Interior Alaska Hunting Guide - 2018

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

2018 INSIDE: Fortymile Herd boom ushers in longer season, bigger quotas Wing and back meat must now be salvaged on geese, cranes The crossbow craze in Alaska

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS Hunting Fortymile Herd .......................................... 3 Social media, wireless cameras .......................... 13 Fish and Game FAQ .................................................. 4 Snowshoe hares reign king ............ 15 Moose population and harvest ........................... 6

Geese, swan, crane hunting rule changes ...... 16

20B moose season shortened .............................. 7 Interpreting animal carcasses ............................. 21 Tanana Lakes duck hunting .................................. 8 Crossbow hunting .................................................. 11

SOURDOUGH JACK:

“You know, if you need 100 rounds to kill a moose, maybe hunting isn’t your sport.”

3

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

Happy hunting Longer season, bigger quota for Fortymile Herd

SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

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unters will have a longer season and larger quota this year for one of the most highway-accessible caribou herds in the state thanks to a census last year that showed the herd got much bigger between 2010 and 2017. For Alaska residents, the hunting season for the Fortymile Caribou Herd begins Aug. 12 across the herd’s entire range. That’s more than two weeks earlier than last year’s opening date of Aug. 29 for the Steese and Taylor Highway corridors (Zones 1 and

3). It’s two days later than last year’s opening date for the remote parts of the herd’s range (Zones 2 and 4). The season will be longer for most hunters because the caribou quota will be larger, said Jeff Gross, area wildlife biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Tok. In the registration-style hunt used to mange Fortymile caribou, the season can end early if hunters are expected to reach their quota. The exact quota hasn’t been set yet, but it’s expected to be about 2,000 caribou, twice as much as last year’s quota, HERD » 20

A caribou shakes off water on the banks of the North Fork of the Chena River off of Chena Hot Spring Road Sept. 29, 2003. JOHN HAGEN/NEWS-MINER

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By Sam Friedman

4

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

10 Frequently Asked Questions Hunter information desk at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has the answers

1) What is the fall season for 40-mile caribou for 2018? The RC860 seasons have changed from previous years, all 4 zones will open Aug. 12. From Aug. 12 to Aug. 31 the season will be bull only. The resident season from Sept. 1 through the 30 is any caribou. The nonresident season is Aug. 12 through Sept. 30, bull

only. 2) What is the 20B moose season in Unit 20B? The moose season for the remainder of 20B is Sept. 1-15 for residents and the 5-15 for nonresidents. This is a reduction of five days from recent years. It will remain one bull under a harvest ticket. 3) What areas in 20B are not affected by the shortened season? Areas around Fairbanks that have seasons extending beyond the 15th of September with a harvest ticket: • Minto Flats Resident only, Sept. 8-25 bull with spike-fork or 50 inches or 3 brow tines.

• Fairbanks Management Area (including Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge) — Sept. 1-30, bow and arrow only, spike-fork bull or greater. • Middle Fork of the Chena River (East Fork) — Sept. 1-25, any bull • Salcha River upstream of Goose Creek — Sept 1-25 4) What is needed to hunt on Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge? All hunters must register in person at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fairbanks office (1300 College Rd) to hunt on Creamer’s Refuge. The registrants will receive maps and regulations for hunting activities on the

Refuge. Creamer’s is within the Fairbanks Management Area so hunting is by bow and arrow only or by muzzleloader with a drawing permit. 5) Is my archery/hunter education certification from another state valid in Alaska? Alaska recognizes hunter education from all states, and archery certifications that are endorsed by International Bowhunter Education Program (IBEP) or National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF). The endorsement is usually present on the certification card. 6) Do I need a crossbow certification to hunt with a crossbow?

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A

lot has changed this year for Interior hunting regulations, including a longer season for the Fortymile Caribou Herd, and a shorter season for moose in Game Management Unit 20B. Laurie Boeck and staff at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office on College Road compiled this list of frequently asked questions.

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE Yes. Beginning July 1, 2018 all hunters using a crossbow are required to have completed a crossbow certification course prior to hunting. 7) What are the requirements for the youth only hunts? Children age 10-17 are eligible for youth-only hunts, and they must be accompanied by a resident adult 21 years of age or older. Both the youth and adult must have completed an approved hunter education course. Any animal that is harvested during a youth only hunt counts toward both the youth’s and adult’s limit for the species being harvested. 8) How do I find out who owns the land I am

planning on hunting this year? Contact either U.S. Bureau of Land Management (907-271-5960) or the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (907-269-8400). 9) Do I need any special paperwork from ADF&G if I’m flying out of state with my moose meat and antlers? No, but check with your airline for any requirements they may have for checked baggage. 10) Who do I contact about transporting wildlife parts across the Canada border? Contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice (Fairbanks: 456-2335)

From top, to right: Moose antlers are cleaned; a crossbow bolt is shown; geese land at Creamer’s Field. NEWS-MINER FILE PHOTOS

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6

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

Revealed: Moose numbers and harvest statistics Populations within goals in units 20A, 20B but twinning rates still low SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

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oose populations are about where biologists want them in Game Management Units 20A and 20B, the areas that contain Fairbanks and the areas south of Fairbanks through the Alaska Range. After missing a survey in 2016 year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game last year surveyed Game Management Unit 20B which includes most of the roads around Fairbanks north of the Tanana River, said Alaska Department of Fish and Game area wildlife

biologist Tony Hollis. The 20B population was estimated to be about 13,000 moose, which is squarely in the middle of the department’s objective for this area. There was no new survey across the Tanana River in 20A, but based on past year surveys it’s expected to be between 12,000 and 13,000, also within the objectives. For years the Fish and Game department authorized cow moose hunts in both Unit 20A and Unit 20B to make the moose population smaller out of concern it was too big for the amount of food available. MOOSE  19

