North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management Sketch by Jean Craighead George FALL 2014 VOL 6 NO 2 The Towline From the Director with bowhead and beluga whales, ice seals, migratory birds and more. We work with co- Paġlagivsi North Slope residents! Thanks management organizations to provide sup- to all of the successful whalers and hunters port for our subsistence hunters. More infor- who provide food for our community mation on many of these topics can be Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, as well found on the NSB webpages (web address as what we enjoy year round! on back). The Department of Wildlife Management Please continue to contact Inside this has been busy with issues related to cari- us with your questions or issue: bou, polar bear, fish, and more, which you concerns regarding subsist- can read about here. We are privileged to ence resources. We rely on Caribou Decline 2 carry out this work on behalf of our North the information that we get Wolverine on NS 2 Slope communities to from our hunters to do our Kids Page 3 ensure that subsist- Ringed Seal work. Please continue to 4 ence resources are pass on your valuable Tagging Chukchi Polar sustainable and sub- knowledge to our young 5 sistence hunting con- hunters, especially your re- Bear Quota Water Mold on tinues. spect for nature and wild- 5 Aanaakłiq Our staff represent life. Qiksiksrautiqaġniq! Hunters in Focus 6 the NSB in critical Happy Holidays, Student Interns 6 discussions, dealing Taqulik Hepa Point Lay Walrus Haulout in Fall of 2014 During mid-September, about 35,000 to munity of Point Lay, organized a field trip in 45,000 walruses hauled out on a barrier early October to assess carcasses, conduct island near Point Lay. In mid-to-late Sep- necropsies and collect samples. The group tember about 50 walrus carcasses were ob- traveled through the lagoon to the haul out served by the USGS aerial sur- site, about 5-6 miles north of the vey. The carcasses were likely a old village, examined 34 carcass- result of a stampede event es, and necropsied five fresher caused by a polar or brown bear carcasses. that had been observed on the Cause of death likely was island by Point Lay residents. trampling, with no skin lesions Raphaela Stimmelmayr, assist- (as seen during the 2011 UME) ed by Isaac Leavitt of Barrow, observed. Preliminary results will traveled to Point Lay. The NSB- be presented at the Eskimo Wal- Leo Ferreira & Warren Harding DWM, in collaboration with the Lampe of Point Lay assist rus Commission meeting in De- Raphaela Stimmelmayr with USFWS, ADFG, and the com- necropsy cember, with a report to follow. THE TOWLINE Page 2 Caribou Populations Decline The TCH and WAH photocensus data from 2014 will be very important in understanding this popula- Caribou on the North Slope have been studied tion trend. If declines continue, harvest manage- since the early 1970’s. The NSB-DWM has worked ment efforts may need to be considered. The NSB- with the ADFG and the BLM in caribou collaring DWM is making every effort to include North efforts, aerial surveys and photocensuses. Caribou Slope hunters in this discussion. population fluctuations are natural; however, the Meetings in North Slope communities have been current trends have managers worried. or are being held to discuss this problem and to The Teshekpuk Caribou Herd (TCH) is declining. come up with community solutions. If the trend In 2013, the estimate of about 40,000 animals was continues, harvest can make the decline even more down from 69,000 in 2008. This decline is due to a severe. Some solutions may include changes in combination of things, including few calves being hunting seasons, hunting fewer females, or commu- born and poor calf survival starting in the late nity harvest quotas. North Slope hunters are en- 1990’s. More recently, there have been higher death couraged to give us their ideas about how to keep rates for adults. The reasons for poor survival could caribou numbers from declining further. be related to poor summer and winter nutrition, The good news is that the Central Arctic Herd freezing rain covering the tundra in the fall and win- (about 67,000) is stable and the Porcupine Herd ter, and higher levels of predation in winter. (about 169,000) is increasing. The Teshekpuk Cari- The Western Arctic Herd (WAH) is also in de- bou Health Assessment being conducted by the cline, with a 2013 estimate of 235,000, down from NSB-DWM and BLM is ongoing and, thus far, the 490,000 in 2003. The decline in this herd shows majority of hunter killed animals that we have ex- trends similar to the Teshekpuk Herd, with lower amined were healthy. Hunters are encouraged to calf survival and lower adult female survival. Similar contact the Department if they want to participate weather patterns are affecting their summer and in this assessment. If you have any questions or