National Park Service U.S

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

National Park Service U.S National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Alaskan National Park Glaciers - Status and Trends Fourth Progress Report Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS—2014/607 ON THE COVER Bering Glacier, in the foreground, drains the massive Bagley Icefield in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Mt. Logan is visible in the far distance. July 21, 2011. Photograph by: JT Thomas Alaskan National Park Glaciers - Status and Trends Fourth Progress Report Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS—2014/607 Anthony Arendt, Chris Larsen Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 903 Koyukuk Drive Fairbanks, AK 99775 Michael Loso Environmental Science Dept Alaska Pacific University 4101 University Drive Anchorage, AK 99508 Nate Murphy, Justin Rich Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 903 Koyukuk Drive Fairbanks, AK 99775 January 2014 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Data Series is intended for the timely release of basic data sets and data summaries. Care has been taken to assure accuracy of raw data values, but a thorough analysis and interpretation of the data has not been completed. Consequently, the initial analyses of data in this report are provisional and subject to change. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). To receive this report in a format optimized for screen readers, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Arendt, A., C. Larsen, M. Loso, N. Murphy, and J. Rich. 2014. Alaskan National Park glaciers - status and trends: Fourth progress report. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS— 2014/607. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 953/123451, January 2014 ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................. v Tables ............................................................................................................................................. xi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Overview ..................................................................................................................... 1 Project Deliverables and Timeline ........................................................................................... 1 Scope of Progress Report 4 ...................................................................................................... 2 Study Areas ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Kenai Fjords National Park ................................................................................................. 5 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve .................................................................. 7 Methods-Mapping ........................................................................................................................... 9 Data .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 9 Methods-Elevation Change ........................................................................................................... 13 Data ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 13 Methods-Focus Glaciers ............................................................................................................... 17 Focus Glacier Selection ......................................................................................................... 17 Summary of Field Efforts ...................................................................................................... 17 Results-Mapping ........................................................................................................................... 21 Kenai Fjords NP .................................................................................................................... 21 Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P ...................................................................................................... 23 iii Contents (continued) Page Results-Elevation Change ............................................................................................................. 29 Kenai Fjords NP .................................................................................................................... 29 Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P ...................................................................................................... 32 Results-Focus Glaciers.................................................................................................................. 33 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 33 Report Design ........................................................................................................................ 33 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Preliminary Highlights ........................................................................................................... 39 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 41 Appendix A: Data Sources for Mapping-Map Date ..................................................................... 43 Appendix B: Data Sources for Mapping-Modern ......................................................................... 47 Appendix C: Data Products Exported From Extent Mapping ...................................................... 55 Appendix D: Close-up Maps of Glacier Extent Changes ............................................................. 57 Appendix E: Elevation and Volume Change Analyses ................................................................ 63 iv Figures Page Figure 1. Kenai Fjords National Park. Blue polygons are map date glacier coverage ................... 6 Figure 2. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve ............................................................... 8 Figure 3. Workflow for the generation of glacier inventory data for NPS glaciers...................... 10 Figure 4. Aerial oblique imagery (from the south viewing Tokositna and Ruth Glaciers, Denali NP&P) demonstrating generation of glacier inventory data for NPS glaciers. ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 5. Existing laser altimetry profiles (red lines) in Kenai Fjords NP (upper panel) and Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (lower panel) as of January 2011 ................................................. 16 Figure 6. Overview of focus glacier locations (red dots) .............................................................. 18 Figure 7. Changes in glacier area between map date and modern in Kenai Fjords NP ................ 22 Figure 8. Histograms of changes in number of individual glaciers by area-weighted mean elevation (left) and area (right) in Kenai Fjords NP between map date (1950- 1951) and modern (2005-2007). ................................................................................................... 23 Figure 9. Total area of glacier-covered terrain in Kenai Fjords NP by elevation between map date (1950-1951) and modern (2005-2007).