Photojournalist Eric Engman bagged his first bull moose off the Steese Highway in 2011. ERIC ENGMAN/NEWS-MINER

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By Sam Friedman

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

7

HUNTING GUIDE

Moose season drops to 15 days near Fairbanks T

he moose hunting season will be 25 percent shorter this year in much of the road-accessible land closest to Fairbanks because of a low ratio of bulls to cows. For most of Game Management Unit 20B, the hunting season for Alaska residents will run Sept. 1-15, which is 5 days shorter than the Sept. 1-20 season the area has used since 2009. For nonresidents the season runs from Sept. 5-15. The season was shortened by an emergency order in all of Unit 20B with four exceptions: the Fairbanks and Minto management areas, which have their own specialized rules, the Middle Fork of the Chena River and the Salcha River upstream

of Goose Creek. The latter two are remote areas. “This bull-to-cow ratio has been declining for the last several years and is likely due to the harvest rate that is too high for this population,â€? Fairbanks Area Biologist Tony Hollis said in a written statement that accompanied an emergency order this summer that shortened the season. “Reducing the season length will help the ratio recover.â€? The moose population in that area has a sex ratio of 17 bulls to 100 cows, well below the department’s goal of 30-to100 ratio. A 30-to-100 ratio is higher than the moose need to successfully breed but is the department’s goal in order to give hunters a decent chance of SEASON Âť 12

A large bull moose feeds in a pond just north of Delta Junction along the Richardson Highway on July 19, 2010. TIM MOWRY/NEWS-MINER

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By Sam Friedman

8

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

Duck hunting will be allowed at Tanana Lakes By Sam Friedman SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

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uck hunting will be allowed this fall in the Tanana Lakes Recrea t i o n Area under recommendations made by the Parks and Recreation Commission. The advisory committee voted earlier this month to again allow people to fire shotguns in the popular park at the end of South Cushman Street, provided that they’re following state and federal waterfowl hunting rules and a few additional borough restrictions that are similar to those used for the 2017 season. This summer, Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Karl Kassel, opted to follow the committee’s recommen-

Russell Fay sets up a rob duck during a hunting trip near Fairbanks on Sept. 13, 2017. SAM FRIEDMAN / NEWS-MINER dations. The new rules came to the relief of a small group of waterfowl hunters who have

been bird-dogging the commission meetings all winter and had been concerned the borough

would ban duck hunting in the park or make major restrictions to hunting hours or locations. “Ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got one thing to say to you. Thank you very much,� duck hunter Bob Coleman said after the commission voted on its recommendations last week. Coleman argued Tanana Lakes is an especially important place for Fairbanks duck hunters because the wetlands habitat is easily accessible from town. He attended commission meetings this winter and applied to join the group. “If you need a guy that knows about guns and knows about shooting waterfowl and decide you want him on this commission, the mayor’s still got my application. I’d be happy to help,� he said.

The borough Parks and Recreation Department and the advisory commission spent much of the winter and spring re-evaluating whether waterfowl hunting should be permitted in the park. Last year, in response to safety concerns brought up by the parks director, the commission recommended prohibiting shotgun shooting outside the park’s gun range, in effect banning waterfowl hunting in the park. Waterfowl hunters objected to the commission taking the vote without consulting with them. Hunters were among the volunteers who helped clean up the 750-acre park before it opened in 2014. L a s t s u m m e r, K a s s e l DUCK  20

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

9

HUNTING GUIDE

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NOTICE TO AIRMEN, GUIDES, OUTFITTERS, RAFTERS & SPORT HUNTERS Large tracts of land on the Western and Central North Slope are owned by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC). Entry on these privately owned lands requires the consent of ASRC. Sport hunting and fishing are prohibited on ASRC lands. Within ASRC lands in the Central and Western Arctic are a number of gravel airstrips that are closed to public access. Entry on the following airstrips requires the written consent of ASRC:

AKULIK 69°00’02â€?N 163°26’33â€?W; EAGLE CREEK 68°40’46â€?N 162°39’13â€?W; KILLIK 68°27’15â€?N 154°17’43â€?W; TIGLIKPUK 68°25’25â€?N 151°27’26â€?W; TULUGAK 68°59’36â€?N 151°11’42â€?W; *IVOTUK* 68°28’42â€?N 155°45’50â€?W; Airstrip is public but please be aware of ASRC’s ownership of apron, road, and drill site. These airstrips are subject to periodic surveillance by ASRC. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Certain easements are reserved for the public in various locations on ASRC lands. These easements are owned by ASRC and are reserved for public use for limited specific purposes. These easements are reserved to allow access to lakes by float plane, temporary overnight camping at specific 1 acre sites near the lake shores (not to exceed 24 hours), and to allow for trail access to adjacent public lands. Some specific areas that require the proper following of easements are: Elusive Lake, Shainin Lake, Chandler Lake, Udurivik Lake, Imiaknikpak Lake, and Windy Lake. Any deviation from easement stipulations will be considered trespass and is criminally punishable under Alaska Statute11.46.330. Sport hunting and fishing are not allowed on these easements. You are highly encouraged to contact ASRC if you are planning a float trip on the Kukpowruk, Kokolik, Utukok, Okokmilaga, Chandler, Anaktuvuk, Kurupa, Killik, or Colville Rivers. Each of these waterways have unique circumstances or restrictions that must be followed to prevent trespass. In addition, North Slope Borough, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and/or National Park Service permits may also be required for commercially operating on adjacent public lands. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permissions and permits to access these areas. 3900 C Street, Suite 801 Anchorage, AK 99503-5963

