REFUGE NARRATIVE REPORT January to April, 19.57 KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kodiak, Alaska Will Troyer, Refuge Manager Webster K. Clark, Biologist REFUGE NARRATIVE REPORT Table o:f Contents I� GENERAL A. Weather Conditions 1 B. Water Conditions 2 c. Fires 2 II. WILDLIFE A. Waterfowl 2 B. Upland Game Birds 3 c. Song Birds 3 D. Shore Birds 3 E. Small Game Animals 4 F. Big Game Animals 4 G. Fur Animals and other Mammals 7 nr. REFUGE DEVELOPMENI' AND MAINTENANCE A. Physical Development 9 IV. ECONOMIC USE 9 v. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS A. Bear-cattle Investigations 10 B. Wildlife Utilization Surve,r 10 c. Range Reconnaissance SUrvey - Afognak and Raspberry Islands ll VI. PUBLIC RELATIONS A. Refuge Participation 15 B. Hunting and Trapping 15 c. Fishing 15 D. Violations 16 REFUGE N.ARRATIVE REPORT January to April 1957 KODIAK .NATIONAL wnDIJ:FE REFUGE Kodiak, Alaska I. GENERAL A· Weather Conditions All weather data is :furnished by the Fleet 'Waather Central, Naval station, Kodiak, Alaska. Precipitation Temperature Snow.fall Precip. Inches Inches Mean Max:i.mum Minimum January 11.5 2.41 32.2 49 19 FebNary 29.2 3·93 33•0 56 3 March 15.1 6.85 33·9 47 17 April 4.8 hlQ 39.1 51 30 Total 60.6 16.69 - 1 .... General Remarks The winter at Kodiak continued to be very mild. Snow did not remain at great depths on lower elevations for a� length of time during the winter. Average temperatures were mild, and the average wind velocity was much lower than usual for this period. B. water Conditions Most of the lakes remained frozen during the first three months of this period. Some of the smaller lakes were free of ice by April 5. and a few of the larger lakes such as Karluk became free of ice on April 25. c. Fires No fires occurred on the Refuge during this period. n. WILDUFE A, waterfowl The winter waterfowl inventory was conducted on January Jl, 1957'. The inTentory was conducted from a OF Navy plane by cooperation o:r the U. s. Navy. �ather conditions and visibility were excellent. The area covered included all of Kodiak. Afognak• and most of the adjacent islands. I The count consisted of an extremel;r low number of dabbling ducks. This may have been due to a lower population and par­ tiall;r due to a different observer. A larger number of geese were seen, ba.t these were found in the Trinity Island group. an area which had not been checked in past years. Following is a breakdown of the spe cies: - 2 - Mallards 395 Gadv1all 55 Greenwinged Teal 25 Scaup 2,265 Golden-eyes 6,700 Bufflehead 210 Harlequin 70 :Emperor Geese 1,555 Unidentified 225 Total 11,500 The spring migration of waterfowl started around the middle of April. On April 20, 150 brant geese w·ere observed in Kalsin Bay. During the next two �s several other flocks were observed in this area. Biologist Clark observed one flock of 20 brant on Uganik Island on May 1 and 65 more in Uganik Bay on April 26. One white-fronted goose was observed in Womens Bay on April 27. One male shoveller was observed near Chiniak on April 22. On April 20, one large flock of pintails were observed in Kalsin Bay. Five pair of swan were observed in small pot holes in the Olga Bay area on April 30. Bob Vincent, biologist for ADF in IG.toi Bay on Afognak Island, reports that each year scaup arrive in that area on October 30 and depart between May 8-10. One female eider started to nest near Kodiak on March 24. B. Upland Game Birds Because of the mild winter, ptarmigan remained at the high elevations and fewer were taken during this period. The season closed on April 20. One blue grouse was stocked on Wooqy Island on March 7. C. Song Birds The f"irst fox sparrow was seen on April 23. D. Shore Birds K:i.ttiwakes were observed on the rookery on Whale Island on March 12. Bob Vincent of ADF reports both tufted and horned - 3 - Figure 1 Kittiwakes on rooker.y on Whale Island. puffins arrive on rookeries in Kitoi Bay between May 10-16 and usually leave in August. Clark reported seeing puffinton April 26. E. Snall Game Animals Varying Hare Heavy hunting pressure continued on rabbits until about March 15. Rabbits continue to be abundant in most areas and have overutilized their range in ma:rzy- areas. Rabbits started to turn brown by the middle of April. Range conditions will be discussed under field investigations. F. Big Game Animals. Sitka Black-tailed Deer (l) General The unusually mild winter conditions prevented a:rzy- heavy deer losses. Although deer arrived on their wintering