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Summer 2014 A Voice for Alaska’s Wildlife Volume 10 No. 1

Notes from the Director ......... 2

State Kills Entire Pack of Yukon-Charley Wolves ..........................5

Meet AWA’s New Co-Director Edward Schmitt ..........................6

New Book: A Wolf Called Romeo ........................................8

New Book: Natural Connections in Alaska......................................... 9

Another Dramatic Decline in Denali Wolves............................11

Thank You! ............................. ..11 Recapping the 2014 Legislative Session......................................13

Great Reading in Our Bear’s Den Shop! .......................................16

Southeast Alaska’s Rare Alexander Archipelago Wolves Move One Step Closer

to Endangered Species Protection

(continued on page 4)

Contents

By AWA Staff

A long-awaited U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service decision has advanced Southeast Alaska’s rare Alexander Archipelago wolves one step closer to protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The agency announced in March its decision to move forward with an in-depth status review of the wolf population. Following the 12-month review and public comment period, the agency will decide whether or not to list the species as threatened or endangered. Either designation would direct the creation of protected habitat for the wolves.

Photo by Johnny Johnson

Photo by John Hyde

Notes from the Director2 ALASKA WILDLIFE ECHOES Summer 2014

The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to the

conservation and protection of Alaska’s wildlife. We promote the integrity, beauty,

and stability of Alaska’s ecosystems, support true subsistence hunting, and recognize the intrinsic value of wildlife.

AWA works to achieve and maintain balanced ecosystems in Alaska managed

with the use of sound science to preserve wildlife for present and future generations.

Alaska Wildlife AlliancePO Box 202022

Anchorage, AK 99520-2022(907) 277-0897

[email protected]

STAFFEdward Schmitt

John ToppenbergCo-Directors

Connie BrandelOffice Manager

BOARD OF DIRECTORSEdward Schmitt, President

Richard Hoskins, Vice President Connie Brandel, Secretary/Treasurer

Josh KlauderJohn Toppenberg

ADVISORY BOARDBob ArmstrongTina M. BrownValerie Connor

Marybeth HollemanNick Jans

Johnny JohnsonAndrew Josephson

Robert Glenn KetchumDune Lankard

Michael McBride Jenny PursellKathy SarnsAlex Simon

Kneeland TaylorLowell Thomas, Jr.

THANKFULLY, A CO-DIRECTOR IS NOW ON BOARD

At AWA’s recent Board of Directors’ retreat, and at my earnest request, we elected new Board member Dr. Ed Schmitt to serve with me as co-director of the organization. Ed will be working with me to more effectively di-rect AWA’s sacred mission to advocate for Alaska’s wildlife. Ed lives near Soldotna which is next door to Sterling which is my mailing address. This will make it easy for us to work together and emphasize our areas of exper-tise. Ed’s knowledge is extensive and he always has practical and creative ideas to share. For more insight please check out Ed’s biography in his own words on page 6.

I’ve been in the director’s position for a decade now and I am feeling the effects that too many hard-fought wildlife battles can have on a guy who will turn 70 years old in a few months. Ed’s fresh insight and perspective will ensure our mission to protect Alaska’s wildlife stays strong well into the future!

GAME FARMING VS. ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY

AWA’s emphasis on the scientific management of Alaska’s wildlife is in direct opposition to the state’s Intensive Management directive. Intensive Management encourages the Alaska Board of Game to implement wildlife management regulations that are converting America’s last great wilderness into a game farm. As wolf and bear populations are decimated in order to artificially inflate moose and caribou populations, the integrity of healthy ecosystems is compromised.

Indications are that the state will continue to implement ever more ex-treme wolf and bear killing programs. Those of us on the side of responsi-ble scientific management of these biological systems do have one firewall of wildlife preservation: the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The Feds own and manage about two-thirds of “wild” Alaska and have so far resisted fer-vent attempts by the state BOG to extend its predator killing programs on to federal land. The AWA has been at the forefront of helping to maintain this critical firewall, and we plan to stay in that position! The Feds are un-der very real and intense pressure to accommodate the BOG’s killing pro-grams, but with the dedicated help of you, our members, we will maintain this haven for America’s last great wilderness ecosystems.

A GREAT LEADER MOVES ON

Sadly, we bade farewell to Tina Brown as President of AWA in March as she prepared to move from Juneau to Washington state. Tina joined our Board in 2009 and served as President for the past four years -- and what an amazing job she has done on behalf of wildlife! She’s been a leader with the energy of a small army, and has been at least as effective as a large army at winning battles.

In 2010 she organized the hugely successful “Managing Wildlife in Alaska: Predators, Prey and Politics Event and Rally” which drew expert speakers

Summer 2014 ALASKA WILDLIFE ECHOES 3


from across the state. The event culminated with a rally in opposition to Alaska’s extreme predator control policies in front of the Capitol. That event helped to network like-minded wildlife supporters, and Tina spearheaded the creation of AWA’s Southeast Chapter, our first regional chapter, in Juneau later that year. Since then she has done wonders with that dedicated group, especially working face-to-face with legislators.

She also founded the “Wildlife Wednesday” program in Juneau, featuring guest speakers at monthly gatherings. Those programs have been “wildly” popular - and thanks to her hard work, they will continue. Last year, amid growing demands for predator control measures against the species, she organized a sea otter symposium in Juneau during which experts discussed the latest scientific research on the otters’ beneficial role in the ocean ecosystem.

These were just a few of Tina’s realms of wildlife advocacy. On issue after issue she fought like a tiger for our cause, and was successful much of the time. Given the odds we face, that is a great accomplishment.

We are delighted that Tina will continue working for the Alaska wildlife she loves by serving on AWA’s Advisory Board, and by representing us on both the Sea Otter Coalition and the Bering Sea Canyon Coalition.

