 13 Table : Nurber of broods counted on Dathlali!U'ld, Gasoline, Island, and Old Albert Lakes, from 1961 to 1990, Tetlin Corporation Land, Alaska.

Species 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 19881989 Average 1990 X change X change Cn=23) from ave from 1989

Green-winged teal 42 30 27 19 16 66 101 103 85 $ 44 4 8 10 9 12 3 20 22 15 30 29 18 19 31.8 22 -30.9 15.8 Mallard 34 14 23 2 3 9 13 13 10 12 2 3 1 1 2 4 2 3 2 5 4 6 7.3 9 23.2 50.0 Northern pintail 19 18 11 4 3 8 21 21 17 12 1 2 2 1 7 11 1 4 4 3 4 7.6 4 -47.1 0.0 Blue-winged teal 1 INF INF Northern shoveler 2 1 1 7 4 6 2 0 4 6 2 7 3 1 3 2.1 4 87.8 33.3 Gadwall 0 2 0.1 -100.0 0.0 -58.5 -36.4 \J1 American wigeon 74 18 23 6 7 36 28 39 47 11 7 3 6 6 2 14 19 6 12 4 9 11 16.9 7 '-0 Unidentified dabbler 2 0.1 -100.0 0.0 Total dabblers 171 81 84 31 29 119 164 183 163 85 9 20 13 18 19 8 49 60 29 55 45 37 43 65.9 47 -28.6 9.3 Canvasback 14 18 14 2 3 6 9 16 7 12 6 8 9 6 1 4 4 2 3 3 2 1 9 6.9 6 -13.2 -33.3 Ring- necked duck 1 INF INF Lesser/greater scaup 14 2 11 2 10 14 11 44 2 1 4 1 4 3 11 5 4 6 6 4 10 7.3 7 -4.7 -30.0 llhite-winged scoter 0 0 1 1 0.1 -100.0 -100.0 Goldeneye spp. 2 0 2 4 0.3 3 762.5 -25.0 Bufflehead 6 7 13 9 12 2.0 8 291.5 -33.3

Total divers/sea ducks 28 20 25 4 3 16 23 27 51 14 7 12 10 10 4 4 15 7 13 18 21 17 36 16.7 25 49.4 -30.6 Unidentified duck 1 0.0 -100.0 -100.0 Total ducks 199 101 109 35 32 135 187 210 214 99 16 32 23 28 23 12 64 67 42 73 66 54 80 82.7 72 -12.9 -10.0 Figure 3 NUMBER OF DUCK BROODS TErLIN CORPORATION lJ!..ND 220 ll------~----~~~~~~~------~ 210- Q 200 190 180 170 160

ffJ 150 0 0 140 0 a:::: 130 o-- m 0 lL 120 0 11 a

a:::: 100 w m 90 2: :J 80 z 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0~~~.-r-11~-.~~-r-r-r~~~~~~~~_J 196162 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 73 74 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

YEP-.R D TOT.8.L DUCK BROODS + DABBLER BROODS Canada geese do not nest on the Tetlin Refuge in any substantial numbers. Estimates of 30-50 nesting pairs have been made from incidental observations. On May 10, RM Breeser observed 90 adults, mostly in pairs, along the Chisana River between Gardiner Creek flats and Mirror Creek. The refuge is an important migration route for both Canada and greater white-fronted geese that migrate to and from the state.

Ruddy ducks were seen several times during the summer but no breeding activity was observed. Twenty-two adults were seen on Dathlalmund and Gasoline Lakes near Tetlin on July 16 and 3 were seen August 8th near Northway. This is one of the few places ruddy ducks are found in Alaska.

Trumpeter Swans

The Upper Tanana Valley is an important migration route for tundra and trumpeter swans. The valley's southeast to northwest orientation provides a convenient route for swans, and many other species of birds, migrating into and out of interior Alaska. However, the occurrence of breeding trumpeter swans in the Upper Tanana valley is relatively new. The first documented production of Trumpeter swans in the Upper Tanana was in 1982 when there were 3 broods. Since that time the total number of swans as well as number of nests and cygnets has increased dramatically.

The surveyed area includes that portion of the Tanana River basin upstream of the confluence of the Robertson River. The area extends east to the Canadian border, south to the Nutzotin mountains and west to the Mentasta mountains and Alaska Range.

Data on population trends and nestjbrood survival was obtained by conducting aerial surveys in a PA-18 Super Cub and Cessna 172. All waterbodies on 14 USGS 1:63,360 scale maps that compose the study area were surveyed in late August of 1980, 1982, and 1985- 90. Partial maps were surveyed in 1983 and 1984. Historical brood andjor nest locations were searched during incubation to locate nest sites from 1988-1990. In 1990 clutch sizes were determined by making a low pass over the nest. Active territories located during the nest survey were searched early in brood rearing from 1988-90 to determine nest success and obtain early brood counts. Brood survival was determined by comparing early brood rearing counts to late brood rearing counts from the same territories. All swan locations were recorded according to the 1986 Trumpeter Swan Protocol.

The number of trumpeter swans has increased dramatically since 1982. In 1982, 56 swans were counted during the late brood rearing period in late August. Since that time the population has increased an average of 30% each year until by 1990 the number of swans reached 390, a 600% increase from 1982 (Table 14,

61 Figure 4). Most of the expansion has occurred in the northern portion of the Tetlin Refuge where we also have some of our highest waterfowl nesting densities. The high proportion of cygnets coupled with the high proportion of pairs with and without young seems to support continued expansion potential for this population.

62 Table 14. Number of trumpeter swans recorded during a late summer census of the Upper Tanana Valley, Alaska, 1982-1990.

% change from Group 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1989 1982 Pairs without cygnets 24 22 6 26 36 66 52 74 74 0.0 208.3 Pairs with cygnets 6 12 18 24 22 24 38 48 84 75.0 1300.0 Flocked birds 11 3 3 34 29 35 28 45 35 -22.2 218.2 Single birds 3 3 11 9 7 17 15 13 -13.3 333.3 0'\ w Cygnets-- 12 27 34 43 44 44 76 90 184 104.4 1433.3 Total swans 56 64 64 138 140 176 211 272 390 43.4 596.4

Average brood size 4.0 4.5 3.8 3.6 4.0 3.7 4.0 3.7 4.4 18.9 10.0 Figure 4 r\JUtvlBER OF TRUMPETER SWANSt LATE SUMMER UPPER TANANA. VALLEY 400 -.------~

350

300

~ <{ ::J 0 250 > (]', 0 .j::- z

LL. 200 0 a::w ID 150 ::?: z::J 100

50

Q~~ ~~ ~::i ; ! 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

YEJ.\R 1J Pr w/o + Pr w/ 0 Flk 6. s X Cyg 'V Tot 1990 was an exceptional year for swan production because of the warm dry conditions during incubation and brood rearing. In 1990, average clutch size for the 16 territories surveyed in both the nest and early brood surveys was 5.56 (s = 1.03) while average brood size during the early brood rearing period was 4.50 (s = 1.71). Generally either one egg failed to hatch or one cygnet perished during the early brood rearing period. Average brood size for the 21 broods common to the early and late brood counts was 4.7 (s = 1.27) for the early count and 4.3 (s = 1.56) for the late count. On average, cygnet loss is unusual after the early brood rearing period. survival is even higher later in the brood rearing season. We have not observed any brood loss after late August when we periodically check broods in the process of capture work.

We also have an active collaring program on the refuge. In 1990 4 cygnets were collared bringing to date 43 cygnets that have been banded and visual neck collars attached. Eleven of these have been sighted on their wintering grounds. Eight have occurred on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In December 1990 we received the first records from Washington state when two individuals from a brood of five banded the summer of 1989 were found northeast of Sedro Woolley. A third member of that brood of five was also seen in January near Beaver Lake, Washington.

65 )

Pilot Bohman gives 2 cygnets a helping hand back to the water to join the rest of the family. The swan on the right is one of those that showed up in Washington this December. 09-89, TNWR 90-23, TJD

4. Marsh and Waterbirds

There are 9 species of marsh and water birds that occur on the refuge (see bird list in information packet). Horned grebe and pacific loon are the most common breeders followed by red-necked grebe. Common and red-throated loons were seen on Jatahmund Lake this year.

A small number of sandhill cranes nest on the muskeg flats from Tahamund Lake to Big John Lake. During spring and fall migration, up to one half of the entire world population of lesser sandhill cranes (some 200,000 birds) pass through the Tanana Valley.

Several American coots with young were seen, and a sora rail was heard on the adjacent Tetlin Reservation on July 16th by RM / ) 66 Breeser. The Upper Tanana Valley is one of the few places in the ) State where these species are found.

Red-necked grebes are a relatively uncommon marsh and water bird on the Tetlin Refuge. TNWR 90-24, Staff Photo

5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species

While some 26 species of shorebirds occur on the Tetlin Refuge, most are migrants passing between wintering and breeding grounds. The most abundant breeding shorebird is the lesser yellowlegs which can be found in abundance nearly everywhere on the refuge. Common snipe are of lesser abundance but widely distributed while spotted sandpipers are common along watercourses. Mew and Bonaparte's gulls are commonly found on the refuge as well.

A short-billed dowitcher was seen and heard August 9 on the Wellesley Lake brood survey.

I ) 67 The Arctic tern is an uncommon breeder of the shorebirds, terns, and allied species group. They are very defensive of their territory. TNWR 90-25

6. Raptors

Some 13 species of hawks and 6 species of owls are known to occur on the refuge (see bird list in information packet). Bald eagles are common nesters on the refuge.

A raptor nest platform survey was conducted March 28-30. These nests were rechecked May 28-30 for occupancy. Of 61 platforms checked a total of 10 bald eagle, 8 osprey, 1 great grey owl and 1 golden eagle nests were active. Six bald eagle nests occupied in 1989 were inactive in 1990 while 2 newly active nests were found. One new osprey nest was found. The golden eagle nest was the first documented breeding of that species recorded for the refuge.

The northern portion of the refuge and the adjacent Tetlin Native Corporation land supports the highest density of nesting osprey j f 68 in Alaska. In 1990, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game located 37 osprey nests in the Upper Tanana River Valley. Twenty-seven of those were occupied for a 73% occupancy rate, the same as in 1989. All nests were found in an area of about 200 square miles. Productivity for the year was about average (Table 15).

Table 15. Osprey productivity for the Tetlin Native Corporation and the Tetlin NWR, 1983-1989 (from Hughes 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, Hughes and Wright 1990).

occupied Nests Young Young Year Nests wj Young Produced Fledged Productivity1

1983 7 4 9 9 1.29 1984 17 8 15 13 .76 1985 19 8 15 11 .58 1986 25 15 34 32 1.28 1987 26 13 25 23 .88 1988 23 15 31 1.44 1989 24 14 25 1.04 1990 27 17 30 1.11

Young fledged per active nest.

BT Timm assisted Alaska Department of Fish and Game Biologists John Wright and Jeff Hughes in banding osprey on August 13. Sixteen young osprey were banded.

Over the past 8 years 120 young osprey have been banded in this area. There have been 2 recoveries, both from dead birds found the same year they were banded. In 1983 a bird was found near Roseville, California and in 1986 a bird was found on the southwest coast of Mexico less than 2 months after it was banded.

69 The refuge and adjacent Native Corporation lands host the densest nesting population of osprey in the state of Alaska. In 1990 16 young osprey were banded. Here BT Timm reaches in for a nestling while a parent watches from above. 08-90, TNWR 90-26, JW

The refuge hosts 6 species of owls, the most common of which is the great horned owl. Great horned owls are seen and heard occasionally throughout the area during the year. Northern Hawk owls are seen less often but are seen more frequently as the hare population increases. A young northern hawk-owl was seen in the Kennebec burn June 29. Great grey owls are rarely seen but sightings can occur anytime during the year. ) I 70 )

Northern hawk owls are one of the most common owls occurring on the refuge. Their populations are tied somewhat to the rise and fall of the hare cycle. TNWR 90-27

7. Other Migratory Birds

We have maintained arrival dates for spring migrants during the past 8 years (Table 16). Many bird arrival dates are remarkably similar from year to year. Based on this set of species, 1990 was an average year.

) f 71 Table 16. Arrival dates of selected migratory birds in the Upper Tanana Valley, 1982-1990.

Species 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Average

Snow bunting 3/10 3/26 3/13 3/16 3/13 3/7 3/4 3/19 3/3 3/13 Bald eagle 4/9 4/7 3/29 3/16 2/19 3/24 4/13 3/29 3/28 3/27 Northern harrier - 4/18 4/6 4/12 3/27 3/31 4/13 4/15 4/12 4/9 Red-tailed hawk - 4/24 4/27 4/4 4/10 3/24 - 4/3 4/10 4/10 American tree sparrow 3/13 4/25 4/16 4/26 3/31 3/17 - 4/28 4/12 4/13 Canada goose - 4/10 4/13 4/14 4/15 4/13 - 4/15 4/12 4/13 Dark-eyed junco - 4/25 4/18 4/23 4/20 3/28 4/20 4/23 3/13 4/14 Lapland longspur - - 4/30 4/4 4/21 4/20 4/30 4/15 5/4 4/22 ...... American robin 5/4 4/25 4/20 4/21 4/16 4/28 4/20 4/24 4/22 4/24 N Sandhill crane 4/30 4/23 4/26 4/27 4/26 4/28 - 4/29 4/26 4/27 Yellow-rumped warbler 5/6 4/26 4/27 5/1 5/3 5/1 5/4 4/27 4/26 4/30 Ruby-crowned kinglet - - 4/28 5/4 5/3 4/27 5/4 4/28 4/28 5/1 Common snipe 5/3 - 4/20 5/2 5/7 5/8 5/2 5/6 5/8 5/4 Violet-green swallow 5/2 4/24 5/5 5/7 5/8 5/3 5/4 4/28 5/9 5/4 Swainson's thrush - - 5/15 5/20 5/15 5/20 - 5/15 5/15 5/17

Average 4/17 4/18 4/20 4/19 4/15 4/14 4/21 4/20 4/19 4/19 Noteworthy bird sightings for 1990 include a common nighthawk east of Tok on August 9, 20 white-tailed ptarmigan seen September 15 south of Tok, black-backed woodpeckers seen in the Kennebec and Tok River burns, and the frequent sightings of white-winged crossbills during the year.

8. Game Mammals

Moose

The refuge provides substantial summer and late winter moose habitat. The higher elevations above 3,000 feet also serve as rutting and early winter habitat. The exchange of animals between the refuge and other areas in Game Management Unit (GMU) 12 is known, but not in any detail.

A stratified aerial moose survey was conducted in conjunction with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and t~e National Park Service from October 28 to November 4. A 3700 mi area was surveyed that included the Tetlin refuge, Tetlin Corporation lands, and the northern portion of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. An estimated 1,339 ± 197 moose (90% CI = 14.7% of the point estimate) were calculated for the ± 2 survey area. Avirage density for the area was 0.32 moosejmi or 125 moosej1000km , a very low density. As expected our high density areas were in the subalpine areas of the Kalukna, Cheslina and front range of the Nutzotin Mountains where we conduct our annual trend surveys. Observed density in the high density stratum was 2.34 moosejmi 2 Seventy five percent of the area was clas2ified as low density with an observed density of 0.02 moosejmi . The remaining 14 % of the area had a moderate moose density of 0.53 moosejmi 2 . Population indices for the survey area were total bulls/100 cows of 71.2, yearling bulls/100 cows of 15.4 and calves/100 cows of 21.9. These indices were similar to those derived from our annual trend counts.

The annual trend count was flown November 23-24. Four hundred ninety-seven moose were recorded during the fall survey, the highest number yet recorded (Table 17, Figure 5). Total bulls/100 cows was 95.0. Since it is a rutting ground our trend areas apparently have a higher density of bulls than the area overall. Calves/100 cows was 28.8. Yearling bulls/100 cows was 16.2. All 4 trend areas have been flown annually since 1987.