Recommended publications
  • Mount Sanford…Errrr, Mount Jarvis. Wait, What?? Mount Who?? It Was Roughly Around Thanksgiving 2016 and the Time Had Come Fo
    Mount Sanford…errrr, Mount Jarvis. Wait, what?? Mount Who?? It was roughly around Thanksgiving 2016 and the time had come for me to book my next IMG adventure. With two young children at home and no family close by, I had settled into a routine of doing a big climb every other year. This year was a bit different, as I normally book my major climbs around September for an April or May departure the following year. However, due to a Mt. Blackburn (Alaska) trip falling through, I had to book another expedition. In 2015, I was on an IMG team that summitted Mt. Bona from the north side, not the original plan (jot that down – this will become a theme in Alaska), and really enjoyed the solitude, adventure, physical challenge, small team, and lack of schedule the Wrangell & St Elias Mountains had to offer. So, I hopped on IMG’s website, checked out the scheduled Alaskan climb for 2017, which was Mt. Sanford, and peppered George with my typical questions. Everything lined up, so I completed the pile of paperwork (do I really have to sign another waiver?!?), sent in my deposit (still no AMEX, ugh…), set my training schedule, and started Googling trip reports about Mt. Sanford. Little did I know that READING about Mt. Sanford was the closest I would ever get to it! Pulling from my previous Alaskan climbing experience, I was better prepared for this trip than for Mt Bona in 2015. Due to our bush pilot’s inability to safely land us on the south side of Bona two years prior, we flew up, around, and over the mountain and landed on the north side.
    [Show full text]
  • Summary Report for the Navigability of the Nabesna River Within the Tanana River Region, Alaska
    United States Departmentof the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT TAKE PRIDE • Alaska State Office '"AMERICA 222 West Seventh Avenue, #13 Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7504 http://www.blm.gov/ak In Reply Refer to: 1864 (AK9410) Memorandum To: File FF-094614 From: Jack Frost, Navigable Waters Specialist (AK9410) Subject: Summary Report for the Navigability of the Nabesna River within the Tanana River Region, Alaska The State of Alaska (State) filed an application, dated October 3, 2005, for a recordable disclaimer of interest (RDI) for lands underlying the Nabesna River "between the ordinary high water lines of the left and right banks from its origins at the Nabesna Glacier within Township 5 North, Ranges 13 and 14 East, Copper River Meridian, Alaska, downstream to its confluence with the Tanana River in Township 15 North, Range 19 East, Copper River Meridian." 1 The State identified the location of its application on two maps entitled "Nabesna River Recordable Disclaimer of Interest Application," dated October 3, 2005. The maps were submitted with the State's application. The State filed an amended RDI application for the Nabesna River, dated September 16, 2015, "to include only the submerged lands underlying the Nabesna River from its mouth to the Black Hills (Sec. 25, TI IN, Rl 7E, and CRM). The State withdraws its request for an RDI on the submerged lands underlying the Nabesna River from Sec. 25, Tl IN, R17E, CRM and the river's source at the Nabesna Glacier." 2 Clarifying its letter from September 16, 2015, the State submitted an email on October 16, 2015 stating that "the State withdraws its request for an RDI on the submerged lands underlying the Nabesna River from its confluence with the Cheslina River in Section 35, Tl2N, RI 7E, CRM upstream to the river's source at the Nabesna Glacier." 3 The State bases its application for a disclaimer of interest on the Equal Footing Doctrine, the Submerged Lands Act of May 22, 1953, the Alaska Statehood Act, the Submerged Lands Act of 1988, and any other legally cognizable reason.
    [Show full text]
  • Insar Observations of the 1993-95 Bering Glacier (Alaska, U. S. A
    Journal ofGlaciology, Vo l. 48, No.162,2002 InSAR observations of the 1993^95 Bering Glacier (Alaska, U.S.A.)surge and a surge hypothesis Dennis R. FATLAND,1 Craig S. LINGLE2 1Vexcel Corporation, Boulder,Colorado 80301-3242, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected] 2Geophysical Institute, University ofAlaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7320, U.S.A. ABSTRACT. Time-varying accelerations were observed on Bagley Icefield during the 1993^95 surge of Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., using repeat-pass synthetic aperture radar interferometry. Observations were from datasets acquired during winter 1991/92 (pre-surge), winter 1993/94 (during the surge) and winter 1995/96 (post-surge).The surge is shown to have extended 110km up the icefield from Bering Glacier to within 15km or less of the flow divide. Acceleration and step-like velocity profiles are strongly associated with an along-glacier series of central phase bull's-eyes with diameters of 0.5^4 km.These bull's-eyes are interpreted to represent glacier surface rise/fall events of 3^30 cm during 1^3 day observation intervals and indicate possible migrating pockets of subglacial water. We present a surge hypothesis that relates late-summer climate to englacial water storage and thence to the subglacial water dynamics ö pressurization, hydraulic jacking, depres- surization and migration ö suggested by our observations. INTRODUCTION with floods of sediment-laden water at the glacier terminus onVariegated and West Fork Glaciers, Alaska (Harrison and Bering Glacier, together with Bagley Icefield, its associated others, 1986, 1994). This work demonstrated that large-scale accumulation area, and smaller tributaries, covers an area of 2 disruption of the basal drainage system results in large 5200 km in the Chugach^Saint Elias Mountains of south- volumes of subglacially stored water and bed separation central Alaska, U.S.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Geology of the Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula Region, Alaska
