Kelp-Fed Beef, Swimming Caribou, Feral Reindeer, and Their Hunters: Island Mammals in a Marine Economy
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sustainability Article Kelp-Fed Beef, Swimming Caribou, Feral Reindeer, and Their Hunters: Island Mammals in a Marine Economy Katherine Reedy Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave, Stop 8005, ID 83209-8005, USA; [email protected]; Tel.: +1-208-282-2629; Fax: +1-208-282-4944 Academic Editor: Werner T. Flueck Received: 8 December 2015; Accepted: 19 January 2016; Published: 26 January 2016 Abstract: Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula residents have selectively introduced land mammals to their primarily marine based economy over the past two centuries. This paper describes these many introductions, contexts, and the longer term roles of these cattle, sheep, reindeer, and other land mammals in discrete island settings and the regional food economy based upon interviews in ten communities and comprehensive household surveys in eight of these. Caribou are indigenous and traditionally hunted in other parts of the state but are legally “invasive” in island contexts now managed by the federal government. Access to land and natural resources by Alaska Natives and rural peoples is regulated by state and federal agencies, but Aleutian residents have shaped their environment and engineered food sources to support their communities. This paper demonstrates that hardline approaches to removing invasive land mammal species will have human consequences and an integrated management policy emphasizing food security and conservation that includes reducing the density of these introduced species is most appropriate. Keywords: aleutians; introduced species; invasive species; subsistence; conservation; food security 1. Introduction In March 2010, former graduate student Crystal Callahan and I were staying in a Port Heiden, Alaska, bed and breakfast working on a subsistence project when the telephone rang. The owner’s sister answered the phone and let out a shriek and a wail. News that a special education teacher was killed by wolves outside the small village of Chignik Lake while out running earlier that evening some 50 miles away on the Pacific side had reached across the Alaska Peninsula. People in Port Heiden knew the young woman, an avid runner, who had traveled to their community to assist their students as a Lake and Peninsula Borough School District employee. This tragedy was not a total surprise to residents. In ongoing interviews for our project, Port Heiden residents had reported being chased by wolves, stalked, losing their dogs, fear of losing children, caribou deaths, few caribou calves surviving, the burden of closed caribou seasons, and the difficulties in hunting wolves. At the time, caribou hunting had been closed to the local communities for several years because of low numbers and weak calf recruitment considered to be the result of wolf predation. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF and G) response following the teacher’s death was to conduct an aerial hunt and remove several wolves near Chignik Lake (Figure1). ADF and G had also conducted limited wolf-control culling operations on the Alaska Peninsula to help the caribou population rebound. Locals reported killing every wolf they could (the legal limit is 10 wolves per day between 10 August and 30 June within the predator control area). They also applied for ceremonial permits through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which allowed them to hunt a caribou bull for a potluck only following a death in the village. They supplemented the loss of food with extra moose hunts (competing with sport hunters) Sustainability 2016, 8, 113; doi:10.3390/su8020113 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 8 Sustainability2016, 2016, 113, 8, 113 2 of 252 of 25 with extra moose hunts (competing with sport hunters) and flying in beef from Anchorage. More and flyingrecently in in beef 2015, from as the Anchorage. caribou population More recentlycontinued in to2015, struggle, as thethey caribou purchased population and shipped continued in live to struggle,reindeer they and purchased other animals and shippedto raise for in food. live reindeer and other animals to raise for food. FigureFigure 1. Regional1. Regional Map Map ofof AlaskaAlaska sh showingowing relevant relevant locations. locations. In 2014, a year after conducting a subsistence survey of Adak, Alaska, as part of a second Insubsistence 2014, a year project after in conducting which locals a reported subsistence difficulty survey hunting of Adak, the Alaska,island’s ascaribou part ofbecause a second they subsistence were projecthard in whichto find, locals the reportedAlaska Maritime difficulty National hunting theWildlife island’s Refuge caribou issued because a Draft they