FISH AND WILDLIFE USE IN YAKWAT ALASKA: WNTFMPORARYPATIKRNSANDCH?GES by David D. Mills and Anne S. Fiman Technical Paper 131 Division of Subsistence Alaska Department of Fish and Game Douglas, Alaska May 1986 ABsmcT This report presents descriptive infomation on contmporary fish and wildlife use patterns by Yakutat residents and analyzes the rela- tionships beimeen these uses and biophysical and scciceconanic condi- tions created by timber harvesting, road building and other develo-t activities. This information is useful for laud use planning by federal, state and private land managers, as mall as for resource allocation decisions by the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game. Field research was conducted during the fall of 1984, and winter and spring of 1985. Tknty-five long-term residents that were knowledgeable of hunting and fishing patterns i.nYakutatwere interviewd numerous tims to developtjma-depthbackground information and fish and wildlife land use maps. Changes inhunting and fishing patterns were analyzed to understand relationships with roadbuilding, tinberharvesting~changesintransportation~logy. Afterthe resea.rchers hadobtaineda canprehensive understandingof fish and wildlife gathering activities throughtim, a randansumeywas conductedwith 50 hauseholds inYakutat(30 percentofthe cmttmnity), collecting quantitative information on hunting, fishing and gathering that had occurred during 1984. Themethodologyallows household infomationtobegeneralizedto the camnmitylevel. Yakutathouseholdswere found to harvest over seventy different types of wild resources during 1984, representing use of over 150 different species. The average household harvested 1,105 pounds of fish and wildlife during 1984 or 368 pounds per household maker, frm the waters and uplands beixeen the Deception Hills near Dry Bay, north to Cape Suckling, a distance of over 200 miles. Fish represented 57 percent of the totalharvestbyweight, land mmnals 14 percent and shellfish 12 percent. The remaining17 percent of the total harvest consistedofmarineplants,marinemamnals,birds, berries and plants. These resourceswre sharedandwidelydistributedthroughoutthe ccmmnity. For example dungeness crabwas harvestedby 40 percent of Yakutat's householdsbutusedby 90 percent;mosewas harvestedby 22 percentandusedby 70 percentofYakutat's households. The construction of Forest Highway #lo, which began in 1963, providedroadedaccess to portions oftheYakutatForelands,whichled to increaseduse of certain areas bylocalandnon-local hunters and fishers. Canpetition for resources in a few of these areas resulted in smeYakutatresidents beingdisplacedtootherhuntingand fishing locations. Areas of the Yakutat Forelands that were roaded or easily accessible by roads showed one-sixth the rate of mose hunter success in 1984 cxmparedtonon-roadedareas,despite.receivinggreaterhunter effort. Since construction of Forest Highway #lo, highway vehicles have beenusedmre frequently for hunting; in1984 theywreusedbymre than twice asmany Yakutat households as before the construction of the -. road. The proportionofhouseholds using boats for hunting has declined duringthis sam timperiod. Clearcutareas near Yalmtatare mused infmqently for hunting or trapping. This was reportedtobe true forrecentclearcutareas as ~11asareasthat~logged3Oyearsagothatnowcontainyoung second- stands of conifers. Loss of salmnhabitatinOphi.rCreek near Yakutat has decreased the number and quality of salmon available in Ophir Creek for subsistence use. The role of naturally changing land forms and man-made disturbances in decreasing available salmn habitat in Ophiz Creek is still uncertain. Residents of Yakutat have developd econanic strategies that allow for an involvement in both market activities and subsistence hunting and fishing activities. The result is a mixed subsistence-cash economy based on the harvest of renewable fish and wildlife resources. This mixedeconmyismade possible inYakutatbyanabundance ofwild food resources and the largely undisturbed fish and wildlife habitat of the area. We are grateful to the Ci@ of Yakutat, the Yak-Tat-Kwaan, the Yakutat Fish and GameAdvisory Ccmnittee, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Alaska Native Sisterhood for their support and assistance with this project. Special thanks are extended to the Yakutat offices of the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Fish and Gam who provided office space, housing and valuable information throughout the courseofthis study. And finally, to the people of Yakutat who patiently contributed their time andtheknmledgetomake this reportpossible,we express our deepest appreciation. TAME OF Cor?‘lTEsITS ACKNBS . i LIST OF TABLES . TT LIST OF FIGURES . vi Chapter 1. STUDYBACK- . 