A S1Jl111ARY Of DALL SH!£P llANAC£lf£~"T IN AL\SJ(JI DURING 1979·-(or bow to

cope vith a Hon~nta1 disaster)

Wayne £, Heimer

Alaska Dep3rtment of Fish and Came

1300 Colleg~ Road

Fairbanks, Ale 9Q70l

BACKGROUllD

Dc.vclopcieol oC the great oiJ fields in Alaska coupled ~ilb

incrcosing i n:;t3biUt.y of foreign oil 3voilability to Lbe United SL4tcs

resulted in construction of tbe Alasko oil pipeline . Envicoruncncali&ts

and eonaervation groups generat.cd considerable resistance t.o the

construction of the oil pipeline which bisects Alosk3, running aouth

from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Before th' pipel i ne rou1d be constructed

the unreaolved aboriginal claims or Alaskan Natives had to be settled.

One~ the i.mport.anee of Alask.ln oil lo lhe United States was recogoiznd

the Native cloW verc quickly cesolved. Par\. of t.bis sett.lcment "•' it

coeprooite with eovicor:i.roeotal pa:otec:ti.011 1otecest' whlt:h involved

envtrov..meot.alist acceptance of tbe pipeline in excbaoge for a guarantl'!I'!

tb.~l lJdditiooal Alasltao lands "'ould be i ncluded io 4 federal conserv•t.ioo

system.s. At least 80 million acrl'!s werl'! sch"duled for i nc l usion io t.he

National Park System, the National Refuge System. lhe Nttion•l Forest

Systel9, and the National Vtld aind Sct1nic River SyiLem. Heimer (1978)

det.ailed Lhe exp•n$ion or Lhi• acreage fro. t.be mandated llliniaua •nd the

probable impact o! these withdrawals on Dall sheep w~oagement.

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Under teras of ~he Alaska Hative Cla1m.s $ettl$nenL Aet of 197~

Congress had 5 years to act on inclusion o! Lhe additional lands in the

National Con$crvaiion SY$tCM.$, Tb..ls meant tbc deadline tor con$tC$S1onal

action was the close o{ the l978 session. A$ adjournment drc~ near the

Alocka Hation•l lntcreaL Lands Conservation Act passed the House of

Reptesentatives 1od went on to the Senala. W'hun piii:Sogc: by Lht' Scn~tt

ilppeared • renK>te possibility because o! re=11$t~nce by the Al;tskan

Scn•t.orio111 dele1at1.on, Secretary of the lnterior. c.ecil Andrus, illtempted

t.o for-cc lhc A1•5lciln dt>leg~tion lo .-bandon its cesist.ilnce to t he bi lJ by

tlucat.enin& adm.inj•trative withdrawal• Ui1der- Lh

record I.ht r.,11(;l1ons aud fll11n•gl:'mcnl rer.ponst:• o( lht Al.atkA Dt:pa.rt.mc..t\l

of Ftsh and G1t•re •tul thtt 4l•ska Botrd or Game tn in atlt:lllpl to cope Y(th

lh.i.• lliudden, uneX"poctcd deere•:11e in h\lnlabl.e :11111 .shet-p in A1as.ka. J

•hall addrc•• apeci£1e problf'.ill2 tndividu~lly.

How runy sheep reea-t.ned available? Acrta.1- survcyi, grouod couots,

1nd harvest re·ports have been used by tht: Alaska Oeparunent of flsb and

Game to csLiaatc the total nwnbcr of sheep in Alaska. The be.Gt e6t.i•~te

ts 50 1000. Once t.be monument boundar•et vere act.ually available it. was

det~rnuncd that about 21,000 sheep vould be unavailable Lo bunters

bc

T•ble l. Sheep abwidance, ha rve5t., •nd bunLer number• i u Nat\ona1 Honwnt!ntu closed Lo bunting .

National Hoal.llfleat Sheep Population Hunters Harvl:'st

~Q•t.-•lt 1,800 35 25

Cat.e• tJf thr Att'llC 7,700 175 65

Yukoo-Chat'ley 300 7 3

Hckinl~y Extension 500(?) ID 6

Lak• Chrk 500(?) JO L5

\lrangell-SL . .Eli.as 9,000 700 335

ToLal 20,800 957 449

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Jt v4s assu.ed there ~ould not be a S18ni!icant decline in sheep

hunter u.se and that a.o insignificant number or bunters i.•ou.ld violate the

Federal regulatioos to bunt on tbe national p •nUJ11eots (t~e only

reasonable. con..servatlve hypotheses-) . From lhese pr·e.ists it "'"•,;

possible to calcu.late t be _tJllpact on sheep availability pet bunter .

Before monument• ihcr~ were S0 1000 sheep per 3,200 hunt~r1

or about 16 $beep per bunter. Hel~er and Sailth (1975)

auggest.ed a nean lega 1 (3/4 curl) petcentage throughout

Alaska of 15 percent . Thia gave O. l5 x 50,000 or 7,500

Le3al eamt p.ec 3,200 hunters or about 2.3 legal (ams

per sheep hunt.er.