She has been a friend and positive critic, and I’m so thankful to have worked with her. The AWA Board members and I are so grateful to have shared her infectious passion and determination. Her dedication surely moved AWA to a higher level. We humbly thank her for her tireless work on behalf of AWA and Alaska’s wildlife, and look forward to a long and equally successful future with this furious wildlife champion!

HUGE WILDFIRE MAY IMPROVE HABITAT

Fed by spruce bark beetle-damaged trees and tinder-dry conditions, a massive wildlife burned nearly 200,000 acres within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in late May. Experts called the Funny River Horse Trail fire one of the largest fires ever on the Peninsula.

Although extremely worrisome for local residents – particularly those who spent days under evacuation orders – no injuries were reported and only about a half-dozen remote structures were destroyed.

Although wildfires are generally thought to improve habitat for species such as moose, experts are in a wait-and-see mode regarding the long-term benefits, if any, of this fire.

In mid-June the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Forest Service and Refuge managers agreed to pool resources for studies beginning in 2015 to track the effect of the fire on moose and other species. Many times, deciduous trees such as willow, birch and aspen which are excellent food for moose would be the first to replace the mature spruce trees. However, experts believe this fire may have burned too fast and occurred too early in the year to start the forest regeneration process.

The moose population on the Kenai has declinedsignificantly during the past decade. In order to increasenumbers for hunters, the state has implemented predator control programs targeting bears and wolves. If regrowth after the fire eventually does improve moose habitat and the population rebounds, hunters’ demands for predator control should be reduced or eliminated.

At its peak nearly 700 firefighters were working to contain the human-caused blaze, which burned 10 percent of the nearly two-million-acre Refuge. Wetter, cooler and calmer weather helped firefighters contain the fire by mid-June.

KENAI FIREFIGHTERS FIND FIVE WOLF PUPS

While fighting the massive Kenai wildfire, one firefighting crew working on a fire break line made a remarkable discovery – a den of two-week-old wolf pups. The pups were left behind - no doubt very reluctantly – when their pack fled from the firefighting activity. The den area did not burn, but the five pups were suffering from dehydration. They also bore quills from an encounter with a porcupine, which apparently wanted the wolves’ den for its own hiding place.

The pups were taken to the Alaska Zoo for treatment and care. Weeks of hands-on feeding and care by people will result in the pups becoming too habituated to humans to be released back into the wild. When they are about six weeks old the two females and three males will be sent to the Minnesota Zoo to live together as a pack.

4 ALASKA WILDLIFE ECHOES Summer 2014

In June a lawsuit was filed against the USF&WS demanding a faster response. The suit claims that according to the agency’s own regulations, a decision on protected status for the wolves was already 18 months overdue.

A genetically distinct gray wolf sub-species, the animals inhabit numerous islands in the Alexander Archipelago Chain located along the coast of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Much of their territory is included in the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the U.S. and the home to a massive logging industry, including the harvest of old-growth timber.

The petition for ESA listing, filed in 2011 by Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity, cites “unsustainable logging practices” in the wolves’ territory as a threat to the survival of the species. AWA enthusiastically joined those two organizations in support of this critical ESA designation for the wolves.

The USF&WS’s recent decsion found that the petition met three of the five criteria required in order to consider giving the wolves threatened or endangered species status: “the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range”; “overutilization” (hunting and trapping); and “the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms.”

Alexander Archipelago wolves den in the root systems of very large old-growth trees and feed primarily on Sitka black-tailed deer, which are themselves dependent on high-quality, old-growth forests, especially for winter survival. A long history of clearcut logging on the Tongass, and on private and state-owned lands, has devastated a large swath of critical habitat for the wolves and the deer, as well as for other wildlife species.

Last year the U.S. Forest Service temporarily halted its Big Thorne timber sale in the Tongass for further review due to concerns about the impact on wolf and deer populations. That sale proposed cutting 120 million board feet of timber from approximately 6,000 acres of old-growth forest on central Prince of Wales Island, an area which has already seen extensive logging.

(continued from page 1)

Alexander Archipelago Wolves Scientific evidence shows that Alexander Archipelago wolf populations will not survive in areas with high road density, yet the Forest Service continues to build new logging roads in the Tongass. Increasing road density is a particularly urgent concern on already heavily fragmented Prince of Wales Island and neighboring islands, home to an important population of the wolves. As a result, the ESA petition requested consideration for a separate listing of the Prince of Wales Island population because it is believed to be a distinct population segment, in addition to the listing for the subspecies as a whole.

The most recent official population estimate of Alexander Archipelago wolves was completed in the mid-1990s and found a total of only about 900 wolves throughout the region’s old-growth forests. The population is believed to have been in steady decline ever since.

According to preeminent Alexander Archipelago wolf biologist and former state of Alaska research biologist Dr. David Person, there were 45 to 50 wolves in the Big Thorne timber sale area in the mid-1990s. By 2010 there had been a sharp decline in the number, and in 2013 he could find evidence of only six or seven wolves there. He estimated that the population declined about 80 percent during just one winter, 2012-13. Almost all the wolves were killed by people, both legally and illegally, and access via the island’s 3,000 miles of logging roads enables these unsustainable death rates.

Person bluntly concluded that “the Big Thorne timber sale, if implemented, represents the final straw that will break the back of a sustainable wolf-deer predator-prey ecological community on Prince of Wales Island.”

In a press release, Greenpeace forest campaigner Larry Edwards said “The Forest Service is pumping out decisions on big Tongass timber sales as fast as it can, throughout wolf territory on the Tongass National Forest. Decisions on five major timber projects are planned through next summer, on five of the region’s larger islands. That will be for about 10,000 acres of logging in old-growth forest, in places where wolf habitat has already been clobbered.”

