Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) Would Not Be Indicative of Weather Patterns for the Entire Complex
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ANN UAL I~ARRATI VE REPORT Calendar Year 1982 ALAS KA MARITIME NATIONAL WILDLIF E REFUGE Homer, Alas ka ALEUTIAN ISLANDS UNIT Adak, Alaska ALAS!\.P_ l'tA.RITIME NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Homer, Alaska ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1982 library U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 1011 E. Tudor Road Anchorage, Alaska 99503_ U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM Refuge Manager John L. Martin Assistant Refuge Manager Tom J. Early Refuge Biologist Edgar P . Bailey - •• I-: f ~ :!-!anager. GS - 13 . EOD 12-21-81, PFT J• Eo~ar P. ba~. Refuge Biologist. GS-ll , EOD 10- 01-81, PFT Review and Approvals 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page A. HIGHLIGHTS 4 B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 5 C. LAND ACQUISITION 1. Fee Title. .Nothing to Report 2. Easement •• .Nothing to Report 3. Other ••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5 D. PLANNING l. Master Plan ............••...............•.........•.•............. 9 2. Management Plan . •••••••••...•••••..•.••.••••...•••.•.••.....•..• 9 3. Public Participation •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 4. Compliance with Environmental Mandates •••••••••• Nothing to Report s. Research and Investigations ••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 J E. ADMINISTRATION 1. Personnel •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• l2 2. Youth Programs •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 3. Other Manpower Programs ••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Re·port 4. Volunteers Program •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report s. Funding . ..........•.•.••...••...........•••....•...•.•......••. 13 6. Safety ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• l4 7. Technical Assistance •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 8. Other I terns • ...•.••••.••...•••••....•....•.....•.••...•.....•.. 14 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT ,1. General •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• l4 "-• Wetlands ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••...••. Nothing to Report 3. Forests ........................................................ 14 4. Croplands ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report s. Grasslands •..••..•.•••.••••.••••.••.••.•••.••••• Nothing to Report 6. Other Habitats •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 7. Grazing • •••.••..•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•.•.. 14 8. Haying •..••.••••••••••••••.•••••.••••.•••••••••• Nothing to Report 9. Fire Management ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 10. Pest Control •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 11. Water Rights •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report \ ) 12. Wilderness and Special Areas ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• l8 13. WPA Easement Monitoring ••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 2 -) G. WILDLIFE 1. Wildlife Diversity •••••••••••••••••••• .Nothing to Report 2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species •• • ••••••••••••••• 2 0 3. Waterfowl ...•...••..••.••••.••.••..... • ••••••••••••••• 2 0 4. Marsh and Water Birds •••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, and Allied Species ••• Nothing to Report 6. Raptors •....•••........••.•..••.••... • .Nothing to Report 7. Other Migratory Birds •••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••• 20 8. Game Mammals ••••••••••••••••••• .Nothing to Report 9. Marine Mammals ••••.••••.••••••••••••• . .•......•..... 23 10. Other Resident Wildlife •••••••••••••• . .•............ 23 11. Fishery Resources ••.•.•••••••••••••••• ............... 23 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking ••••• • ••• Nothing to Report 13. Surplus Animal Disposal ••••••••••••••• •••• Nothing to Report 14. Scientific Collections •••••••••••••• • •••••••••••••••••• 2 3 15. Animal Control •••••••••••••••• • ••••• Nothing to Report 16. Marking and Banding •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 17. Disease Prevention and Control ••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report H. PUBLIC USE 1. General ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 26 2. Outdoor Classrooms Students •••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 3. Outdoor Classrooms Teachers •••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report ) 4. Interpretive Foot Trails ••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 5. Interpretive Tour Routes ••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations ••••••••••• Nothing to Report 7. Other Interpretive Programs •••••••.••••••••••••••••.•••••••••• 26 8. Hunting .•.•••....•...•••••••.••.•.....•.••...•• Nothing to Report 9. Fishing ••.•••••••••••••••••••.•...