    Geology of the Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula Region, Alaska Including the Kenai, Seldovia, Seward, Blying Sound, Cordova, and Middleton Island 1:250,000-scale quadrangles By Frederic H. Wilson and Chad P. Hults Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3110 View looking east down Harriman Fiord at Serpentine Glacier and Mount Gilbert. (photograph by M.L. Miller) 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Geographic, Physiographic, and Geologic Framework ..........................................................................1 Description of Map Units .............................................................................................................................3 Unconsolidated deposits ....................................................................................................................3 Surficial deposits ........................................................................................................................3 Rock Units West of the Border Ranges Fault System ....................................................................5 Bedded rocks ...............................................................................................................................5
    [Show full text]
  • Bering Glacier
    YAKATAQA AREA PLAN UNIT 2 BERINg gLACIER Background Unit 2 encompasses the terminal lobe of Bering Glacier, a vast piedmont glacier undergoing a dramatic cycle of surge and retreat. Physical features Bering Glacier is part of the largest icefield in North America. It ranks among the largest temperate glacier systems in the world. The rapid retreat of Bering Glacier, which has been interrupted by periodic galloping surges, has attracted intense national and international scientific interest. During the early 1990s, Bering Glacier retreated at an average rate of 0.6 miles per year. As Bering Glacier retreated, Vitus Lake expanded to over 50,000 acres in the early 1990s, with icebergs up to 1,500 feet long. In 1994 and 1995, the glacier surged explosively at rates occasionally reaching 300 feet per day, and reclaimed much of the lake. Rivers have become lakes because their outlets have been cut off by the ice advance. Water levels have risen 75 feet in Tsiu and Tsivat lakes, formerly river channels. Scientists predict that the beach separating Vitus Lake from the Gulf of Alaska will breach, and the tidal incursion will cause the glacier to retreat nearly 35 miles in the next 50-100 years, creating a fiord as large as Yakutat Bay. High tides exceeding six feet in the Gulf of Alaska presently enter Vitus Lake through the Seal River. Access There are unimproved airstrips on both sides of Seal River. Land status All lands in this unit are state-selected from the Bureau of Land Management. Subunit 2a (in Range 9E) was selected as a potential overland transportation corridor to the Copper River region via one of the river drainages in Chugach National Forest.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunting / Unit 12 Upper Tanana-White River
    Hunting / Unit 12 Upper Tanana-White River 'RW/DNH 7DQDFURVV &DWKHGUDO5DSLGV 7RN 7HWOLQ-XQFWLRQ 6ODWH&UHHN 8SSHU6ODWH&UHHN 7HWOLQ 1RUWKZD\-XQFWLRQ 0HQWDVWD 1RUWKZD\ /DNH 6ODQD &KLVWRFKLQD 1DEHVQD &KLVDQD /RZHU7RQVLQD &KLWLQD 0F&DUWK\ Federal Public Lands Open to Subsistence Use 58 2014/2016 Federal Subsistence Wildlife Regulations Unit 12 / Hunting (See Unit 12 Upper Tanana-White River map) Unit 12 consists of the Tanana River drainage upstream from the Robertson River; including all drainages into the east bank of the Robertson River and the White River drainage in Alaska, but excluding the Ladue River drainage. Special Provisions ● You may use bait to hunt black bear between April 15 ■ The permittees must be a minor aged 8 to 15 years and June 30; you may use bait to hunt wolves on FWS old and an accompanying adult 60 years of age or and BLM lands. older; ● National Park Service (NPS) areas—For subsistence ■ Both the elder and the minor must be Federally use, national parks and monuments are open only to qualified subsistence users with a positive NPS qualified subsistence users. Subsistence users customary and traditional use determination for the must be local rural residents of NPS areas. For more area they want to hunt; information, contact the NPS office in Anchorage at ■ The minor must hunt under the direct immediate (907) 644-3509. supervision of the accompanying adult, who is ● One moose without calf may be taken from June responsible for ensuring that all legal requirements 20 - July 31 in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park are met; and, and Preserve in Units 11 or 12 for the Batzulnetas ■ Only one animal may be harvested with this Culture Camp.