73 Aerial moose surveys are done in between the time when there is 100% snow cover and antler drop. Of these 3 big bulls the one on the lower right has lost an antler. 12-89, TNWR 90-28, WKB

I 74 ------~------

Table 17. Moose counts in trend areas on and adjacent to the Tetlin NWR, Alaska.

1981-1989 Parameter 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Average 1990

Total Moose 122 147 180 305 171 179 425 459 495 275.9 497 Cows 57 84 92 149 86 95 211 182 214 130.0 222 Adult Bulls 40 35 60 91 55 57 125 147 145 83.9 175 Yearling Bulls 9 17 8 15 12 17 35 54 48 23.9 36 Calves 16 11 20 50 18 10 55 75 85 37.8 64

-.....! \.)1 Calves:100 cows 28.1 13.1 21.7 33.6 20.9 10.5 26.1 41.2 39.7 26.1 28.8 Y Bulls:100 cows 15.8 20.2 8.7 10.1 14.0 17.9 16.6 29.7 22.4 17.3 16.2 Bulls:100 cows 86.0 61.9 73.9 71.1 77.9 77.9 75.8 110.4 90.2 80.6 95.0 Figure 5 MOOSE TREND COUNTS Tetlin NWR 120 ~------.

11 a

100

0 90 ~ a::: 80 z w 70 ({J '-.] 0 (J\ 0 ::§: 60 LL 0 50 a:::w (I) 40 ::§: ::J z 30

20

10

v 1 y /1'"'\ y ;t"'),Ct y 1 y y ;y:..t)l v 1 y y Q 1 rr' 1 rF> YV" Calves:1 00 cows Y Bulls: 1 00 cows Bulls:100 cows

MOOSE RAllO [77] 85 [s=\] 86 V//2 87 &"~ 88 I?<.XJ 89 RX.-X}j 90 Calf and yearling bull ratios both dropped more than 25% in 1990. It may be that the increased presence of caribou during the winter allow the wolves to make it through the winter and into the breeding season in fine shape. With the caribou leaving the area in April, moose (especially calves) are the only major food source remaining. Thus while caribou may take the predation pressure off moose during the winter, the net effect may be a decrease in recruitment. Our radio equipped cow moose tend to support this theory.

Four collared cows remained on the air from those captured in April 1984. These cows were located periodically to assess production, and quantify movements. One cow lost her twins from 1989 early in 1990. Two other cows held a calf and twins from 1989 respectively until they calved in 1990. All 4 cows had calves in 1990, one had twins. One cow retained her calf through 1990. The remaining calves were lost in mid summer. One calf was lost in early July, one in late July and 2 in early August. The timing and movements of these cows have been essentially identical from year to year.

Browse surveys were conducted on 16 transects across the refuge (Table 18). Utilization was most similar to 1983. Even among the most favored species the majority of plants have little or no utilization (Table 19) suggesting that food is not limiting this moose population.

77 ) Browse surveys are conducted early in the summer before leaf out to assess the condition of the moose range. This Salix arbusculoides on the west fork of Lick Creek has been browsed. TNWR 90-29, FDS

f 78 Table 18. Moose browse utilization, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 1983-1990.

% Utilization of all species(1) % Utilization of favored species(2) Year Transects No Low Med. High Of total No Low Med. High Read Use Use Use Use Sample Use Use Use Use

1983 24 72 9 7 12 38 46 14 12 28 1984 18 87 7 3 3 58 81 11 4 4 1985 12 69 18 8 5 55 50 26 13 11 1986 5 93 5 1 1 64 92 5 2 1 1990 16 66 12 9 14 20 43 15 13 30

(1)Low = 0-25%, Medium= 25-75%, High= 75-100% of twigs browsed. "-! 1.0 (2)Favored species include: Salix alaxensis, ~- arbusculoides, and ~. pulchra. Table 19. Species composition and percent utilization of 1786 browse plants surveyed in 1990 on the Tetlin NWR, Alaska.

% of Percent Utilization Species Samples None Light Medium Heavy

Salix alaxensis 12 25 14 16 45

Populus balsamifera 4 33 15 19 33 §.. alaxensis x richardsonii 0 50 50 0 0 §.. glauca x richardsonii 0 50 50 0 0

Salix spp. 45 62 13 12 13

§.. scouleriana 1 64 5 5 26

§.. pulchra 4 69 13 9 9

§.. arbusculoides 4 76 17 5 2

Populus spp. 2 79 10 3 8

§.. richardsonii 2 85 9 3 3

Alnus spp. 8 86 12 2 0

§.. bebbiana 3 89 9 0 2

§.. monticola 4 95 0 5 0

§.. glauca 10 97 3 0 0

Alnus crispa 1 100 0 0 0

Betula papyrifera 0 100 0 0 0

80 Caribou

Numbers of caribou utilizing the Tetlin NWR have increased dramatically in the last 3 years. Portions of 4 different herds winter on or near the refuge.

The 40 mile herd is generally found north of the refuge during the winter, but some members range as far south as Midway Lake. This herd has been expanding and currently numbers about 22,000.

The Chisana herd is a small herd numbering about 2000, spending most of it's time in the upper Chisana River, although occasionally some members come out onto the flats.

The Mentasta herd summers in the Mentasta mountains west of the refuge and generally move onto the refuge in the winter. This is a relatively small herd numbering about 2500. A few animals summered on the refuge in 1990, primarily in the Upper Cheslina.

The Nelchina herd has been expanding in numbers and range. They currently number approximately 40,000 and account for the majority of the caribou that winter on the refuge.

81 ) /

Although caribou are hard to find during the summer they have become increasingly abundant on the refuge during the winter. Members from both the Mentasta and Nelchina herds have frequented the refuge during recent winters making it difficult to track wolves. TNWR 90-30, FDS

The caribou distribution started the year much like it ended. In January there were caribou throughout the refuge. Their distribution extended as far east as Engar Lakes in the Yukon, and as far north as Tetlin Junction. Very few were found north of the Alaska highway. In January and February most caribou on the refuge were concentrated in the Black Hills. Most caribou left the flats during March, and on April 6 an estimated 30,000 caribou congregated in the Carden Lake and upper Stuver Creek areas. By the end of April they had all moved back to the west.

Caribou first began to arrive on the refuge again on October 16th, a week or 2 earlier than 1989. One week later they were as far east as the Nabesna River and by mid-November were into Canada. By the end of 1990 we had caribou in Tok as well as in the Gardiner Creek drainage and as far east as the White River. An estimated 35,000 caribou were in the area. f 82 Wolves

Our wolf surveys since 1987 have been made largely on an opportunistic basis due to the fact that packs were no longer radio collared (Table 20). The difficulty in recent years has been compounded by the large number of caribou wintering on the refuge and obscuring wolf tracks. Most packs that frequent the refuge were seen in the fall, thanks to the stratified moose survey. Attempts at radio collaring additional wolf packs in March were thwarted by poor snow conditions and caribou tracks. We were able to recollar the alpha female from the Lick Creek Pack and collar the alpha male.

There were several collar returns during the year. A radio equipped wolf trapped near Northway in November 1989 turned out to have been collared 7 months earlier near Clear, 240 miles away. A Lick Creek wolf that hadn't been heard from since March 1988 was trapped in February southwest of the refuge. This wolf was captured in April 1987 as a male puppy. A defective radio collar was suspected. A male puppy from the Bear Creek Pack, collared in December 1989, was found dead in March. Upon examination of the carcass it was concluded that the wolf had been attacked and killed by other wolves. The location was adjacent to the Tetlin River Pack territory.

83 Table 20. Estimated pack sizes of wolves on and near the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, 1985-1990. Counts based on radio collared packs (*),miscellaneous observations and track counts ().

1985 1986 1987 1990 Pack name Fall Spring Fall Spring 1989 Spring Fall Coloration

Cheslina River 14 9 15 15* 13 9 11 Gray Lick Creek 7 5 9 9* 3* 3* 10* Gray Central 6 6 6 6* 3 (6) 6 Gray Big John 2 2 6 6 (6-7) (6) (7) Gray/Black Black - - 6 2* (2) (5) 2 Black Scottie Creek (5) (5) -- (2) (3) 3 Grayjblack co Wellesley Mtn (7) (7) (12) (12) 2 - - Gray +:- Upper Nabesna - (17) -- 17 13 7 Black Carden Lake 5 (5) (3) - 4 (3) 2 Gray Bear Creek -- -- 4* 3* 3* Grayjblack Tetlin River 16 13 16 7* 5-6 3 ·- Grayjblack Clearwater 6 6 6 4 ( 4-6) 5 8 Gray Big John II -- (2)

Total (minimum) 68 75 69 61 65-69 59 59 Trapping and hunting are a relatively minor source of mortality for wolves on the refuge (Table 21).

Table 21. Furbearer harvest on the Tetlin refuge based on Alaska Department of Fish and Game sealing records.

Season Wolf Wolverine otter Beaver

1977-78 12 5 5 0 1978-79 5 3 6 0 1979-80 1 5 0 0 1980-81 5 0 0 0 1981-82 7 4 0 0 1982-83 3 3 1 0 1983-84 6 4 1 0 1984-85 2 2 1 29 1985-86 8 4 2 2 1986-87 5 2 0 28 1987-88 1 0 9 4 1988-89 0 1 0 5 1989-90 2 4 0 4

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly is one of the most important but least understood members of the refuge ecosystem. Grizzlies occur throughout the entire refuge, but are found in higher numbers in the foothills and mountains. One bear was seen by SCA Volunteer Stemler during a brood survey near Wellesley Lake.

Black Bear

No estimate of population composition or total numbers is available for the refuge. Black bears exist in higher numbers in the northwestern and central portions of the refuge than they do in the foothill areas to the south. Several black bears were seen on the ground this year.

Dall's sheep

Sheep are found only in the extreme southwestern portion of the refuge in the Mentasta Mountains. No surveys were conducted this year.

85 10. Other Resident Wildlife

Attempts to conduct snowmachine track counts into Wellesley Lake were unsuccessful due to overflow conditions and snowmobile breakdowns. A transect was completed on a newly established route between Northway and Jatahmund Lake (Table 22).

Table 22. Track counts from the Jatahmund Lake snowmachine transect. Segments 1-10 were completed March 4.

Species Number of tracks

Wolf 9 Fox 82 Marten 53 Short-tailed weasel 47 Least weasel 5 Snowshoe hare-tracks 673 -trails 73 Red squirrel-tracks 81 -trails 2 Microtines and shrews 55 Grouse 508 Moose 1 Caribou 100's

86 )

\ J

WB Doyle making sure he's in the right spot while conducting track counts by snowmachine. 03-90, TNWR 90-31, WKB

Lynx

Lynx populations are assessed on the basis of sealing records and casual observation. The lynx population high of 1982-83 was preceded by 20% kittens in the harvest the previous season {Figure 6). While the proportion of kittens in the harvest has been around 30% for the last 3 seasons the total lynx harvest has not increased. This pattern is what prompted our study of the lynx population. Two possible explanations for the pattern are 1) the drop in lynx pelt prices the last 2 seasons resulted in a decrease in trapping intensity, and 2) overtrapping during the 1984-85 to 1986-87 season when average pelt price was over $400 resulted in reduced breeding stock necessary to produce a large population increase. Most trappers feel the number of lynx is increasing.

) / 87 Figure 6 NUMBER/PERCENT LYNX HARVESTED Tetlin NWR 100

90

80 0 ~ ({J 70 w > a:: -::( I 50 1-z 00 w 50 00 0 a:: w ll. '.. 40 a::w m ::.;: 30 :J z 20

10

0 I I I I I t== I ( I I I I I 77-78 78-79 79-80 80-81 81-82 82-83 83-84 84-85 85-85 85-87 87-88 88-89 89-90

TRft.P PING SEli.SO N D H.i!..ffiiESTED LYNX + % KITTEt\IS Wolverine

At one time considered a common animal throughout the refuge, the wolverine is now primarily found in the foothills and mountainous areas where access is limited. Annual harvest from the refuge is less than 5 animals (Table 21).

River otter

Although not common, characteristic sign of this wetland furbearer can be found throughout the refuge. Annual harvest from the refuge varies from 0 to 9 {Table 21).

Beaver

The highest concentration of beaver in the Upper Tanana Valley occurs on the refuge; especially in the Scottie-Desper Creek area (Table 22). Annual harvest from the refuge is 0 some years and almost 30 others (Table 21).

89 Table 22. Beaver lodge and dam distribution in the Upper Tanana Valley, Alaska, 1990. All maps on the Tanacross and Nabesna quads were flown. Only maps with beaver lodges or dams are presented in this table.

Map Lodge Dam

Mt. Hayes C-1 6 0 Mt. Hayes B-1 2 0 Tanacross D-4 1 0 Tanacross C-6 4 0 Tanacross C-5 2 0 Tanacross B-6 2 0 Tanacross B-5 6 0 Tanacross B-4 1 0 Tanacross A-6 0 2 Tanacross A-3 0 1 Nabesna D-6 1 1 Nabesna D-3 2 1 Nabesna D-2 12 0 Nabesna D-1 10 2 Nabesna C-6 5 1 Nabesna C-2 1 0 Nabesna C-1 10 1 Nabesna B-6 2 0 Nabesna B-4 1 0 Nabesna B-1 1 1 McCarthy D-2 0 0 McCarthy D-1 1 0

Snowshoe hare

Hare populations appear to continue to maintain moderate levels as in the last several years. The big increase that was expected has not materialized. Hares are at their cyclic high in adjacent Canada and are expected to crash in the next year.

Grouse

Populations are similar to those in 1989 following an increase after several years of low numbers.

90 Willow ptarmigan spend the summer in upper elevation alpine areas and come down into the lowlands in the winter. Other species of grouse include spruce, ruffed and sharp­ tailed grouse, and rock ptarmigan. TNWR 90- 32

Muskrat

Muskrat populations remained at about the same level in 1990 as in 1989, after a drastic decline from the winter of 1987-88.

Red Fox

Fox remain at high levels with the highest population found in the best waterfowl production areas in the northern third of the refuge.

I ) 91 Marten

Marten populations remain at low levels throughout most of the refuge, and at moderate levels in the southeastern portion. Despite that, most trappers on the refuge trap for marten because of the higher pelt prices.

11. Fishery Resources

Northern pike were taken from Moose Creek near Northway for DDT analysis as part of the refuge DDT study.

12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking

Rainbow trout have been stocked at Hidden Lake along the highway by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. No stocking took place in 1990.

13. Surplus Animal Disposal

Thirty-nine birds that had been accumulating in the refuge freezer were taken to the University of Alaska Fairbanks on September 26 for use in courses or in the museum (Table 23).

92 Table 23. Birds taken to the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.

Species Number

Green-winged teal 4 Mallard 1 Northern pintail 2 Northern shoveler 1 Gadwall 1 American wigeon 2 Canvasback 4 Scaup 1 Bald eagle 1 Northern harrier 1 Sharp-shinned hawk 1 American Kestrel 4 Peregrine falcon 1 Spruce grouse 1 Virginia rail 1 American coot 1 Budgerigar 2 Great horned owl 2 Northern hawk owl 1 Northern flicker 1 Common Raven 1 Dark-eyed junco 1 Lapland longspur 3 Pine Grosbeak 1

16. Marking and Banding

Four trumpeter swan cygnets were captured and marked with visual neck collars and aluminum leg bands. See section G3 for more details.

The alpha male and female from the Lick Creek pack were captured in March using a helicopter and immobilized with M-99. Both wolves were equipped with radio collars to monitor pack dynamics.

Two male lynx were captured, immobilized with Telazol and equipped with a radio transmitter in April as part of the refuge lynx study. One lynx was caught in a Fremont leg snare, the other in a #2 softcatch leghold trap.

93 H. PUBLIC USE

1. General

A directed purpose of the refuge as a result of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, is to provide opportunities for interpretation and environmental education. The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge's one-of-a-kind location along both the Alaska-Canada border and the Alaska Highway makes it the first conservation area that most visitors driving to Alaska see. It is one of only two Alaskan refuges accessible by road. The Alaska Highway forms the refuge's northern boundary for approximately 65 miles, providing excellent views of the refuge and opportunities for interpretation. As the first contact for most highway travellers to Alaska, we serve an important statewide orientation role for all refuges and other conservation areas. Our public use program is concentrated along the highway corridor.