grounds in early November, they were not forced to as narrow a fringe of beach as last year. Their movements were not hampered by extremely heavy snows; thus more range and browse was avail­ able. The same 9t miles of beach were checked as last year for possible winter kills, and only one old buck in the Monashka Bay area was found. This compares with 68 dead deer found on the same beaches last year. The actual loss this year may have been a little greater than indicated by the one dead deer found. The ease and distance of travel is greater during mild winters and winter kills may possibly be more scattered inland and thus more easily overlooked. (2) Dispersal Movements Deer have continued to spread toward the south-. west portion of Kodiak Island. A small herd is now located on Uganik Island, and a few are found on the Little River Peninsula. Five deer were reported at U,yak during the past winter. Whale Island and Uzinki Island both have good deer populations. Quite a number of deer are now found in Duck Bay and Izhut Bay on Afognak Island, and in the future this will probably be one flit the most important deer areas. Several have been seen in the Tonki Bay area. - 4- Figure 2 Willow heavi� browsed b,y deer on Kodiak Island. Note the small diameter of willow stems still left. (3) Range Conditions -Kodiak Island The conflict between deer and cattle on Kodiak Island is quite acute. Both an:irnals use the beach fringes for Wintering. Most of the Willow found between Middle Bay and Chiniak is heavil;y over utilized by cattle. In macy areas willow has been eliminated. Cattle utilize a much larger portion of the willow stem, and this utilization completely eliminates potential browse for deer. The range on Cliff Point is in a healthY condi­ tion, and this is directly due to the lack of cattle in this area. At present, negotiations are under way with the Nav.y to eliminate cattle grazing from militar,y grounds at Chiniak. Willow is the most important browse plant for deer on Kodiak. Blueberr,y only exists in a few isolated spots. In some of the other areas, elderberr,y and salmonberr,y are utilized. Range conditions on Afognak will be coV-ered under field investigations. Olympic Elk (1) Movements Periodic aerial checks were made throughout this period to note aey unusual movements and concentrations. The Malina Bay beach herd remained in that area until earl;y January. At that time they moved completel;y out of this area and into spruce timber. The herd on Raspberr,y Island also moved from their summering range on the northern portion of the Island to the southwestern portion which has spruce cover. Elk were found wintering quite heaviJ.;y in the Pararoanof Lake area. (2) Range Conditions This will be covered under field investigations. (3 ) Winter Kills No winter kills were found this year. - 5 ... Goats No goats were seen during this period. Reindeer (1) Population On March 12, an attempt was made to survey reindeer. Snow conditions were good in Kodiak, but upon arrival on the south end of the Island, snow conditions wer� found to be very light, and the ground was onJ¥ partially covered, giving a gray appearance. Reindeer blended in with ground coloring and observations were very poor. � 2)0 reindeer were seen. On May 1, another survey was attempted. The reindeer were fco.nd to be quite scattered, but due to the;ir light gray coats against a dark background, were quite visible. A total of 540 adult reindeer were counted, and this is thought to be the bulk of the population. calves were quite common, but were difficult to see because of the;ir dark colors. Only 80 were counted, but this should not be considered a total count. (2) Movements During the March counts, 130 were seen a:t the mouth of the Red River flats and approximatel;y 100 at the junc­ tion of the Bear and Red Rivers. On April ) 0, reindeer were broken up into smaller groups and were well scattered from the mouth of the Red River to Upper station in Olga Bay. This seems to be their favor­ able calving ground as they were also seen here last spring. Twenty-eight reindeer were observed near the Karluk weir, and a few were seen at the junction of Bear and Red Rivers. (3) Harvest Last winter the natives were contacted in Karluk and Alitak villages to determine their take of reindeer. Alitak village reported taking 8 and Karluk 11 for the year; however this spring when they moved into their calving grounds at the head of Olga Bay the Alitak natives took an additional 8 rein­ deer.