The 2011 petition is the second time environmental groups have asked for protection for the Alexander Archipelago wolves. A 1993 petition seeking ESA



By AWA Staff

Alaska Department of Fish & Game personnel killed an entire pack of wolves just outside of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in February, wiping out not only the wolves but years of critical research conducted by the National Park Service.

All 11 wolves in the Lost Creek pack, including the radio-collared alpha pair, were gunned down from a helicopter. The pack had been monitored by NPS researchers since 2007 as part of a decades-long ecological study, providing detailed information about the condition of Interior Alaska’s wolves, how they disperse, and the numbers of wolves utilizing the preserve to den and raise pups, according to the NPS.

The wolves were killed as part of ADF&G’s ongoing aerial predator control program in the upper Yukon and Fortymile Rivers region, implemented to boost moose and caribou populations for hunters. The wolves’ territory outside of the Preserve included a portion of the calving grounds for the Fortymile caribou herd, a population prized by hunters.

Greg Dudgeon, Superintendent of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, said that until about five years ago there was an informal agreement between the NPS and the state that entire packs – and especially radio-collared wolves - wouldn’t be targeted for predator control. However, in 2010 the state killed all four members of the Webber Creek pack, including two collared wolves. ADF&G deemed the killing of the collared wolves an “accident,” and agreed to avoid shooting radio-collared wolves that were part of NPS studies. The agreement has been ignored ever since.

The state’s shooting of the Lost Creek wolves is merely the latest volley in the rising tension between the state and federal government wildlife managers in Alaska. Cooperation between the two entities has largely disintegrated during the past few years as the state has increasingly tried to impose its management policies – including predator control – on federal preserve and refuge land in Alaska.

State Kills Entire Pack of Yukon-Charley Wolves

The killing of the Lost Creek pack mirrors similar losses to ADF&G predator control programs in 2013. Last spring 36 wolves – including at least three wearing radio collars - with home ranges in the Preserve were killed by ADF&G biologists and/or ADF&G-authorized private wolf gunner teams using fixed-wing aircraft. That brings the total to at least 47 wolves from the Preserve killed in the past two years.

The result, according to the NPS, is that the number of wolves using the Yukon-Charley Preserve has been cut by more than half. (An article in the Winter 2013 edition of Alaska Wildlife Echoes detailed the declining number of wolves in Yukon-Charley Preserve.)

Although the wolf population in the region is believed to be healthy, NPS biologists are concerned that the loss of so many wolves will reduce the genetic variation among local populations.

Dudgeon said that another crucial concern from a long-term management perspective is the potential cascade of ecological effects resulting from unnaturally low populations of a key predator in the Preserve. And without collared wolves, those effects will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to document.

In this 2012 photo, 10 wolves from the Lost Creek pack surround a caribou kill while two ravens wait for scraps. Photo by Sandy Hamilton, courtesy of the National Park Service.



Meet AWA’s New Co-Director Edward SchmittDr. Edward Schmitt was elected to AWA’s Board of Directors in January and was named co-director of the organization at the Board’s retreat and meeting in April. Ed lives in Soldotna, which is where he initially crossed paths with John Toppenberg, and he also maintains a cattle ranch in Colorado. He is a retired general surgeon.

I am very pleased to be on the board of directors of AWA and to have been appointed co-director with John Toppenberg.

My involvement with AWA began quite accidentally. My daughter Nicole was in Soldotna doing an internship at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge under the direction of Dr. John Morton, supervisory biologist for the Refuge. Last November Dr. Morton hosted a public comment session regarding the decision by Refuge managers to close the brown bear hunting season on its lands. Nicki and I attended.

Dr. Morton gave a very rational scientific discussion about the reasons for the early closure. He discussed the studies the Refuge had conducted to establish the brown bear population estimates and a frank assessment of the possible errors within those studies. Based on the population ranges, he stated a maximum yearly mortality that could be borne by the population and still remain viable. Sustaining a viable population of all wildlife is one of the prime directives of the Refuge. He stated that the brown bear kill last year had exceeded the maximum number by a factor of two. Despite repeated attempts to work with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, it refused to close the season. To fulfill its mission, the Refuge had no choice but to close the season on Refuge lands.

I was very impressed by the quality of the science and the rational approach offered by the Refuge, but was interested in hearing the state’s position. The director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation and Board of Game members rose to protest the “federal overreach”. I was appalled by what they were saying. Basically they felt that they had the right to exterminate bears from the Kenai Peninsula, and had many other supporters express that the only good bear was a dead one. One of their supporters bragged about shooting five brown bears on his property, believing that any bear he could see was a dangerous bear. The vitriol and hatred was palpable.

Nicole is a very tough woman. She was raised on a Colorado cattle ranch with 600 mother cows. She has worked on commercial fishing sites in Clam Gulch and run sled dogs with our friend who won the Iditarod. However, what she heard made her so sick she had to leave the meeting. She could not believe what people were saying about their desire to kill bears. The tension in the room was unbelievable to me. I honestly felt that I would be risking my life to speak against those in favor of killing all the bears. AWA’s John Toppenberg was among the first to challenge the state’s position. He spoke quite eloquently about the desire of most Alaskans to be able to view wildlife in a natural habitat. Most of us are thrilled to see bears and other wildlife. Indeed that is the main reason most of us choose to live here. After being so despondent about the beginning of the meeting, I rejoiced as others in the room stood in support of the Refuge managers’ decision. I think that by the end of the meeting we were even in the majority. I knew I had to do all I could to support a reasonable position toward Alaskan wildlife, and AWA. I am a retired general surgeon. I practiced in Colorado, where I also had one of the largest cattle ranches in the state. I am proud to say that I bought a summer pasture for 200 yearlings and through intensive management and rotational grazing, made it productive enough to keep 600 mother cows year-round. Despite living in an area with mountain lions, bears and coyotes, I never shot any predators. It was far more productive to focus on improving my habitat. Although there are times when it may be necessary to control predators, in almost all situations where that option is being considered there are often far more effective methods to increase the number of grazing animals. When we look closely at the situation in Alaska, over-hunting by humans and habitat loss are far more destructive than wolves or bears. All my life I have been an avid outdoorsman and have noticed a huge change in human behavior throughout that time. I have become far more focused on non-consumptive recreation than I am on consumptive uses of resources. The increase in the human population has driven this shift. If I were to hunt as much as I did when I was younger or keep nearly as many fish (I rarely keep any these days), there are just not enough fish or



NOAA GIVES PRELIMINARY OK TO STATE’S REQUEST TO DELIST HUMPBACK WHALES

NOAA Fisheries recently announced a positive 90-day finding on a petition to designate the Central North Pacific stock of the endangered humpback whale as a Distinct Population Segment and remove its Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection. The agency has determined that the petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that delisting may be warranted.

