Alaska’s Wildlife and Habitat Alaska Department of Fish and Game JANUARY, 1973 Funded by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Funds PRICE: $15 STATE OF ALASKA William A. Egan GOVERNOR James W. Brooks Frank F. Jones COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR DIRECTOR ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME GAME DIVISION STUDY TEAM Ronald J. Somerville COCHAIRMEN Richard H. Bishop MEMBERS Walt L. Cunningham Robert A. Rausch John S. Vania Harry R. Merriam Robert E. LeResche EDITORS Robert A. Hinman CARTOGRAPHY STAFF Billie Ruth Boring Timothy Jackinsky Eugene Lewis Stephen M. Brooks Larry L. Johnson Sheryl Ludwig Gary Faircrough Samuel Jones Frank D. Rosenberg PRINTER Van Cleve Printing, Anchorage, Alaska ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Because this volume is a compilation of existing knowledge of selected Alaska wildlife species, much of which existed only in unwritten form among Department staff members, it could not have been completed without the cooperation of many. The study team would like to express its appreciation to the entire Departmental staff for their interest and support. We are particularly indebted to the following members of the Game Division: Melvin Buchholz, John J. Burns, Phillip D. Havens, James E. Hemming, Larry Jennings, Jack W. Lentfer, Carl W. McIl- roy, Lyman Nichols, Gerene R. Olson, Robert E. Pegau, Colleen Rhody, Karl B. Schneider, Peter E. K. Shepherd, Arthur C. Smith III, Roger B. Smith, Bonnie M. Snyder, Daniel E. Timm, and Dolores R. Weister. We also gratefully acknowledge contributions by: our sister Divisions of Sport Fish and Commercial Fisheries; the Habitat Section of the Department of Fish and Game; the Alaska Department of Public Safety; the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife; the U. S. Forest Service; the Bureau of Land Management; the U. S. National Park Service; the U. S Geological Survey; the Department of Regional Economic Expansion, Canada; the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Province of British Columbia, Canada; Renewable Resources Consulting Services, Ltd.; and numerous members of the public who offered their assistance. Base maps were provided by the U. S. Geological Survey. WILLIAM A. EGAN, GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER Support Building Juneau 99801 February 6, 1973 Honorable William A. Egan Governor State Capitol Building Juneau, Alaska 99801 Dear Governor Egan: It gives me much pleasure to furnish you with a report entitled Alaska’s Wildlife and Its Habitat prepared by the Department of Fish and Game. This publication provides factual and reasonably detailed information about Alaska’s great and varied wildlife resources during a critical transition period for our State. The volume is large, but excusably so, for it treats a large subject with a thoroughness never before achieved in the presentation of current information about wildlife in a vast region. As a reference source for individuals or agencies involved in land use or resources planning, the volume should prove invaluable. But it likewise offers a wealth of information to all people who have their own special concern or interest in wildlife resources. Policies, management practices, game population levels, habitat characteristics and relative values are all dy- namic in nature, and this publication is designed to accommodate change. Pages may be printed in the future to reflect significant changes and these pages can be inserted to keep the volume accurate and up to date. In pro- ducing this publication, I believe that the Department of Fish and Game has made a major contribution toward assuring that Alaska’s wildlife will receive proper and enlightened consideration through the coming years of land and resource development. Sincerely yours. James W. Brooks Commissioner Contents FOREWORD 5 GENERAL GAME MANAGEMENT POLICY 6 Introduction 7 ANIMAL REFERENCE LIST 8 PART I: PHYSIOGRAPHY OF ALASKA 13 PART II: WILDLIFE SPECIES ACCOUNTS 20 CARNIVORES 20 UNGULATES 27 MARINE MAMMALS 40 WATERFOWL AND SEABIRDS 47 PART III: WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION MAPS 75 SPECIES MAPPING CATEGORIES 75 Part IV: GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT ACCOUNTS 89 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 1 89 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 2 96 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 3 99 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 4 101 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 5 104 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 6 107 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 7 114 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 8 120 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 9 130 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 10 142 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 11 151 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 12 156 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 13 162 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 14 170 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 15 176 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 16 182 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 17 187 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 