94 Table 24. Summary of Public Use activities on the Tetlin NWR in 1990.

ACTIVITY #VISITS ACTIVITY HRS

Interpretation

Tetlin NWR Visitor Center 30,000 15,000 Tok Headquarters 650 325 Wildlife Films - Tok APLIC 5,779 2,890 Ak Hwy Interpretive stations 71742 17,936 Tiaga Trail 400 400 (108,571) (36,551)

Environmental Education

Teachers 100 280 Students 1,265 3,329 (1,365) (3,609)

Non-consumptive Recreation

Wildland/Wildlife Observation 71,742 71,742 Photography 35,871 17,936 Picnicking 4,305 4,305 Canoeing, Rafting, Boating 100 800 Camping 7,735 92,820 (119,753) (187,603)

Consumptive Recreation

Hunting 1,800 12,800 Fishing 1,535 3,270 Trapping 108 648 Other Subsistence Activities 100 500 (3,543) (17,218)

TOTALS 233 232 244 981

*Cooperating Association Sales = $25,423 *Volunteer Hours = 2,978 *News Releases = 24

Traffic along the Alaska Highway is always heavy in the summer months, peaking in July. The number of travelers entering Alaska via the Port of Alcan and via Poker Creek (Top of the World Highway) were up from 1989. Most highway travelers pass along the northern refuge boundary twice, on their way in and on their way out of the state. Table 25 shows the visitation along the highway for the past five years.

95 Table 25. Visitation along the Alaska Highway 1986-1990.

Enter via Enter via Year Poker Creek Port of Alcan Total

1986 19,768 119,256 139,024 1987 24,332 96,606 120,938 1988 29,374 106,602 135,976 1989 25,050 109,132 134,182 1990 27,618 115,866 143,484

Additions to the public use program this year included a four page insert for the refuge newspaper, "Tetlin Passage", a Tetlin NWR poster sold through the ANHA cooperating association, and a fire ecology traveling school kit.

2. Outdoor Classroom - Students

1990 was the third year the refuge has conducted summer Nature Day Camps for area children. It is an extremely successful program attracting many children from throughout the area. Despite disruptions from the Tok River Fire, Bio-tech Hank Timm enthusiastically led six different camps. The camps were geared for grades K-8, including The Adventurer, a canoe trip through the ScottyjDesper Creek Canoe Trail System.

96 )

)

SCA Volunteer Dian Jones with Adventurer student on ScottyjDesper Creek. 08-90, TNWR 90-33, Staff Photo

Table 26 . 1990 Nature Day Camps--Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge

CAMP DATE #STUDENT DAYS #ACTIVITY HRS

Tok K-1 June 11-15 91 364 Tok 2-3 June 18-22 88 352 Tok 4-6 June 25-29 63 378 Tanacross/ Dot Lake July 2-3 31 186 Northway July 19-20 17 68 . Adventurer July 30-August 3 32 320

TOTAL 322 1668

f 97 )

Biological Technician Hank Timm with students at Nature Day Camp. 06-90, TNWR 90-34, Staff Photo

The Fourth Annual Nature Activity Day was held on April 14, 1990. This special day-long spring event kicked off National Wildlife Week the Saturday before the Week's activities began. This year, 60 kids, grade K-6, throughout the area attended our "Earth Day Fest" (360 activity hours) . Nature Activity Day is a popular spring-time event that would not be possible without the all­ important volunteer effort of parents, friends, and teachers.

ORP Westenburg and PR Perham blitzed the entire school district again this year during National Wildlife Week. The Alaska Gateway School District is small enough so that every school and almost every classroom can be visited by refuge staff. At the f 98 end of the week almost every student in the district had been exposed to National Wildlife Week activities. Twenty-six presentations were given to 350 students, accounting for 500 activity hours.

Park Ranger's Westenburg and Perham teach class during Nature Activity Day, special refuge events during National Wildlife Week. 04-90, TNWR 90-35, MO

The 20th Earth Day anniversary was celebrated in the cosmopolitan community of Tok. The refuge sponsored a community recycle drive in conjunction with the lOK "Tok Trot" Race as part of our Earth Day activities. Limited amounts of paper, aluminum and plastic jugs were collected. Proceeds were donated to the Arctic Audubon Chapter. Earth Day itself was celebrated with a family bike trek to the Tok River.

The refuge also sponsored two classroom contests in conjunction with Earth Day, a poster contest and a recycle contest. Several classrooms throughout the school district participated and prizes (Ranger Rick subscriptions) were awarded to Tanacross School grades K-3 and Northway School grades 4-5 for the poster contest. Tok School 4th grade class won the recycle contest. I 99 The aftermath of the 1990 Tok River Fire provided an excellent opportunity for environmental education. In mid October PR Perham conducted fire ecology activities over five days for 36 students in the Tok 4th and 5th grade classes. The activities culminated with a field trip into the Tok River Burn, where a scavenger hunt was held and groups in each class set up vegetation sample points on transects lined out by FMO Vanderlinden. New plant growth and photo points were documented at each point. It is hoped this will turn out to be a yearly event showcasing successional vegetation changes of the boreal forest, and giving the students firsthand knowledge of positive aspects of fire effects. ARM Oliveira, FMO Vanderlinden, PR Perham and BT Timm rode herd over the students on the field trip. Mark Rutherford and Ray Kraemer from the Alaska State Division of Forestry assisted with logistics and information.

)

Tok School fourth graders being given final instructions before being unleashed to set up vegetation sample points in the Tok River Burn. 10-90, TNWR 90-36, LAV f 100 )

)

Fourth grader Karesa Fraser marks a sample point in the Tok River Burn. 10-90, TNWR 90- 37, LAV

Numerous other special classroom activities were conducted throughout the year by Park Rangers Westenburg and Perham, accounting for 353 student visits and 441 activity hours. Most of the sessions were set up to review "Teach About Fire" activities, a new activity guide being developed for teachers which explains the role of fire in the boreal forests of interior Alaska. The intention is to review and field test most of the activities in the packet making sure they are understandable and FUN for teachers as well as kids ("teacher and student-friendly") before the final packets are printed and distributed.

With warming relations and the concept of perastroika being promoted, Alaska and its Far East neighbor, the Soviet Union, f 101 have had many cultural exchanges. Tok and the refuge was no exception. Refuge Headquarters was visited on October 22 by a group of Russian teachers and schoolchildren from Anadyr, Siberia on a tour of the state. A brief introduction to the NWR system and Tetlin Refuge was provided by FMO Vanderlinden through an interpreter. PR Perham provided hands-on familiarization with some of the animals found in this area through the use of furs, skulls and pictures. PR Perham bumped into the Soviets again in Mentasta as he was giving a talk about Ice Age animals in the classroom. He subsequently presented the same talk to the Russians through an interpreter.

3. Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers

Park Rangers Westenburg and Perham conducted weekend environmental education workshops in Tok (March 30-April 1) and Eagle (May 4-6). The workshops were used to test fire education activities developed by Park Ranger Perham and the Regional Office this spring as well as the wetlands and waterfowl materials being developed for the 1991 Alaska Wildlife Week. One graduate credit in education from the University of Alaska was offered to all participants.

Our annual environmental education resource packet, distributed to teachers district-wide, was expanded this year. It is now called "Taiga Treasure," an educator's guide to the Tetlin NWR. The guide is designed to feature the natural ecology of interior Alaska, focusing on the Tetlin NWR. It includes information about the refuge, suggested activities, and reference and resource information. If it is successful, it will help teachers incorporate "Alaskanized" environmental education materials into their classroom activities as well as encourage teachers to break out of their classrooms and experience unique outdoor learning opportunities throughout this area.

Park Ranger Perham presented eight sessions over two days introducing the refuge's new teacher manual, "Taiga Treasure", at the district-wide teacher in-service training in October.

4. Interpretive Foot Trails

The primary project of the YCC program this year was the construction of "Taiga Trail", a 3/4 mile loop nature trail at Deadman Lake campground. Taiga Trail is now half finished. Only the viewing platform and a quarter mile of trail is needed to complete it. The remainder will be built by the 1991 YCC crew and will serve as an outdoor classroom site as well. Planning is still in the process to stabilize and sign two other trails (Hidden Lake and Border Ridge) as hiking trails.

102 )

YCC crew at work developing the Taiga Trail. 06-90, TNWR 90-38, CJP

f 103 The YCCers spent many hours of back-breaking labor loading, hauling, and unloading gravel for the Taiga Trail. 07-90, TNWR 90-39, PB

5. Interpretive Tour Routes

The Alaska Highway serves as the northern boundary of the refuge for approximately 65 miles. In addition to substantial private tourist traffic, several major tour companies travel this section of highway via motorcoach as part of their Alaska tours.

I 104 )

\

Park Ranger Westenburg gives a talk to visitors at one of the highway interpretive pullouts. 07-90, TNWR 90-40, Staff Photo

The refuge has developed a model interpretive highway tour route along the highway. The route is bounded on each end by the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center near the Alaska/Yukon border and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center in Tok. Six roadside interpretive pullout displays are currently in place along this route. These pullouts are popular rest stops and the exhibits are a welcome attraction.

Milepost 1227 - Corridors For Passage Milepost 1229 - The Greatland and Its People Milepost 1243 - The Changing Landscape Milepost 1252 - Solar Basin Milepost 1269 - Highways of Water Milepost 1273 - Ponds are Not Forever

Three more roadside interpretive pullout displays, including a joint Tetlin NWR/Wrangell-St. Elias National Park pullout display, are under construction and will be in place by the f 105 summer of 1991. The Alaska Highway provides many excellent scenic vistas and occasional opportunities for wildlife observation. The Tetlin Passage newspaper includes a milepost natural history guide for highway travelers. It is planned for an audio tour cassette for the tour route to be prepared in 1991 for broadcast via radio.

A new interagency international interpretive kiosk (say that fast, three times ••.. ) is under construction at the international border between Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory. The kiosk is quite unique in that it straddles the boundary, half in America and half in Canada. Tetlin's responsibility will be the maintenance and clean-up of this site during the summer.

This year we added a twist to the Tetlin's interpretive tour route. In cooperation with Grey Line of Alaska/ Westours, Inc., we initiated a coach-board interpreter program on a trial basis. Park Ranger Linda Jo Scandore developed an extremely popular interpretive program for Grey Line's motorcoaches focusing on history, native cultures, flora and fauna of the Tetlin NWR and surrounding areas. She rode the coaches three times a week during the summer between the Alaska Public Lands Information Center in Tok and the Tetlin NWR Visitor Center near the Canadian border (a distance of 90 miles), riding two buses for a round trip. It was an excellent program which exposed a different group of Alaska's visitors to the National Wildlife Refuge System, and the Tetlin NWR in particular. The program was popular and hopefully with the cooperation of Grey Lines we will be able to continue it.

Table 27. Visitors Entering Alaska via the Alaska Highway by Month in 1990

MONTH VISITORS MONTH VISITORS January 2,759 July 27,562 February 2,183 August 20,095 March 3,898 September 8,313 April 5,479 October 3,895 May 11,913 November 2,440 June 25,243 December 2,086

TOTAL 115 866

6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations

During the summer Park Ranger Perham and the YCC crew discovered a paleoentological site along one of the streams on the refuge. With permission from the regional office, Pleistocene bones were collected from 5 different species--steppe bison, beaver, Dall's sheep, horse, and woolly mammoth. Although it wasn't a

106 spectacular site and the bones weren't museum quality, they are perfect for public display. PR Perham is designing a "hands-on" fossil exhibit for the refuge visitor center, which will be ready for the 1991 summer season. Visitors will then have an opportunity to learn a bit more about the Ice Age mammals that once wandered the Tetlin NWR.

This year we increased our interpretive programs to accommodate a wider range of the public. We continued our ever-popular summer wildlife film presentations at the Tok Alaska Public Lands Information Center (APLIC), although the movies were cancelled for four weeks when a Fire Information Office was set up in the auditorium for the Tok River Fire. However, we adjusted by conducting nature walks on a trial basis--the Discovery Hike and bird walks. Over the summer 34 people enjoyed 7 bird walks and 71 people enjoyed 9 of our Discovery Hikes. The films resumed in August, although we continued hosting walks until mid September.

Table 28. Annual Attendance at FWS Wildlife Movie Programs - Tok Alaska Public Lands Information Center

YEAR # SHOWS ATTENDANCE AVG. ATTEND ACTIVITY HRS

1987 324 10,682 33 5,341 1988 597 8,467 14 4,234 1989 634 9,424 15 4,712 1990 444 5,779 13 2,890

TOTALS 1999 34 352 17 17 177

This was the first year we conducted deckside interpretive talks at the Tetlin Visitor Center and the first year we organized and scheduled campfire talks at Deadman Lake campground. Next year we hope to expand campground talks to both campgrounds. Hopefully these new programs will grow in popularity as our APLIC film presentations have done in recent years.

107 )

Landscaping completed this past summer enhances the refuge visitor center. 08-90, TNWR 90-41, Staff Photo

During this year's 112-day summer season (May 26 to September 15), visitation at the visiter center greatly increased over 1989. The visitor center received 30,000 visitors in 1990. Major landscaping was also completed at the v.c. during the summer. The visitor contact area at refuge headquarters in Tok is also a popular stop for tourists to the area. Approximately 650 visitors came to the office in 1990.

The refuge actively cooperates in the Tok Alaska Public Lands Information Center by providing two seasonal volunteer employees. This busy center had 43,692 visitors in 1990. Approximately 90 percent of this traffic carne during the months of June, July, August, and September.

7. Other Interpretive Programs

Refuge Remarks, a regular column in Tok's bi-monthly newspaper, f 108 the Mukluk News, completed its fourth volume this year. These 24 news releases remain an effective means of relating refuge happenings, and provide environmental education and interpretive information to the area public.

The Tetlin Passage, a four page natural history newspaper for the refuge, was completed last year. A four page insert to the newspaper was completed and printed with Alaska Natural History Association funding in 1990. This insert provides information about fire as a habitat management tool, information on refuge interpretive activities, information about the Alaska Public Lands Information Center in Tok, information about Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and provides some wildlife educational activities for children.

8. Hunting

The entire refuge is open to hunting in accordance with state and federal regulations. Although hunting pressure is usually light, due primarily to the lack of access to the refuge's interior, some hunting does occur in the vicinity of the Alaska Highway, Northway Village, and along navigable bodies of water.

Late in 1989 the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the designation of subsistence users with rural and non-rural criteria was unconstitutional. Therefore, most winter subsistence hunting seasons were halted by the state. The state did not find another means to regulate subsistence versus sport hunts in 1990, resulting in the federal government taking over the management of hunts. This forced us to implement our own set of regulations to provide subsistence opportunities. In addition to the normal State seasons which had been adopted into the Federal Subsistence Regulations, the Tetlin Refuge opened a subsistence moose hunt from November 20 to November 30. A subsistence caribou hunt was also opened from November 19 to December 15, 1990, to harvest animals from the NelchinajMentasta herds.

The moose season was established to provide additional opportunity for GMU 12 hunters to harvest moose in the more inacccessible areas of the refuge. This late season would have given hunters a chance to access moose by snowmachine. We expected the pressure to be relatively light because it takes quite a bit of preparation to make a two or three day hunting trip twenty miles into the refuge in the dead of winter. To our knowledge, only four hunters made an attempt and no moose were taken.

The caribou hunt was by Federal permit only. Refuge staff issued 172 permits to residents in the villages of Tetlin and Northway. By the end of the year we had received 142 permits back indicating an actual kill of 58 caribou.

109 The refuge currently has three special use permitees for hunting guide and charter operations. Only one of these permittees actively hunts the refuge. A statewide guide and charter policy is being developed, and the refuge is currently under a moratorium disallowing any additional perrnitees until the policy is complete. During 1990 the State of Alaska failed to develop their policy. It is still possible they will develop a policy for the 1991 season but the Service is also develoing a contingency plan to deal with guiding on refuge lands. For 1990 and 1991 we will continue to operate under the imposed moratorium which keeps us at the number of guides which were in place in 1988.

