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Continuity And Change In The Wiseman Area Of Alaska: A Look At Land And Renewable Resource Use Over Time Item Type Thesis Authors Scott, Carol Patricia Download date 09/10/2021 11:42:23 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8509 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard m argins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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Order Number 1S55501 Continuity and change in the Wiseman area of Alaska: A look at land and renewable resource use over time Scott, Carol Patricia, M.S. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1993 Copyright ©1993 by Scott, Carol Patricia. All rights reserved. U-M-I 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE WISEMAN AREA OF ALASKA A LOOK AT LAND AND RENEWABLE RESOURCE USE OVER TIME A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE By Carol Patricia Scott, B.S. Fairbanks, Alaska September 1993 (C) Copyright (1993) (Carol Patricia Scott) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE WISEMAN AREA OF ALASKA A LOOK AT LAND AND RENEWABLE RESOURCE USE OVER TIME By Carol Patricia Scott RECOMMENDED: —S i Depart: APPROVED: - £Q fr -p -i s . ; an, School orAgricuIture and Land Resources Management Dean of the Graduate School Date,tmm Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Land and renewable resource use by residents of the Wiseman area in the central Brooks Range of Alaska was investigated in 1991-1993. The study documents current and historic land and renewable resource use patterns of local residents, records resident and agency management concerns regarding these uses, and analyzes opportunities and constraints that exist for rural Alaskan communities in utilizing renewable resources. The research was accomplished through resident interviews, participant observation of community activities, and review of other community studies. Conclusions include: (1) the Wiseman community exhibits characteristics of a mixed subsistence/cash economy; (2) residents rely on resources harvested in the various local federal, state, and private land management units; and (3) the establishment of the nearby National Park, and the construction of the Dalton Highway, have significantly affected local resource use. The study also demonstrates how community involvement in research effectively allows comprehensive documentation of land and resource use. iii "Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures vii List of Tables viii List of Maps xi Acronyms xii Acknowledgments xiii I. Introduction 1 II. The Research Process 11 A. Methodology 11 B. Research Limitations 17 HI. Description of the Wiseman Area 21 A. Description of the Natural Environment 21 B. Description of the Human Population 24 IV. Historic Livelihoods in the Wiseman Area 29 A. Introduction 29 B. Native Occupation of the Area 31 C. Wiseman's Origins as a Population Center 35 D. Wiseman as a Regional Transportation, Communication, and 40 Schooling Center E. The Mixed Subsistence/Cash Economy of the Wiseman Area 43 F. Change in the Area: Community Impacts of Haul Road 50 Construction G. Human Population Dynamics: A Summary 52 H. Summary 55 V. Contemporary Livelihoods of Wiseman Community Residents 56 A. The Seasonal Round: A General Overview 56 B. Renewable Resource Harvest Activities 64 1. Introduction 64 2. Hunting 68 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V 3. Trapping 80 4. Cabin Use While Harvesting Resources 88 5. Wood Harvesting 88 6. Fishing 90 7. Natural Vegetation Harvests 93 8. Gardening 96 C. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Renewable Resource Use 97 D. Cash Income and the Local Economy 113 VI. Livelihoods of Others in the Wiseman Area 119 A. The Nolan Area 119 1. Introduction 119 2. Use of Local Renewable Resources by Nolan Residents 120 3. Hunting Activity in the Nolan Area 122 B. Non-Resident Wiseman Property Owners 123 C. Continuing Native Interests in Wiseman 128 D. Residents of the Outlying Wiseman Area 130 E. Summary 132 VII. Conducting Community-Based Research in Rural Alaska: The 133 Wiseman Case Study VIII. Perceptions and Concerns of Wiseman Area Residents Relating 138 to Renewable Resource Use A. Introduction 138 B. Perceptions on the Value of the Local Lifestyle 138 C. Concepts of Renewable Resource Conservation 141 D. Local Concerns About Agency Management Policies 145 1. Spatial Patterns of Renewable Resource Use 145 2. General Eligibility for Resource Harvest 147 3. Determining Permanent Residency 147 4. Defining Customary and Traditional Uses 148 5. Sport Hunting 149 6. Attitudes Toward National Park Service Management 150 7. Attitudes Toward Bureau of Land Management 154 Policies 8. Additional Concerns Regarding General Government 158 Agency Policies E. Concerns for the Future of Wiseman Children 159 IX. Human Population Growth and the Development of Tourism in 160 the Wiseman Area Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A. Introduction 160 B. Wiseman Community and Area Development 160 C. The Development of Tourism in the Area 162 X. Land Management Agency Policies and Concerns for the 169 Wiseman Area A. Introduction 169 B. The National Park Service, Gates of the Arctic National Park 170 and Preserve C. The Bureau of Land Management 176 D. Concerns of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game 183 E. Summary of Management Agency Policies and Concerns 187 XL Wiseman in the Context of Other Rural Alaskan Communities 189 A. Introduction 189 B. Non-Native Use of Local Renewable Resources 190 C. The Subsistence-Based Socioeconomic System 193 D. Impacts of Potential Road Development 205 E. Research Methodology 207 F. Comments on the Role of the Subsistence Resource 209 Commission G. Summary of Comparative Analysis 214 XII. Conclusions and Recommendations 217 A. Conclusions 217 B. Recommendations 221 XDI. Literature Cited 226 XFV. Appendices 232 A. Comments from Residents on This Thesis 233 B. Previous Wiseman Historical Studies 234 C. Survey Forms 237 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Wiseman Seasonal Round, 1991-1992 57 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Number and Type of Interviews Conducted, Jan ./Feb. 1992 12 Table 2 Date, Location, and Purpose of Fieldwork Periods 15 Table 3 Wiseman Population Figures, 1930 to 1992 53 Table 4 Harvest Seasons for Selected Species in Game Management 61 Unit 24: 1992/93 Federal Subsistence Management Regulations Table 5 Wiseman Community Big Game Harvest Data 69 Table 6 Wiseman Small Game Use and Estimated 1991 Harvest 72 Table 7 Regulatory Changes in the Wiseman Area, pre-1974 to 1993 73 Table 8 Wiseman Community Estimated Trapping Flarvest Data 84 Table 9 Wiseman Community Wood Use and Estimated 1991 89 Harvest Table 10 Wiseman Community Estimated 1991 Fish Harvest 92 Table 11 Wiseman Community Estimated 1991 Berry Harvest, in 94 Quarts Table 12 Vegetation Used by Wiseman Community Residents 95 Table 13 Wiseman Community Estimated 1991 Garden Production, 96 in Pounds Table 14 Proportion of Total Game Harvested by Wiseman Residents 102 from Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Estimates Only) Table 15 Proportion of Total Trapping Harvest by Wiseman 102 Residents from Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Estimates Only) viii 9KA