18 190 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 19 194 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 20 198 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 21 208 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 22 212 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 23 222 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 24 225 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 25 228 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 26 232 SELECTED REFERENCES 240 FOREWORD Alaska’s Wildlife and Habitat represents many years of data gathering by wildlife biologists and interested citi- zens of Alaska. This effort to bring together an overview of big game, marine mammal, waterfowl and seabird distributions and habitats in Alaska is a landmark in development of game management and land-use planning programs. With the advent of statehood in 1959, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was formed and charged with the responsibility of managing the fish and game of the state. The Game Division immediately launched expand- ed programs to develop the knowledge needed to fulfill this responsibility. It was clear that knowledge of wildlife in the state must be accumulated more rapidly than it had been under the constraints of limited manpower and money in territorial days. Thus for the first few years heavy emphasis was laid on acquiring biological facts and figures with one hand, and applying them to the most immediately pressing management needs with the other. The need to expand and refine present knowledge continues, just as change in the scope and nature of wildlife management continues. In the past year, however, we have reached a stage where we can profitably assemble what we have learned in a form that provides positive, broadly applicable guidelines for wildlife management and wildlife-oriented land-use planning. At the same time, we have accumulated a wealth of data concerning the distribution and general habitat requirements of wildlife in Alaska, and feel a pressing need to make these data available in a comprehensive form to planners, hunters, recreationists and others concerned with wildlife. The Division of Game’s General Game Management Policy (reproduced below) with its corollary species manage- ment policies, and Alaska’s Wildlife and Habitat are the results. The reasons for publishing these data are at least twofold. First, it was clear that to implement our management policies through explicit plans we should reassess what we know about wildlife populations in specific areas of the state. To create management plans that would provide the variety of recreational opportunities outlined in the Policy, we needed a review of habitat requirements and seasonal use patterns. This inventory serves as an internal status report-an aid in planning for present and future recreational needs. More importantly, it became abundantly clear with passage of the Native Claims Act of 1972, completion of land selection by the state under the Alaska Statehood Act, consideration of “four-systems” and “public interest” lands by the federal government, and acceleration of exploitation of petroleum and other nonrenewable resources, that a great deal of information about all of Alaska’s resources is needed as a basis for logical, factual land-use deci- sions. Since the Department of Fish and Game is responsible for preserving and managing Alaska’s wildlife, it is imperative that we provide a ready source of information on wildlife habitat, the key to our renowned wildlife populations, for use by resource management agencies, native corporations, private industry, and interested citizens. If Alaska’s unique wildlife is to be maintained in its present variety and abundance, the integrity of wildlife habi- tat must be maintained. A number of wild species are sufficiently adaptable to adjust to most of man’s activities, but many species require some specialized or critical habitat at some stage of their annual cycle. This inventory provides a visual and written representation of many of these critical areas. The existing gaps in the information will be filled as time passes. The distribution of, and critical habitat for, many other species of Alaskan wildlife remain to be described. A second volume of Alaska’s Wildlife and Habitat is anticipated to fill this need. Our earnest wish is that this first volume will contribute greatly to the development of a comprehensive land-use plan for Alaska, where there is still a chance to plan wisely. 5 GENERAL GAME MANAGEMENT POLICY The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recognizes the Constitutional mandate of the State of Alaska to man- age all species on the sustained yield principle for the benefit of the resource and the people of the state, and also recognizes that national and international interests must be considered. The Department recognizes the singular importance of maintaining suitable habitat for all wildlife species, and advocates the development and implementation of comprehensive resource use planning. The Department recognizes that there are many uses of wildlife, that present priorities may not be the priorities of the future, and that management plans must consider all uses. The Department recognizes that responsible