Most hunters visiting the refuge are in pursuit of waterfowl and their efforts are primarily concentrated in the areas of Fish Lake, Desper - Scottie Creek, Tenmile - Stuver Creek, and the Kalutna River areas. Pressure is usually light, rarely exceeding 50 hunters per day. On opening day, refuge law enforcement officers found very light pressure on the Fish Lake complex. The absence of the one usual guiding operation, owing to his arrest in 1988 and prison sentence in 1989 for waterfowl violations, greatly reduced the airboat traffic.

Sufficiently high water levels provided easy access to refuge wetlands, but hunting pressure remained characteristically light. Alaska's bag limits remain substantially more liberal than those "outside", at eight ducks a day for this area (with the exception that only two could be pintails and only one could be a canvasback). The most common species in the bag were mallard, pintail, shoveler and green-winged teal.

Big Game

Moose are the primary target of big game hunters on the refuge. Most activity occurs along major lakes and rivers. Access is via float planes, boats and on foot. Road hunting along the Alaska Highway is very popular among the residents of Northway. Although no precise means for documenting harvest exist (except for harvest ticket returns), it is felt that the overall harvest has remained unchanged from recent years. The area's reputation for low moose populations is a major factor in the limited number of hunters.

The overabundance of caribou on the refuge again this winter provided an alternative for subsistence meat diets. caribou hunting up the Taylor Highway in GMU 20E provided for some excellent hunting during the fall. When the refuge season was opened in November, the applications were lighter than expected probably because of early season success. All in all, 1990 should have provided meat for everyone's freezer if they wanted

110 to work a little to get it.

The Tok area is well known for its Dall's sheep. The refuge itself is of lesser acclaim, but non-permit areas such as the refuge highlands are of increasing interest to hunters.

Both black and grizzly bear are hunted on the refuge, but they are primarily taken incidental to other big game hunts.

9. Fishing

Subsistence fishing for whitefish and burbot continues by villagers on Moose Creek, the Kalutna River, and the Chisana River. Local sport fishermen utilize Jatahmund Lake, American Wellesley Lake, and the Scottie-Desper Creek areas.

Non-local sport fishing occurs primarily along the Alaska Highway, with the majority of use coming from visitors who stop at anything that looks like a stream crossing. Fish stocks, primarily grayling, have been over harvested or depleted in accessible areas. Fly-in sport fishing occurs on Jatahmund Lake, American Wellesley Lake and Takomahto Lake. Fisherman usually report that the scenic qualities and the wilderness experience are more appreciated than the fishing success which is sometimes as low as one or two fish per person per day. The stocked rainbow trout fishery at Hidden Lake is receiving increased use, both by locals in the winter months and non-locals in the summer. The lake is primarily used by residents out of Northway and they report fish up to 22" with a limit not being unusual.

10. Trapping

Subsistence trapping is carried out on refuge lands by local residents only. Although a significant amount of trapping occurs in areas within the boundaries of the refuge, much of it occurs on private lands, and is centered around the village of Northway and the lands to the northeast. Seven trappers make long line snowmachine trips into the central portions of the refuge, and two airplane trappers harvest fur animals in the more remote southern sections.

Primary furbearers captured include muskrat, marten, red fox and lynx. Prices started to level out and drop slightly on marten with $40 - $60 averages being paid on female and male marten respectively. The lynx market fell completely off the table as did red fox. Only a few years ago, top lynx would command $600 with some going for $800. This year, most fur buyer's were not even interested in purchasing lynx because of last years backlog and if they did buy the top price was $100. Red fox, which were plentiful, experienced sharp price drops, and were only bringing

111 an average of $20. Muskrat populations continue to fall, due mainly to freeze out. Most muskrats are trapped in the spring at "push-ups" or feeder houses. This normal process was hampered by the presence of a large number of caribou in traditional trapping areas which totally destroyed the push-ups. Apparently, caribou relish the aquatic plants which muskrats push up on the ice because they totally destroy or consume each feeder house present on a lake.

Beaver occur in moderate densities throughout the refuge, but little trapping effort takes place for this species. Beaver are generally trapped when they are prime in March or April which makes it difficult because the ice is so thick. Even though prices have improved in 1989 and 1990, most trappers are discouraged from going after beaver because of the amount of work involved for the price received. What few beaver are taken are usually trapped by natives who then tan them and sew the hides into artifacts for sale.

Trapping is still looked upon as an integral part of life to the Alaskan lifestyle, and is still an important economic activity for many rural residents.

11. Wildlife Observation

The Alaska Highway provides limited opportunities for wildlife observation. Several locations along the highway are excellent areas for viewing waterfowl. Increased visitation to the state, coupled with the development of our interpretive facilities, has certainly resulted in increased wildlife observation. It is estimated that 25 percent of all Alaska Highway travelers participate in wildlife/wildland photography, and that another 50 percent actively pursue wildlife/wildland observation. The number of non-consumptive recreational users canoeing, rafting and boating on the refuge is experiencing a modest increase. These uses are estimated at 100 user days per year and 800 activity hours.

13. Camping

The refuge operates two campgrounds, Deadman Lake and Lakeview. Deadman Lake has 16 campsites and Lakeview has eight. Throughout the summer months these small campgrounds are filled to capacity. They account for 6300 refuge visits and 75,600 activity hours annually.

In addition to the campgrounds, there is substantial overnight use by recreational and other vehicles at the roadside pullouts. It is estimated that one percent of highway travelers overnight at undesignated locations along the refuge's boundary.

112 14. Picnicking

There is one official picnic area located along the Alaska Highway along the south side of the Alaska Highway. It is currently under the management of the State of Alaska Department of Transportation but it is maintained by refuge staff through an informal agreement. This and other roadside pullouts are popular picnic areas, as approximately three percent of highway travelers use the sites for this purpose.

15. Off-Road Vehicling

Although permitted on designated trails by virtue of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the refuge is closed to off-road vehicles. Limited off-road vehicling does occur, however, during the hunting season along drainage bottoms. This is allowed because the state has jurisdiction below mean high water mark of all navigable waters. Little or no resultant damage occurs from this limited use.

During the summer of 1989 we placed a barrier at the trailhead to Hidden Lake to curtail off-road vehicles. The trail crosses private property and all terrain vehicle activity had seriously damaged it. Negotiations with the landowner for an access easement are currently under way. The trail remains open to snowmachine use in winter months, as well as foot traffic throughout the year.

17. Law Enforcement

Most enforcement activities are of a preventative nature through information dissemination and high profile during the hunting season. As in past years, waterfowl hunting parties in the more heavily utilized areas were contacted, and given regulations and time tables. Any regulation changes were also discussed. This practice has been found to be extremely useful in gaining compliance. For the fifth year in a row, shooting started and stopped at legal hours which is quite an accomplishment compared to historical hunting practices in the area. It did not matter that opening day had fog so thick you couldn't see the end of your shotgun.

Special Agent Vance Eadie was detailed to the refuge in mid­ September as part of a statewide task force to help with subsistence seasons and waterfowl season enforcement. Vance is a Special Agent from Florida and he enjoyed working in the "bush" of Alaska. His stay was relatively quiet with virtually no moose hunting activity taking place except for the traditional highway

113 hunting. He was able to make numerous contacts with waterfowl hunters which kept everyone on their toes. We certainly appreciated his efforts.

With the advent of the caribou permit hunt in November we received considerable assistance from the Northern Law Enforcement Division. Through the coordination efforts of SAC Al Crane from Fairbanks, we were able to have Agents Mark Webb, Roger Parker, Tim Eicher, Steve Tuttle and Jim Sheridan combine to give us good coverage and monitoring of the hunt. This turned out to be very helpful, since refuge agents were not always available for patrol duties. The hunt went very well and the presence of law enforcement officers kept a lot of illegal killing from taking place along the Alaska Highway.

As law enforcement officers, we are still dealing with a spring subsistence waterfowl season that is technically illegal by law, but is allowed under regional policy. Although a status quo seems to be being maintained (light hunting activity that does not appear to be increasing), someone will undoubtedly test this policy in court. The current situation creates a no win scenario for us as professional managers, and generally pits natives against non-natives. Given the current status of waterfowl populations, the continued practice of allowing a spring hunt is extremely hard to justify biologically, even if it is based on cultural and traditional values. There are efforts by the Service to have the Migratory Bird Treaty ammended so that it would provide for a Spring Subsistence Season. It would be most helpful to have either a legal season or a closed season.

RM Breeser, ARM Oliveira, and PR Westenburg all journeyed to Marana, Arizona, in March to have the 40 hour refresher. We all agree that the facilities, instructors, and climate are excellent. RM Breeser and ARM Oliveira were recertified with revolvers during September in Fairbanks.

18. Cooperating Associations

The Alaska Natural History Association (ANHA) sales outlet is in its sixth year of operation. The Tetlin NWR Visitor Center opened for a full season for the first time in 1990. This increased sales by 74% from just under $15,000 last year to just over $25,000 this year. Now that the visitor center is open for a full season, we expect the sales to level off and grow at a rate reflecting the amount of tourist growth each year. The dramatic jumps in sales over the past two seasons are due to the construction of our visitor center. We again this year sold out of some sales items and had to make a late season order. However, since we have had one full season at the visitor center, we hope to rid ourselves of that happening again. A limited amount of sales items are also available at refuge headquarters

114 in Tok to meet the demand there. During the winter months when the visitor center is closed, the office outlet remains open. Sales for the period from 1985 to 1990 are shown in Table 26.

Table 29. 1985 - 1990 Sales - Tetlin NWR Alaska Natural History Association Outlet

$1,- YEAR SALES 0 INCREASE

1985 875 1986 1,122 28 1987 1,131 1988 2,240 100 1989 14,585 700 1990 25,423 74

115 I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

1. New Construction

1990 was a year of many new projects for the refuge. Most of the tasks were jobs that had been put off because of time and expense necessary to complete by contract. With the hiring of Don Carlson as our new maintenanceman, we were able to complete with his ample expertise a whole array of projects by force account.

A contract to finish off the landscaping at the visitor center was awarded locally to John Burnham. Primary work included fill and levelling of existing banks, transport of topsoil, placement of vehicle barrier posts, and installation of a storm drain for the parking lot area. Grass had already become established by early fall and really added to the already spectacular visitor center setting.

2. Rehabilitation

Work continued at the Northway Bunkhouse and Warehouse area. The bunkhouse floor was completely insulated and the building was skirted. In addition, the front porch was replaced and an outside water bib was installed.

The backroom portion of the warehouse was converted into an apartment to house the ever swelling rank of volunteers that work at the visitor center. Some sheetrock and a new coat of paint plus a few pieces of furniture and a stove can do wonders.

For quite sometime, Secretary Rallo has been in need of additional shelving, drawer space and counter space to better organize her office. A design was conceived and executed by maintenanceman Carlson with the professional help of (apprentice) Refuge Pilot Bohman. The desk unit which covers two and a half walls, is a combination of formica and oak. It now gives the area a neat professional look in addition to making better use of previously wasted space. Every staff member has offered to change offices with Secretary Rallo but to no avail.

3. Major Maintenace

A contract was let to a local well driller to redrill the visitor center well after we discovered that it had caved in somewhere near the 300 foot level. We were lucky to be able to pull the submersible pump. The well was cased through the cave in zone and we were back in operation before the center was scheduled to open. Actually, our water quality improved markedly after this

116 work was accomplished. During 1989, we were plagued with an almost constant sediment problem from suspended schist particles. Now the water is sparkling clear and passes all state tests.

A new platform railing on the observation deck of the visitor center was installed. The old railing was built 3 11 shorter than what safety standards call for. Construction representative Walt Szelag and Carpenter Harold Shipley came up from the Regional Office to perform the work (mainly because it was their oversight) • The railing was up in place within three days and there was a minimum of disturbance to the visiting public.

Contract work at the two refuge campgrounds included the removal of one old culvert and installation of two new ones at Deadman Lake Campground and the installation of one new culvert at Yarger Lake Campground.

Force account work at the new visitor center included the installation of an exhaust fan in the generator building after we discovered that inside temperatures were hot enough to close off fuseable links in the fuel flow system. The generator building was covered with T-111 siding to match it with other buildings at the center. A trash receptacle area was constructed to blend in with other buildings as well. The entire outside log surfacing of the center and log cache was coated with Rawhide to maintain the natural log appearance. The pit toilet design was modified from a solid collection platform type to just an open pit type. The previous design was supposed to allow solids to decompose on their own but the system never worked, probably because of the cold ground conditions that exist in this area.

All four refuge residences were given a new coat of solid stain. The stain was actually a new mixture that didn't provide the coverage it was supposed to but maintenanceman Carlson used his expertise and a good job resulted. The trim was painted a contrasting color which made the houses look pretty sharp. All the houses also received new medicine cabinets in the bathrooms along with new shelving and towel racks. As a safety feature, emergency lighting was installed in the basements area near the stairwells.

Electrical problems continue to plague the station aircraft Supercub 3685Z. We have had constant problems with the system since the aircraft was acquired. The problems are frustrating because of the time we lose bringing the aircraft to Anchorage for repair. Because of mountain passes and the weather we encounter, those maintenance trips usually end up being a week long.

A new tool box was constructed for the Dodge pick-up. One of the nice things that you get with a finish carpenter on the staff is a product that is always better than you envisioned. The tool

117 box was deluxe with all the little extras added, like hidden drawers, fancy handles, piano hinges for the lid and a nice veneer finish.

4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement

The Alaska road system continues to keep local windshield repairmen in business. Three windshields were replaced on refuge vehicles during the year and some of those were replaced in 1989.

A number of equipment purchases were made during the year: 4 pairs of Zeiss binoculars 3 .375 H&H magnum rifles 2 12 gauge shotguns Arctic Cat Super Jag snowmobile Zenith 386e laptop computer TV, microwave, VCR (for seasonal housing) 19' snowmachine trailer 1 Permanent Remote Automatic Weather Station

5. Communications Systems

The refuge communications system includes a UHF base station at refuge headquarters, a UHF-VHF base link on a mountaintop adjacent to the northern boundary of the refuge, and a VHF repeater site on a mountaintop on the refuge. A radio telephone interface is installed at refuge headquarters. All refuge vehicles are equipped with 14 channel mobile VHF radios, and six handheld VHF radios are available for staff field assignments. Although the system seems to be running fine, an attempt was made in the fall to send a radio technician up via helicopter to perform routine maintenance on the repeater and base link. Unfortunately, a snowstorm closed in just as the helicopter arrived in Tok (none was available locally) and the trip was aborted.

With the additional Remote Automatic Weather Station purchased, we now have two permanent stations and one portable station (for use on prescribed burns). FMO Vanderlinden and an electronics technician from Alaska Fire Service set up one of the permanent stations on the refuge during the summer of 1990. FMO Vanderlinden and Bio-techs Peter and Elisa Butteri set up the other one later in the summer. Both are assessible (one via highway, the other via floatjski plane) year-round without requiring a helicopter. There were some power problems during the winter this year, but the stations will be operated yearround in the future utilizing solar panels and heavy duty deep cycle 12 volt batteries. All of the stations (RAWS) have voice synthesizer boards and radios installed so that real time weather conditions can be obtained via line of sight VHF radio from the refuge aircraft or from the ground. All three stations also have

118 satellite transmitters which can be put on line to send weather data every three hours via a GOES satellite to an earth station established by BLM Alaska Fire Service, where the data is archived. This data can be obtained by the refuge staff via modem and processed with a computer. Although the stations were obtained by the refuge primarily to provide weather data as part of a statewide network in the Alaska Initial Attack Fire Management System, the weather information obtained and archived is invaluable for a variety of refuge applications and activities.

6. Computer Systems

One computer was received in 1990. The new computer is a Zenith 386e laptop that was ordered by FMO Vanderlinden to be used for progra~ing Remote Automatic Weather Stations in the field and for utilizing computerized fire behavior prediction systems in the field. The laptop has proved to be very useful. It is powerful enough to be utilized as a desktop computer in the office when not needed in the field.