Scientists estimate there are a minimum of 5,833 whales in this distinct population stock, which migrates seasonally between Alaska and Hawaii.

In February the Alaska Department of Fish & Game petitioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries to remove ESA protection for the whales. The state claimed that they are no longer in danger of extinction, and that the ESA rules are “regulatory burdens” on the state’s lucrative fishing, and oil and gas production industries.

However, the recovering humpback population still faces critical threats, ranging from hazards such as entanglement in fishing gear and boat collisions, changing ocean chemistry resulting from climate change, and noise pollution.

Under the ESA, a positive 90-day finding requires the agency to conduct a status review for the species. NOAA Fisheries is already developing a status review of humpback whales globally, and is also reviewing a similar petition from Hawaii to delist the whales.

The Central North Pacific population of humpbacks is the largest of three breeding populations in the North Pacific. These whales spend the summer feeding in Southeast Alaska and Gulf of Alaska waters, then migrate to Hawaii in winter to breed and rear their calves. The species is considered a star entertainer for whale-watchers. It is known for frequently breaching, or slapping the water’s surface with their pectoral fins, tails or heads, and, in a few select areas, including Southeast Alaska, cooperative feeding. The humpback whale was initially listed as endangered in 1970. The population was decimated by commercial

Notes from the Director(continued from page 3)

whaling in the 1800s and 1900s before the International Whaling Commission halted the harvest in 1966, when only about 1,000 animals remained.

JOHN TOPPENBERG

State Kills Entire Pack(continued from page 5)

The state’s targeted killing of collared wolves has put the Park Service’s future research plans in limbo, Dudgeon said. It is unsure how or even if it should continue collaring more wolves for research – an expensive process – when they are very likely to fall victim to the state’s predator control effort.

Currently researchers have active tracking collars on only six wolves among six packs within the Preserve. Over the next few months, signals from at least half of those collars will be lost as the batteries die.

ADF&G is further stunting research by denying permits for NPS to collar wolves on state land in the vicinity of both Yukon-Charley and Denali National Park – permits that were granted in years past, Dungeon said, adding it is “one more constraint that has upped the cost of continuing wolf research in the Preserve.”

NPS did not collar any wolves during the winter of 2012-2013, and no captures were planned for this spring.

Doug Vincent-Lang, acting director for the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, said in a media interview that the Alaska Board of Game reviewed the wolf-control program for the Yukon-Charley area at its February meeting, and reauthorized it.

Ironically, in the long term the loss of the wolves could negatively impact the state’s predator control program, Dudgeon said. “As our ability to monitoring wolf population numbers declines, we and the state of Alaska are left without good quality data on wolf populations in this region. How will the state know if/when they have reached their population reduction target for wolves?”

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve covers more than 2.5 million acres in east-central Alaska, stretching westward from the Canadian border. It was created in 1980 by the Alaska Lands Act to maintain the environmental integrity of the Charley River basin in its undeveloped natural condition for public benefit and scientific study, and to protect populations of fish and wildlife, including wolves.


Editor’s Note: Many AWA members will remember Nick Jans’ 2010 article in Alaska Wildlife Echoes entitled “Romeo’s Story,” detailing the remarkable true story of a wild black wolf who befriended humans and dogs at Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier. Just published, Nick’s book, A Wolf Called Romeo, is his first-person account of the extraordinary tolerance – then friendship - that evolved between the wolf, and the people and pets lucky enough to know him.

Below is a press release from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, several very enthusiastic reviews, and an excerpt from the book.

From the publisher:

No stranger to wildlife, Nick Jans had lived in Alaska for nearly thirty years. But when one evening at twilight a lone black wolf ambled into view not far from his doorstep, Nick would finally come to know this mystical species—up close as never before.

A Wolf Called Romeo is the remarkable story of a wolf who returned again and again to interact with the people and dogs of Juneau, living on the edges of their community, engaging in an improbable, awe-inspiring interspecies dance and bringing the wild into sharp focus. At first the people of Juneau were guarded, torn between shoot first, ask questions later instincts and curiosity. But as Romeo began to tag along with cross-country skiers on their daily jaunts, play fetch with local dogs, or simply lie near Nick and nap under the sun, they came to accept Romeo, and he them. For Nick it was about trying to understand Romeo, then it was about winning his trust, and ultimately it was about watching over him, for as long as he or anyone could.

Written with a deft hand and a searching heart, A Wolf Called Romeo is an unforgettable tale of a creature who defied nature and thus gave humans a chance to understand it a little more.

Reviews:

“A compelling, grounded account of a black wolf that stepped forward in the half-light between wilderness and civilization and the people who met him there. From the

A Wolf Called Romeo Shares the Extraordinary Story of Juneau’s Friendly Wild Wolf


powerful first moments to a hard-won conclusion that becomes our journey, too, A Wolf Called Romeo is a book to keep a reader up nights, and a book that carries long after the last page is turned.” -- Susannah Charleson, author of Scent of the Missing and The Possibility Dogs.

