Reintroducing Wood Bison to the Upper Yukon Valley, Alaska: a Feasibility Assessment

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Reintroducing Wood Bison to the Upper Yukon Valley, Alaska: a Feasibility Assessment Reintroducing Wood Bison to the Upper Yukon Valley, Alaska: A Feasibility Assessment I I I I Photo by Lu Carbyn Alaska Department of Fish and Game I Division of Wildlife Conservation June 1994 I STATE OF ALASKA I Walter J. Hickel, Governor I DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME I CarlL. Rosier, Commissioner DIVISION OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION David G. Kelleyhouse, Director Wayne L. Regelin, Deputy Director I Persons intending to cite this material should obtain permission from the author(s) and/or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Because most reports deal with preliminary results of continuing studies, conclusions are I tentative and should be identified as such. Due credit will be appreciated. This report was prepared by: Alaska Department of Fish and Game 1300 College Road Fairbanks, AK 99701-1599 (907) 456-5156 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducts all programs and activities free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. For information I on alternative formats for this and other department publications, please contact the department ADA Coordinator at (voice) 907-465-4120, (TDD) 1-800-478-3648, or FAX 907-586-6595. Any person who believes she/he has been discriminated against should write to: ADF&G, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802-5526 or O.E.O., U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, DC 20240. I I TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................................... 2 Bison in Athabascan Oral History .......................................................................... 3 WOOD BISON CONSERVATION AND STATUS IN CANADA .......................................... 4 I ECOLOGY OF WOOD BISON .......................................................................................... 6 THE UPPER YUKON BASIN- GEOGRAPHY, HABITAT AND HUMAN POPULATION ..... 7 Geologic History and Geography .......................................................................... 7 Climate .................................................................................................................. 8 Present Fauna ...................................................................................................... 8 Human Population ................................................................................................ 9 SUITABILITY OF THE YUKON FLATS AS WOOD BISON RANGE ................................. 10 Plans for Additional Range Studies ..................................................................... 10 I Flooding .............................................................................................................. 11 Wildland Fires ..................................................................................................... 11 Existing Plains Bison Herds ................................................................................ 12 I Climate ................................................................................................................ 12 WILDLIFE DISEASE CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................... 14 EFFECTS ON OTHER SPECIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT ......................................... 16 Waterfowl ............................................................................................................ 16 Upland Birds and Small Mammals ...................................................................... 20 Moose and Predator-Prey Relationships ............................................................. 21 Caribou ............................................................................................................... 23 Furbearers .......................................................................................................... 24 I Vegetation .......................................................................................................... 24 Water Quality ...................................................................................................... 25 Other Land Uses and Resource Development .................................................... 25 LOGISTIC CONSIDERATIONS IN REINTRODUCING WOOD BISON ............................ 26 Source of Wood Bison Stock ..................................•........................................... 26 Transport and Handling Methods ....................................................................... 26 Release Site ........................................................................................................ 26 Projected Population Growth, Long-term Monitoring and Management.. ............ 27 GOALS OF A WOOD BISON REINTRODUCTION ......................................................... 28 BENEFITS OF REESTABLISHING WOOD BISON IN ALASKA ....................................... 28 Conservation and Biodiversity ............................................................................ 28 I Conservation of Genetic Diversity ....................................................................... 29 Historic and Aesthetic ......................................................................................... 30 Resource Enhancement ..................................................................................... 30 Social and Political Considerations ..................................................................... 31 INITIAL PUBLIC CONTACT AND RESPONSE ............................................................... 31 i PERTINENT STATE AND FEDERAL POLICIES, MANDATES AND AGREEMENTS ....... 33 State of Alaska .................................................................................................... 33 Constitution .............................................................................................. 33 Alaska Statutes ........................................................................................ 33 ADF&G Mission Statement ....................................................................... 34 ADF&G Policy on Wildlife Transplants and Reintroductions ..................... 34 ADF&G Endangered Species Program .................................................... 35 State Laws Affecting Importation of Animals ............................................. 35 Master Memorandum of Understanding Between ADF&G and FWS ........ 35 Cooperative Agreement Between USDI and ADF&G for Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Animals ........................ 35 Department of Interior ......................................................................................... 36 Refuge Policies ......................................................................................... 36 Public Law 96-487, Dec. 2, 1980. Title 111 ................................................. 39 Compatibility with Refuge Purposes ......................................................... 39 Section 810 Determination ....................................................................... 39 Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan. 40 Refuges 2003 - A Plan for the Future of the National Wildlife Refuge System ..................................................................................... 40 Endangered Species Act of 1973 ............................................................. 41 National Environmental Policy Act ............................................................ 43 Application of the Experimental Population Designation ........................... 44 Precedents of NEPA Documentation in Reintroductions .......................... 45 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Wild Flora and Fauna ............................................................................................ 47 MAJOR STEPS NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH A REINTRODUCTION ....................... 47 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................................... 48 FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... 53 APPENDIX A. Historical snow accumulation (in inches) data in interior Alaska during March and April (Soil Conservation Service, Anchorage, Alaska) ....................... 58 APPENDIX B. Letter sent by ADF&G and responses from U.S. and Canadian biologists regarding the reintroduction of wood bison to Alaska ......................................... 62 APPENDIX C. Refuge policy manual, Section 7 RM 12, Propagation and Stocking ...... 81 APPENDIX D. Refuge policy manual, Section 7 RM 2, Endangered Species Management. ...................................................................................................... 87 ii I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Various species of bison inhabited interior Alaska for more than 500,000 years. Wood bison were the last subspecies of bison to live in Alaska, occupying the state for 5,000 years or more. The reasons for their disappearance a few hundred years ago are not well known, but changes in weather, vegetation, and hunting by man may have been involved. Some Athabascan elders relate stories about bison being hunted in the Yukon I Flats area long ago. This document examines the feasibility of reintroducing wood bison to the Yukon Flats area in northeast Alaska.
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