Aft-er noou.ents tbere \.'ere 29,000 th~ep per 3,200 hunter•

or about 9 total sheep per hunter vere av• il•blt. H~imer

and S•it.b (1975) reported a iDCan legal (31' eur1 ) p~rcentage

on the noN1onu:ment lands of 8 .9 percent . Th.is ~ave 0 .089 x

29,000 or 2,600 3/4 curl r&naa per 3 ,200 hunters , ~bout 0 .8

legal raas per hunt.er.

This is a reduction o! nearly 67 p-e.rcent. in 3/4 curl ram.s per hunter..

Thi$ disproportion•te (co1119arcd Yith T1blt 1) decrease occurred because

those selecting land$ for i nclution io the nation~l pAtk •onu.cntQ

Jelecte

huni.crs should result in greatly tncrcB:sed hat'Vt!St rates- slcmming: f1' 0111

t.bt increased hunting pressure in 4tf'as r:em.a.inl.ng open t o huot l ng.

~hat about trophy s1~e and harvest? The recrult•e.nt of l~gal,

trophy raas tn Alaska has been empLr~cally dcter:m.ined by caJculat1ni the

percentage ot total populations harve1tcd ln areas vh,re horn size ho~

been drtvc_n Lo Lhe legal minimum fnr A p~riod of y~ars, and population

s.izes arc koo..,n from cart'fu-1 survey and e('n!'ua r.fforts. T.,hle 2 shows

the maxi•wn possible 3/4 cu_tl rDm h.on•eat is aboul 2.G percent of total

popul11tion.

lI trophy rccrui LlllC".nt '-'•• 2."4 percent of the popuL1ttJ011, the

pre-monument r tl'cruitmtnt of D•ll rams "'•s 0.02G x S0,000 or abo1,.1t 1,20-0

.lnnually . The statewide harvest over t.he l•st 10 yeara avt>raged slightly

less thon this nW11ber. Hence, exc~pl for localized are•• of he~vy

harvest, it vns theoretically possibl e thot the 1970 ag~ aLructure of

r11ms in the harvest ...,.,$ m.aintllinable. Hatvest: ""' s11ghtly Jestil than

input and raes froai .,ll 4gc classes above legal age were Lilken by bunters.

When the resource base ...,4$ reduced to 29 ,000 sheep without -i;~duction in

demand , presaurio, or efficicocy o! hUD.tecs it becaee apparent th•l any

11t11inagCftlent scheiae fo r trophy cropp i ng ln effect t.rouJd be practiced ii\

its •Olit e.x trcmi! a·pplicat1on . Th:al tt:, tf recruitment ts 2.C. percent or

29 ,000 sheep it equals about 700 rams per year. If th.e number of lcgol

3/4 curl raais present on the nonmonuaeot. l~nds w-as 2,600 (see "\that. did

this mean to hunters?'' ) 3ftd harvest v3s expected to be 1,2!>0 ra.u '11th

recruitment at 700 raas per ye~r. tt ls possible to estiaotc tbe ti.9e

vh~n l\arvest will eliminate t:he standing crop •l'\d be limited to

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Table 2. Percent o! tOL41 popul•tions harvested e4ch year 1n areas w.f th intense hunter pressure".

ToLal Arca \'ear Harveat Population '1 Take Horn Size

DcltD H.aa1gc•cnt Are~ 1975 4S l ,500 3.0 30.6 1976 41 I .500 2.7 31.S 1977 42 l ,SOO Ll lid 1978 (the area vc.ni on

per•it 1t.11tu$} Hc:io 2.6 31.4

Chugacb State Parle; 1976 • 300 1.3 30 . 1 (heavily hu.nted Pioneer 1977 300 1.3 30.5•Peak-Goat Creek •cc~} 1978 9 300 J ,0 31.I

Hean 1.9 J0 . 6

Surpri•c Houtll•in, Kenai 1973 2 213 0 . 9 30.0 1974 6 189 3.2 32 .9 1975 5 154 3 .3 28.8 1976 4 156 27.9Ll1977 (population r~due~d

by herd winter) Hean 2. S 29.9

Talkce~n• Hount.atns, 1976 24 750 3 .2 29 . 7 Boulder Creek. 1977 18 750 2, I. 29 . 5 Chicka loon, Hicks Cr·eek 1978 14 750 1.8 30.7

Hean 2.5 30 .0

Overall average t8kO =2.4 percent Overall average horn •i~e • 30.0 inches

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recru.iOMut. Table: 3 ebow·s che effect on "t"am l!ttend.:ing ttocks l! hu11tel"

$ucc•S8 .-nd pr•••ure do not d•cr•~l!I• from p••t levels with A resource

base of 29,000 sheep.

y•ar.