“A Wolf Called Romeo is one of the best books I’ve read in a great many years. It gives heart-wrenching insight into an amazing animal, important insight into the shining side of our relationship with that animal, and important if bitter insight into the dark side. It’s told in a quiet, even-handed manner which makes it all the more compelling, and it’s riveting. In short, this is a real page turner-- one that years from now you will remember in all its detail. If you have only the time to read one book, read this one.” -- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Dogs and A Million Years With You.

Excerpt:

Prologue

“Are you sure about this?” my wife, Sherrie, breathed. She glanced over her shoulder toward the comforting glow of our house on the lakeshore, then gazed ahead

Photo by Nick Jans


By AWA Staff

Here’s a pop quiz. How do:

• Massive polar bears and whales benefit from tiny one-celled algae growing on sea ice?

• Sea otters help remove carbon dioxide from the air?

• Wolf populations support beavers, ungulates and nesting birds? The new book Natural Connections in Alaska gives the answers as it explores the interdependency of organisms, detailing the variety, complexity and the enormous scale of biological connections found in the state’s natural ecosystems.

Co-authored by AWA Advisory Board member Bob Armstrong and longtime AWA member Mary Willson, the book is lavishly illustrated with more than 150 of Bob’s breathtaking photographs. It is an excellent primer for understanding just a few of the fascinating connections among millions of flora and fauna in Alaska, from the minute to the mega.

Bob said the book’s premise came to him while he was doing simple research: observing a bird drilling holes in a tree.

“I love watching the behavior of creatures, learning about them, and then documenting it with photography. One year I sat and watched a willow being used by Red-breasted Sapsuckers. My goal was to watch about once a week for 2-4 hours and document the sapsuckers’ behavior and what other creatures came to feed on the sap oozing from the holes made by the woodpeckers.

“Of course there is a lot of “down” time in this sort of endeavor and one’s mind starts to wander. I was so impressed with all the connections between sapsuckers and other creatures such as hummingbirds, warblers, squirrels, butterflies, etc. that I thought a book about Natural Connections in Alaska would be a fun learning experience. So I contacted Mary Willson, one of Alaska’s

Natural Connections in Alaska Explores the Fascinating Links Among Flora and Fauna

best ecologists, about doing such a book. She said yes and two years later it emerged.”

Just a few of the examples of diverse “connections” detailed in the book:

Polar bears and whales. “From November to May, the oceans bordering Alaska’s north and northwest coasts are usually covered with sea ice,” the authors write. “A drifting, changing mass of frozen water, it ranges from about 6 to 30 feet thick. In the Bering Sea alone, it is home to about 1 million marine mammals, including seals, whales, and polar bears.”

In winter, shade-tolerant ice algae grow on the underside of this sea ice. It is the beginning of a food chain that extends to invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals. The algae feed amphipods and copepods, which in turn feed Arctic cod, which feed sea birds, ringed seals and beluga whales. Ringed seals are a primary food source for polar bears.

Sea otters. Sea urchins, if left unchecked by predators, can decimate kelp forests. Sea otters prey on sea urchins and can keep their numbers in balance. Healthy kelp forests provide food and shelter for a diverse collection of fishes and invertebrates, a resting place for sea otters, and occasionally gray whales hiding from orcas. Research has shown that healthy kelp forests – where

A black bear investigates a beaver dam on Steep Creek. Photo by Bob Armstrong



where a black wolf stood on the ice in the gathering twilight. Bundled against the Southeast Alaska cold, we’d taken along just one of our three dogs — our female yellow Lab, Dakotah, who’d always been perfectly mannered and under voice control around wildlife, from bears to porcupines.

Despite some understandable jitters, Sherrie was so thrilled she was about to jump out of her skin. After all these years of trying and not seeing, there it was: her first wolf. Perfect, I thought, and easier than it ever should be. But as we walked farther out on the ice, things changed. The wolf, instead of watching from the tree line as he had several times with me, angled toward us at a trot. Then he broke into a bounding lope, snow flying beneath his paws, jaws agape. I drew Sherrie toward me and reached for Dakotah’s collar. My vision sharpened, and synapses crackled. I’d seen my share of wolves over the years, some point-blank close, and hadn’t quite shifted into panic mode. But anyone who claims he wouldn’t get an adrenaline jolt from a running wolf coming straight in, with no weapon and no place to run, and loved ones to defend, is either brain-dead or lying.

In a few heartbeats, the wolf had closed the distance to forty yards. He stood stiff-legged, tail raised above his back, his unblinking stare fixed on us — a dominant posture, less than reassuring. Then, with a moaning whimper, Dakotah suddenly wrenched free of the two fingers I’d hooked through her collar and bounded straight at the wolf. A tone of desperation sharpening her voice, Sherrie called again and again, but there was no stopping that dog. The Lab skidded to a stop several body lengths short of contact and stood tall, her own tail straight out, and as we watched, mouths open, the wolf lowered his to match. With the two so close, I had my first clear idea of just how large the wolf really was. Dakotah, a stocky, traditional-style female Lab, weighed in at a muscular fifty-six pounds. The black wolf towered over her, more than double her weight. Just his head and neck matched the size of her torso. A hundred twenty pounds, I figured. Maybe more.

A Wolf Called Romeo(continued from page 8)

The wolf stepped stiff-legged toward Dakotah, and she answered. If she heard our calls, she gave no sign. She was locked on and intent, but utterly silent — not at all her normal happy-Lab self. She seemed half-hypnotized. She and the wolf regarded each other, as if each were glimpsing an almost-forgotten face and trying to remember. This was one of those moments when time seems to hold its breath. I lifted my camera and snapped off a single frame.