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

11

HUNTING GUIDE

As crossbows become more popular, Alaska requires specialized training for hunters

Crossbow bolts are seen buried in a target in Jeff Bushke’s front yard crossbow range on April 3, 2018. SAM FRIEDMAN / NEWS-MINER

By Sam Friedman SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

W

ith its stock, trigger and sights, the modern hunting crossbow looks something like a rifle. But pull the trigger and the release of the arrow comes with a gentle kick and a sound that’s more like a bow than a gun. As used by hunters, a crossbow is somewhere between a gun and a bow. It has a learning curve more like a gun and a range more like archery equipment. Crossbows are still relatively novel weapons. More than moose hunts, they may bring to mind images of medieval re-enactors or Chewbacca from the “Star Wars” movies. But they’ve become common enough that Alaska’s Board of Game has asked the state to develop a training class for them. Starting this year, crossbow hunters are required to take a class and pass a field shooting exercise to hunt big game animals anywhere in the state. To learn more about crossbows, I asked crossbow hunter and occasional Daily News-Miner contributor Jeff Bushke to show me the basics. Bushke has been crossbow hunting for more than a decade and set up a practice range against a snow berm in his front yard.

Crossbowhunter Jeff Bushke holds up his TenPont Pro Fusion crossbow while preparing to shoot in his front yard range April 3, 2018. SAM FRIEDMAN / NEWS-MINER Bushke got interested in crossbows when he was working at the Fairbanks Sportsman’s Warehouse store soon after it opened. “That opened my eyes to a lot of things,” he said. “When you work at a sporting goods store, you’ve got to play.” His crossbow, a TenPoint brand Pro Fusion model, is 10 years old and shoots at 300

feet per second. “It’s not that fast by today’s standards,” he said. “But it’s killed four moose and four bears and has punched a lot of holes in targets.” Alaska doesn’t allow crossbows in special “archery only” hunts except for hunters who have medical exemptions. Bushke has an exemption for a shoulder injury, so he can

take his crossbow on archery hunts. But he some times takes it on general hunts where he could use a rifle. In particular, he likes taking the crossbow to his bear bait station. “It’s a great tool for killing bears,” he said. “If you shoot a bear with it they think they’ve got stung by a bee. They don’t think they’re dead.”

Many crossbows have mechanical aids to help cock them. Bushke’s uses a detachable crank on the stock that turns easily to slowly bring the string back toward the trigger mechanism. After pulling back the string, Bushke loaded the crossbow with a bolt, the term for the short arrows CROSSBOW » 14

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

This young bull moose keeps a wary eye on traffic he feeds along Noatak Drive near the University of Alaska Fairbanks September 18, 2002. ERIC

A cow moose who survived the hunting season crosses an open area as she and her calf snack on branches along Chena Landings Loop. ERIC ENGMAN/

ENGMAN/NEWS-MINER

NEWS-MINER

Continued from 7 encountering a bull when they’re out hunting. “When you start getting below that (30-to100 ratio) people see

less bulls and aren’t as happy. A lot of it is hunter satisfaction,” Hollis said in a phone interview. The hunting season was historically 15 days in this area, but was increased to 20 days in 2009 in an effor t

to decrease the moose population in Unit 20B, which then was too large for what biologists believe the area can sustain. Hollis said he reduced the end of the season instead of cutting off days from early Septem-

ber so that the shortened season would cause a meaningful cut to the harvest. “Everyone knows the moose hunting gets better towards the end of September as the moose enter the rut. In order to get a meaningful reduc-

tion in harvest I had to take the best part out,” he said. “If I took the five days off the front, that would not reduce the harvest.” T he shor ter 15-day season will be used this year and in 2019, Hollis said.

After that, the Fish and Game department will do a new survey to see if the shortened season has increased the bull ratio. Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors.

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SEASON

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

13

HUNTING GUIDE

New rules govern use of social media, wireless cameras By Sam Friedman SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

T

A moose walks by a BushWhacker game camera. PHOTO COURTESY TED JONES JR.

A simple $35 game camera called the BushWacker is seen. This camera doesn’t have wireless connectivity, so the user has to manually take out the memory card to see the photos. PHOTO COURTESY TED JONES JR.

be checked manually, but newer ones can transmit information over cell phone networks. A new technology on the horizon may allow hunters to

check cameras through satellite connections in many parts of Alaska that lack cell phone reception. Alaska Wildlife Troopers,

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Fair chase versus efficiency Alaska Board of Game approved the new rules by a

6-1 vote. Tok board member Teresa Sager-Albaugh was the lone opponent of the new rule. She argued the other board members were drawing an arbitrary line and hadn’t made a clear case for why wireless game cameras should be restricted. “Sometimes efficiency is a good thing,â€? she said. “When do we cross the line to ‘this is too efficient, this is not fair chase?’ My discomfort is that it doesn’t seem like we have defined when that line is crossed.â€? Sager-Albaugh voted against in initial vote on the CAMERAS Âť 23

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who enforce Alaska’s hunting rules, asked Alaska’s Board of Game to clarify the rules in November. “This technology is becoming increasingly popular at bear bait sites, for general hunting and with trappers,� Alaska Wildlife Troopers stated in their proposal. “As technology changes, it is difficult to interpret the regulations for enforcement purposes.� The new rules went into effect this month.