Subsistence. Passage of the AJ.esk.f; ~Ative Claims Settlem~nt Act

~•a goal vhich unified Alaska's !~ariue peoples itind cre...t•d a.n .ethnic

•W1'1reneJt• "+i tch l'Mle 111 •terterl ltself -:in osn·y w3-ye. One mt1nlfe11tte"tion of

this •vnrtu•8s and politi~e.l unity be& be«n an egsr~8•ivc effort to

legi9latively r•cogni~• •ubxietenc• use of wildlife r•aource•. This

etrort successfully culainated last year vhen the Alaska l~gislature.

dom1na.ttd by the pove.rful "Bush Caucus" paased i\J asko's new "subsistence

13"'''. 'Ibis lf!l:g1.slat1on states that the highest priority u!l-O of Al40k4 's

fish and vildl1fe resources is subaistence. The law also establishes a

aub01l'ltt':nce section vithin the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to

ir.iake certain that the h1th &ub,istence priority is attained vtthin the

8eOflC ot b1ologico...l productivity . Dall sheep hunting, a p·rcdominnntly

recreational 3CtiV1ty now, t114Y be eliminated by the subsistence low as

loc3l Rubsiatcnce dem.ond develop&.

The Optionfl

Many aanagemenc options vere available. They r4nged fro~ doine

noth11l$ throu;h n g&mut of. pos.81blc pe>aitivc Altcrn1Jtlvea. Option.$

presented by the Dep3rtment of Fi&h and Came to the Alosk."I Board of

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Table 3. Projected depletion o( ram atand1ng $tocks tn Alask~'• huntabl~ Dall sheep populations.

lncre11Jeol aod legal rom popul•tion prior Lo Popul• Lion

Yr•r: hunting tt•son H.arvest remaining

1979 700 alr~ad>' ineluded in 1600 1250 1360

1980 700 plus 1350 = 2050 1250 800

1981 700 plus 800 = 1500 1250 2~0

1982 700 plus 250 • 950 dem~nd exccedG 3bility •• supply b)' 300 .....

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Ga~c. the regulatory body lo Alaska , before hunti ng •~•,on 1979 included

the folloving . Each option is listed w1Lh the JU~L1fi catlon offered l O

Ute Soard of Game. Arguments on each opLion arc presented Ln the

sub~equenL SCCLlon of tbl' papc~ .

Option Dl. Provid~ m•xi..mwn 3/4 curl ~~m hunting by clim~natLng oll

clo•ed, ipec\•l use, and permit ~rea~ i o an effort to accol!ll'llod4tt

i nc rea,.,d huntLng pcetf!ure.

Jut;tificoltion. Creat.if>n of nat.Jono'.I L m.on1Jmenta and Lhr d isplaccmtnt

of aheep hunters from tradit.ional hunting g·roundli will r~,;ult. iu

increased hun te?' pressure on t he available sheep populattonc . Thls

proposal provides latitude necessary for the Stale lo c'Lablich ~ syste•

\t'hlch vill of!er m:axintWa harvest. opportunity (or roim:io ~1th 3/4 curl or

g r eater born&.

Option 12. Statewidt full (4/4) curl ltgal limit 'lirith no clo5ed ,

spec11l u$e, or pcr91L otCQ, .

Justific•tlon . 1'he saff just lficat.ion ~5 for aplion nu1aber l was

used with ~he •ddition of a t~g•l horn •l~e deftnil1on which vould

prott"ct the Lrophy v81\IC' o f D•ll sheep by etltur-ci.n3 ma t.utt: rAlllS Lo bunt.

Tbis opt.ion itlso provided • IDC~SIJ T"lt of biologic-a] saft'ly not offt'red i.n

option number l.

Optioa #3. Statew'ide full (4/4) curl v i t.h spe('ial use and p~rm:f l

mrea as they now exist .

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Justification. Tbi.5 proposa l would provide a biolos1cally

conservative means of providing max1•um hunlrr opportun~ty nol offe red

by t he present sysr.em (3/4 c~rl •1nscuia horn ~izc), ~nd presrtve the

•re•• i n vh.icb ti l1_1111t.ed nt11nber of pe111itt.l'el '"" asaured thr:

oppGrt.un 1_ty for 11 high qualir.y hunii ng ttx-pe r ience.

Optlo~ f4. Establish slatcwide per•it areas and procedures to

regulate hunt.er preasu--rc .and barve.at at levels c0rlllpl'lr4blt: to or lllOr~

desirable than the pre..manument. s tatus. A V3t'iet.y of optlon.s tnvolv l ng

pcrait& warn o(fared. They included a 3Lar.evide permit system tn

addltloo to tbose ~lrcady in e!Ccct. and a syst.c• designed to correlat.a

hunter pressu..re with the 1bility or the population lo sustain hunting

11t1n~ged on a 110unt-a l n raaae ba$1&. A tpc!c:i11l pt:Rlit hunt w1s .11100

p'oposod foT the Arctic ~ationa1 ~ildl~fc Ran~e.

JustLfic.ation. All perntiL syalr11u1 were j usl.ified on the pE'e:111ise

that bunting pressure would greatly incre•tc on t...ht available lands ~nd

result in dct.erioration of the resource and lhf hu.nLlng c~p~rtence.

Under condit.ianc of the pennit hunt propoa-cd far the Atctic National

WildliCe Rance, 40.0 pt!nat t:s were t.o be A\JArded by draving fat 2 hunt

periods, August l through S~ptembcr 20, and AugU$l 21 through Scptetnbcr 20.