winter nutrition, and predator numbers seem to be concerns, please contact Brian Person at 852-0350 high. A poorer nutritional state leads to greater vul- or email him at [email protected]. nerability to predators as well. tions or concerns, please contact Ryan Klimstra at Wolverines on the North Slope 852-0350 or email him at ryan.klimstra@north- Wolverine are an important subsistence species on slope.org. the North Slope. We are studying wolverines to bet- This project is funded by the ter understand important habitat, range, and den- North Slope Borough Department ning sites. We will inform communities and industry of Wildlife Management and the of our findings to help provide mitigation solutions Wildlife Conservation Society. for maintaining continued hunting access to wolver- ines during future development activities. In November 2014, ADF&G biologists will at- tempt to locate wolverines during their routine cari- bou and moose surveys. If located, five wolverines found in the study area will be fitted with GPS satel- lite collars. In April 2015, aerial surveys will be fo- cused south of Atqasuk to the foothills of the Brooks Range, and from Umiat to the Utukok River (see flight tracks on map). During these surveys, we will record locations of wolverines and wolverine tracks. Satellite collaring and aerial surveys will help identify important wolverine habitat. We will communicate with village liaisons about local subsistence activity before our survey flights in April. Any encounters with subsistence activities Map showing aerial survey transects. will halt our survey in that area. If you have ques- Inset Photo: GPS satellite collar. Page 3 VOL 6 NO 1 Draw a line from the Iñupiaq name to the English name for these Sky Terms. Anaqaksraq Big Dipper Aulasuiļaq Darkness DECEMBER Ayauppiak Day Siqiñġiļaq or Umigraġvik Kiguġuya Daybreak Trapping season for fox, wolf, wolverine Seal and Nanuk hunting Naaġuq Evening Traditional games and feasts Qagguvik Full Moon Time to clean ice cellars for new year Qayuuttaq Moon Siqiñiq Morning JANUARY Taaġniq Night Siqiññaatchiaq or Unigmiġvik Trapping continues Tatqiq Northern Lights Seal and Nanuk hunting Unnuaq North Star Build and repair skin boats Uvlaaq Star Uvluġiaq Sun FEBRUARY Uvluq Sundogs Siqiññaasugruk or Irraasugruk Trapping continues Note: Iñupiaq name spellings vary between regions. Seal and Nanuk hunting Puvitquqtaq—skins being bleached and dried MARCH Paniqsiqsiivik or Amiqtuġvik Trapping continues Did you know that? … bowhead whales can live more than “two Seal and Nanuk hunting New skins sewed and put on boat frames human lifetimes”! Nanuk cubs emerge from dens ...bowhead whales can migrate “under the sea ice”! APRIL ...not all bowhead whales migrate to Canadian Qargiļiġvik or Umiaqqavik or Nutaqsivik waters in the summer, “some stay farther Whaling season begins south” in the Bering Sea, or along the northern Caribou hunting inland Alaskan and Russian coasts. Birth of Natchiq young ...bowhead whales can “hear sounds of MAY people on the ice” and other noises in the Suvluġvik or Nuġġiaqtuġvik ocean. Whaling continues …“bowheads can smell” smoke and odors Geese and ptarmigan hunting inland in the air. Duck hunting at sea ice leads Ice break up on rivers These facts, told to biologists by Iñupiat Birth of Ugruk young whalers, have been confirmed with science! Check our website for the correct answers! Go to www.north-slope.org/departments/wildlife-management/dwm_newsletters THE TOWLINE Page 4 The NSB-Shell Baseline Studies Program Highlight Ringed Seal Tagging Program The Ringed Seal Tagging Program has been ongoing since 2011 and is helping improve our knowledge of im- portant habitat for seals by providing travel locations, dive data, and feeding activity. This baseline information will help us to provide better mitigation solutions re- garding human activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in the future. The 2014 seal tagging season went very well with three Bobby Sarren and Jordan Kippi ringed seals and 10 spotted seals tagged. With the help setting the net to capture seals in 2013. of seal hunters Joe Skin, Bobby Sarren, Isaac which seem to occur during travel, and deeper Leavitt, and Billy Ad- dives occurring during feeding activity. ams, we located better Haul-out behavior varies with season, with the places to set nets and lowest percentage of time spent and shortest du- improved our methods ration of haul outs during September and Octo- for capturing seals. ber. The longest haul outs occurred during No- So, what do we know vember and December. so far? Travel routes of Our preliminary findings indicate that: 1) some the tagged seals can be ringed seals winter in the Bering Sea and some in seen in the maps below, the Chukchi Sea; 2) spotted seals tend to follow as compared with seals the coastline, with several key stopover locations tagged in 2011-12.