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echnology has made it easier for hunters to pinpoint the location of animals from afar, but new hunting regulations this year will make it harder. Last fall, Alaska’s Board of Game passed a new rule for hunting with wireless devices. The new rule prohibits using the wireless capability of a game camera to take an animal. New rules also restrict the use of “wireless devices� in general, such as the use of social media on mobile phones to guide hunters to a herd of caribou. This year, using wireless devices like phones and radios for hunting will work similar to the “same day� airborne rule for using airplanes. Hunters will still be able to act on scouting reports they receive over the airwaves, but not until 3 a.m. the day after they got the information. The wireless game camera rule change will have the biggest impact on bear baiters, who regularly use trail cameras to see if bears are hitting their bait stations. There are about 900 registered bear baiting stations in Game Management Unit 20, which covers most of the Interior Alaska road system. Older game cameras have to

14

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

Continued from 11 used for crossbows. Unlike a bow, you don’t have to hold the tension in a crossbow while waiting to fire. After it’s been cocked, the crossbow is ready to fire and just needs a trigger pull to release. Bushke gave me the most important piece of advice when I got ready to fire: Be careful with hand placement on the crossbow foregrip. Grab it too high, and y o u ’ v e p u t y o u r fi n gers into the path of the string. “ I t ’s a m i s t a k e y o u would only make once,” he told me. Firing the crossbow otherwise feels much like shooting a rifle.

I can see why it would be easier to learn to shoot accurately with a crossbow than an actual bow. My first shots all went high and to the right, but a fourth shot landed close to the middle of the target. It’s easy to be fooled by the weapon’s accuracy at close range and assume it can kill a distant moose. Ginamaria Smith, who c o o r d i n a t e s A l a s k a ’s hunter education program, said this is the biggest misconception she’s run into with crossbows. T h a t ’s a p r o b l e m , because people who attempt distance shots with crossbows are likely to wound animals instead of killing them. The North American Crossbow Association trade group warns that popular videos of long

range crossbow shots have fueled misconceptions about a crossbow’s true range. “The effective and ethical range for a crossbow is at 50 yards or less,” the group states on its website. “While it is neat to see the 100-yard trick shots, they should never be attempted during any live hunting situation.” In the field test, hunters will shoot twice at four 3-D targets at distances they’re likely to encounter in the field. They’ ll need to make a kill shot on each target and a double kill on one target.

Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors. A version of this story was originally published in the Daily News-Miner outdoors page on April 6.

Jeff Bushke holds up a hunting broadhead while preparing to shoot in his front yard range. SAM FRIEDMAN/NEWS-MINER

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

At their peak, snowshoe hares become kings of the forest By Sam Friedman SFRIEDMAN@NEWSMINER.COM

This year, a biological force of nature bigger than a bull moose lives in the boreal forests of North America. It’s most visible around dawn and twilight. That’s when the biggest animals of the northern woods — by total species weight — come out to hop around and nibble on twigs and grass. Snowshoe hares are mid-sized herbivores that weigh 3 to 4 pounds and are named for their furry hind feet that help them travel through deep snow. They’re not nearly as iconic as Alaska’s moose, bears or wolves, but Alaska’s snowshoe hares play a disproportionately important role in the food chain around Fairbanks and throughout the boreal forest across Canada and in the northern Lower 48 states. When the snowshoe hare population does well, it does very well, and trans-

forms the landscape. Hares breed quickly, with females producing 15 or more young in a year. About every 10 years, snowshoe hares reach particularly high population densities. In the Fairbanks area, the snowshoe hare wave is at or near its peak. The last year the Fairbanks area hit the snowshoe hare peak was 2009. Roadside surveys show hare numbers are growing still and are likely to peak in a year or two, said Cameron Carroll, small game biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Fairbanks. At their peak, hares in Alaska can reach a density of 600 per square mile. That’s about half the density of humans in America’s most densely populated state, New Jersey. At the snowshoe hare peak, the weight of all the hares in an area easily exceeds the weight of moose in the area, despite the fact moose weigh several hundred times more.

Boating and Drinking

Hares and the food chain

Hunters and trappers have long observed the relationship between snowshoe hares and other creatures. The connection between snowshoe hares and lynx is especially strong and is visible in the regular spikes of lynx skin availability in fur trade records. The wildcats are especially dependent on hares, and their populations regularly drop off a year or two after the hares decline. O t h e r c o n n e c t i o n s h av e b e e n observed between hares and animals such as upland birds, squirrels and raptors. One often-cited study of Kluane Lake tracked populations of hares and other animals in the 1980s and 1990s. Kluane Lake is between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon, along the Alaska Highway. The study concluded that in addition to lynx, pop-

ulations of predators such as coyotes, goshawks and great-horned owls correlated with hares. Among prey species, the study found willow ptarmigan, spruce grouse and Arctic ground squirrel species matched the population swings of snowshoe hares. The Kluane Lake study, published in the Danish journal Oikos in 1995, concluded the snowshoe hare was a key distinguishing feature of northern North America’s ecology as compared to northern Europe, where life revolves around vole populations. The hare cycle connection to lynx is particularly obvious to trappers, Zarnke said. Other animals, such as coyotes and upland birds, are more random and don’t have an obvious connection to hares, but to a lesser extent, he’s observed a correlation between hares and fox, he said. While the 10-year cycle between hare population peaks is fairly reguHARES » 18

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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE

Geese, swan and crane hunters must salvage meat from wings and back under new rule By Leona Long FOR THE NEWS-MINER