Environmental were hard to find, the AlaskaAssessment Maritime for Caribou National Control Wildlife on Kagalaska Refuge issued Island a Draft[1], the Environmental island next to Adak Assessment (Figure for1), and Caribou Controlsubsequently on Kagalaska killed Island the few [ 1caribou], the island they could next find to Adak on the (Figure island in1), 2015. and Caribou subsequently had swum killed to this the few caribouisland they and could refuge find staff on was the concer islandned in they 2015. would Caribou become had established swum toas invasive this island species, and damage refuge staff lichens, and “harm the wilderness character of the island”. Refuge staff also began a scoping process was concerned they would become established as invasive species, damage lichens, and “harm the for removal of cattle from refuge lands on Wosnesenski Island in 2014, a former Aleut village, wilderness character of the island”. Refuge staff also began a scoping process for removal of cattle homestead, and ranch near the current community of Sand Point in the eastern part of the Aleutian fromregion refuge [2]. lands The on animals Wosnesenski are believed Island to indamage 2014, wild a formerlife, habitat, Aleut village,and historical homestead, and cultural and ranch sites. near the currentThese plans community and their of execution Sand Point were in cause the eastern for alarm part amongst of the island Aleutian residents region who [2]. depend The animals upon are believedthe animal to damage resources wildlife, of their habitat, region. and Land historical mammals and ranging cultural from sites. beef Theseand dairy plans cattle and to their buffalo execution to werecaribou cause for have alarm been amongst introduced island to key residents island sites who fo dependr the purposes upon theof supporting animal resources the islands’ of theirpeople region. Landand mammals those living ranging throughout from beef the andregion. dairy Some cattle of these to buffalo ventures to caribouhad commercial have been intent introduced and mixed to key islandsuccess sites forand the others purposes are ofpurely supporting to provide the islands’food in peoplea volatile and marine those living economy. throughout All of thethese region. Somecommunities of these ventures experience had commercial extremely high intent shipping and mixed costs successfor groceries. and others are purely to provide food in Land mammals are thus subject to locally unwanted removal both by wolves and federal a volatile marine economy. All of these communities experience extremely high shipping costs for groceries. managers in the region. The local response in the Port Heiden case was to attempt to maintain Landhunting mammals traditions are using thus subjecta legal toexception locally unwanted available removalto them both(ceremonial by wolves hunts) and federaland later managers to in theintroduce region. The new local species response to alleviate in the food Port shortages Heiden caseand create was to a attemptreliable supply to maintain for the hunting community. traditions usingThe a legal response exception in the Adak available case was to themto protest (ceremonial the culling hunts) of caribou and until later it towas introduce scheduled new by federal species to alleviatemanagers, food shortages and then accept and create the meat a reliable donated supply to them. for the community. The response in the Adak case was to protestEvery theremote culling Aleutian of caribou and untilwestern it was Alaska scheduled Peninsula by federal community managers, has introduced and then acceptland the meatmammals donated toon them.their peninsula landscapes, home islands, or on nearby accessible islands, and uses Everythese introduced remote Aleutian species and for western food. These Alaska Aleut Peninsula and communityAlutiiq are hashistorically introduced and landcurrently mammals on theirmarine-oriented, peninsula landscapes, hunting seabirds home islands, and marine or on mammals, nearby accessible gathering islands, on the andbeaches uses and these in introducedberry species for food. These Aleut and Alutiiq are historically and currently marine-oriented, hunting seabirds and marine mammals, gathering on the beaches and in berry patches, and fishing both commercially and for personal use. They harvest salmon and other marine fish, sea mammals, shellfish, and seabirds. The primary land mammal, caribou, is only found naturally on the Alaska Peninsula and Sustainability 2016, 8, 113 3 of 25 Unimak Island, the easternmost island in the Aleutians, colonized likely through swimming across False Pass (Figure1). Calculated and expensive decisions to introduce land mammals to other locations have supported local people for two centuries. This paper considers the role of introduced land mammals in the region by examining their introduction and