Theae ~00 peraits vere t.o be drawn by hunt pertods. vltb 25 perceni

going lo nonreaide:nt.a and 75 pt'rce_nt to resident,; vi.th 200 pcrmit5 for

each hunt period. In addition l o these hunts, a Teglatration type

pet'lllit: hunt \It' to be cat.1blisbed with an unlim.it.ed numbtir of penait.s

betoa offered •t Kaktovi k ville~c untll o quoto o! 50 s~cttp ~ere taken

on the north cide of tbe Arctit' Wildlife Range . l\. vas atS-o to be "

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co11dition or tbii; b1,1.nt that aitcra!t be excluded for shf!ep hunling or

hu.nting telated traosportatioo throughout the bunt peciod , September Zl

tbrouch April 30, 1980.

These f;Ond ltions would aaaint.ain tbe b15tori' mixture of rc• idenLJi.

~nd nonresidents in abeep hunl-1._ng on Lhe Wildl ife Range and provide

tn.inillllll probll!GI• for th~ re&itt~red guides in t.hc area. Tbey also ~ould

provide for the max1lttwa. use t.he D~ S. Fish and Wildlife Service (m~nagers

of t.bc Arctic Nation.al Vildlile Range) deemed acceptable. The$e condttionQ

would also provide for Lhc eatabli,hcd hunt.Jn& p3ttcrn of Kaktovik

resident& in a sport bunLi..c1g (ramewock and negate the necessity of

allowing &ubsiatence classification of Dall sheep in Alaska. Becau.ae

Lbe U. S. Fiah and Wildlife Service perceived a mandate to provide the

opportunity to viev wUdli..Ce in its nor:m.al habitat and behavior p:attern,

the !ull (4/4) curl d~signation was offered •• a le3al aioiawa for raa

~arvest in the eveol that unusual part!c l patlon by perailLees following

the national lllOnw.ent d~signations resulted in heavy h.3rvest .

The Argwnents

No change uecest•rt· Som~ £rutt~ated wildl ife managers suggested

nult_iog oo r:~gulal·ory adJt.1•lm-e11Lt add lotting t.bt tituat ion delerior•te

b•dly. Thi•, they •riucd, was Cl!'rtain to draw the attentio~ of

nooretident b·u.otert who would, in turo, put pressure on their

coogres•iooal delegatiout ~t•u lting in a more equit•ble settleecnt of

the Alaska lands iscue wlth respect t o hunting. lt was also argued

that, given the opportunity t o de-monstratc 1ls ••nagt:lbenl t-xp.ert.ise, t.ht

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Federal Govetruaent would make its characlcri&Lic wisLakea and

demonstrate the w1$dom of a "State's Rights'' approach to 10.a.nlgeatent of

indigenous .,,.ildlife. These arguiaents vere s ... •pl away by the scr1ou$

b1ologie•l consequencesf and econoaic coneiderattona anticipated lr no

action '-'tt'e token, Also, most. doubted that. t.hr anticipated rc,ult.s of

doin& nothing would even~ually ba bcne!iciol.

Option dl. It va$ 11t'gued th~t •ince /,2 percent or r\l11a)c:11'1t D•ll

sheep were to be •3n3s;ed exclu5ively for nonconsl.llflptive ultcr, undtr tht>

monument- park designations, all St~te·mAnaged s:he"p 11bould he utillzed

consumpt..ive.ly. The Statt of Al.ai;lca iaainuio• several areas cxc.l u.sivel)'

tor v1~ving, and these sheep could be used to provide hunting opportun1Ly

which, to a s.moll ex tent. ia1gbt aitlgat.e the proble1t1$ caused b)o' Fcdet3l

v1thdra~al&. Oth~rs argued that &ucb 3 change ~3 & reactionary and

n.arro"' in perspc~t1ve, 11od held th3t. the tt'3d.itional attempt t.o provide

for 111 bUlllbD uses should be cont1nued in spite of Federal action& . IL

W'3S olso 3rgued ~hat such a move would be har.mrut to t.he CighL in Cougrc:1:£:

by a.ppearing to be excessively exploitive, thus playing into the hands

of the super·conacrv~tiVe5.

Option 12. There ~a' concern on the part of somie •anagers t.h•l t.he

aotic·ip•ted pr~c:tlce of J/4 curl 11anagcment in this cxtre111e as predicted

in "Problem$" vould be biologically harmful .

No clear-cut dQt3 Yhich s hov inton•~ barv~st o[ raas (takin~ 411 3/4

curl r•11s, e-.c:b year before t..b-l! ..-ut) has a depressive t:t!ect on i nitial

l••b pt:ode.icLion Lh~ folloviog spring are .avaUabl~. Howcvt-r, Nicholu

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(1978) published data vhicb 5boued the .ost heavily exploited population

(Su~ri5e Ho~nt1in) be 5tudied on the Kenai Peninsula had the gre1lc1t

'prcu:ad .l u lambing dates. 1bls popul•tioo al$0 thoued the louest relativtt

la•b product ion of the 3 population& he studied Ca 6-y~ar •e•n of 25

lambs/100 ewes conip•rcd v lth 34 and 36 la•b•/100 ~w~a £or Lbe other 2

popul•t.lors.s ). We iatdt aote, howev('r, t..h.at. Nichol s considered at.her

environmental differencet; more likely to be cauiatlve tbnn t.be beavy

harvest o! r.illlS (Nichol$ 1978),

Nichola (1971) and Cei&t (1971) both observed that behavior 0£

youag r~ms during rut i~ aisnttican~ly di!fereut ~h~n th~t o! aature

rua. Both observed that immature rams often court a.ncstrouJJ eve.:, .and

Nichols (1971) not,ed young Dall ru11a t.eod to engage lcs' ia gu•rding ;ind

•o~e in checking and chaslng bcb~vior. He also reported l>'ben old r~ms

vere absenl Lbe very young rams participated in ru~ting activities .