T

his fall, Alaska hunters will be required to salv a g e more meat from cranes, geese and swans, bringing the sport hunting salvage rules closer into line with subsistence hunting regulations. Alaska’s Board of Game added the new rules last fall, adopting a proposal written by the Native Caucus of the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council. The new expanded definition for what’s considered edible meat in large game birds follows a 2014 change that added the legs and thighs. “When you are taught to respect animals or you take care of what you kill, you wouldn’t waste the animal or leave the rest of the bird in the field,” said Andrew Firmin, a Fort Yukon subsistence hunter who advocated the new salvage rules. “It’s a moral and ethical obligation.” The state game board approved the new rules over the objections of

some sport hunters. “From a sports hunter’s perspective, we like to utilize every part of the meat from any game that that we harvest too,” said Hugh Clark, president of Alaska Waterfowl Association in Anchorage. ‘I just don’t think that salvaging the wings off a crane or a goose is necessary. Waterfowlers across Alaska take pride and respect the resources available to them.” “I think it’s a little extreme, “ added Clark. “It’s just another way to impose more strict guidelines on another of Alaska’s resources. Where does it stop? This regulation implies that waterfolwers don’t utilize the game harvested to its fullest potential. The size of of meat on the back of a goose is no bigger then maybe half an ounce of meat. It’s important that we look at each situation separately and we analyze it accordingly. We need to make sure that it meets and passed the common-sense test.” The new Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulation change

applies only to cranes, geese and swans, not ducks and upland birds. The Statewide regulation will be implemented this fall/winter harvest season, which begins Sept. 1 in most areas and runs for 107 days. “The edible meat to be salvaged from the wings include only up to the last joint that’s furthest from the body, which is called the carpo-metacarpus,” explained Jason Schamber, a wildlife biologist who is the waterfowl program coordinator at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “Basically, the wrist and hand of the bird.” The Alaska Board of Game approved the new edible meat definition at a meeting held in Anchorage. The Native Caucus of the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council proposal included heart and gizzard meat in the definition of edible meats, but the game board removed these organ meats from the new definition. The co-management council consists of Alaska Native

Joann Harris holds one of the snow geese she harvested with her family last April in the Kotzebue area. Behind her are the Canada goose decoys used to attract game birds. Photo courtesy Cyrus Harris

After harvesting birds, Cyrus Harris and his sons pluck and gut the game birds in the field. The waterfowl that are pictured will be processed the next morning. The Harris family donates waterfowl they harvest every year to Utuqqannaat Inaat (a place for Elders), Maniilaq Assocation’s long-term care kitchen to feed the Elders their traditional food. PHOTO COURTESY OF CYRUS HARRIS

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

17

HUNTING GUIDE wings are also used for traditional adornment or dancing feathers. Federal subsistence hunters, who hunt migratory birds in the spring in rural areas, were already required to salvage more parts of geese, cranes and swans. Federal subsistence regulations were recently changed to define the edible meat from these birds to include the gizzards, heart, breast, back, thighs, legs, and wings. Until recently, state regulations for the fall season defined edible meat for large-bodied migratory game birds as breast meat. In 2014, the Alaska Village Council Presidents (AVCP) submitted a proposal to the Board of Game that added the femur and

Hugh Clark and his yellow Lab, Skeeter, pose with a sandhill crane harvested during the opening weekend of the hunting season on Sept. 4, 2017 at the Palmer Hayflats. PHOTO COURTESY HUGH CLARK

tibia-fibula (tibiotarsus), also known as the leg and thighs, to the definition of salvageable, edible meat of cranes, geese, and swans. That proposal was prompted when a dumpster containing swans with only the breast meat removed was discovered in Bethel. “In the Alaska Native subsistence way of life, nothing is wasted,” said Cyrus Harris, Natural Resource Advocate for Maniilaq Association in

Kotzebue. “Wasting meat like the swans found in the dumpster in Bethel is considered disrespect-

ful. It was heartbreaking. This regulation is one way to help prevent waste.”

Leona Long is an award-winning public relations practitioner and freelance writer. She lives in Fairbanks.

F64531466

representatives and wildlife managers from the state and federal governments. “Any respectful hunter would take the whole animal and use as much as you can, minus what is blood shot or damaged in the kill,” said Firmin, who serves on the Eastern Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council. “One reason is I am for the regulation is because in my heart, everyone should do that anyway. I know that is what any ethical hunter would do.” T he different ways Alaskans use different parts of game birds varies across the state. Some people consider the heart, liver, or kidneys as a delicious delicacy. Swan, crane and goose

18

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE Continued from 14 lar, the magnitude of the peak can range dramatically, Zarnke said. When he first moved to Alaska, he heard stories about hunters easily shooting a half dozen hares in 10 minutes of hunting. But he wasn’t particularly impressed by the first snowshoe hare peak he saw in the 1970s. The next peak was different. “The second time, when the cycle came back around, there was a real high peak,” he said. “And I remember just having a big smile on my face saying ‘Oh, this is what they’ve been talking about.’ It was good catching the lynx, but it was equally as interesting to experi-

ence that huge change, just being part of it.”