••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 10. Trapping •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••• Nothing to Report 11. Wildlife Observation ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 12. Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation ••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 13. Camping •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 14. Picnicking............................... ... Nothing to Report 15. Off-Road Vehicling ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation ••••••••• Nothing to Report 17. Law Enforcement ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 27 18. Cooperating Associations ••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 19. Concessions •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report I. EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES 1. New Construction ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 2. Rehabilitation ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 3. Major Maintenance •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement.... • •••••••••••••••• 27 5. Communications Systems. • •••••••••• Nothing to Report 6. Energy Conservation •••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 7. Other •••.•••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report J. OTHER ITEMS 1. Cooperative Programs ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 2. Items of Interest •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nothing to Report 3. Credit •...•...................................•.............. 27 K. FEEDBACK 1. Regional Office.............................. ................. 27 ) ) 4 A. Highlights Closure of Homer Office indicated St. Matthew Island surveyed 1982 Vessel Charter a great success! ) ) 5 B. Climatic Conditions Obviously, any one weather data source for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) would not be indicative of weather patterns for the entire complex. The only realistic way to gather pertinent weather data is to utilize weather data from each specific unit at one or more locations. Presently we receive weather data from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Homer and from a remote, satellite relayed, meteorological station located on St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea. This station was installed and operated by an environmental consultant firm from California for use by several oil companies in that area. The station transmits air temperature, barometric pressure, wind direction and speed, and north and east wind components. This is valuable information for the NWS and oil companies, as little weather data are available from this portion of the world. Listed below are climatological data from five sources scattered across the AMNWR (excluding the AIU). This table presents the means and extremes fer temperatur~. prpcjpit~tion, and wind; however, coastal areas are ·notorious for localized weather patterns. St. Kotzebue Matthew Cold Ba;y: Homer Ketchikan Temperature(oKl High (Date) 79(06) 54(08) 66(7/27) 82(6/26) ) Low (Date) -28(01) 10(03) -7(2/15) 0(1/22) Ave. for Yr. 23.5 37.6 36.8 43.7 Departure from Average +2.6 -3.7 +1.48 -2.5 Precipitation Total from Yr. 10.64 43.79 19.71 87.49 Departure from Average +1.69 +10.56 -3.37 -74.78 Wind (mph) Ave. for Year 17.8 8.7 Max.* (date) 60(11) 58(01' 11) 31(10) *Maximum wind speed for 1 minute period. c. Land Acquisition 3. Other The AMNWR contains about 3.1 million acres of land consisting of about 2, 500 is lands, is lets, and headlands which are used by large numbers of marine birds and mammals. Some key wildlife areas were ) 6 not included in the refuge because of Native or State selections or other private property. Also, there are some areas included in the refuge which have little or no value for wildlife. Since land exchanges wi 11 be on-going for several years, the refuge should attempt to gain some of these critical wildlife areas in exchange for less desirable lands we own. A list of islands suggested for exchange is given in the 1981 Refuge Narrative Report. The Regional Office Realty Division has not yet completed sets of land status maps for the AMNWR. We did receive AMNWR boundary maps from the Washington Office, but even these contain errors. We must check with the Realty Division when issuing Special Use Permits to verify current land status. Section 1417 of ANILCA ratified the "Pribilof Terms and Conditions" and authorized appropriation of funds for: (1) Purchase by the USFWS of a minimum of 8,000 acres and 9,000 acres maximum of seabird habitat, including one section of representative habitat each on St. Paul and 5t. George and all of Walrus and Otter Islands, for $5,200,000. (2) Exchange of the subsurface estate of the 8,000 acres with the Aleut Regional Corporation. (3) Lease of one-acre administrative sites on St. George and St. ) Paul islands for use by the USFWS as headquarters and administrative sites for the Pribilof Islands subunit of the AMNWR. (4) Cooperative study of transportation, facilities, and cultural and natural resources interpretation programs. In 1982, $1,920,000 was appropriated to purchase approximately 3,000 ac. of habitat. This includes