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Patterns of Use of the Plelchina Caribou Herd
Lee Stratton
Res.ource Specialist
Glennallen/Anchorage
. . I’.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Division of Subsistence
March 1982
3
ABSTRACT
This report describes and analzyes characteristics of uses and users of the
Nelchina caribou herd currently and during the recent past. Data derive
from a random sample of 650 permit holders surveyed by mailed questionnaire,
and from a nonrandom selection of 53 persons who used to hunt Nelchina
caribou, but who were currently outside the permit system. The study found
that during the past three years, most hunters of the Nelchina herd were
residents of the urban areas of Anchorage, lFairbanks, and their vicinities.
Because of the large population of these areas, a randomized draw permit
system results in a larger proportion of urban resident hunters in compari-
son with rural resident hunters. When compared by community of residence,
there were few discernable differences between permitted hunters in
terms of mean age, household size, years hunting, seasons hunted, or
methods of procurement and use. Hunting techniques of permitted users
were highly influenced by the road system which afforded access to the
Nelchina herd.
Case studies of the 53 interviewed sample revealed that there exist
persons whose historical uses of the Nelchina herd have been halted or
disrupted because of the random draw permit system, shortened seasons,
and caribou population declines. These former hunters would resume
caribou use given a different regulatory structure.
P
Case studies of interviewed rural residents who were former'users revealed
characteristics that differed from those d'erived from the mailed question-
naire. Interviewed users showed a past history of use frequently greater
than thirty years. In contrast, 42 percent of permitted users have hunted
Nelchina caribou for five years or less. Interviewed rural hunters har-
vested caribou closer to their residencies; permitted users from Anchorage
and Fairbanks generally traveled a minimum of 125 miles to hunt. Winter
was a preferred hunting season by certain rural residents--a season when
caribou migrated closer to customary hunting areas near their communi-
ties, when snowmachines could be used in the hunt, and when meat preserves
easily. Although precise information could not be generated by the study's
methodology on other resource uses, data suggested that many rural users
were dependent upon local fish and game resources in addition to caribou
for a significant portion of their household's food supply.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables and Figures ............. , . iv
Introduction ...................... 1
Purpose and Objectives ................. 2
Assumptions. ...................... 2
Methodology ...................... 3
Research Design ................... 3
Sample ........................ 4
Instrumentation ................... 6
Findings ........................ 7
The Region. ..................... 7
Caribou Range .................. 7
User Residency ................. 7
Historical Overview ............... 13
Population. ................... 15
Characteristics of Users. .............. 15
Household Composition .............. 15
Residency .................... 18
Birthplaces ................... 21
Employment. ................... 23
Use Patterns. .................... 24
Areas Hunted. .................. 24
History of Use. ................. 26
Seasonal Use Periods. .............. 29
Modes of Transportation ............. 32
Other Hunting Technologies. ........... 35
Hunting Partners. ................ 38
Transmission of Hunting Skills. ......... 38
Distribution and Exchange Networks. ....... 41
Utilization of Caribou. .............. 44
Processing and Preservation ......... 44
Other Caribou Products. ........... 45
Use of Other Resources. ............. 48
Importance of Selected Resources ........ 48
ii
Alternative Resources. ........... 50
Case Examples. ... ; ............. 52
Discussion. ...................... 57
Conclusion. ...................... 64
Bibliography. ..................... 65
Appendices. ...................... 66
Schedule of Project Components ........... 66
Nelchina Caribou User Questionnaire, ........ 67
Interview Schedule ................. 71
Letter from Jerry Isaac. .............. 72
Estimated Mileages to Hunting Sites. ........ 73
Harvest Chronology ................. 74
iii
Table
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Figure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Questionnaire Sample
Interview Sample
Population Characteristics of Selected
Communities
page..