Living with snowshoe hares

Alaska’s wildlife managers regulate small game hunting liberally with long seasons and high bag limits. In most of Alaska, including the Fairbanks area, no bag limit exists and the season is open year-round for snowshoe hare. A l a s k a ’s h a r e h a r vest isn’ t well known because, unlike for large game hunts, hunters don’ t have to record hare harvests. The most recent study concluded hunters in 2013 harvested about 23,000 snowshoe hares, based on numbers from hunt-

ers who participated in surveys. Hunters also took about 7,500 Alaska hares, a significantly larger hare found in western Alaska. The year 2013 was a relatively low population year for hares because of a population crash after the 2009 peak. Fo r g a r d e n e r s , t h e growing hare population can mean more pests to protect against. Snowshoe hares have a reputation for liking vegetables and flowers such as tulips, said Julie Riley, horticulture agent at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. At her own home, she’s seen several hares within her fenced garden but hasn’t had problems from them, she said. The Cooperative Extension office has resources

for how to build garden fences that will keep hares and other pests out. As winter approaches, hares turn to eating woody materials and can kill ornamental trees by eating bark around the base, Riley said. Stems that have been gnawed on by hares have distinct 45-degree angle chew marks. People who want to protect favorite trees can do so by putting a ring of heavy-duty wire mesh near the bases, she said. The rise in hares also can bring an increase of tularemia cases. Tularemia is a bacterial infection that often infects hares and can spread to humans, cats and dogs. Two years ago, a North Pole man was sickened by tularemia after skinning an infected hare.

In humans, tularemia can cause fever, chills and headaches. It can be fatal. Last summer, two cats in the North Pole area died from the infection, said Laurie Boeck, wildlife biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Infected hares become lethargic and can be caught easily by dogs and cats. A dog or cat that has become ill after spending time alone outside should be taken to a veterinarian, Boeck said. Animal owners who encounter dead hares should bury them while wearing gloves, or dispose of them somewhere where pets won’t get the carcasses. Hunters should use gloves when handling hares. If the hares have inflamed livers and

spleens, it’s a sign they are infected. To report sick or dead wildlife, call the state Wildlife Health Reporting and Information Line at 328-8354. Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors. A version of this story was first published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Aug. 11, 2017.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska

Changing Lives, Changing Communities

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HARES

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

19

HUNTING GUIDE Continued from 6 These cow hunts have gradually been scaled back as the moose populations have reached their targets. This year all that remains of the cow hunt is 500 permits issued by a random drawing in Unit 20A and a quota of 30 cow moose in the Minto Flat Game Management Area west of Fairbanks. While population numbers have been good, twinning rates aren’t yet reaching their targets. Biologists use the percentage of moose cows that give birth to twins instead of a single calf as a way to assess population health. Cows that are healthier and have access to more food are more likely to have

twins. The department’s twinning rate goal is 20 percent. This year the twinning rate in Unit 20A was 18 percent, which is a big improvement for a unit that’s often below 10 percent. But it was a poor year for Unit 20B, where the twinning rate was 12 percent, Hollis said.

Harvest statistics

Last year was big for moose hunting in Alaska with 22,740 hunters in the field bagging 7,873 moose. The state’s total moose harvest was up 290 from last year. Across the state the success ratio was 25.7 percent. As usual, a significant chunk of the moose hunting was in the Fair-

banks area. There were 3,679 hunters in units 20A and 20B last year. They harvested 1,240 moose. “ Pe o p l e d i d g o o d . Based on the number of moose taken it was at least an average,” Hollis said. “We had some frost and clear (weather) it was pretty good.” Hunting success is usually best when it’s not too hot and not too stormy in the hunting season, he said. Hunting success was markedly different between 20B and 20A, which is common, Hollis said. In 20B, 19.7 percent of hunters were successful, while in 20A 34.3 percent were successful. This is likely a factor of how much effort hunters put into finding a moose, Hollis said. Around Fairbanks it’s more common

Students in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s moose butchering class work to finish up a moose Sept. 22, 2002. JOHN HAGEN/NEWS-MINER for people to throw a gun into their truck in hopes of encountering a moose during the season. In

20A most hunters to go out for days in boats, planes, or ATVs with a goal of getting a moose.

Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoor.

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MOOSE

20

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

HUNTING GUIDE Continued from 3 Gross said. The exact quota isn’t yet known because the management model is still being adjusted to account for new birthrate data taken this spring. As in past years, three-quarters of the quota will go to the fall hunt, with the remainder allocated to the winter hunt. Last year, the caribou quota abruptly got much bigger in November, following the results of a survey that found the herd had grown from a 2010 population of 51,000 to a July 2017 population of 71,400 caribou. State biologists try to count the Fortymile herd with an aerial census every year, but weather and wildfire smoke prevented censuses in the inter vening years.

Dramatic population booms and busts are common in caribou herds. The Fortymile Herd was thought to be the largest herd in the state and number half a million in the early 1920s (although estimates from that era aren’t considered as accurate as today’s numbers). It fell to a low of between 5,700 and 8,600 in 1973 before climbing to its current peak. Another new rule for the 2018 season is that resident hunters will be able to take bull or cow caribou after Sept. 1, but only bulls in August, Gross said. This rule was made because members of the For tymile Har vest Management Coalition wanted young calves to get a bit bigger before allowing hunters to target the cows. A version of this article was first published July 6, 2018.

DUCK Continued from 8

Kenny Haskins, right, of North Pole and Michael Rego of Moose Creek haul their caribou to their truck in 2006, near Circle Hot Springs. SAM HARREL/NEWS-MINER

asked the commission to revisit the issue. He also reopened the park to waterfowl hunting for the 2017 season with a few additional restrictions. As it looked to the 2018 hunting season, the commission ultimately went with recommendations that are similar to Kassel’s 2017 rules. Under the proposed rules, hunters will again be able to shoot shotguns in the park during the waterfowl season, which starts Sept. 1. By federal regulations, waterfowl hunting can only take place from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. Additional borough rules will prohibit shooting within 300 feet of park structures such as the picnic pavilion and will prohibit shooting from trails, across trails or down trails. The commissioners discussed but ended up voting down unanimously a proposal to prohibit building duck blinds in the park. The commission also rejected a restriction Kassel included in 2017 that prohibited the use of shotguns larger than 12 gauge.