    [Show full text]
  • Mount Wrangell District, Alaska
    A, Economic Qeol y, 25 Rofeasional Paper No. 15 Series{ B, Dwmiptins Q&, 80 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNlTED S'l'hTES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHARLES U. \flALCOTT, I)IRECTOR THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE MOUNT WRANGELL DISTRICT, ALASKA BY WALTER C, MENDENHALL AND FRANK C, SCHRADER WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1903 .I MOUNT WRANGELL. VIFW t-keri frnm thi, Giivr,~nment im1 above To~is~iaBr~iloe 41 mles from tire sumtnit of tits maunin,~ I; NkDlNA RIVER BARS, Mnunt Drum in backgniuncl. Page . Introduction ................................................................................ 9 Copper ................................................................................... 13 Southern area ......................................................................... 13 Location ................................................................ ., ....... 13 Routes and trails ................................................................. 13 Geologic sketch .................................................................. 14 Nikolai greenstone ............................................................. 14 Chitistone limestone .......................................................... 14 Triassic shales and limestones ............................ .. .......... 15 Kennicott formation .......................................................... 15 Intrusive rocks ............................................................... 15 Copper occurrences ............................................................... 16 General statement ...........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Yakutat Tlingit and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve: an Ethnographic Overview and Assessment
    Portland State University PDXScholar Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations Anthropology 2015 Yakutat Tlingit and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Douglas Deur Portland State University, [email protected] Thomas Thornton University of Oxford Rachel Lahoff Portland State University Jamie Hebert Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/anth_fac Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Citation Details Deur, Douglas; Thornton, Thomas; Lahoff, Rachel; and Hebert, Jamie, "Yakutat Tlingit and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment" (2015). Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations. 99. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/anth_fac/99 This Report is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Yakutat Tlingit and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Douglas Deur, Ph.D. Thomas Thornton, Ph.D. Rachel Lahoff, M.A. Jamie Hebert, M.A. 2015 Cover photos: Mount St. Elias / Was'ei Tashaa (courtesy Wikimedia Commons); Mount St. Elias Dancers (courtesy Yakutat Tlingit Tribe / Bert Adams Sr.) Yakutat Tlingit and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment 2015 Douglas Deur, Thomas Thornton, Rachel Lahoff, and Jamie Hebert Portland State University Department of Anthropology United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Wrangell-St.
    [Show full text]
  • A, Index Map of the St. Elias Mountains of Alaska and Canada Showing the Glacierized Areas (Index Map Modi- Fied from Field, 1975A)
    Figure 100.—A, Index map of the St. Elias Mountains of Alaska and Canada showing the glacierized areas (index map modi- fied from Field, 1975a). B, Enlargement of NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image mosaic of the St. Elias Mountains in summer 1995. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration image from Mike Fleming, USGS, EROS Data Center, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska. K122 SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD St. Elias Mountains Introduction Much of the St. Elias Mountains, a 750×180-km mountain system, strad- dles the Alaskan-Canadian border, paralleling the coastline of the northern Gulf of Alaska; about two-thirds of the mountain system is located within Alaska (figs. 1, 100). In both Alaska and Canada, this complex system of mountain ranges along their common border is sometimes referred to as the Icefield Ranges. In Canada, the Icefield Ranges extend from the Province of British Columbia into the Yukon Territory. The Alaskan St. Elias Mountains extend northwest from Lynn Canal, Chilkat Inlet, and Chilkat River on the east; to Cross Sound and Icy Strait on the southeast; to the divide between Waxell Ridge and Barkley Ridge and the western end of the Robinson Moun- tains on the southwest; to Juniper Island, the central Bagley Icefield, the eastern wall of the valley of Tana Glacier, and Tana River on the west; and to Chitistone River and White River on the north and northwest. The boundar- ies presented here are different from Orth’s (1967) description. Several of Orth’s descriptions of the limits of adjacent features and the descriptions of the St.