When old r~s vere present these very young ralll5 m•de no r~produtLlv~

di •pl•y p•tterns . Gei$~ (1971) argued that mortality in wount.aiti sbcep

r•_i:os it • function of doU1inance status (the age at vhlch t.hey bt1tooift

d(MlliOAl"ll lo the popul•t1

.lUCTe••es -in in1Li•t 111mb productiv fl}' · Thi• hypothc:sit r .an bf!' p11rl11ell )•

Lesled u•ing harvest dat• av•ilabl~ froe trophy ean~gement 6reas ~here

f1,1ll cur-1 re3ul•tiona exiat.

Tabl~ 2 shoved maximum 3/4 curl ra11 ha rvest ves equ:il t o 2. 4 perc:t:nt

of total population. Differences betvccn the percent take on these

areas ~na areas • anagcd tor full curl thould reveal the extenL of mort.3lt cy

betwe~n t..hc 3&CS of 3/t. curl and full curl. One such area exists in

Alaska, lhe Toti Hanagemenl Area. This area vas managed for 3/4 curl

$beep iand •lllXi•u. huntiog opportu1,lt.)' unt.il 1974. AL that time 111a1uagcfllel'll

direction thanged, iand the area was Noaged for high quollty trophy

hunting experiences . AccOG1panying this chonge va$ a cbonge ln legal

hol:'o sJ.ze defin i tion r.r:om 3/G to lull curl for raas: .

After the peniit. •YtiLetn wag e3tAbl -ished, 2 yeaC'S verf! reqvil:'ed t.o

adj ust the: number or pemit• and ach iev~ t.h~ des i red subcnt1xjm1) h~rviest...

1'.hese years of lo1o1 han~st allowed the popul ation Lo reach e-qui l i bri um

Wider the full-curl regulation . The followi ng daLa were then gathered.

Ytllr Harvest. Total Po~ulatioo 1' Tak• Horn Size (i.n)

1976 37 1800 2 . l 36 . 3

1977 44 1800 2 .4 35.5

1978 51 1800 2.8 36.7

1979 35 1600 2.2 36.0

Hean 2.4 36. I

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Thes.e figurer. i ndicate the ooruuxiaal level of harve•l •incit

est.•bliallllent. of the full•c:url s:cgulaLi on •1ul cql) tli.bti.Lil!I of t.h.t

staodia.it stocks o! tati bas been exactly equol (2. 41) to that for 13

data years of tota.l 3/4 curl cropping io 4 dif!ereot mountain range• of

Alaska. This can be rat·ionalized in uveral w.tys .

1. There is no sigtlfica.nt natura_l mortality bet\Jetl'l the &13e Al

31' curl And Cull curl wbtn tsseotJ..ally undistu.rbtd •&e structures are

established io Dall raa society . 'tbi.s probably results from e~cluGion

o! young ta•~ vbicb are not pby$iolo&ically and beh~viorally ad3pted to

rutting from intense participa~ion in this &treaaful activty (Geist

1.971). Also, raas at th.is pri~ age are leas likely to die than younger

or older ones.

2. lo.tccuracte' in survey aod c.st.ima.tioo o! t ·Otal population' may

have bi•sed the data in !avor o! b1gh percent take$ in the Tok H:anaacment

Are• and lov percent takes in the he1vtly bunted 3/4 curl aanaaed 3reas.

Tbis is unlikely . ~umbers aivcn for total pop~lation~ tn the Tok Han:ageiaeot

Are• •re popul•tion est.i.m.t~s expanded fcom nu.ct>ers oL sheep actually

•ee.n. Tb.c oL.bet d•t• •re •ct.ual sheep counted oo populat.i oo census

effort• . 'l"hisi vould m.a.ke • oy er-coct1 iovolv~d io ptrc::eot t•ke l:i11ted

lover for the Tolt M•o•g~nae:nt A.cc• t.h•n other •rtt•t . Al•o, the Tok

Han.ageJoent •«• full•eurl b_•rvetl i• •lightly ltts tb•O ~sLi.. ted total r·eeruitntent to tbe trophy cl•••.