As if that tiny click had been a finger snap, the world began to move again. The wolf ’s stance altered. Ears perked high and held narrow, he bounced forward a body length, bowed on his forelegs, then leaned back and lifted a paw. Dakotah sidled closer and circled, her tail still straight out. The eyes of each were locked on the other. With their noses a foot apart, I pressed the shutter once more. Again, the sound seemed to break a spell. Dakotah heard Sherrie’s voice at last and bounded back toward us, turning her back, at least for now, on whatever call of the wild she’d just heard. We watched for long minutes with Dakotah softly whining at our sides, staring toward the dark, handsome stranger who stood staring our way and whining back, a high-pitched keening that filled the silence. Half-stunned, Sherrie and I murmured back and forth, wondering at what we’d seen and what it meant.

But it was getting dark — time to go. The wolf stood watching our retreat, his tail flagging, then raised his muzzle to the sky in a drawn-out howl, as if crushed.

Romeo mingles with his “friends” at Mendenhall Glacier. Photo by Nick Jans


To some of our special donors: • Alaskan Park Properties • Ferguson Foundation• Suzan Mackler Fund• SEEtheWILD / Brad Nahill• WestWind Foundation• Cheryl Forrester Babcock• Ed Bailey • Nancy Ferguson• Nick Jans• David McCargo• Lowell Thomas, Jr.• Marybeth Holleman

For their invaluable in-kind donations:• Bob Armstrong• Richard Hoskins• John Hyde• Johnny Johnson• Josh Klauder• Tom Meacham• Kathy Sarns • Richard Steiner• Nancy J. Wagner

The Alaska Wildlife Alliance would like to offer a heartfelt thank you on behalf of Alaska’s wildlife to Nancy Ferguson and the Ferguson Foundation. Without their generous support much of the action we are able to take in support of wildlife in the Last Frontier would not be possible.

And a most sincere thank you to all of AWA’s loyal and generous members who help us give Alaska’s wildlife a voice.

We deeply appreciate everything you do for Alaska’s wildlife!

Newsletter design and layout by Cut to the Chase Marketing (www.cuttothechasemarketing.com)

Thank You!Summer 2014 ALASKA WILDLIFE ECHOES 11

Spring Count Reveals Another Dramatic Decline in Denali Wolves

A New Buffer Plan Remains in LimboBy AWA Staff

The estimated number of wolves in Denali National Park dropped by one-third since last fall according to the Spring 2014 population survey conducted by the National Park Service.

The semi-annual population survey, conducted in March and April, found just 50 wolves living inside the Park, down from an estimated 75 wolves in the Park last fall. Among the “missing” wolves are at least five wolves from the Nenana River pack, killed by a hunter last fall just outside of the eastern Park boundary. Although the survey shows nine or 10 wolves in that pack this Spring, indicating the remaining wolves probably raised a large litter of pups last year, because they frequent the area just outside of the Park they will continue to be systematically targeted by trappers.

The Spring survey revealed that the number of wolf packs had increased from 12 to 13, but the average pack size declined, from an average of 5.6 to 3.9 wolves per pack.

The dramatic population decline will mean visitors – who name wildlife viewing, especially wolves, at the top of their wish list while at Denali – will be more likely to go home disappointed. In 2013, a mere 4 percent of visitors on bus tours inside the Park were able to see wolves. Wolf sightings by visitors have been declining precipitously: 44 percent in 2010, 21 percent in 2011 and 12 percent in 2012. (These numbers were reported in the Winter 2013 edition of Alaska Wildlife Echoes.)

AWA is continuing to vigorously pursue re-establishment of a buffer zone to shield the Park’s wolves from hunting and trapping when they cross onto state land in winter in pursuit of prey. A no hunting and trapping buffer zone was in place adjacent to the north and east Park boundaries from 2000 until 2010, when it was eliminated by the Alaska Board of Game. Frequent exposure to people and vehicles inside the Park can erase some of wolves’ natural wariness, making them easier to trap when they venture outside of its protected lands.

Such targeted hunting is what decimated the Granite Creek pack in 2012, and it is sure to diminish or eliminate the Nenana River pack. Despite the obvious value of viewable wolves to the


wildlife to support such practices. Instead of killing wild animals, I enjoy seeing them and knowing I am working to increase their numbers. I have switched to catch and release fishing rather than filling a freezer. I take only what I can use, and then only if I am certain the population can support it. These are my goals for AWA. I want to support non-consumptive use of wildlife in areas where the most people benefit from seeing wildlife and knowing that the animals are being preserved. I want to support scientific game management. I oppose indiscriminate and wasteful predator slaughter, especially when there are more effective ways to help moose and caribou populations. I am not against hunting for food when the animal population can support it. I want to be in the room to support John Toppenberg when nobody else seems to be. I would like to be in meetings where everyone in the room stands to support wildlife conservation. Thank you for your continued support of AWA. It is needed now more than ever.

Meet AWA’s New Co-Director(continued from page 6)



Alaska’s Rare Alexander Archipelago Wolves

protection for the wolves was eventually denied in a 1997 decision which cited new protective standards set out in the Forest Service’s 1997 Tongass Forest Plan. Unfortunately, as outlined in the 2011 petition, the Forest Service has not adequately implemented those regulations for habitat protection.

“This gray wolf subspecies exists only in southeast Alaska, and its principle population has declined sharply in the last few years,” Edwards said. “Endangered Species Act protection is necessary to protect the wolves, not least because of the Forest Service’s own admission that its so-called transition out of old-growth logging in the Tongass will take decades. The negative impacts on these wolves are very long-term and have accumulated over the past 60 years of industrial logging.”

The contribution of logging to the population decline is two-fold: clearcutting destroys habitat, and bulldozing

new logging roads through the remaining habitat creates new and efficient access for hunters and trappers targeting the wolves.

The state is allowing hunting and trapping to continue occur at unsustainable levels in many areas, with the Board of Game authorizing increased bag limits and longer seasons. In addition, as many as half the wolves killed on the Tongass are killed illegally.