    [Show full text]
  • Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in Alaska
    Quaternary Science Reviews 28 (2009) 2034–2048 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev Holocene glacier fluctuations in Alaska David J. Barclay a,*, Gregory C. Wiles b, Parker E. Calkin c a Geology Department, State University of New York College at Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045, USA b Department of Geology, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691, USA c Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA article info abstract Article history: This review summarizes forefield and lacustrine records of glacier fluctuations in Alaska during the Received 9 May 2008 Holocene. Following retreat from latest Pleistocene advances, valley glaciers with land-based termini Received in revised form were in retracted positions during the early to middle Holocene. Neoglaciation began in some areas by 15 January 2009 4.0 ka and major advances were underway by 3.0 ka, with perhaps two distinct early Neoglacial Accepted 29 January 2009 expansions centered respectively on 3.3–2.9 and 2.2–2.0 ka. Tree-ring cross-dates of glacially killed trees at two termini in southern Alaska show a major advance in the AD 550s–720s. The subsequent Little Ice Age (LIA) expansion was underway in the AD 1180s–1320s and culminated with two advance phases respectively in the 1540s–1710s and in the 1810s–1880s. The LIA advance was the largest Holocene expansion in southern Alaska, although older late Holocene moraines are preserved on many forefields in northern and interior Alaska. Tidewater glaciers around the rim of the Gulf of Alaska have made major advances throughout the Holocene.
    [Show full text]
  • GLACIERS of ALASKA by BRUCE F
    Glaciers of North America— GLACIERS OF ALASKA By BRUCE F. MOLNIA With sections on COLUMBIA AND HUBBARD TIDEWATER GLACIERS By ROBERT M. KRIMMEL THE 1986 AND 2002 TEMPORARY CLOSURES OF RUSSELL FIORD BY THE HUBBARD GLACIER By BRUCE F. MOLNIA, DENNIS C. TRABANT, ROD S. MARCH, and ROBERT M. KRIMMEL GEOSPATIAL INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS OF GLACIERS: A CASE STUDY FOR THE EASTERN ALASKA RANGE By WILLIAM F. MANLEY SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF THE GLACIERS OF THE WORLD Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386–K About 5 percent (about 75,000 km2) of Alaska is presently glacierized, including 11 mountain ranges, 1 large island, an island chain, and 1 archipelago. The total number of glaciers in Alaska is estimated at >100,000, including many active and former tidewater glaciers. Glaciers in every mountain range and island group are experiencing significant retreat, thinning, and (or) stagnation, especially those at lower elevations, a process that began by the middle of the 19th century. In southeastern Alaska and western Canada, 205 glaciers have a history of surging; in the same region, at least 53 present and 7 former large ice-dammed lakes have produced jökulhlaups (glacier-outburst floods). Ice-capped Alaska volcanoes also have the potential for jökulhlaups caused by subglacier volcanic and geothermal activity. Satellite remote sensing provides the only practical means of monitoring regional changes in glaciers in response to short- and long-term changes in the maritime and continental climates of Alaska. Geospatial analysis is used to define selected glaciological parameters in the eastern part of the Alaska Range.
    [Show full text]
  • Dall Sheep Management Report of Survey-Inventory Activities 1 July 1998–30 June 2001
    Dall Sheep Management Report of survey-inventory activities 1 July 1998–30 June 2001 Carole Healy, Editor Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation December 2002 ADF&G Please note that population and harvest data in this report are estimates and may be refined at a later date. If this report is used in its entirety, please reference as: Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 2002. Dall Sheep management report of survey-inventory activities 1 July 1998–30 June 2001. C. Healy, editor. Project 6.0. Juneau, Alaska. If used in part, the reference would include the author’s name, unit number, and page numbers. Authors’ names and the reference for using part of this report can be found at the end of each unit section. Funded in part through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, Proj. 6, Grants W-27-2, W-27-3 and W-27-4. SPECIES Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation (907) 465-4190 PO BOX 25526 MANAGEMENT REPORT JUNEAU, AK 99802-5526 DALL SHEEP MANAGEMENT REPORT From: 1 July 1998 To: 30 June 2001 LOCATION 2 GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT: 7 And 15 (8,397 mi ) GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION: Kenai Mountains BACKGROUND U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reports indicate aerial sheep surveys were initiated on the Refuge portion of the Kenai Mountains in 1949. Records after statehood (ADF&G and FWS files) show the Kenai Mountains sheep population steadily increased from 1949 to 1968, before sharply declining until 1977 and 1978, when the lowest counts were recorded. Since the late 1970s the sheep population has been rebuilding from its previous low levels; the controlling factors were effects of weather and habitat.
    [Show full text]