3 . Harvea t reportiag eould have biaaed tht data in favo~ of high

perce- oo Lbt full C:1.1t"l •re•• •r\d lov petceot t•ket onotage taltet1 the 3/4

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curl areas. Harvest reporting is mJtnd•t.011• on t.h the prcfe renceti of "

national conBLit.ue.ncy. Jn short, m.any uaers of the Arct..i

o! park . The Fish •od Wildl~fe Secvite 8ll~~td to appease these users

by limiting hunt i ng. On the othe r htnd, t he Alask• DeparLmenl of Fish

and Game maintaioed there was no need for restrictton on hunter use

bec•u•e of il-j lov le:vcl rc•ult1.ng frocn the co11t and log1st1c probl~s

which a ttend hu.ntlng on the north side of the Brooks Rnce.

In designing t he pcrrait syst.c• ihe imporl.llnL factors were hunter

distr.ibution and p3ttictpaLion, and provis ion for the au1ding i ndustry .

The eaximum number of hunters vbic:h could be toler~ted in Lhc Wildlife

Range at aay give.n time "as diet.ated by the Fish and Wildl i fe Service.

Alaskan (State:) v Udlifc unagers t..hcn proposed ti.me zoning and permi l

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nwnbe.n so thls m11xl•um coul.d be sust:iincd during the entire huutlng

ccasoo to "1.nJaUie the loss of buoting opportunity. Tllis involved

opening t he 5eason earlier. oo Au~u,;t 1. Gui1.•es '"'ere .aJ.lotled 25 percent

of the tot~l permits. 3pproximately tbe s~me percentage of nonresidents

as had traditionally participated l o t he p.Jst .

The Dec:iaioos

The Alaska Board of Gant decided the potential negative effects

verc too gr~at to allov Dall sheep hunting to continue viLhout adjutteents

to t.hin major cb.'Jo&e io the resoureie base. ln so doing. they co-1.tted

th1:.:n11elve11 to maiot~lnina o.1u sbeep hunting opportunity and t.he qu.alit)' ot the hunting expt:!rienc:e aL maxiSW11 possible level.a .

Hunting opportunity. Tbe Alaska G••t:: Board decided it \.l'.llli: in t he

be.s t i.nteresta of the public and t he resource to continue m.atU1aing those

viewing ere•s under State jurisdiction !or nonconsUU'lptive use. Tbey

tlso ••intained all special use aod permit areas. reasooinR that a

b•l•nced •ppro•cb to iasutgcment w•s • better alternative Lhan ettespting

to prO\fide maxi 11um hunLi ng opport1,1nit.y.

Legal horn size. The Alaska Ga•e Board concluded r.hat the bleak

outlook for sheep hunting U the 3/t. cu.r1- regulation were applied to its

extrc•e necessitated increasing the legal born site . Th< Board vas

reluc~ont to adopt full·~ur) r:egulotion.e bec~use m.noy old ta•S Vitb

bro0111ed horns are fine trophieei, but not full curls. A)ao, there w:.s

concern that. some Dall rl'lma may never grow full·curl horns. but. aihould

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be avajlablc Cot harvest at •Oturity. The Ga.me Bo~cd comptoatsed by

e$tab115bing ' legal definition o! 7/8 cur! or 315 degree$ {or Dall

...... Per11its ind perm.it areas. Tbe Aliislc:o Boa.:t·d oC Ga_aa_e decide-d thal

while per.it areas are use!ul in order to guarant~c the possibility 0£

hiib qu.ality hu1tti.ng experiri-nces Lo lhose forLun11te enough Lo dra.

per•its, it w-aa preos.ature at Lhi:11 Li me to p1.1t Lhe entire Slate on A

pcrait ~ystem for sheep . They adopted thr r-e&ula tions necessary to

est1bli8h e pc:rmit bunt for 7/8 curl or greater re.ms in the Arctic

National Wildlife: R~ng~. In ttlls bunt th~ buntlng sCb$OO w-as divided

into 2 ti.lie per1odt w-ith 200 penaits offered for each hunl period .

The Alaska Board o( Ga•e also adopted regulaLiona establishins a

registration bunt with a quot.a o( 50 sheep for th!'! north aide of Lhe

Arctic ~otion.al Wildli!e ~og~. The season opened on October 20 and

exten,ded through April 30; the bag limit waao 3 sheep. PemiLs "'·ere

~v•1 lab le on demand in Xaktovlk, Alasko and u:oe of airer.aCt for hunting

or- tr-anspocting hunt.cr.s or sheep wos: 'lrict-ly forbidden. This hunt w0t::

provided l~ • •porting fra~vork, tb~t f$, 4nyone wishin~ to hun~ under

these. conditio113 could obt..1n • penii.t. in Xiktovik and hunt {or 3 sheep ,

but. could i1ot "-'I'! a1rc"•t't 10 aoy way t-o transport hia111elt, his gear, or

bis sheep 1.n the hunl a re• . Once tb" quot~ of SO sheep was: reached the

se.ason would be clo¥e:d. These cousl.r.aiint.a: e£fect.1vely prt>cluded all but.

local use ci-eata og • ~ f•cto subsi•1..cnce hunt. for D•ll sheep. llovev"r,

the sport bu.nl1ng c.:ontext. avoided the problems and precedents of making

"•~Jbt:ia:t-ence £egulat1ons" for sheep, • •Pt>Cle5 .tl.ast. universally regarded

as a L.l"ophy anb..l.

