Living with Wildlife in Anchorage: a Cooperative Planning Effort
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Living with Wildlife in Anchorage: A Cooperative Planning Effort April, 2000 BOB HALLINEN/ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS April 24, 2000 Dear Reader: This plan captures the results of a pioneering effort, led by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, to help Anchorage residents and visitors co-exist with the multitude of wildlife living in and around the nation's seventieth-largest city. No other city of its size boasts the number and diversity of wild animals found throughout the Municipality of Anchorage, a point of pride to most residents and a major factor in their quality of life. Managing wildlife in an urban setting is extremely complicated and challenging, however. There are numerous competing interests to consider, as well as serious safety concerns. The public and a wide array of local, state, military and federal organizations worked together to develop this Plan, at considerable cost of time and effort over the past three years. It is an accomplishment of which every participant, including the members of the public who generously shared their time and thoughts, can be proud. The plan is referenced in Anchorage 2020: The Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan, an action strongly supported by all of the contributing organizations. Adding a wildlife component to the master plan that will guide Anchorage's development over the next several decades helps to ensure that wildlife remains an integral part of life in Alaska's largest city. And, because the comprehensive plan is revised and updated on a regular basis, it provides the incentive and flexibility for similar revisions regarding wildlife. Given the unique nature of this planning effort, I think you will agree with me that this first edition of Living with Wildlife in Anchorage: A Cooperative Planning Effort represents a bold first step in assuring the conservation of wildlife in Anchorage for the benefit of its residents. Sincerely, Frank Rue Commissioner Acknowledgments Development of this plan would not have been possible without the commitment of many agencies and organizations which worked together over the past three years to address the wildlife issues of Anchorage. The full list of participants is included in Chapter 2, and speaks to the broad array of organizations and agencies who claim a stake in the future of Anchorage's wildlife, and who contributed substantively to this plan. Individuals and agencies deserving recognition for their valuable, substantive contributions to the plan, as well as their perseverance, include (in no particular order): Malcolm Ford of the Anchorage Audubon Society; Karen Deatherage of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance; Evie Witten of The Great Land Trust; Ray Reekie and Patrick Wright of the Anchorage Fish & Game Advisory Committee; Thede Tobish of the Municipality of Anchorage, Community Planning & Development; Judi Ramage of the Chugach State Park Advisory Board; Al Meiners, Superintendent of Chugach State Park; Kate Wedemeyer and Tom Liebscher of U.S. Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base; Bill Gossweiler and Laurie Angell of U.S. Army, Ft. Richardson; and Karen Laing and Maureen de Zeeuw of the U.S. Fish and Widlife Service. These representatives consistently offered valuable insight and contributions to the substance of the plan, and gave freely of their materials, time and good will at public meetings. Their expertise, dedication and patience are sincerely appreciated. We extend our special thanks to several individuals: * to David Fulton (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) who structured the process, formed the group, and led the process through its first, critical year; * to Maureen de Zeeuw (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), who gave generously of her time to incorporate photographs and professionally edit the manuscript; * to Rick Sinnott (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), who shared his considerable expertise as Anchorage's Area Biologist; * to Jonne Slemons (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), who managed the project; and * to Doug Whittaker (Three Rivers Research, Inc.), who led the group and the process during the final two productive years, who maintained focus in the maelstrom, and who "brought it all together," writing the lion's share of the final manuscript. Finally, we would like to thank the many members of the Anchorage public who attended both working meetings and public meetings; who took the time to call and write with their comments and suggestions; and for whom this plan is written. Page ii Living with Wildlife in AnchorageAnchorage:: AA CooperativeCooperative PlanningPlanning EffortEffort Table of Contents Cover letter from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner.............................................. i Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………………….ii Table of contents .......................................................................................................................... iii List of figures, maps and photos...................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 Why does Anchorage need a wildlife plan? ......................................................................... 2 Plan purpose...................................................................................................................... 4 Geographic area ................................................................................................................ 4 Plan limitations.................................................................................................................. 6 Relationship between this plan and other plans .................................................................... 7 Organization of this document ............................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2: The Planning Process ................................................................................................... 9 A chronology of the planning effort .................................................................................... 9 Steps in the process ......................................................................................................... 10 Agency and group participation ........................................................................................ 11 Public involvement .......................................................................................................... 12 Planning principles .......................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3: Plan Goals and Objectives........................................................................................... 15 Overall goal..................................................................................................................... 15 Goals and objectives ........................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 4: Wildlife in Anchorage, 1999 ....................................................................................... 17 Wildlife issues and concerns ............................................................................................ 17 A summary of Anchorage’s wildlife.................................................................................. 20 General values and attitudes toward Anchorage wildlife..................................................... 37 Wildlife conflict statistics and standards............................................................................ 40 Chapter 5: Wildlife Population Management and Conflict Response Actions .................................. 45 Wildlife population management recommendations ........................................................... 45 Moose population management............................................................................. 45 Bear population management................................................................................ 49 Canada goose population management .................................................................. 50 Non-native and feral animal population management ............................................. 52 Wildlife conflict responses............................................................................................... 54 Overall ADF&G conflict response principles......................................................... 54 ADF&G moose conflict response policies ............................................................. 55 Page iii Table of Contents . ADF&G bear conflict response policies ................................................................ 57 Additional bear conflict policies and information ................................................... 59 ADF&G responses to conflicts with beavers.......................................................... 60 ADF&G responses to conflicts with other mammal species .................................... 60 Bird conflict response policy ................................................................................ 61 Some final notes on wildlife conflicts.................................................................... 62 Chapter 6: Priority Actions .......................................................................................................... 63 List of top priority and supported actions..........................................................................