Brown Bears of Unit 4 Past, Present and Future: a Status Report and Issues Paper
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Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation July 1998 Brown Bears of Unit 4 Past, Present and Future: A Status Report and Issues Paper I I I STATE OF ALASKA Tony Knowles, Governor I DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Frank Rue, Commissioner I DIVISION OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION I Wayne L. Regelin, Director I Persons intending to cite this material should receive permission from the author(s) and/or I the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Because most reports deal with preliminary re sults of continuing studies, conclusions are tentative and should be identified as such. Please give authors credit. I Free copies of this report and other Division of Wildlife Conservation publications are avail able to the public. Please direct requests to our publications specialist. I Mary Hicks Publications Specialist I ADF &G, Wildlife Conservation P.O. Box 25526 Juneau, AK 99802 I (907) 465-4190 I The Alaska Department of Fish and Game administers all programs and activities free from I discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. For information on alternative formats for this and other department publications, please contact the department ADA Coordinator at (voice) I 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, PO Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802- 5526 or O.E.O., U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC 20240. I I I I I TONY KNOWLES, GOVERNOR PO. BOX 25526 JUNEAU. ALASKA 99802-5526 PHONE: (907) 465-4190 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME FAX: (907) 465-6142 DIVISION OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION July 21, 1998 Dear Interested Party: Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagofislands are home to one of the highest concentrations of brown bears in the world. Roughly 4,200 bears are believed to occupy this area, averaging about one bear per square mile. These bears are highly valued by hunters, wildlife watchers, guides, tourism operators, and the general public. The long-term conservation of these animals will require careful management as industrial and recreational pressures on wildlife populations increase. The Division of Wildlife Conservation does not believe there is any imminent problem regarding the population of brown bears across Unit 4. Yet, over the past few years we have been receiving more and more comments on a variety of topics such as viewing, harvest level, the increase in the number of big game guides, crowding in specific areas, and long-term effects ofland management practices on brown bears. I felt it was time to summarize our current state of knowledge and provide this information in a convenient format to the public. It is my hope you and other members of the public might suggest some approaches ADF&G and other government agencies and the public can take to jointly solve some of the current concerns Comments can be sent to: Kim Titus, Regional Supervisor Alaska Department of Fish & Game Division of Wildlife Conservation PO Box 240020 Douglas, AK 99824 Please note that the Alaska Board of Game will be meeting in Ketchikan this fall from October 23-28. Proposed changes to brown bear regulations will be considered at this time. The deadline for submitting proposals to the board is August 7th. For more information, contact: Alaska Board of Game PO Box 25526 Juneau, AK. 99802-5526. 907-465-2027 11-K7LH \,,I" printed on recycled paper Page2 Division staff in our offices in Douglas, Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Sitka can assist you if you desire more information about submitting a proposal to the board. Thank you for your interest in brown bear management. I hope you will take the time to share your comments, concerns, and suggestions with us. Sincerely, tJ°'o~ ¥ Wayne L. Regelin Director I I I I Brown Bears of Unit 4 I Past, Present and Future: I I A Status Report and Issues Paper I July 1998 I I Alaska Department of Fish and Game I Division of Wildlife Conservation I I I I I I I I I TABLE OF CONTENTS I Introduction .... .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .......... .. .. ....... .... .. .. ....... ............. .. .. ...... .. ....... .. .. ... .. .. ..... .. .. ... .... ..... ... 1 I Unit 4 physiographic features and habitat description .................................................................. 3 I Origins and genetics of Unit 4 brown bears .................................................................................. 4 I Unit 4 brown bear biology and research history ............................................................................ 8 Introduction . .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 Hood Bay Study . .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 I Northern Admiralty Island & Kadashan Studies ............................................................... 10 Demographics........................................................................................................... 10 Home Range Size . .. .. .. ... 11 I Seasonal habitat use.................................................................................................. 11 Denning .................................................................................................................... 12 I Food Habits Study .............................................................................................................. 12 Northeast Chichagof Island Study ..................................................................................... 13 Demographics . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 I Survival .................................................................................................................... 13 Habitat use and development effects ........................................................................ 14 Dispersal ................................................................................................................... 15 I Current status of Unit 4 bear research ................................................................................ 16 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 17 I Brown bears and land management .. ....... .. ...... ..... ........... .. .. .. ........ ......... .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19 Introduction . .. .. .. .. 19 Habitat issues ....... .......... ........... .... .......... ...... ........... .. .. .......... .. ..... .. .. .. ........... .. ... ...... .. ... .. .. 19 I Roads and development ..................................................................................................... 22 Solid waste and bears ......................................................................................................... 25 TLMP changes affecting brown bears ............................................................................... 27 I Guidelines for mitigating affects of resource extraction., .................................................. 28 industries on brown bear populations I Food and solid waste guidelines ........................................................................................ 30 I I I I I I I Brown bear viewing ..................................................................................................................... 32 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 32 I Where bear viewing occurs ................................................................................................ 3 3 Effects of viewing .............................................................................................................. 33 Unmanaged viewing areas ................................................................................................. 34 I Pack Creek Cooperative Management Area ...................................................................... 35 Viewing issues ................................................................................................................... 3 7 Intensive management in wilderness areas .............................................................. 3 7 I Habituating bears to humans .................................................................................... 38 How many intensively managed bear viewing sites do we need and who should bear the costs? ........................................................ 39 I Licensing bear viewing guides ................................................................................. 40 Bear viewing and hunting closures .................................................................................... 40 I Salt Lake/Mitchell Bay Closed Area ........................................................................ 41 Port Althorp Closed Area ......................................................................................... 42 I ADF&G viewing guidelines .............................................................................................. 43 Brown bear hunting ..................................................................................................................... 45 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 45 I Hunting management history ............................................................................................. 46 Current regulations ............................................................................................................