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The Results

Hunter partici pation . Tn the 1979 buntiu~ season 2 ,341 hunters

returned the f'equi -red hunter reports to the Depar taCtl t o( fisb aod Game

st~tin.g t.hcy bad hunted sheep. f bis Cigure waa lover ib~n the ant lcip~ted

number of huntera baaed on the meau or the past 2 years (3 . 200 bunters)

by about 27 percent . W'he~ber thi' lowet ttgurc rcpreseots a trend, ~

tran,ient low par·ticipatioo, or is even tomparable \./!itb previous data is

unknovo . Duri oa, 1979 the sheep hunting publi c seemed unusually uninformed

on what vas expected of t he•. keporting ••Y have beeo lovrr than usu~l .

Harvest . The 1979 e•111 h•rveaL. was report..ed tilt 924 rJ11111s . Thi s i11 •

de~rease fro:m t he mean of the la•t 2 year•-af 26 percr.nt, alto0•t exactly

the: seat decrease a& in t he nwnber of reporting hunters. Hunter success

was JS percent lo 1979. It averaged 38 percent from 1973- 1978. Jn

additi on to the 92' ra•s rtport~d, 29 eves were taken 1.o tbc Alaska

Range o.nd another 16 sbtep wer~ reported !ro111 the .Kaktovik bun.t by U.S .

Fish and Wildlife Servi ce per,ont1e.1. th.is comes to Q total of nearly

1,000 Dall sheep barve&ted .

The fact t h•t hunter success did not decrease despite an i ncrease

in Lh~ definition of legal born size is L.c!atU.Ony to the thoroughness of

Dal 1 she.ep hunters. the Lota 1 b.a eves L wa1> not con!incd Lo norwoowoc.nL

lands. Hany Alaskans hunted on the monWD.Cnt lands in open dcliancc of

the Feder.al regulation&.

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Hunting on m.ont1111ent lands. or the 2,341 reportin1 sheep bunlcrs.

2.59 reported specific locat.ious which were wit.bin 1.bc boundaries o! t.he

~ot.ional tson1uncnts vhcrc bunt.1ng ""' prohibited hy fedcr.,1 rcgulat fon .

These bunt.er• reporU!.d taking a Lotal o{ 118 sheep. Their reported

succcsll rat.e was 46 pcrce.nt. Since successful bunt,ort traditional ly

report Gt ~ b.igber level tb.an unsuccessful hWlters, it is reasonable t.o

conclude that eveo 90re Alaskaos bunted io violation of the 1110nument

regulations and did oot. report their activities. This aeems re••on•ble

when it is understoo.d that. their activities vere considered "i.Jleg•l" by

the Federal Gover-ri.me::nt. The !igurea fbr ptirtic.ipaliOn ar~d h.arvest •re

understood to be m.lnlnutl at. best..

Horn aize. The mcon horn •1zc AIDO~g rams hnrveated l..n Al3ska for

the period 1974 through 1978 w3s 33.2 incheG (84.4 cm). The 11ean

reported boro si2e Cor the 1979 season (vith an increased legal horn

$1.tt' for r•as) ~at 34.9 inches (88.6 c•). The increase, 1.7 Lnehcs

(4.3 c•), rcculted !rom o reduct.ion in the nUlllb~r o! very saaJl sheep

taken. The mean percentage o! r1as vith horns less tbau 30 inches

(77.2 ca) ia the horve$t fro• 1974 through 1978 overoged 28 percent.

For tbc 1979 harvc&t this dropped to 12 percent.

Cu rrctn1.. St.. t.ua

i\t. thi• time 21,000 of Al•ak•'• Lrad.J-Li.,onally h.u:nt.•ble DaU •beep

• '('C t-echnic•lly Off lialt.• LO hu.1ilt'r-i1. Or LhC 29,000 •beep lo'hich CAO be

legall)' hunled under t.h~ .-,x1xt.Jog monua1enl r-e8ul•l-)o.o•, •pproxlJn.Jlt.ely

9,500 are availllblc only to persons fortunate enough to obtain a pentit

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i.n t.hc: pcn11i t. dravingl!. An addltion11l 2.,000 arc av1JI 111blc in 1re1s

vhere access is restricted to walking , or 'pcci~l $Cll$005 ~re in effect ,

and 11bout 1 .000 arc protected tor vi_eving onl». Thi' le11vci: .:i resource

base o! about 15 to 16 .000 sheep which s ustain the hunting 11v.1il11ble

dur!ns tbe gcncril open seison. The Sation0:l 11onumcnts have retulted in

a 65 percent reduction in sheep hunting ov.:,ilabilit.}' (\oilthout a s p-eci.:.J

permit) during the general open se~son.