1 Introduction ................................................ 1 Purpose and Objectives ..................................... 6 Methodology ................................................. 7 Literature Search ......................................... 8 Key Respondent Interview .................................. 9 Resource Use Survey ....................................... 13 Organization of the F&port, Limitations and Assumptions ..... 16 2. STUDYAREA. 19 Geographic Lmation ......................................... 19 Land Status ................................................. 30 FslvirormEntal Setting ....................................... 21 Physical Ekkromnt ...................................... 21 Climate ................................................... 23 Fish and Wildlife ......................................... 24 Vegetation ................................................ 25 Cmmmity Profile ........................................... 26 PopulationHistory ........................................ 26 Age and Gender Profile .................................... 30 Ethnicity ................................................. 30 Place of Birth ............................................ 32 Length of Residency ....................................... 32 Cmmunity Services and Facilities ......................... 32 3. CCMMERCIALANDWAGEEMPT..OYMENTINTHEKCONOMYOFYAKUTAT....35 History of Comnercial Developt in the Area ............... 35 Fur Trade ................................................. 35 Cmnercial Fishing ........................................ 37 Military .................................................. 38 Oil and Gas ............................................... 39 Timber .................................................... 40 TourismandOutdoor Recreation ............................ 41 Cmnercial and Wage Rnployment in 1984 ...................... 42 Harvesting of -1 Resources ............................. 43 Wage mlovment and Small Businesses ...................... 45 Transfer Payments ......................................... 47 Cmbiningl%plqmentTvpes ................................ 47 ii Household Incme Levels ................................... 48 Capital F&pent Used in Fishing and Hunting ............. 50 4. SUFX3ISTENCEIN THE?ECONCMY OF YAKUTAT. 53 Historic Resource Use ....................................... 53 Contemporary Resource Use ................................... 55 Seasonal Rmnd of Harvesting Activities ................... 56 Late Winter ............................................. 58 Sprins .................................................. 64 Sumner .................................................. 66 Fall .................................................... 69 Winter .................................................. 71 Harvest of Fish and Wildlife Resources .................... 72 Resource Categories Harvested ........................... 74 Resource Harvest Levels ................................. 78 Salmon Harvest .......................................... 81 Other Resources Harvested ............................... 87 Use of Resources .......................................... 88 Areas Used for Harvesting Fish and Wildlife ............... 92 Mapping Methodology ..................................... 92 Areas Used During the Lifetime of Key Respondents ....... 94 Moose ................................................. 94 Bear .................................................. 98 J%untainGoat ......................................... 101 Seal .................................................. 103 Deer .................................................. 104 lQ.?kXZWWS ............................................ 105 Birds ................................................. 107 Shellfish and Marine Plants ........................... 110 Fishing ............................................... 111 Ccmmercial Fishing .................................. 111 Non-Cmmercial Fishing .............................. 118 Plants and Berries .................................... 122 Percentage of Residents Using Areas During their Lifetime 124 Areas Used for bkxxe Hunting 1945-1984 .................. 128 Areas Used for Mmse Huntinq Prior to 1962 ............ 129 Areas Used for J!bose Hunting Frcm 1963 to 1974 ........ 131 Areas Used for Moose Huntby Frcm 1975 to 1984 ........ 135 Changes in Areas Used for Salmon Fishing ................ 137 5. TRANSPO#TATICRJANDACCESSTOFISHAND~L~RESOURCES . 141 TransprtationHistoryof theyakutat Area ................... 141 Contmporary Transportation and Access Patterns to Fish and wildlife in Yakutat ...................................... 143 Use of Roaded and Non-roaded Areas ......................... 148 Qmracteristics of Successful Moose Hunting ................ 155 Changes in Access