119 J. OTHER ITEMS 1. Cooperative Programs

The Tetlin Alaska Natural History Association outlet completed its sixth year of operation at the Tok headquarters building and second year at the Tetlin Visitor Center. The opening of the outlet at the visitor center has provided for phenomenal sales growth. In 1988, before the visitor center opened, gross sales were a little over $2000. In 1989, sales jumped to $14,600 and this year they increased by 74% to over $25,000.

Cooperation with the Wrangell St. Elias National Park/Preserve continued in 1990. In the agreement, the refuge and park staffs exchange data and use of facilities and meet at least once a year to discuss annual programs. The cooperation paid off again this year when we conducted the lynx study, the stratified moose survey, and the subsistence permit caribou hunt. Good working relationships are essential with the park since it shares a common boundary with the refuge on our southern boundary.

A yearly agreement to enter on lands of the Tetlin Indian Reserve did not materialize this year. Working relationships with the president of the Tetlin Corporation are very difficult to achieve. He wants us to use their air charter company to do some of our work. This is a condition that would be accepted if they were OAS certified but the fact is they are not. This situation has been exlained many times but not with much success. He did however, offer us a two day permit which allowed us to do our annual waterfowl work. Because we were not granted more time, we were unable to collar two wolf packs that frequent both the refuge and the reserve.

A cooperative agreement was developed between the refuge and the State Division of Forestry. The agreement formalized the use of the FWS 1200 gallon pumper truck shared by the state and the refuge and also provided for the use of State resources (primarily a helicopter) on prescribed burns, fuels management and fire effects studies on the refuge.

2. Other Economic Uses

One new cabin permit was issued during the year for subsistence trapping purposes to Paul Zackowski. His cabin had previously been located on a 14 H.1 site but that classification was dropped during the year and the parcel became refuge property.

One permit was issued for guiding purposes and one was issued for an air taxi operation.

The refuge continues to be an important source for the issuance

120 of CITES permits for endangered/threatened animals that will be transported through Canada. We get to see alot of wildlife not native to Alaska including snakes, tortoises and parrots. Most permits are issued for lynx, wolves and grizzly bears.

4. Credits

This report as usual is the product of a total team effort, although RM Breeser did more than his share due to the timely vacancy of the ARM position. Most of the final formatting and editorial review was accomplished by Secretary Rallo and FMO Vanderlinden. The designs on each information packet are courtesy of Sherry Vanderlinden.

STAFF SECTION

Refuge Manager Breeser A;C;D2,3,6;E1,5,6,7,8; H8,10,17;J;K Secretary Rallo B;L Biologist Doyle D5;G FMO Vanderlinden D5;F Park Ranger Dapkus H;E4 Park Ranger Perham H;E2 Pilot Bohman I

121 Literature Cited

Blankenship, L.H., C.D. Evans, M.H. Hammond, and A.S. Hawkins. 1953. Techniques for brood production studies. Miss. Flyway Council Tech. Com. 14pp.

Hughs, J. 1984. Distribution, abundance, and productivity of ospreys in interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 13pp.

______. 1985. Distribution, abundance, and productivity of ospreys in interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 16pp.

______. 1986. Distribution, abundance, and productivity of ospreys in interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 9pp.

______• 1987. Distribution, abundance, and productivity of ospreys in interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 9pp.

______. 1988. Distribution, abundance, and productivity of ospreys in interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 7pp.

Hughs, J. and J. Wright. 1990. Ospreys in interior Alaska. Annual Report. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Nongame Wildlife Program Report, 7pp.

122 ) K. FEEDBACK

We are often reminded of the special unspoiled allure of Alaska on Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. This is a winter view across Jatahmund Lake taken from the front porch of our administrative cabin. 11-90, TNWR-90-42, LAV I I 123 Quite often we utilize the feedback section to discuss problems that are associated with refuge management and we all know that there are many programs, policies, and practices that cause a considerable amount of anxiety and frustration among refuge employees. Even in Alaska, the Last Great Frontier, we struggle with many of the age old problems and an entire batch of new ones. It is my perception that we as humans tend to concentrate on the negative and allow that to overshadow the wonderful environment we work in and the exceptional job that we have. Every refuge in the system has a picture that shows wildlands which it is responsible for and those areas make us in the wildlife profession very proud.

It has been part of my experience to work on a brand new refuge and see its growth over the past nine years. Such areas of pristine beauty and unaltered landscapes no longer exist in most of the United States. It has especially been my priviledge to work for and with some of the most dedicated personnel in my entire career. So often we tend to overlook the accomplishments of people before us and also those that are working with us now. As current manager of the Tetlin Refuge, I would like to thank all the people that have had a hand in developing the management programs that currently are in place. I would especially like to thank all of those staff members who worked on the refuge during 1990. With a crew like I have, refuge management can be a fun and rewarding job.

124 Birds

of the TETLIN National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

General Notes

Loons-Grebes-Swans Geese-Ducks

Hawks-Eagles-Falcons Grouse-Cranes-Rails

Plovers-Sandpipers J aegers-Gulls-Terns

Doves-Owls-Kingfishers Woodpecker-s-Flycatchers-Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees-Dippers Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes BIRDS OF THE TETLIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge occupies about 700,000 acres of the Upper Tanana River Basin. Locally this area is called the Tetlin-North­ way Fla,ts. It is well-known for bird habitat, serving not only as an important breeding ground but also as an essential migration stop along the route between Alaska and wintering areas in the Lower-48. Some of the more significant species which pass through the area are: sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, greater white- fronted geese. Canada geese. American wigeon, green-winged teal, mallards, northern pintails, blue-winged teal. northern shovelers, and scaup (both lesser and greater). Large numbers of other birds also use this same corridor on their migration routes including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, northern harrier, Pacific loons, lesser golden plovers, and numerous small passerine species including warblers, thrushes. and sparrows. Most of the refuge is composed of a mixed conif­ erous-deciduous forest interspread with lakes. streams. and bogs. Several mountainous areas are also present. The most extensive habitat type is the black spruce forest. Other vegetative types include: deciduous forest, riparian woodlands, and a mixed riparian coniferous forest dominated by white spruce. D uring spring migration it is common to see black- poll wa rblers. ruby-crowned kinglets. and Wilson's warblers mov ing through the lowland forests on their way to breeding locations. Ducks, geese. swans, cranes, and shorebirds also share the refuge's varied water habitats much in the same manner. Riverine habitats afford nesting habitat for many sper·ies such as Ca nada geese, American wigeon. and spott<·d sandpiper. Lakes, bogs. and streams are used for feeding, nesti11g, and cover, depending upon the species. USING YOUR CHECKLIST This leaflet lists all species which could be observed on bhe refuge at some time during the year. The abundance of each bird is designated by season: c-common (certain to be seen in suitable habitat) u - uncommon (present, but not certain to be seen) o - occasional (seen only a few times during a season) r - rare (seen at intervals of two to five years)

Elirds known to nest in the region have a asterisk after their name. Seasonal appearances at Tetlin are listed by the columns: Sp-Aprii- May F -September-October S - June-August W - November-March

General Notes

Loons-Grebes-Swans Geese-Ducks

Hawks-Eagles-Falcons Grouse-Cranes-Rails

Plovers-Sandpipers J aegers-Gulls-Terns

Doves-Owls-Kingfishers Woodpeckers-Flycatchers-Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees-Dippers Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes Canada Geese fu!_§_E_W __ Common Loon* o o o __ Pacific Loon* c c u __ Red-throated Loon* o o u __ Red-necked Grebe* u u u __ Horned Grebe* c c o __ Western Grebe o r r __ Tundra Swan u o u __ Trumpeter Swan* u u u r __ Canada Goose* u u u __ Brant r r __ Greater White-fronted Goose u o u _ _ Snow Goose 0 0 _ _ Mallard* c c c 0 __ Gadwall 0 0 0 __ Northern Pintail* c c c _ ·_ ureen-wing-ea-.real - c c c - --Blue-winged Teal* u u u __ Northern-Shoveler* c c c __ American Wigeon* c c c __ Canvasback* u u u __ Redhead* 0 0 0 __ Ring-necked Duck* u u u __ Greater Scaup* u u u __ Lesser Scaup* c c c __ Common Goldeneye* u u u __ Barrow's Goldeneye* u u u _ _ Bufflehead* c c c __ Ofdsquaw* u 0 0 __ Harlequin Duck* u u u __ White-winged Scoter* c c u __ Surf Scoter * u u u __ Ruddy Duck o r r __ Common Merganser* 0 0 u __ Red-breasted Merganser 0 0 0

Pacific Loon

Loons- Grebes- Swans Geese- Ducks

Hawks-Eagles-Falcons Grouse- Cranes-Rails

Plovers- Sandpipers J aegers- Gulls- Terns

Doves-Owls- Kingfishers Woodpeckers- Flycatchers-Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees-Dippers Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes Northern Harrier

§£ § F W __ Northern Goshawk* u u u 0 __ Sharp-shinned Hawk* u u u __ Red-tailed Hawk* u u u 0 __ Swainson's Hawk 0 __ Rough-legged Hawk u 0 u __ Golden Eagle u 0 u __ Bald Eagle* c c c u __ Northern Harrier • u u u 0 __ Osprey* u u u __ Gyrfalcon* u u u __ Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 __ Merlin* u u u __ American Kestrel* u u u __ Spruce Grouse* c c c u __ Ruffed Grouse* u u u u _·_Willow Ptarmigan* u u u u _ _ Rock Ptarmigan* u u u u White-tailed Ptarmigan* 0 0 0 0 __ Sharp-tailed Grouse* u u u u __ Sandhill Crane* c u u _ _ Sora r r American Coot* 0 0

Spruce Grouse

Field Notes:

Hawks-Eagles-Falcons Grouse-Cranes-Rails

Plovers-Sandpipers J aegers-Gulls-Terns

Doves-Owls-Kingfishers Woodpeckers-Flycatchers-Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees-Dippers Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes Mew Gull §12§ F w __ Semipalma ted Plover* c c u __ Killdeer* 0 0 __ Lesser Golden Plover* u u Black-bellied Plover 0 0 __ Hudsonian Godwit r __ Whimbrel u 0 __ Upland Sandpiper 0 0 __ Greater Yellow legs r r __ Lesser Yellow legs* c c u __ Solitary Sandpiper u 0 __ Spotted Sandpiper* c c u __ Wandering Tattler* u u 0 __ Ruddy Turnstone r __ Red-necked Phalarope* u u __ Common Snipe* c c c __ Long-billed Dowitcher* u u __ Surfbird 0 0 __ Semipalmated Sandpiper u 0 __ Western Sandpiper r r __ Least Sandpiper* u u __ White-rumped

Sa_"".dpiper J __ Baird's Sandpiper* u u __ Pectoral Sandpiper u 0 __ Dunlin r __ Stilt Sandpiper r __ Buff-breasted Sandpiper r __ Long-tailed Jaeger* u u __ Glaucous Gull r r __ Herring Gull u 0 __ Mew Gull* c c u __ Bonaparte's Gull* u u 0 __ Arctic Tern* u u 0

Lesser Yellow legs

Field Notes:

Plovers-Sandpipers J aegers-Gulls-Terns

Doves-Owls-Kingfishers Woodpeckers- Flycatchers- Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees-Dippers Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes Hawk Owl

fu?_§__E_W __ Rock Dove 0 0 __ Mourning Dove r r __ Great Horned Owl* u u u u __ Snowy Owl r r __ Northern Hawk-Owl* u u u 0 __ Great Gray Owl* r r r r __ Short-eared Owl* u u 0 __ Boreal Owl* u u u 0 __ Rufous Hummingbird r __ Belted Kingfisher* u u 0 __ Northern Flicker* c c u 0 __ Y ellow-beliied Sapsucker o r __ Red-breasted Sapsucker r __ Hairy Woodpecker* u u u u __ Downy Woodpecker* u u u u __ Black-backed Woodpecker* r r r r __ Three-toed Woodpecker* u u u u __ Say's Phoebe* u u __ Alder Flycatcher* c c u __ Hammond's Flycatcher* c c u __ Western Wood-Pewee* u u 0 _·_ Olive-sided Flycatcher * u u 0 __ Horned Lark* c u 0 __ Violet-green Swallow* c c 0 __ Tree Swallow* c c 0 __ Bank Swallow* u u 0 __ Cliff Swallow* c c __ Gray J ay* c c c c __ Black-billed Magpie* u 0 u u __ Common Raven * c c c c __ Black-capped Chickadee* u u u u __ Siberian Tit* o o r r __ Boreal Chickadee* c c c c __ Red-breasted Nuthatch * r r r r __ Brown Creeper r r r r __ American Dipper * u u u u

Cliff' Swallow Field Notes:

Doves-Owls-Kingfishers Woodpeckers- Flycatchers-Larks Swallows-Jays-Chickadees- Dippers Thrushes- Kinglets- Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes SwainsQn's Thrush

§£ s F w American Robin* c c u r Varied Thrush* u u u __ Hermit Thrush* u u u __ Swainson's Thrush* c c u _ _ Gray-cheeked Thrush* u u u _ _ Mountain Bluebird* 0 0 __ Northern Wheatear* u u 0 __ Thwnsend's Solitaire* u u 0 _ _ Arctic Warbler* u u __ Golden-crowned Kinglet r r _ _ Ruby-crowned Kinglet* u u r _ _ Yellow Wagtail r __ Water Pipit c u u __ Bohemian Waxwing* u u u 0 __ Northern Shrike* u u 0 _ _ European Starling r r __ Tennessee Warbler r r __ Orange-crowned Warbler * u u 0 Yellow Warbler* c c 0 __ Yellow-rumped Warbler* c c 0 __ Thwnsend's Warbler* u u 0 __ Blackpoll Warbler* u u Northern Waterthrush * c c 0 Wilson's Warbler* c c 0 __ American Redstart r r

_ _ Yellow-headed Blackbird r r __ Red-winged Blackbird* 0 0 r __ Rusty Blackbird* c c u __ Common Grackle r r __ Brown-headed Cowbird r r _ _ Savannah Sparrow * c c u __ Dark-eyed Junco* c c c 0 American Tree Sparrow * c c c 0 __ Chipping Spa rrow* u u u __ White-crowned Sparrow * c c u __ Golden-crowned Sparrow* u u 0 White-throated Sparrow r r __ Fox Sparrow* c c u __ Lincoln's Sparrow* c c u _ _ Lapland Longspur* c u u __ Smith's Longspur r r r __ Snow Bunting c u u 0 __ Pine Grosbeak* u u u u __ Rosy Finch* u u 0 __ Hoary Redpoll* c 0 u c __ Common Redpoll* c c c c __ Pine Siskin r r r _ _ White-winged Crossbill* u u u u

Wi lson's Warbler

Thrushes-Kinglets-Pipits Waxwings-Shrikes-Warblers Blackbirds-Sparrows-Finches

Field Notes Osprey

Field Notes FOR INFORMATION WRITE: Refuge Manager Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge P.O. Box 155 Tok, AK 99780 Telephone: (907) 883-5312

