KWETHLU& SUBSISTENCE: CONTEMPORARY LAND USE PAlTERNS, WILD RESOURCE HARVEST AND USE, AND THE SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY OF A LOWER KUSKOKWIM RIVER AREA COMMUNITY Michael W. Coffimg Technical Paper No. 157 Alaska Department of Fiih and Game Division of Subsistence Juneau, Alaska December 1991 7his research was partially supported by ANZLCA Federal Aid fin& administered through the. U.S. Fish and wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska, SG-l-4 and SG-l-5 EEO STATEMENT l7ze Alaska Department of Fish and Game operates all of its public programs and activities free from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or handicap. Because the depatiment receives federal funding any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against should w&e to: O.E.O. U. S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 ABSTRACT Kwethluk is a community located near the Kuskokwim River in western Alaska, 20 river miles upstream from Bethel. In 1986, the community contained 540 residents, primarily Yup’ik Eskimo, living in 112 households. This study was conducted to examine subsistence wildlife harvest and use, including areas used when hunting, trapping, and gathering, seasonality of harvest, methods and means of harvest, processing and preservation methods, distribution, and harvest levels. Data on demographics, employment, and income were also collected. During the study period (1986-87), employment in the community was highly dependent on state and federal funding. Seventy-seven percent of the available jobs’were government funded. Twenty-five percent of the households were not involved in wage employment. The majority of households that were involved in wage employment derived income from a single job. Fifty percent of the wage-earning jobs lasted for nine months or less and 44 percent of the jobs were part time. Average household income earned from wage employment was only $9,747. Wage employment income accounted for 45 percent of the total community income. The median household income during 1986 was relatively low at $16,624. Fii-two percent of the households earned income from commercial salmon fishing in the Kuskokwim Area commercial fishery. Average household income earned from commercial salmon fishing was $6,814. Overall commercial fishing contributed 16 percent of the community income. During 1986 there were 68 “limited entry” commercial salmon fishing permits in the community. Kwethluk residents were not involved in other commercial fisheries. Kwethluk’s life and economy relied heavily on the traditional harvest and use of wild resources. All households participated in harvesting wildlife for subsistence use. Household harvests of wildlife averaged 3,860 pounds edible weight. The per capita harvest was 800 pounds edible weight, among the highest of communities in Alaska. Household harvests ranged from 19 to 23,758 pounds edible weight. Seventy percent of the households were involved in harvesting or processing salmon for subsistence use in 52 subsistence salmon production units. Salmon production units were composed of extended families in multiple households. During 1986 there were 52 salmon fishing camps being used for processing and preserving salmon for subsistence use. Some salmon f&ring camps had been used for more than 50 years by their current owners. Several salmon fshing camps had been relocated due to erosion along the Kuskokwim River or Kuskokuak Slough. Salmon comprised 53 percent of the total community harvest of wildlife. Salmon harvests during 1986 totaled 229,063 pounds edible weight. Harvests of salmon for subsistence use averaged 884 pounds of chinook, 591 pounds of chum, 349 pounds sockeye, and 203 pounds of coho salmon per household. Harvests levels during 1986 were about average. Freshwater Fib contributed 32 percent of the total pounds edible weight of wildlife harvested. Northern pike, whitefish, and burbot were the primary freshwater fish harvested. Moose accounted for 90 percent of the big game harvested and brown bear constituted the next highest quantity of big game harvested. During certain years, caribou was an important subsistence resource. Extended family members in multiple households often comprised hunting, fishing, and gathering groups. Sharing of wildlife harvested for subsistence with households in the community and with households in other communities was common. Kwethluk used a substantial area for obtaining wild foods, including inland mountains, rivers, and coastal marine waters. Areas used for hunting, fishing, and gathering extend from Kuskokwim Bay to McGrath, and from Baird Inlet to the Nushagak River. Contemporary patterns of land use were closely linked to historical use patterns and traditional use areas. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ................ ix LIST OF TABLES .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .................. xi . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.. ................................................................ METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... General Design .................................................................................................................. Sample Design ................................................................................................................... Salmon Harvest and Use S.urvey ...................................................................... Non-Salmon Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Harvest and Use Survey ....................................................................................7 Land Use Mapping .............................................................................................8 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................13 Limitations ..........................................................................................................................13 RATIONALE AND LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................14 CHAPTER 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA .......................................................................17 GEOGRAPHIC SETTING.. ..........................................................................................................17 CLIMATE .........................................................................................” .............................................. 18 FLORA AND FAUNA ...................................................................................................................21 REGIONAL SETTING ..................................................................................................................23 CHAPTER 3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ..........................................................................................27 SEASONAL ROUND OF SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES: 1900 TO 1930s........................... 30 SETTLEMENT OF KWETHLUK ...............................................................................................33 -CHAPTER 4. CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY PROFILE.. ......................................................37 COMMUNITY SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS .................................................37 Public and Private Sectors................................................................................................ 37 Housing ...............................................................................................................................38 Transportation ...................................................................................................................39 Population Characteristics ................................................................................................39 Job Opportunities and Wage Employment.. ................................................................;. 42 Commercial Fishing Income ............................................................................................47 Other Income Sources...................................................................................................... 54 Cost of Living.. ...................................................................................................................56 CHAPTER 5. CONTEMPORARY RESOURCE USE ......................................................................61 SEASONAL ROUND OF SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES.. .....................................................61 HOUSEHOLD PARTICIPATION IN RESOURCE HARVEST ACTIVITIES.. ............... 69 RESOURCE USE AREAS.. ..........................................................................................................69 HARVEST QUANTITIES.. ...........................................................................................................77 RESOURCE SHARING ................................................................................................................82 V CHAPTER 6. FISH AND WILDLIFE HARVEST AND USE PA’ITERNS .................................. 87 SALMON FISHING ........................................................................................................................88 Subsistence Salmon Fishing Regulations .......................................................................89