In 2013, hunters protested to the BOG that they were not finding enough Sitka black-tailed deer to hunt, and the wolves were singled out as the main culprit. Ignoring the pending ESA petition, as well as other factors affecting the deer, such as habitat destruction, bear predation on fawns and climate change, the BOG approved a “management experiment” - i.e. predator control - for the wolves.

The “experiment” authorized killing 80 percent to 100 percent of the wolves in two areas of the Tongass where the deer population declined below the level desired by hunters. AWA helped publicize this plan and rally public comment against it, pointing out that even the Alaska Department of Fish & Game itself did not have an accurate estimate of the deer population. Fortunately, what would have been the virtual elimination of wolves in those areas was ultimately put on hold for a year while the ADF&G conducts surveys of the wolf and deer populations, and of bear predation on deer.

The position of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation is that the Alexander Archipelago wolf is not at risk for extinction now or in the foreseeable future. As it did with the ESA listing of the polar bear as “threatened,” the state will likely vehemently fight any protection for these wolves.

The petition is sure to draw intense opposition from the logging industry as well, which will certainly marshal considerable political pressure to defeat it. Any ESA listing for the wolves and accompanying designation of protected habitat would affect future logging sales.

In a prepared statement, Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was disappointed by the agency’s decision, adding “(t)his decision will further lock up southeast Alaska and restrict economic development.”

AWA will continue to monitor and provide updates on this very important issue.


By AWA Staff

When the dust settled after adjournment in April, it was clear that wildlife did not fare well in the most recent session of the Alaska Legislature. Given that the vast majority of legislators and Gov. Sean Parnell strongly support – or at least don’t stand up and oppose – trophyhunting and trapping, and they ignore any suggestion of scientific management, the outcome was not surprising.

Sea otters were the only species to score a “win” when the Senate once again put Senate Bill 60 on hold. The bill proposed a $100 bounty on southeast sea otters in order to increase the number killed by hunters. The persistent and well-funded commercial fishing industry claims sea otters deplete the shellfish stocks they depend upon, while ignoring sea otters’ vital role in ocean health. The bounty idea likely will surface again in the legislature next year.

Two bills passed by the legislature (currently awaiting the governor’s signature) are the epitome of un-scientific wildlife management:

House Bill 161 will increase the number of special hunting permits available to certain pro-hunting non-profit groups for fundraising auctions, and decrease the amount of the proceeds returned to the state. Currently about 20 “Governor’s Permits” for musk ox, caribou, brown bear, wolves and other species are given annually to groups established to promote hunting and fishing and related activities for auction. Ninety percent of the net proceeds are returned to the state for wildlife management.

Under the new rules, more than 40 such permits will be available, and between 25 and 100 percent of the proceeds could be kept by the organization. As a result the state will be subsidizing already very-well-funded pro-hunting groups. The bill would also add permits for two additional species – black bears and mountain goats. For an example of the money involved, a Dall sheep permit has brought as much as $200,000 at auction and a brown bear permit as much as $35,000.

House Bill 268 will create “Big Bull Moose Derbies” thereby giving hunters still more incentive to kill the biggest and the best of the breeding stock instead

Recapping the 2014 Legislative Session: One Win, More Losses for Alaska’s Wildlife

of allowing those animals’ genes to strengthen the population through continued breeding.

The derby, regulated with the state’s other games of chance, would award prizes in several categories based on the size and spread of the bulls’ antlers. All derby tickets would be entered in a raffle of smaller prizes, designed to boost the number of hunters participating. The Tanana Valley Sportsmen’s Association and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Rifle Team would oversee the derby and split the net proceeds.

Adding monetary incentive will surely lead to more bull moose being killed. Gambling on dead animals is apparently acceptable as sportsman-like behavior in Alaska. Unfortunately, three bills sponsored by AWA Advisory Board member Rep. Andy Josephson did not gain support for a vote and died at the end of the session. (These bills were summarized in the Winter 2013 edition of Alaska Wildlife Echoes.) HB 170 would have created a Denali Wolf Special Management Area, a no-trapping zone on state land adjoining the eastern edge of Denali National Park frequented by Park wolves. HB 171 would have curtailed the state’s use of Intensive Management (predator control) programs, which are decimating wolf and bear populations, to very limited circumstances. HB 172 would have required the governor to appoint at least one non-consumptive user of wildlife to the Alaska Board of Game.

Andy also introduced House Concurrent Resolution 17, which encouraged Gov. Parnell to negotiate an exchange of assets with the U.S. Department of the Interior to


Photo by Johnny Johnson

sea otters are controlling the sea urchin population - can absorb 12 times more carbon dioxide.

Wolves. In areas where moose and caribou populations are high, without significant predation by wolves, heavy browsing by the ungulates can suppress the density and growth of shrubs and some groundcover herbs. This in turn can reduce beaver populations, limit the diversity of nesting bird species, and eliminate nesting habitat for certain birds. Ultimately it can reduce hiding cover for ungulate calves, leaving them more susceptible to predation. In a classic symbiotic relationship, wolves indirectly improve the habitat for the beaver and ungulates they prey upon.

The book also explores “connection examples” featuring such diverse organisms as red squirrels, aquatic insects, blueberries, lemmings, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Written in succinct and easy to understand style, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Alaska’s interconnected ecosystem. Unless we have a full understanding of our “natural connections” today, how can humans make the informed decisions that will determine the quality of our environment in the future?

Bob has written about and photographed nature in Alaska since 1960. A Juneau resident, he has worked as a fishery biologist and research supervisor for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and as an Associate Professor for the University of Alaska where he taught courses in fisheries and ornithology. His books include Guide to the Birds of Alaska (the standard reference for



A rufous hummingbird feeds at a well drilled by a sapsucker. Photo by Bob Armstrong

Natural Connections in Alaska Explores Flora and Fauna

all 480 species), and Photographing Nature in Alaska. He has also authored and coauthored numerous scientific and popular articles on fish, birds, mammals, plants and insects in Alaska.