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HERD

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

21

HUNTING GUIDE

Learn how to be a nature detective Tips from a tracker on interpreting animal carcasses By Mike Taras ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

The pictures we received at Fish and Game had the caption, “buck slaughtered by wolves.” Indeed, they were images of a Sitka black-tailed buck carcass lying on top of the snow, but things did not add up. In fact, there was quite a bit of evidence that indicated the deer was not killed or even scavenged by wolves. I saw that the quarters were all missing. The back straps and neck meat were cleanly gone without damage to bones (i.e. filleted off ). The spinal column and ribs were completely intact with no bite marks or breaks. The hide was gone (not in the pictures) up to the base of the skull where it had been skinned. There were long strands of ligaments hanging off of the bone indicating that it was scavenged by birds. But it was not killed by wolves. It was killed and salvaged completely by a hunter, except for the head and antlers. If I were on-site I would have examined the carcass and would’ve likely found a bullet hole as well. Kill site interpretation is not an easy task and requires a lot of knowledge about animals and their behavior. The evidence left behind is highly variable depending upon the predator and the prey. The more time that passes between when an animal is killed and consumed and when you try and sleuth your way to reenact the scene, the harder it gets. Biologists at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conduct many mortality studies on wildlife populations such as moose and caribou. Often these studies attempt to determine why calves are dying.

A hiker in the Juneau area sent ADF&G this picture of a deer carcass with the note, “Buck slaughtered by wolves.” While there are wolves in the area where he found the carcass, Mike Taras gleaned clues from the picture that pointed to a different story. PHOTO COURTESY ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

A few springs ago, I helped retrieve a wolf which was found dead and frozen in the middle of a popular mushing/snowmachine trail in the Chena River State Recreation Area (this entire story was covered by Ned Rozell in the Alaska Science Forum: “Mystery of the South Fork Wolf ”). Several people saw this wolf and assumed that it was shot by someone and left in the trail. But again the evidence did not add up. The wolf had become frozen to the trail and snowed over, and by the time we dug it out some scavenging by small mammals had occurred and confounded the situation. The animal had a couple of big holes in the rib cage on one side, but it looked more like chewed holes, not bullet holes. Also there was no pooling of blood in the

snow indicating that the animal was dead before the holes were made. There was really no other obvious damage to the wolf. The only other clue was the evidence of a half-dozen snowed-over wolf beds on the hillside just off the trail where the dead wolf lay. This is why necropsies are sometimes necessary. The wolf was brought to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game lab and Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen performed a necropsy on the now-thawed out animal. Within an hour, Dr. Beckmen had concluded that this 5-year-old female wolf was killed by other wolves (a common cause of wolf mortality). What we could not see until the hide was skinned back was that animal’s neck looked like hamburger from multiple bites (where there is

soft tissue, the tough skin of the wolf can give and not puncture even though massive damage is inflicted to the underlying tissue). It also had a crushed larynx and ultimately a collapsed lung from a puncture through the rib cage. The lesson in this story is not to assume. Situations are complex, and if the answer is not obvious, you have to dig deeper to look for clues. Skinning an animal will always provide some evidence.

Some general principles When identifying a kill site, don’t just rush over to the animal. If you find a dead deer or moose carcass or a hare in the forest, stop where you are. Rushing in

can destroy valuable evidence that may help you determine the cause of death or at least provide clues. Approach slowly and keenly look for any evidence including tracks, scat, blood, feathers, fur, etc. A friend and I once found a cow moose carcass a short distance off the side of a road (ravens gave it away). It was scavenged a bit and had a bullet hole through the ribs. Why would someone just shoot a moose and leave it where it lay? After carefully investigating the area, a plausible motive shaped up; we found two subtle, but obvious moose calf beds nearby. The person who shot this cow likely thought it was not accompanied by calves and therefore legal for his or her permit. But, when the calves appeared and the permit violated, the hunter abandoned the moose rather than salvaging the animal and turning him/ herself in. We reported it to the troopers.

Resources to help

Studying the animals in your area and learning mammal and bird tracks and sign is required to be a nature detective. One of the best resources I am aware of for this type of information is the books by Mark Elbroch — “Mammal Tracks and Sign,” and “Bird Tracks and Sign.” They are jam packed with images and descriptions about animal behavior, feeding signs, tracks, scats, chewings, feathers and more. There is even an entire section dedicated to kill site analysis and determination. It also includes a useful table with inter-canine tooth distances to DETECTIVE » 22

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HUNTING GUIDE Continued from 21 help you identify animals by their bite marks, if present.