AlasJui Dep•r-lmenl of Ftll:h llad G•ml': dr-11fL 1unagt1J1111n\. plans, 1;~11t1d

for 3 differ-ilig 111•n•gt'111c:nl approaehe1 £or- 01111 sheep 111 Al~sk41;. \i'bt'rc

the State or Alaska euc--rent ly has u nagemenL aoLhoriLy theie- plao11 11ri::

fo11o~cd in about t hese proportions: aboul 6 percent ate managed ror

tropb;• hunting (called, '10portunlty to be selective," in planning jat:gon),

3h~ut 30 percent 3re ~3n~ged far 3C$thetic hunting expericnccG, about 4

percent ~re Nnaged for nonconSUlllJ'tlve use, ttnd t he re:m.1tning 60 percent

.:'Ire u n111ged {or u x (raum hunti ng opportun~.t.y, Those sheep (2:1,000)

remaining in the n"'tionol monuiaentti ::tre 1Mn1tiged exclusively for

nonconswnpLive useti.

The Fut ure.

11 Congress ill r-C"ivcs at a lcgit:l:attvc 'olutlon to t.hc Alask.i l~nds

pr oblem , the nu.bctc of sheep av.ailablc to buntet" wlll l ncreasc. i:o111e1Jht1t.

Current optioa~ betocc Cong ress 'Jould leave about onc· fourtb or Ala$ka's

Dall sb~ep withJn oational parks where huntlnt i5 not allowed. The

celie! would c:ocnc ln tbc Corm oC national _park preserves. Thes~ presl'!rvr•

arc m.anagcd exactly J.lke nation•! park,, excrpl l hat hunl..inr; i• penait.t.ed

unless SOIW! reason c.11n be found by l hc Park Scrv-tcc to pccvent it.

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Ooly wbcn 1 legislative solution ls reacbed vill i t be possible to

knov the actual D3ll sheep resource bJse ~v1ilablc to the St4te or

Alaska . Unt.jl thr,n further ad~iniatrntive WLtbdrava ls are a dtaLi act

possibility, and Dall sheep man~gcmeot vill continue io a state of flux.

ln any case, the lntcnse interest tn prescrvotioo o! D~ll sheep h4bftat

ls encour•ging. Hopt! f"l ly, Congl"CS$ will OOL deal hastily vith the

Alaska lands it:iue and nece,.sary Dall sbetij• habit•t proll:et.ion can bti:

~ccomplisbed in a .are enlightened in.AOner t.h•n that prevall•ng to the

current Legislation.

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La teratur·e Ci l ed

Geist. V. 19il. Hou.nt•in sbeep: tt study tn beha\'ior and evolut1on ,

Univ . Chic.:a~o Prc~s. 383pp. •

Heimer. '-''· 1978. The pt'obable errec ts o( th~ Al••ka. N•t.1onal Interest

Lttnds Consecvat:i.on Act on Dal I theep 111.anagement an Alaska .

? roe. 1978 ~. Wild Sht":ep 1tod Caal; Conf. , Rt 1l1$h Columbi a Flth and

Vildl . Breh., Victoria, 8. C.

----- aod ,\, C. Smith, J IJ . l97S. D4U ram born growth '1ind

population quality and thctr significance to Oal1 sheep ma.na,ement

in Alaska . Ala&k~ Dept. Fieh ~nd G41DC, Tech . Bull . S. 41pp .

.Nt.:ho l t>, L. 1971 . Sheep Report. Alaska Dept. Fish and Came, Fed.

Atd Wild. R.:at. Ar,.,u. Proj. Prog. Rilpt. Vol . Xll. J uneau.

197t. Dall sheep reproduction. J. Wildl. H~nge , ~2(3l:570-580.

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QUESTIONS - RESPONSES

8111 Wishart: Do you have another sratus that would protect those areas dnd still allow hunting? walne He1mer! Yes, we do. There fs a elass1f1cat1on called "Park Preserve"' wh ch 1~ exactly 11ke a park except that it would allow hunting; sport hunting. Now 1n the park itself, as someone mentioned, there is a provision for subsistance hunting by local res1~nts at the discretion of the Interior, over the course of a generation or however it is that th~y always do that. We don 't like that because we see it as a clear challenge to the States' right to manage game because it's all set up through the Sec~t11ry of Interior.

Jim Peek: So you lose control there?

Wayne Heimer: Yes. Park Preserves would be at the mercy of the Park Service . which I don't like. hut we would bl! able to hunt.

Bfll Wishart: Are you for hunting or are you for being in control?

Wayne Helmer: l th1nk if we could be ln control we would have hunt1ng .

Bill Wishart: We do have hunting in Alberta in some parks. True enough Parks has the big hand, but we are responsible for the wildlife.

Wayne Helmer: l would lik• Hational Park Preserves. I'm a little bh nervous about the Sta~ of Alaska; you know trusting them with the land. Because, youknow. people have got to make a living and they got to eat and when they do tha~ their goi ng to do what they've done every place else, to get calories and tradingtMter ial. The country up there is, you know it's niCt!. What t really liked is when we had the land freeze and the 8LM was in charg@ of everything, but didn't bother anyone. That was p@rfect, but it's going to change. I think, there is no doubt that we arc going to have National Parks, we'll have at least 80 million acres . I don't think we need quite 140 ID 156 million acres which is kind or where we are now.

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A Summary of Dall Sheep Management in Alaska During 1979 -- (Or How to Cope With Monumental Disaster)BackgroundThe ProblemsThe OptionsThe ArgumentsThe DecisionsThe ResultsThe FutureLiterature CitedQuestions - Responses