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

u.s. FISH A WILDI.IFJo: SERVJC~

' . . ~ ,..,. o•· Tllo•·

f:r U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990-792-088 Tetlin Introduction Recreation Hunting and Fishing establt~hed Th" l('flm N.JIIon.ll Wtldhf(> Rciugt" wa> Rt'Crt•.tttONI opponumhes on the reJuge mcludt" Dock~ and moose attract most hunter~ whtle National by thE> Ala~kd NdhOfhll lntPrl"'>t lands Conservation wtldltft> ~oliiOfl, htktng. boating. trappng. northt>rn pike and gr.ayling are the ~ popubr N;t tAI'illCN on Ot'cembt>r 2. 1980. As one ol mne huntmg. campmlt and fiS generally wpport poke ~ l"'Aablt~ ~ ALIJ.dn rMUgt'S by AMlCA - the growmg ¥tt\ltty on the Chtsana .1nd Nabeosn.l .... tule tfiO§t ~reams support grayltng. tnformatiOf'l on refu~ ""d~ oll~etally recogmz('ld a'> a nauonal It '' M:h-twble to check wtth refuge personnel poot' to hunting and ft~hing is .t\ldtl.able from the relu~e offiC~ Wildlife trPawrt•. .t "'~' for more dcta•ktd information. m Tok or the Al.lsk.a Department of FtVt .and G.ame. lAddrt>Ss: AOF&G. Tok. Ala.~k.a. 99780; or 1300 Fa~rbanb, Tt1hn Rt'tultf' t\ one of mort" than four hundred untts CoiJese Road. AK. 997011. Refuge 01 thfo Natoon.al \\o'tldllte Ret~ Sy.~em managed for .... ddlltt" and Jt., h.tblto~t ThE> refuge ob,ect1\es for Access Tl"'lin tncludL': con~1ng f~ and wildltie populott~ m t~rr n.~turo1l d~ty. provic:hng ~ Ab~k• Htghway prOVJdes access along the Visitor Information oppof1umtl('\ for loc.JI !>lllxlstence u~. and not1hem border olthe refuge. Foot ac~ rs pos-;,ble prO\'ldtng opportunlly fOf mterpretation and ,llong lht> hrghwJy from the Canad•an ~ to Umping t-nv•ronmt'nlall.'ducauon C m Tok and Nortkwo1y .as. well •~ uw.ally o1vailable on mer bars Of in spruce \lilnc:h Fatrb.:~nks .and Anchorage. Rivetboat:s are o~lso .il'-.lilable .11 Tc:* •nd Northway. There .are no Plea~ d4"\\gn;tted ro.•

Leave a trowel plan ~ribmg .,uur tnp wtth Weather fnends and do not forget to I'WlCtfy them when you return In June and July daytime teml)f'ratur('§ often exceed 600 F wrth nrghtly IONS to 400 F. By mrd-Scmteml>t'r Standard precautions should be taken to - and store food outside of tents out of bea1 rt>ach wmelim~ as early as August. Do not bury garbage or debri\. Buryrng garbage encourages animals to dig tl up .1nd seck other campsites as sources of food --~ Boil or chemically punfy water before drmkrng. for Your Outdoor Safety and Comfort Giardiasis, a waterborne intestrn.al di~~e.Jo;e is common in A]asi refuge is generally w1thout tralls which m.Jkes lra\lf'l on foot dtri~eult. Some trarl~ o1ppe-.1r on MOsquitoes are famous in A.laW and are a --- maJK bot they are not K:lentifldble on thE> ground pn:lbJem in the summer. fko p....-pared wrth f!A.Ips and a compass are necessary for .an mosquito nening and/or A!pellent Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge FOR MORE INFORMATION: Private Lands and Cabins Wildlife • Large acrec1ges wathrn the refuge ha\"e been BfARS are unpredictable and ~hould always be Refuge Manager ...• Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge COIM.')'ed to Natrve corporations and individuals. If consrdcred dangerous particularly sows with cub!>. gnu!~· •• Box 155 you use private lands be >Ure to ask for Both black and bear are found on the MP12!9 .., Precaution~ Tok, Ala~ka 99780 Telephone: (907) 883-5312 pcrmrs~ron. If you are un<:ertam as to land status refuge. mentioned earlier for tr.l\oehng contact refuge personnel. in bear country should be foJIO\ ..'ed. LEGEND • Cabrns are scattered throughout the refuge. Their MOOSE cows are dangerous animals v.hen they ha"c calves. a respe<:table distance. contents are essenual to trappers and subsistence Keep Never Tetln National Wlldlfe u~rs. Cabrns or contents d. Failure to replace supplies could some of Tetlin's ponds, lakes, and steams A quiet or Selected Land obse~ th~ ~o co,t the lrfe of a trapper or sulhr~tence hunter. •r can watch animals •• about thctr work. L.l__ _,) TetHn Refuge Land TETL.. IHOIAN UNITED STATES DEP.A.RTMENT OF INTERIOR BIRDS art.' (ascrnatrng to observe. More than 150 RESERYAT10H MP Mll•poat FISH AND 'A1LDUFE ERVICE Educational Opportunities species ot birds may be found on the refuge. An interagcnq visitor center tn Tok or rers wildlife Waterfowl, esp<><:tally ducks. are plentiiul. Eaglt>:' and drsplays and tnp pl.rnning information. In addrtion, OSPI"e\'S may be observed. \\latch, take pictures, but As the Nation's prmcrpal conscrvatron agency, the the refuge stafi offer; interpreti\'C program!> for visitOr!> please do not di!>turb them. Department of the lntenor has basrc responstbiluy and asmtance to ~chools and other groups interested for water, iish, w eh.Jirfe. mrneral, land, park, and in outdoor clas~room experiences. 0 recreatronal resources. lndran .1nd IE>mtonal affatrs north are other major concern~ of America's "'Department of Natural R~urces,.. 0 5 10 15 The Department works to assure the Y.15C)t choice in managing all our resources so each "ill make i~ full contnbuuon to a bener, United States - nO\v and m the iuture. Total-.creage witt*• rel~Qe1 930,00+Ac.

BUY DUCK STAMPS SAVE WETI.J\NDS FOR WII.DIIFE. Jotohmund ,,.., I Loktr tt, lt,t.WIIIUtH ,.,. t( \ u t

~ ~ 4.;

11 ---~ '--lf---..;;.....;;.--..__ ------"---J WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS NATIONAL PARK I PRESERVE

...d.:~// ...... -l!r NUTZOTIN MOUNTAINS TETLIN NA TI ON AL WILDLIFE REFUGE 1 9 8 9

Welcome to the Great Land Why are mapy visitors similar to rocks in the Tetlin National by Steve Breeser Wildlife Refuge? They come from "down South"! • elcome to the Great Land­ WAlaska, and welcome to the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska is great not only in its size. resources, and peo­ GEOLOGY ple, bur also in its unspoiled natural ecosystems-most of which haven't by Stephanie Hoag changed since humans first settled this harsh environment. The federal govern­ eologists think of AJaska as a ment and the state government have set Ggiant jigsaw puzzle made up of aside millions of acres of land for the many "terranes" or pieces that have express purpose of protecting and pre­ moved in at different rates from serving the natural bounty that currently different places. The ancient core of exi~t~ for the enjoyment of you and aU Ala.... ka is a relatively l.lllall part of future generations. the state that lies north of here, One of these natural areas that was set between the Yukon and Porcupine aside in 1980 was the Tetlin National Rivers. As you drive along the Wildlife Refuge. For 65 miles, from the Alaska Highway. you are driving on AJaska-Yukon border to Midway Lake, the piece known as the Yukon Crys­ the northern boundary of the refuge is the talline Terrane. It extends from Alaska Highway. The Thtlin is one of 16 Nenana and Fairbanks eastward into wildlife refuges that occur in Alaska. Chi sana River Flats near Northway Junction. Photo courtesy of Tetlin NWR. Canada, and is bounded on the north This refuge is one of the smallest, encom­ by the Titina Fault near the Yukon passing about 1 million acres, while River, and on the south by the Denali some of the larger refuges are almost 20 habitat, it provides important habitat for and many otner species. FauJt. This piece of crust originated million acres. That's larger than many or many other migratory birds, as well as There are two distinctions that set the hundreds of miles south of the the states in the ''lower 48." furbearers, big game, and fiSh. The river Tetlin aside from most other refuges in present position, then slid northward This area was set aside primarily for valleys. foothills. and mountains contain the state. First. this refuge and the Kenai along the Titina Fault until it became the conservation of a natjonally signifi­ moose, caribou, Dall sheep, grizzly bear, WildJife Refuge are the only two National welded into place aJongside Alaska's cant waterfowl production area. How­ black bears, wolves, wolverine, bald ancestral core. ever, because of Its size and varied eagles, golden eagles, trumpeter swans, Continued on back (page 4) Most of the rocks in the Yukon Crystalline Terrane are schists. and you may see that type of rock on the north side of the highway just past History Around the Tetlin Northway Junction. The rocks you by Kris Thorsrud preneurs played an essentiaJ role in the see aJong most of this section of settlement of Alaska's eastern Interior. highway, however, are more recently istoric exploration and settlement They helped expand trade routes, and formed granitic rocks. They were H ofthe upper Tanana region began in innoduced local Athabaskan people to created as molten lava pushed up the the late 1800s. Previously, during Rus­ tools. food. and methods not seen overlying rocks and cooled slowly sian and European exploration of Alaska before. underground. in the 1700s, the upper Tanana was iso­ In 1913, the Chisana Stampede As you en[er Alaska and drive lated from explorers and missionaries. In attracted thousands of POid S<>"''Copper River to a village-based way of life. The 1920s were some of the many reguJarly used on the south side of the fault has area through Tetlin and on to the Thnana brought the first boat motor to the vil­ sites for duck hunting. Prominent hiJls slowly moved westward in relation­ and Yukon Rivers, recording the first lages: the 1960s brought snowmachines. provided exceUent lookout sites for ship to the northern side. ln very official exploration in this area. In J898, In 1942, the Alaska-Canada Military moose and caribou. Fish camps were recent years there has not been much the U.S. Gee;> logical and GeographicaJ Highway was completed. This project, located along the banks of the area's movement along the fault, but it is Survey sent an expedition up the White spurred on by World War II, opened up rivers. Remnants of winter beaver estimated that the land has moved as River and over to the Tanana River via the upper Tanana region to development camps. muskrat trapping camps, and car­ much as 753 feet since the last ice age Snag and Mirror Creeks. In the early more than any preceding event. Since the ibou fences can still be found throughout ended about 20,000 years ago. While 1900s, white traders-Captain North­ opening of the Alaska Highway, settle­ the Refuge. Pack and foot trails wind their this seems very slow, it can add up way, Herman Kissler, Ted Lowell. Milo ment and development of Alaska's east­ way across the Nutzotin Mountains, to over geologic time. Sixty million Hadjdukovitch among others-estab­ em Interior has steadily progressed. the White River from Mentasta to Tetlin, years ago, if Mt. McKinley has lished trading posts along the banks and Historical bunting and fishing sites are to Chisana. and north to the historic mounts of the Nabesna, Chisana. Tetlin. located throughout Refuge lands. Tetlin Continued on back (page 4) and Tanana Rivers. These frontier entre- Lake, Gasoline Lake, and Butterfly Lake Continued on back (page 4) 2

The Tetlin Passage 1989 Wildflowers Along the Alcan A Drive Through Evening Primrose Lane by Jim Sisk \ F======7~======r======~~======~======~

pr;ng and -.umme~ in Ala~ka i.' ing along the edge of the torest. Sbnefand the grov. mg sea..;on for A!> June ""cars on into July. the plants h compacle41 mto a fi:w short roadsides in some area!> become a momh~ (~by - September) . The ma­ lru(' E\enin~ Primrose Lane. The jorit} of wildllo""e'"" bloom trom two ~pccie~ of Firewced (Epi/ohwm late May to mid-Augu.'t and. for l.he clllglutifolium and E pilobium Jmi­ highway tl'&\-eler, pro\"idc a colorful ft,Jium) prov1tk a profusion of tall forcg.ruuml to r.bc maje::.tic \'iew:. of member of the Phlox fumil). Thh identified as Labrador Tea Cudum spikes and IO\\ clump!> of magenta d btant ri n:rs and moumains. The di­ plant is man)· bmnched. \\ itb di\ ided palusrre). The leaves are dull gray along the disturbed roadside area~ . \\!T~it't' of wtldtlowcrs ~rcat leave-. and the large flowers are in above and browni~h add~ U.s pin~ . is not as ~ covered "1th fhe Prickly Rose on in Ala.... l.t as in "-':inner climates, but cluste~ au the end of the 'hon hair.. on the in-rolled underside. tall :-piny :.tcm.s to the scene. The the blouming -.hon branches. Another ofthe fa mil\ pale hut striking yciiO\\ 'ea-.on i'> and member Heath • of flo"e.r5 mo~t !>pecics are in bloom at the ,A :.top and shtll't walk b 'arne Vcn• • rravelcr' will tough grayish leave' on and dl) me..tdo" find onl~ the willows. alders. and a highway will allow sighting:. of whtte drooping globes tor nov.cr~ is areas belong [O the Alaskan Poppy few ,edge."> tn blnl>!>Om in April. many plant!> in bloom during June. In Lcathcrleaf with the umque Latin (Ptl.pa\"ef' ala.rkamon). Shon \\alks A tr-Jveler on a trip through the low and v. et areas. the drooping pink name Cltamuedapluu: C'alyculatu! In into the forc~ts or down into the bog~ mterior of Alaska during the period globes af the Bog R1JScmary late June suitable pond~ will nuat the and wet areas '"Ill allow you to (Androm~da polifolia) grace the of May through June will find many huge yellow blossoms of the Water encounter manv• more beautiful and ofour moM beauuful Oowerspro\id­ edges of ponds and wet tussocks Lily (Nuplwr polysepalum). The 'triktng nowers. June and Jul) are mg a blue and white carpet w1th Arctic Sweet Coh:.foot CPeta.ritesfrt· magenta Bog Laurel (Kalnua po/ifo the months when the great majority enough pmk and yellow h1ghlights to gidll!i) also blooms in the low and wet lla) and the Bog Blucberr} ( 11Jcci- of plants bloom in Alaska. draw allention. One of the ~:arliest Hrl!as The biOS!>Om~ appear before 11ium uliginosum) will also be found For information about wild showy plant' found along the high­ the leaves and arc white to pinkish in in tbese low moist to wet area~. Ripe flowers. their identification and way is the Pa,que flower (Anemone clusters at the top ol bare :.wlks one blueberries may be picked in late uses. you can stop at the Visitor In­ patcn.l'). a low-growing. blue to pur­ to two feet tall The bright yclluw August in these same areas. tormation Center in Tok and inquire ple buncrcup thut often pushes up Marsh Mangold (Ca/tlra palustris) The pea family provides the trav­ about the availability of field guides. through the r~maining snow to can also b~· tound on the ~:dgclt of eler with some of the showiest road­ resident experts. or management bloom. A white cousin of the Pasque ~mull ponds. Two <~rchids can be side nowers in Ala~o.ka. The pink to agencies with in-depth infonnalion flower that bloom~ at the same time found in wet areas: the single hlus­ red Licorice root (Hed\'Sllrwn alpin about vegetation habitats. photogra­ but pretcrs mossy areal> in light • o;oms Clf Northern Lady's Shppcr um) and rcd-Oowered Northern phy. and l~a\ions for field trips. shade is the Northern Anemone (Cypripedium posscritwm) arc Sweet-vetch CHedy.wnun macken:.ii) Observing and learning about wild· (Anemom parvijlora) ThU. butter­ white, us arc the clustered sp1ke of arc mtcrspersed wnb the blue Arctic nowcrs is quuc inexpensive and can cup has spreading white petals that nower5 on Hooded Ll.ldje's Tres!oi!S Lupine (LupimtS arctim) and the be a very rewarding experience for ha"e a bluish tint on the back. (Spmuulu•s mmanzofficma). On top purple Showy Crazyweed (Orytru­ the Alaskan traveler. We sincerely Another light blue flower ofthe June of the tussock!~ bctwl!cn the ponds. a PIS ~pll!ndt'ns) The dmoptng Blue· hupe you have a pleasant and reward­ roadside is Showy Jacob's Ladder shrub with cluMers ot beautiful bells (Mertmsicl panic~tltllcl) of the Ing expenenc.e along this E\ eniog (Pol~monium pulchtorrimum). a whue .md frugrunt tlowl!r:> can be Dol d.gc (aJTtil) ~dJI lx r~ulli.J l.lh.XJJ Jl• P1 im r u:.c La.m:.