Some typical behaviors Anyone who spends much time in the field is bound to come across some animal kill sites. When discovering larger mammals such as deersize animals and up, first try to determine whether the animal was killed or died of other causes. In general, an animal carcass with legs tucked under its body, as it if it were bedded down, likely died of a nonpredatory cause. An animal lying on its side with legs outstretched likely died from predation. There

are also other tell-tale clues for those that inquire further. Bleeding is a big one. Animals that die first and are then scavenged are not going to bruise and hemorrhage, internally or externally, like an animal that was mortally wounded during predation. For the most part, predators of larger prey animals in Alaska include wolves and bears, and in some circumstances wolverine, coyotes and lynx. If an animal is killed by wolves the carcass is generally ripped apart and spread all over the place as individual animals grab pieces and take them off to feed or cache. The bones of the ribs may be broken to access the organs. They may even be eaten. Wolves have enough force to break the long bones of large hooved animals, something most other predators

can’t do. Depending on the number of animals in the pack and prey availability, usually the only thing remaining is some bones, fur, hide and the stomach contents. Search the area carefully. If wolves spent any time at the site feeding on the animal, there should be tracks and scat around the carcass. There are also times when wolves kill an animal, eat a portion of it and then abandon it for some reason. Bears more often prey on smaller hooved animals such as moose and caribou calves but also kill and eat adults opportunistically. According to Danny Caudill, a research biologist with ADF&G who is conducting a moose calf mortality study outside of McGrath, he can usually tell right away whether a grizzly bear was at the scene of a moose calf

death. “The entire area is just torn up,” he said. Sometimes holes are dug in the ground and vegetation ripped up for no apparent reason. Sometimes part of the animal is buried but they usually eat the entire calf. He has even found parts of moose calves mysteriously hanging up in branches of small trees and shrubs, presumably flung there by a violently shaking bear head. If you find a hide that literally looks like it was skinned off the carcass, it was certainly bear predation. Bears skin back the hides of prey before consuming the meat. Another very interesting note from Danny: If his dog is with him at a wolf kill the dog is excited and wagging its tail. When it is a grizzly bear predation site the dog has his tail tucked and

sheepishly stays glued to his owner. If there is part of the carcass remaining and not just a pile of hooves and hair, skinning the carcass and looking at the muscle and organs can reveal a lot. Was the nose cut and crushed or eaten? Is the throat crushed and bruised or hemorrhaged beneath the skin? Are the flanks bitten and bruised? These are all signs of a wolf kill. Smaller predators and prey can be more difficult to determine because they often do not leave a lot of “leftovers” and eat animals in their entirety. However, there are usually some tracks and signs of some sort left behind and there are many little tell-tale clues in the small mammal and bird world that can help you figure the “crime scene” out. Just one example is finding a

bird kill such as a duck or goose. The fact that small carnivores tend to bite and cut the feathers off of such birds rather than plucking them out like a predatory bird such as a falcon will do, is a huge piece of evidence to start with. There are many more killing and feeding signs that can be attributed to various animals, too many for an exhaustive discussion here. It takes many hours of study and endless practice to become a true Sherlock, but hopefully this will spark your interest and start you on your path of kill-site deduction. Mike Taras is a wildlife education and outreach specialist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Interior and Northeast Alaska. This story originally appeared in Alaska Fish and Wildlife News and was also published in the Daily News-Miner on April 13.

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HUNTING GUIDE Continued from 13 new rule, however she later voted “yes” after a small revision that created an exception for targeted moose hunts, special opportunities for hunters to target specific moose, such as moose that are near highways and likely to cause collisions. The new rule will cover all Alaska hunts, except for the targeted moose hunts and for bison hunts in the Delta Junction area. Board member Larry Van Daele of Kodiak liked the proposal because he felt it applied standards already used for hunters with airplanes to users of the new wireless technologies. “ The language ‘after 3 a.m.’ mirrors the language f o r s a m e d ay a i r b o r n e , which clarifies our intent

that this levels the playing field,” he said.

Facebook hunting

Another wireless communication issue — the use of cell phones to post the location of game animals on social media — comes up some times in 907 Hunting and Fishing, a Fa c e b o o k g r o u p w i t h 3,127 Alaska hunters and fishermen. For example, last fall a woman advertised the presence of a cow moose in a subdivision near the Parks Highway to hunters in the group. A lengthy discussion about the legality and ethics of this type of post followed. Even without the recent legal change, the 907 Hunting and Fishing online hunting community has generally frowned on using social media to pinpoint the exact location of spe-

cific animals. Page founder Ted Jones Jr. of Fairbanks uses a game camera that he checks manually at his bear baiting station, but he doesn’t allow posts on the group about the location of caribou in the Fortymile Caribou Herd, a hunt that he said “Facebook has pretty much ruined.” Jones also started a larger 907 Hunting and Fishing group that’s not exclusive to Alaska residents, and which has 17,317 members. Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ FDNMoutdoors. A version of this article first appeared in the News-Miner on Dec. 1, 2017. This article has been updated and edited to clarify that the “same day” airborne type rule applies only to wireless devices like phones and radios. Under the new rules it is prohibited to take an animal after receiving information transmitted by a wireless game camera.

Q&A: Hunting with Wireless Devices After the new wireless hunting rules were passed, Maj. Bernard Chastain with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers answered some questions about the new rules for the Daily News-Miner Q. After the new rules go into effect, can people use wirelessly enabled game cameras if they don’t use the wireless capability? A. After the law is in place, hunters may use wireless cameras as long as they do not use the wireless function to take or assist in taking game. A hunter may use the camera as long as they manually check the camera card and do not use the wireless function. Q. After the new rules go into effect, can people use traditional game cameras which have to have the memory card taken

out by hand? A. Yes. Game cameras and wireless game cameras are not inherently illegal. The board prohibited the use of wireless technology in game cameras to transmit pictures of game for hunting. Q . Can people use their drones to spot for game if they follow the same-day airborne rules? A. No. Drones are not allowed to be used for any purpose for taking game. This includes spotting of game and other tactics used to assist a hunter in taking game. The 3 a.m. provision passed by the board allows other wireless technologies to be used such as a cellphone or satellite phone to take or assist in taking game as long as you do not take game until 3 a.m. or later the next day after that the device was used. Sam Friedman sfriedman@newsminer.com

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