Misc. Pub. 92-1

I submit herewith the annual report of the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management, University of Alaska Fairbanks, for the period ending December 31, 1991. This is done in accordance with an act of the Congress, approved M arch 2, 1887, entitled "An act to establish Agricultural Experiment Stations, in connection with the Agricultural Colleges established in the several states under the provisions of an act approved July 2,1862, and under the acts supplementary thereto," and also of the act of the Alaska Territorial Legislature, approved March 12,1935, accepting the provisions of the act of Congress. James V. Drew, DirectorStatement of Purpose -- Drastic Retreat of Columbia Glacier Shows Natural Reforestation at Work -- Reindeer Range and Productivity Studied in Beringia Heritage International Park -- Radio Collars Aid Research into Reindeer Calf Mortality -- Moose Browse on Site of Mining Reclamation Study -- Developing Marketing Strategies for Alaska's Agricultural Entrepreneurs -- R.S. 2477— The Key to Access Across Federal Lands -- Plant, Animal and Soil Sciences -- Forest Sciences -- Resources Management -- Grants and Funds -- Financial Statement -- Publications -- Staf

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Volume 8-1, Summer 2001

Raptor Carcasses Needed for Assessment of Lead Exposure: CWS and CCWHC cooperative project Radio-telemetry for Detecting and Understanding Disease Update on West Nile Virus in North AmericaFrench heartworm in red fox and domestic dogs in Newfoundland Raccoon Rabies Reaches New Brunswick Neurological Disease in Moose in Nova Scotia Brain Abscesses in White-tailed Deer Suspected predation by ravens on nesting painted turtles Marine Mammals in British Columbia Chronic Wasting Disease in free-ranging mule-deer in Saskatchewa

Seasons Out Of Balance: Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability, And Sustainable Adaptation In Interior Alaska

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2009Koyukon Elders of Alaska's Interior observe that "cold weather is growing old" and recent warming is contributing to a world out of balance. Alaska is among the most rapidly warming places globally, with the Interior experiencing the most pronounced warming statewide, and with significant regional-scale ecosystem services disruptions affecting subsistence hunting and harvest success. Vulnerability of individuals, households, and communities to climate change is exacerbated by rising energy costs and a regulatory system that constrains the adaptive flexibility needed to cope with impacts on livelihoods. Socioeconomic and cultural change notwithstanding, the well-being of rural native communities is still dependant on access and ability to harvest wild foods, with moose the example explored in this study. Over the last decade communities in the Koyukuk-Middle Yukon (KMY) region report an inability to satisfy their needs for harvesting moose before the hunting season closes, citing warmer falls, changing water levels, and the regulatory framework as primary causes. A combination of factors, including the complicated dual state/federal management system for wildlife and subsistence, creates uncertainties about the sustainability of moose populations and subsistence livelihoods in the region. By combining indigenous observations and understanding of climate and western social-natural sciences, this study examines the complex, multi-scaled interaction of climate change and subsistence livelihoods, with the goal of understanding vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the KMY region. This research demonstrates that a recent trend during early fall results in seasonality shifts, where September is getting warmer and wetter and, most recently, temperatures during 2005-2007 were outside the normal, expected range of variability. The regulatory system lacks the flexibility needed to provide local hunters with sufficient opportunity to harvest moose. This complex interplay of climate, agency intervention, and rural community needs, increases vulnerability because of a "closing window" during the critical fall harvest. Sustainable adaptation requires collective, strategic action such as "in-season" management. It is argued that this approach will more effectively respond to climate variability, and provide the necessary venue wherein wildlife management includes climate science with the human dimensions of subsistence. It is further argued that new research initiatives will build social and institutional capital between the local hunters and agency managers

Alaska's First Wolf Controversy: Predator And Prey In Mount McKinley National Park, 1930-1953.

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1994The decision in the 1930s by the National Park Service to quit eliminating predatory animals in parks arose from evolving attitudes among scientists toward predation, but had little public support. Of the various parks, only Mount McKinley National Park still held wolves, and the National Park Service received considerable opposition to wolf protection from the eastern Camp Fire Club of America and from Alaskans. The former desired permanent protection from wolves for the park's Dall sheep, while the latter could not understand protecting wolves when, throughout Alaska, efforts were made to minimize wolves. Using material from the National Archives and Alaskan sources, this historical study examines the role of public opinion as the Park Service attempted to respond to its critics and still adhere to its protective faunal management philosophy, in what was the nation's first argument over offering sanctuary to our most charismatic predator. <p