BIRDS 4. 1spend the enttre year in Alaska and can be seen tn the coldest day of win· ter with my wedge-shaped ta11 and shaggy throat feathers. 3. I have more than 30 diStinct vocahzatrons but am well known for my deep resonant "KAW." 2. 1am fairly smart. as b1rds go. and so are my coustns-1ays, magpies, and crows 1. I am the largest songb1rd and all-black b1rd m the world. Who am I? _ ------~------Be a Bird Detective Score BIRDC Adapted from the game 4. 1 can be found 1n 1he spruce-birch forests throughout Alaska 3 My sole winter food 1s spruce needles and on fall momlngs you can see me by John Warden by lake shores, streams, and roads fmdmg grit to grind the needles in my giZZard winter months Bird c. are fa.,cmating to observe More than 150 specie~ ofbinh may be found on the during 2. The rusty-orange band at the top of my dark-brown tail sets me apart from Tetlin Wildlife National Reiuge Songbirds. shorebirds, and wat~rfowl . especially my relatives. dud.ll, are plentiful during the summer months. Can you idenul}' some of the birds you , . 1am also called by names hke Franklin·s grouse, Spruce hen and Fool's may see on the refuge by the1rcoloror marlmgs, where they h\e. what they eat? Wh} hen. not try your luck at the following game and find out? Who ami? ______Score: ------How to Play BIRDD Each bird ha~ four clu~ to help you find the right answer. Start at the top and read 4. 1swim low in the water and have a daggerllke ball only the first clue. Fill in the answer ifyou know it. Ifyou arc unahlc t<> idcnufy the bird 3. When alarmed, 1prefer dlllmg tor safely instead of flying and can stay under· on the first clue. proceed to the second clue. then the third clue. and finally the founh water more than a minute. clue. If you an: still not able to identify iL. proceed to the next o;et of clucll 2 1 am a sleek-looking bird with a dark head and body, white striped breast. Scoring 1s based on identifying the birds in the fewest number of clues. The object ts and white speckles on my back. to get the h1ghcst number of points by totaling aJithc mdividual sets of clues when you 1. I make a yodelling call on my breed1ng grounds along lakes m Alaska linally have the correct anl!wcr. For~xample. ifyou identify the bird on the lirst clttc. you Who am I'? _ would scon.: 4 points If you did so on the ::.econd clue, you would gct3 point!!. You'J get 2 Score: puint\ for tht.{ third clue, I point for the last clue. and no pomts if you couldn't lind an anl>wer. BIRD E 4 1prefer shallow marshes or mud flats when looking tor rood whtch usually are insects, mollusks, and small seeds of aquat1c plants BIRD A 3 I amihe smallest duck (about the s:ze of a pigeon) In Alaska and one of the 4 1eal about 20 pounds ol aqua He vegetauon a day. like tubers and seeds swiftest fliers 3. 1am known by my loud, "French horn-like" can 2 The drakes of my sp!l(;Jes are extremely colorful. tney have a cmnamon-red 2 1am the world's largest member of the waterfowl famtly and the emblem ol head, green eye stripe and lheJr speculum (the middle feathers an the wmg) the Tethn Nattonal Wtldlife Refuge. rs green 1 My hfelong mate and I have all·wh1te plumage artd our young are called 1 I am also called a common teal and g1eenwlng cygnets Who am I? ______Who am I? ------Score: Score; See back page (page 4) for scoring and answers to ''The Bird Detective." The Tetlin Passage 1990 WILDLIFE HABITAT MA EMENT The Role of Fire by Larry Vanderlinden ktry purpose for "hich Tetlin • 'a­ accompli hec:l. If these and other condi­ A tiona! Wildlife Refuge was e~1ab­ tions nrc met. the prc..;cribed burn is ll'-hed and 1 currently managed I!> "to ignited b) a trained ream of o;pecialists. con-.ci'\'C fish unc.l "ildlifc population-. There 1<; no ~ingular use of lhe refuge ontl hnbuatc; an their natural dJ') .. tem-.. nvn•lnhle. F1re i~ a l.:c) mgredient in Today, fire ., the mr> t Important tool contmuang the hal:mce of utilization and B\'Uilnblc on Tcthn Nauonal Wtldlife conscr.,.ation for plant und animal re­ Rc:fugc for llUlintammg the n3turnl di­ sources on the refuge. vcr,il\• of" •ldltfc habatat' If you do sec moke as you lnlvcl HO\\ ts fire used n 11 hab•tnt manage­ along. above or through the refuge. you ment tool? rna) 'Cf) well be eemg habitat manage­ lntcmgcncy fire management plan., ment ut work. On the other hand. u f1UI\• ' ha\e been d~o:\eloped \\ h1ch aiiO\\ for u be an unreported v;ildfire. Ju t 10 make rnngc of upprc 'ion responses to \\ ild­ urc nppropnatc action 1s lakcn, rcpon land fires thai occur on fire-prone lamh nn) fire on the refuge to Refuge Head­ in AJa,.,ka. Planned responses nrc estab­ quarter-. an Tok (883-531:!) or the State lished for broad areas based rm land OIVI,JOn of f' stable rcmo11: areas "lwrl wildlilc hab1U1t can availabtllty ol habltah to support the be enhanced h} thcu UlTUrrcncc receive rrc:ucst diversity of plants and animals a monitoring Jcspnn,c. A' long as the on the refuge. remote tires do not threaten to sprcuc.l ~rohuhilit) into c.lc"dupcd arcu' 01 cn.:.•tc u ~mokc • ·r he or large catastroph­ problem. they ''ill continue tn be mom­ ic- 11rc.., occurnng I\ n.'du1.'Cd becnuo;c the mo~aic torcd '' ith nn uth~.: r 'upprcs-.1~1n action vcgctalton crcarcd by smaller taken . lire) uvcr n long period of time tends to The rcluge also has an nctivc pre· limit fire sprcnd .. cribcd fire progrum. E\'Cf) ycur. de­ tailed pn:scnlx:d bum plnns arc written • 1ux dollnrs arc con ervcd bv• not for pec1lk nrca w1th pectfic obJCC­ pcndmg large amount'> of money to tivc.s. ObjCCli\'C for prcscnbed bums aggrcs ivel) upprc ' l1rc;., in remote. on rhc r"'fugc are nom1all) hoked to nrc.. . impfO\ mg w1ldhfe habitat. enhancing habitat d1vers1ty. or hlll'ard reduction. • Supprc s1on re.5oum.--s can concen­ ~Pre.scrapuon ·• arc developed which trate on protecting developed or inhabited .,peel f) the mngc of environmental con­ areru and quickl) put out d~ctivc duion under wh1ch e<~ch bum will be Ftre Manogcme111 Officer I.arry Jfmderluulen ignites a pre:Jcribed burn on the rejugl'. fires that occur in tlrsc nrea~ .

Tetlin NWR Visitor Center Tlaga Trail Milepost 1229 Alaska Highway ~~ Mile loop Nature Trail Open Daily Birders Delight Deadman Lake Campground 7:00a.m. to 7:00p.m. Earty Morning BlrdwaJk Mtlepost 1249 Alaska Highway Meets at ~~ Tok Alaska Public Lands Information Center Wednesdays 7:00a.m. Interpreters Choice Deckslde Nature Talks Campfire Talk Tetlin NWR Visitor Center Deadman lake Campground Wednesdays 7:00p.m. Dally 10:00 a.m. & 3:00p.m. Wildlife Movies Tok Alaska Public lands Information Center Da1ly 9:00, 10:00, 11 :00 a.m. Tetlin NWR Headquarters 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00p.m. Alaska Highway Tok,Aiaska Interpretive Stations Open Monday-Friday Mileposts 8:00 a.m.-Noon 1227 1243 1269 1: 00 p.m.-5:00p.m. 1229 1252 1273

Alaska Public Lands Discovery Hike Information Center Meets at Tok,Aiaska Tok Alaska Public lands Open Daily Information Cen1er 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p m. Sundays 7:00p.m. ALASKA PUBLIC LANDS INFORMATION CENTER + Sourdough Campground

The Stage Stop Bed & Breakfast Grtzzly Auto Dept. of Tok Boreal Backpacking Transportation Softball Adventures Reld '~------~ Dept. of Natural Resources

Tok Open Daily 8:00 a.m.-8:00p.m. Clinic Tok Fire Dept. WILDLIFE MOVIE PROGRAMS 9, 10, 11 A.M. 2, 3, 4, 5 P.M. Senior Citizens Center TOKAIRPORT Vasi Air Golden Bear Gift Shop • Tok, Alaska Tok Don's Dureen's Lodge Store J I Pin Cushion Tok Mini Mart Tok Sateway -r::: .... ~ oa> ....G) Jack Wade (/.) G) C) Oo Gold GIS .r::: ·- "0~ ~ ~ r::: o:t:: 8 as .r::: .en ~0'-r::: G) CI)O .r::: r::: as t:: r::;CII 0 Clio. ~a. r:::{2 (.)(/) -o ... ~ g r::: 0 -::J ~ • ?l o- - II) as(/) >-- -::J(/) oo >- .... ~ as as J!!r::: - !!SO g>-Cll - .... as o o al .C::.r::; aS- ~G) -= cf~ ~- .... ~ ::J >o'Git:r G)CII CDCil ~(I) oo__,- .... FO ~ a!.o~~ ::J ·.;:; <- ~~ ·ci,e er::: 'Eo ·c o r::: > '- -0. as'- CDN ~Cl) 0 -(I) :::J .... as- ID r::: al (/) :::J ~~ C> -r::: - .r:::-= ~ _;:, asO. G) 0 r::: r::: .!! a> cr -CD 0~ CliO :::JG) ~- .... r:::...... ¥ Q) i!-<.... ~ Q) C>o -o ~ -~ Q) a.cf (I)Q) 'E"8 en _ enal = ID > ~ ALASKA HIGHWAY TO FAIRBANKS 'I • CQ - co - - c . 0 >as C)«)- "'ec- 4D ...... -E «<.. -.:: "0 't],_ c­ c C a. ::J CD 0«1 .!~ e~ '-r::: "O::J :;sO _, . -«< ::S:;s z E ...: '-r::: u;{i2 WCII ~~ o U 8 .r::: E._ ow ooa. ... <11<11 =c F z -01 as«~ .Q O G) -Cll ~~ Oa. --- ::s; 8~ (/) 3 u.a: G) -«~ a.E Q.c -Ill :I: u: _rn as •E (I) oU ~ ... - 0 ... J!!o •o «10.. ~ -.0 .0.!::: a: -c4(- en ::J ·- Ill a. E .!!? a~> -< .r::: 0 ..¥ {:2

FIRST AVENUE TokJob Alascom Office TokHigh School

Bureau of L; TO Land Management Lois's Iii- Bed & Breakfast S

Summer ivities • Tour the town on the red shuttle bus, dally 4-9 p.m. (fee).

• Square dancing at the Seniors' Center Tuesday nights.

• Dog demo, 7:30p.m. nightly (except Su~) at Burnt Paw.

• Bngo-Tuesday nights at Dog Mushers' Hall, Thursday night at VFW Hall. •

• NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE

Visiting Wrangell-St. Elias NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE

here are many ways to experience four mile uphill walk to the privately­ T the U.S.'s largest national park. The owned historic Keru1ecott mining com­ following information will help you plex. For those who'd rather not walk, decide on a park adventure to fit your shuttle rides are available thcough the interests. local lodges. BY ROAD-Two unpaved roads pen­ FLlGHTSEEING-Even a short ett·ate the park. The northern portion of flight over the Wrangells will convince the park can be reached via the Nabesna you that this is a spectacular mountain Road. From Slana on the Tok Cutoff, it wilderness. Charter aircraft are avail­ extends 46 miles to Nabesna, an inactive able in most communities including privately-owned mining community. Northway, Tok. Glennallen, and Me­ Caribou, moose, bear, sheep and water­ Canby. A list of air taxi operators is fowl may be seen from the road. Check available at information centers. at the Slana Ranger Station for the lat­ HIKING-Most backpackers and est road conditions and to pick up a dayhikers start from points along the Nabesna Road Guide. Slana-Nabesna or Chhina-McCarthy In the bean of the park lies the 61- roads. There are few trails, so most mile Chitina to McCarthy Road. This hiking is across what appears to be pre­ Russell Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains. In the background are Mt. Borw. road follows the old Copper River and viously untraversed terrain. Descrip­ (16,421') and Mt. Churchill (15,638'). Photo by George Herben. Northwestern Railroad route. Moose, tions of the most common routes and bear, sheep and bald eagles may be information on current conditions are seen. High clearance, two-wheel drive available at park ranger stations. Chitina rivers offer excellent rafting and obtain a park service permit to use vehicles can usually make the trip in MOUNTAINEERING-The park's kayaking opportunities. The 77-mile trip them. Snowmachines, horses and dog summer but check with the Chitina many glaciers, icefields, rivers, and down the Copper from Chitina to the teams may be used without a permit. Ranger Station for current road condi­ steep rock walls present endless chal­ Gulf of Alaska takes rafters through HUNTING AND FISHING- You tions and McCarthy Road Guides. lenges for mountaineers. Mounts Drum, some of the park's most rugged terrain. must have an Alaska license to sport The trip takes about four hours and Sanford. Blackburn, and St. Elias are Guided whitewater and ocean kayak hunt or fish in the national preserve. ends at the Kennicott River. You then favorites for climbing expeditions. trips are available. Check with a ranger station for seasons must hand-power a cable tram across the Guided trips are available. ATVs-All-terrain vehicles may be and location information. Local guides river to McCarthy. From McCarthy it's a WmTEWATER-The Copper and used on designated routes. You must are available. PARK

. W rangell-St. Elias is the: North America (the Malaspina, at rions of Dall Sheep in North Amer­ • largest U.S. national park over 800 square miles, is larger ica (about 12,000 animals). (l3.2 million acres). than the state of Rhode Island). • two caribou herds (Mentasta • largest designated wilderness • the largest non-polar icefield and Chisana). in U.S. (9.6 million acres). in North America (Bagley Icefield). • both grizz.ly and black bears. • designated World Heritage Site • the northernmost active vol­ • the northernmost population cano in North America (Mt. Wran­ of mountain goats. with Kluane National Park in • Canada. gell, L4,163'). • nesting ba.ld and golden eagles. • nine peaks over 14,000' and 14 • introduced herds of bison. Geography • over lO,()(XY. • over 200 bird species. The • four major mountain ranges Park is located on one of the ma­ The park and preserve contains: (Wrangell, St. Elias, Chugach and jor flyways for migrating birds in • the second highest peak 1n Alaska). Alaska. U.S. (Mt. St. Elias- 18,808'). • the longest inland glacier in Wildlife North America (Nabesna Glacier is The Wrangell Mountains are world­ about 70 miles long). The park and preserve has: renowned for large Da/l rams. • the largest piedmont glacier in • one of the largest concentra- Photo by Robert M. Butterfield. -~. • • - -. • ... , What is a National ..... •

Park & Preserve? l Chamber of Commerce VIsitor Info rmation Center-Located in he Alaska Lands Act of 1980 the log cabin at the junction ofthe TETLIN NATIONAL T established Wrangell-St. Elias Na­ Glenn and Richardson highways. WILDLIFE REFUGE tional Park and Preserve. Of the 13.2 Information on lodging, camping, Slana Ranger Sta­ restaurants, guide services, wor­ tion-on Nabesna million acres managed by the National ship services, etc. throughout Park Service, 8.3 million acres are des­ Road near junction, the Copper River Basin. Open Nabeana Road Mile 65.2 Tok cutoft. ignated as a national park and 4.8 mil­ 10-6 daily in the summer. Phone Open daily 8-5, lion acres has national preserve status. 822-5555. June 1 through Sept. The basic difference between a national Phone 822-3085. park and a national preserve is that sport To Anchorage - Glennalle~ hunting and trapping is allowed in the preserve. These activities are subject to / \ To Haines state and federal laws and regulations. Park Headquar ters Visitor McCarthy Junction Center-Mile 105.5 Old Rich­ ~~ ardson. Open daily 9-6, in sum­ FOR MORE INFORMATION: mer; M-F, 8-5 rest of the year. Wrangell-st. Elias Superintendent Park video, maps, book sales. Wrangell-St. Elias Phone 822-5234. NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE National Park and Preserve KLUANE P.O. Box 29 • NATIONAL Glennallen, AK 99588 Chitina Ranger Station-Mile PARK 33 Edgerton. Open daily 8-5, Memorial Day to Labor Day. EMERGENCY: DIAL 911. Slide/tape program on McCarthy State Troopers: 822-3263 Road. Phone 823-2205. Glennallen Clinic/Ambulance: 822-3203 The Tetlin Passage 1990 11 • Draw a line to match each animal with its • 10 TRACKS!