Mary came to Juneau in 1989 after retiring from 25 years of teaching ecology at the University of Illinois. She worked as a researcher for the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years, and loves to camp, hike and kayak. She has co-authored other books about Southeast Alaska, including American Dippers: Singers in the Mountain Stream and Beavers by the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

“Ecologists are often interested in relationships,” she said in a recent Juneau Empire interview. “But you can also focus on a single thing... as I did for 10 years with American Dippers.... Sometimes one thread connects to a previous thread, but mostly it’s curiosity-driven.”

The book concludes with an extensive list of references for further reading, and a list of nearly 100 organizations (including website addresses) that teach about or advocate for Alaska’s environment. Currently the book is for sale at Juneau bookstores and online at www.akwildlife.org. Bob will provide free copies to any conservation or educational group that wants to distribute them.

create a Denali wolf buffer zone. In such a trade the state would give land adjoining the eastern edge of the Park to the feds as a permanent conservation easement, and the state would receive equal-valued land or other assets. (Please see Spring Count Reveals Another Dramatic Decline in Denali Wolves on page 11).

The resolution did gain a co-sponsor, Rep. Sam Kito III (D-Juneau) and was referred to the House Resources Committee, but it did not gather enough support for a hearing. It can be re-introduced in the 2015 legislative session.

Recapping the 2014 Legislative Session: A Win & More Losses(continued from page 13)


At last he trotted west and faded into the trees. As we walked toward home in the deepening winter evening, the first stars flickered against the curve of space. Behind us, the wolf ’s deep cries echoed off the glacier.

With that first close meeting one evening in December 2003, a wild black wolf became part of our lives — not just as a fleeting shape in the dusk, but as a creature we and others would come to know over a span of years, just as he came to know us. We were neighbors, that much is certain; and though some will scoff, I say friends as well. This is a tale woven of light and darkness, hope and sorrow, fear and love, and perhaps, a little magic. It’s a story of our time on this shrinking world, one I need to tell — most of all, to myself. Late at night, it fills the spaces between heartbeats, nudges me awake. By speaking, I hope not to be rid of it, nor even to understand, but just to set down all the facts, the musings, and unanswered questions as best I can. Years from now, at least I’ll know that I did more than dream, and that once upon a time, there was a wolf we called Romeo. This is his story.

Nick Jans is a member of the AWA Advisory Board. Now living in Haines, he is an award-winning writer, photographer, and author of numerous books, including The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell’s Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears (2006), and The Glacier Wolf – True Stories of Life in Southeast Alaska (2009).

He is a contributing editor to Alaska Magazine and has written for Rolling Stone, Backpacker, and The Christian Science Monitor.

Dramatic Denali Wolf Decline(continued from page 11)

A Wolf Called Romeo(continued from page 10)

Photo by Nick Jans

state’s tourism industry, proposed legislation for a buffer has been ignored by the Legislature and stonewalled numerous times by the Board of Game.

Last November Anchorage conservation biologist Richard Steiner suggested a new tack to try to solve the problem. He drafted a proposal – supported by AWA - suggesting a land swap between the federal and state governments. In summary, state land adjacent to the northeast boundary of the Park (where wolves are systematically trapped in winter) would be traded to the feds in exchange for other federal land or assets of like value transferred to the state.

A summary of the proposal, from Steiner’s letter: “The easement exchange we propose is for the State of Alaska to transfer a wildlife conservation easement east of the park to the federal government – a no-take buffer – in exchange for the federal government transferring an equal-valued federal property easement, or purchase value, to the state. This will clearly help to reverse the decline in wildlife viewing success, and will help to sustain and grow the tourism economy of Denali National Park, and Alaska.

“The unique aspect of our proposal is that we are not simply asking the state to grant a Denali wildlife buffer easement that, although certainly in the state’s economic interest, the state has recently been unwilling to grant. Instead, we are proposing that the state grant the permanent conservation easement, and receive an equal-valued federal asset, or purchase value, in exchange – thus a “win-win” deal, in the interest of both parties.” To date there has been no response to the proposal from either the U.S. Department of the Interior or the state of Alaska.

Editor’s Note: In early August, AWA Co-Director John Toppenberg will be a panelist at a forum at Denali National Park organized by the Denali Citizens Council. The forum will explore the issue of declining wolf populations and viewing opportunities, and look at wolf management options in the Park and on adjacent state lands. Joining him on the panel will be Denali National Park Superintendent Don Striker and Alaska Board of Game member Nate Turner. Look for a report in the next edition of Alaska Wildlife Echoes.

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Great Reading from Our Bear’s Den Shop!The books highlighted in this issue are available for order online at AWA’s website: www.akwildlife.org/support our wild-life. A portion of the proceeds from each sale will benefit AWA. Prices include USPS Priority Mail shipping to U.S. ad-dresses. (Please inquire for shipping to foreign addresses). We accept telephone and mail orders, and payment via check or credit card. Books will be shipped after September 17. Thank you for supporting AWA and these fine writers!

A Wolf Called RomeoBy Nick Jans• $23.00 (cover price: $26.00) • Hardcover, 288 pages• 32 b&w photos• All copies personally signed by Nick!• For more information, visit www.nickjans.com

Natural Connections in AlaskaBy Robert Armstrong and Mary Willson• $15.00 (cover price: $20.00)• Softcover, 80 pages• 150+ color photos• All copies personally signed by Bob!• For more information, visit www.naturebob.com

Nick Jans will be doing book signings, chats and presentations for A Wolf Called Romeo in Alaska later this summer. AWA will send email Alerts announcing the locations, dates and times as they are finalized. We hope to see you there!

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