1. A.

7

B. 2.

• 19 21 •

• 6

22 ·-- 4 5 • 3. 24 . ~~ • 23 3 c. • • • 27 28 26

4. 0.

T his bird has a sharp, hooked biU and talons for catching tish... Connect the dots to find an. .

OSPREY E. (lrom Alaskan Wildlife Week, 1984) 1'3 PUB ~0 'S:J '\ 8 't'o' .SJ9MSU'cf Fascinating Facts

ne-halr of the world's population lack spruce trees (the small of sandh111l cranes (200,000 birds) tiny boreal chickadee is a hearty little bird. Unlike most birc;ls stunted evergreens seen throu~h­ migrate through the upper Tanana oul interior Alaska) live a hard life Valley each spring on their way to who migrate south for the wtrrter, the chickadee stays here the year on permafrost soils. A tw

c ....___ he TeUtn National Wildfife Refuge lack spruce trees need fire to lllllt\~ in eastern Atasl

P M U S K A A T 0 ~ WPGECVHUBCMYFW~... _, X T Y N I C E T Y B G Y N 0 U E W ''11-lij~~~--~--"'!"'""'!~~7~ _ S C G P M A l l A A D E T H I S Y I T P L I J U n - ~ E P ·~' S W A N T U F D Y 0 W B V J Q E Y L W; lV ~G~O.JO~S:iE;;;B~~ ~R;;.o.;;,E ....;l~T ""'O_R...,;E~V,...I ..;.R;...;,.T,;....,. H X f H U J I C l W G Y H U U J U A a_s n 'LHABITATCIHUNt ~ C K T B f R Y V T Y U 0 A 1N0rds? J L C C Y V Y E V I 0 X G Y 0 Can you find these V U Y ~.R C H A U 1 C H U S W • D Y H V X Y H G W Y V Y E 0 T _ RlverOtter - Mallard _ Water G R I V E R S L W Y F K F V SC CHW E YA\'UfJ - Beaver _ Loon - E T P X Y V U I c U f _ M-.. _ Moose Swan 0 E E S 0 0 M G V A GC UVUVU VR - WCJlland - Duck - Mosquito E Y Y N U ~ - WildHfe _ Lakes Eagle RUN - Hab1tat Rivers Sedge X T H ' 3

The Tetlin Passage 1989 OBSERVING WILDLIFE • Along the Alaska Highway by Terry Doyle s you travel along the Alaska high­ between wintering and breeding A way you may be surprised by the grounds. The best season to view birds in lack of wildlife. But if you look carefully this area is the breeding season of May you will see many bird species, and and June. It is during this season that perhaps a beaver or moose. most birds are actively singing and dis­ Most wildlife species are secretive in playing and can be most easily found. It is nature and not easily seen. This is under­ also the time of year when birds are most standable because for many of these spe­ brightly colored. Through July and cies their life depends on it. Species that August birds become more secretive and I ive off of other species are called preda­ less colorful. Some species of birds tors, the species they live off of are called become more visible as they begin to prey. Most species are prey to some group up in preparation for fall migra­ predator and so it becomes imponant to tions. August is a good time to see migrat­ be secretive when danger threatens. ing greater white-fronted and Canada On the other hand it is in. the predators geese, September is a good time to see interest to also be secretive so they can migrating sandhill cranes and October an sneak up on their prey so that they can excellent lime to see migrating trumpeter survive. It is a constant battle for both the and tundra swans. Mammals also make prey and the predators to survive. No seasonal movements but their movements wonder it can be so hard to find some are more specific to the individual spe­ species! cie!) than are bi rdl;. Some people seem lucky and see dif­ Bull Moose. There are 192 bird species and 44 species ferent wildlife species almost without of mammals that occur on or near the trying. But if you want to rely on more Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. But you than luck you must begin to think like the Common Loon. Plroto bv John Gavin. only have a day in the area to see wildlife, wildlife. not a lifetime. ln the map below are some One of the first things to think about is spots near the highway that support a a home. Most wildlife species have very large number of species or are a reliable specific homes or habitats that they live place. to conveniently see a. particular in. ·For instance it is much easier to find a speCICS. moose in a patch of thick brush along a waterway than it is in a thick spruce There are various interpretive and forest. That is because moose feed on a picnic pu lloffl> along the road where combination of shrubs arrd aquatic vege­ l-Ongbitds and small mammals may be tation during the summer but rarely feed Moose found. Bald eagles can often be found on spruce. On the other hand. as its name track. flying along the highway paralleling the Tanana River. implies, the spruce grouse is found in . spruce forests, not in open tundra. Get­ sunrise and in the early evening just which are active at night. called Although there is no guarantee of ting to know wild I ife habita:ts c'an become before sunset. During the midd1e of the nocturnal. finding a particular species at any one a hobby which lasts a lifetime. day, when humans tend to be most active. A third thing to consider when trying lime, you can greaLly increase your A second factor to consider when is actually the worst time to try and find to view wildlife is the season. Almost all chances of finding wildlife by checking trying to view wildlife is the time of day. wildlife because that's when wildlife spe­ species of wildlife have seasonal move­ habitat in the correct season at the right Almost all wildlite species are most cies are least active. There are some ments and activity patterns. Birds for time of day. active in the early morning just after species such as owls and flying squirrels instance, migrate thousands of miles

ALASKA HIGHWAY Milepost Guide

Milepost Look for:

1221.8 U.S. Customs Tetlin Indian 1223 Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge entrance sign. The small trees Reservation in this area indicate permafrost- permanently frozen soil below the ground. • 1223.4 This wetland area, the Scotty and Desper Creek bottoms, are productive waterfowl habitat. 1224.5 Highway Lake interpretive exhibit (under construction). Note the beaver lodge at the east end of Highway Lake. 1225.6 Desper Creek. A small boat ramp provides access to the refuge for canoes and other small boats. 1226 Arctic loons can often be seen in these marshes. 1226.5 Aspen, balsam poplar, and paper birch can be found along these hillsides. The predominant hill to the south is Airs Hill. Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge 1227.9 Corridors tor Passage interpretive exhibit. 1229 Tetlin National Wildlife Visitor Center. 1231 The large lake to the north is appropriately named, Island 1256.2 Look for bank swallow nests on the north side of the highway. Lake. 1238 Note the stabilized sand dunes in this area, visible at numer­ 1256.7 Lakeview Campground. Camping, waterfowl information and ous road cuts. viewing. 1240.2 The vertical culverts along the road are an attempt to prevent 1258 Eliza Lake is visible to the south of the highway. the permafrost from thawing. 1263.5 The Chisana River (shoe-san'-ah) parallels the highway for 1243.6 The Changing Landscape interpretive exhibit. approximately five miles. 1244 The rugged mountains visible to the north are the Mentasta 1264 Northway Junction. Mountains, part of the Alaska Range. 1269 Highways of Water interpretive exhibit. About 100 yards 1246.7 Gardiner Creek bridge. Grayling fishing is best here in early upstream rrom the point the Chisana and Nabesna Rivers join spring and late fall. to form tha Tanana (tan'-nah-naw) River. 1249.3 Deadman Lake Campground. Refuge waterfowl information, 1273 Ponds are not Forever interpretive exhibit. camping, fishing, and nature trail (under construction). 1284 Tetlin National Wildlife entrance sign.

1250.2 Picnic area. 1289 The large lake to the south of the highway is Midway Lake • 1252 Solar Basin interpretive exhibit. 1301.7 Tetlin Junction. 1253 The hills ahead are known as the Tetlin Hills. Peninsula and 1303.3 Tanana R1ver bndge. Yarger Lakes are visible just to the south of the highway. 1309.3 Tok River State Campground. 4

The Tetlin Passage 1989 Alas Words You May Not Know compiled by Dennis Rogers '' n your travels through Alaska this year Lower 48-the 48 contiguous United I you may stumble upon some obscure States Alaskan words that you may not be fumil­ Monitor-a large nozzle used to direct iar with. Below is an "Alaskan Dictio­ water into a hillside in hydraulic nary·· with some words you may hear this m10mg summer. Hopefully. by using this list you Moraine-a glacial deposit of debris will be able to understand the 49th ~tate a Mukluks-native boots maue from ani­ I ittle easier. mal skins Muskeg-a grassy bog or swamp where Alcan-the Alaska Highway. formerly r the Alaska-Canada Highway little can grow exceptforblackspruce. dwarf birch, and other shrubby plants Alpine-elevated slopes above the treeline Nunatak-a mountain peak poking out Phoro courresy of Tetlin NWR. Aurora Borealis-the northern lights; of an icefield streams of light ascending in fan and Outside-local term used by Alaskans to ribbon shapes from the northern hori­ refer to anywhere out of the state Alaskan Songs zon caused by the ejection of charged Pemmican-dried, pounded meat mixed with flour, molasses, and suet HEL~ particles into the magnetic field of the THAT CAN PASS THE TIME earth Permafrost - permanently frozen Babiche (BAH-BEESH)-strips of ground semi-tanned caribou or moose hide Piogos-low, rounded mounds created Twinkle, twinkle Northern Lights, Home, home in the snow Boreal- subarctic by frost action, rising from the tundra sparkle in the arctic night. Where it's mild Bush -any part of Alaska not accessible Placer (PLAS-SIR)-a deposit of sand when it's forty below by road or gravel containing particles of gold Up above the clouds so high, Cabin Fever -depressed state of mind Poke-a small bag of gold dust But the sun shines for me • blue-green ribbons in the sky. blamed on cold, dark. winter weather By the greaJ Bering Sea Potla tch-a feast for the dead and an when people are housebound elaborate ceremonial display at which Twinkle, twinkle Northern Lights, In the life ofth e gay sourdough. Cache (CASH) -a small, elevated struc­ valued. gifts are given to prove wealth shimmer in my dreams tonight. (TUNE: "Home on the Range," c, 1873) ture for food storage or attam presuge. (TUNE: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Calving-the breaking off or a piece of Skookum -strong. active, a go-getter Music traditi0nal from France; When it's springtime itJ Alaska ice from a glacier used as early as 1765) A nd it's forty-five below Cheechako (CHEE-CH AK-KO)-a Sluice ..... a long inclined trough with newcomer, tenderfoot, greenhorn grooves or riffles on the bottom where All tlze Eskimos go barefoot gold is caught and dirt and rocks are Because they like the snow. Dene-the Athabaskan people Oh, give me a home Diamond Willow-oneoffivespeciesof washed through Between Fairbanks and Nome All the polar bears get sunburned willow where a fungi is thought to Sourdough-an old timer Where the moose And the seals all lose their hair cause diamond-shaped patterns in the Taiga (TIE-GAH) - .. ubarcLic land of and the caribou play When it's springtime in Alask4 wood stunted coniferous trees Fish Wheel-a device turned by the cur­ Thndra-a treeless vegetation of moss­ Where nothing will grow And it's forty-five below up there. rent of a river, scooping fish into a es, lichens, herbs. ant.! dwarfshmbs in 'Cause it's covered with snow (TUNE: ''When It's Springtime in the Rockies,'' holding box arctic and alpine areal. Rrom June to the following May. c. 1929) Fjord-a narrow inlet flanked by steep Tussock -a tall clump or rufu of growing cliffs grasses or sedges held together by a Husky-any sled dog dense root system ' vas( expanse of land and customs more The Bird Detective ' Great Land (cont.) similar than different. A tremendous ,. source of information exists for the casual SCORING & ANSWERS "' Wildlife Refuges in the state that can be readers, curious traveler, and profes­ reached by a road system. Secondly, the sional researcher within the mountains, Tetlin. along with the Kenai are the only Answers to the Bird Detective valleys. and riverbeds of this unique Alaska Natural History Association two that were mandated by law to provide region we know as the Tetlin National Bird A - Trumpeter Swan for interpretation and education concern­ Wildlife Refuge. Bird B - Common Raven The Alaska Nmura/ History A.ssociaritm l$ a ing the environment. With these distinc­ Bird C - Spruce Grouse tWnprojit organi-:t:ltitm t ___ lr\il't'. U.S. Rm!st campgrounds, nature trails, and a very existed, it would have been right next to Sen'ice, U.S. Fish cmd Wild/ift Sen·il'(', Alaska friendly interpretive staff to assist you. Tok! Scoring Summary Dn·ilmn of Parks and Owdo<>r Recremirm and the There are a number of other purposes During the last Ice Age, glaciers lmeragt•ncr Visiwr Celltt?rs ill Alaska. Public First clue ...... 4 points memher.,·ltip.•· are aw1i/able Ill rltt•se wlto are for which the refuge was set aside, includ­ flowed north out of the Alaska Range, but ing conservation ofentire ecosystems in a Second clue ...... 3 points illll'restt•d in the goCI/s nne/ purpose! of ANHA. never quite reached this area. The Tanana Third clue ...... 2 points Membt•rx rt•ct!ir•e 11 15% tfiscoumat ollofrlll' natural diversity, international treaty Alctsktm sales mu/ers bllt( atnumy l'isiwr t'l'llrer.l River valley, being ice-free, was home to Fourth clue ...... l point obligations, subsistence uses. and water a huge variety of animals including our in mher .1tnres. quality -all of which are important. We No answer ...... •...... 0 points "State Fossil" the Woolly Mammoth. It Wrong answer ...... • ...... 0 point$ feel that the environmental education was cut off from the North American purposes may be the most important or all continent by ice, but was attached to because it is you, as the nation's public. Russia via a land bridge formed as ice Add up aU your individual clue scores that will be deciding the future of these caused the sea level to drop. Meltwater natural wonders that still exist. We hope to arrive at a total score. Then review stream flowing northward from the the ratings below to see how you did ycu enjoy your visit and leave Alaska a Alaska Range glaciers laid down blankets more informed conservationist. Have overall. Upper Tanana Natural of sandy silt throughout this area. Cold History Association fun! winds blowing over the drying river beds picked up the dirt and created great Bird Ratings Tills publiC'otion is madt possible in part by the History (cont.) clouds of silt that settled as thick deposits o/1/>rtmding \'Oiumt'l!r ejfom nf rhr mtmb<'ri>hlp tJ/ called '1oess." The heavier sand was Points Scored Rating the Upper Tanana N(Uurol Hisrory .4ssvdarion. Fortymile and Klondike gold regions. separated out by the winds and it moved 18-20 ...... King Eider CfrNHA. i.v a nonprofit educOlirmnl f/rga11i:.nrio11 dedirored Ul prom(1ting awartness mul u11der· Trails also connected with southern along the ground forming immense sand 14-17 .... • ...Emperor Goose sra11ding ofthe llnt(tm/, cu/wra/. and llisrorh' routes, allowing contact with people in dunes. You can see these dunes along the I 0-13 ...... Common Loon resourus ofrhe uppt>r Tanahtt area. Memhl!rsltip the Copper River area, southern Yukon Alaska Highway before you come to 5-9 ...... Least Flycatcher i,\tll'(li/a/11<' tn our imeresrctl ptrsons. Pfeosl! Northway, and also along the flfSt part of Below 5 ...... B lue-footed Booby writl': UTNH.¥1, P.O. Box 16.1, Tak. Alaska 99780 and northern British Columbia, and for mort' itifonnarion. southeast Alaska. the Taylor Highway. Even today with roads, electric power, running water, and television, the eastern FOR MORE INFORMATION: Interior remains in the beginning stages A Special Thanks to All Contributors Refuge Manager of historic understanding. Contact Editing by Craig Perham Desig11 and Production b,1· Du11ham IlltMirtJtirm Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Box 155 among Canadian, Coastal, and Interior Prodttcrion CocmlinatiOII by Fronkie Bnrkur. ANHA. T,1peseuing by Vi10ib/c Ink Wilt.iflower il/ustraiions COtlrtesy ofthe CES. UAF Primiltg by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tok, Alaska 99780 peoples traces trade and trav~l routes (907) 883-5312 across Refuge lands to beyond, linking a