9
12
16
Population - Ahtna Region 16
Household Size of Permitted Users 17
Household Composition By Age and Sex 19
Years of Residency of Permitted Users 20
First Year of Residency of Interviewed Sample 21
Birthplaces of Permitted Caribou Users 22
First Use of Nelchina Caribcu Herd 28
Permitted Users' Transportation 33
Modes of Transportation Utilized 36
Range of the Nelchina Caribou Herd
Communities Utilizing the Nelchina Caribou
Reasons for Hunting in an Area
Months Hunted
Reasons for Hunting Seasons
Hunting Equipment
Composition of Hunting Parties
Transmission of Knowledge
Recipients of Caribou Meat
Caribou Products Utilized
Importance of Selected Resources
Other Resources Utilized
Page
8
11
27
30
31
37
39 a
40
42
47
49
51
iv
INTRODUCTION
The Nelchina caribou herd has recently been the focus of much attention
from both the Board of Game and the public because of use patterns relating
to the herd's proximity to major population centers and recent litigation.'
Stanek (1981) and Tobey (1981) have summarized the biological and regula-
tory history of the Nelchina caribou herd in reports to the Board of Game.
In Varch 1981 the Board of Game responded to the need to provide for sub-
sistence use of the Nelchina caribou herd by allocating 150 permits to
subsistence users and by allowing an additional winter season from
January 1 to February 28, 1982. Four criteria were utilized to determine
eligibility for the subsistence permit: 1) a minimum age for permit
applicants of 12 years; 2) local residency; 3) reliance on natural
resources; and 4) a household income below $12,000 per year.
However, at that time there was little existing information available to
the Board of Game identifying use patterns and describing salient char-
acteristics of Nelchina caribou users. To provide information on use
patterns and users of the Nelchina caribou herd, the Division of Sub-
sistence conducted a study from September 1981 through February 1982, the
results of which appear in this report. The project was designed and ini-
tiated prior to the Joint Boards' passinig of Resulution 81-l-JB, "Policy
on Subsistence" in December. Consequently, the study's predominant
intent was a broad examination of the characteristics ti use and users
1 State of Alaska versus Danny 0. Ewan, 3 GL 80-21,22,23,33 (Alaska
District Court, September 30, 1980).
1
without consideration of the eight criteria the Boards identified as
characteristics of subsistence uses in Policy 81-l-JB.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the study was to describe and analyze the range of uses
and characteristics of users of the Nelchina caribou herd currently and
during the recent historical past.
To do this, a number of variables were to be examined, including:
1. general geographic ranges of caribou hunting;
2. place of residency, length of residency, househol'd size,
place of birth of caribou users;
3. seasons caribou have been taken by hunters;
4. years hunted by users;
5. methods used by hunters in procurement, processing and storage
of caribou, especially equipment and modes of transportion;
6. the manner by which caribou hunting practices are acquired
across generations by individuals;
7. distribution and exchange of meat and skins by users;
8. caribou products utilized; and
9. the relationship of caribou hunting with other subsistence
activities, such as moose huntting.
ASSUMPTIDNS
For the purposes of the study, it was assumed that the registers of
Nelchina permit winners for the last three years constituted a random
2
sample of permit applicants. It was further assumed that permit winners
are one primary and legitimate source of information on the utilization of
caribou. Another underlying assumption was that all interested users of
the herd are not represented by permit applicants. In the light of a
decade of natural and regulatory impediments which may have created a set
of former users, it was hypothesized that there may be another group of
users outside of the current permit system,
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The research design was descriptive , utilizing mailed questionnaires,
personal interviews, and harvest ticket in;formation. It was hypothesized
that at least two user groups of the Nelchina caribou herd existed.
The first included persons utilizing caribou under the current permit system.
The second was composed of persons who formerly utilized caribou prior to
the current permit system, and who might.utilize the herd again under
different circumstances, such as a return to registration or harvest
tickets, different seasons, higher bag limits, or a larger herd. The
questionnaire method was designed to obtain information from the first
group, those persons currently hunting under the permit system. The
personal interview method was designed to gather data on the second group,
former users not currently hunting under the permit system. Each group
and data gathering technique is described, below.
Sample
Permitted Caribou Users
A composite list of permit winners for the past three years was used to
select a sample of persons currently utilizing caribou from the Nelchina
herd. After deleting duplicate entries, names were sorted according to
zip code and sampled by selecting every other name on the list. This
method was meant to provide a randomized sample from every geographic
area where users resided. By following this method, a composite permit
winner list of 3,582 names was generated, from which 1,791 (50 percent)
were selected.
Questionnaires were mailed to this sample in late October. By the end of
February, 678 questionnaires (37.9 percent) had been returned. Of the
returned questionnaires, 650 (36.3 percent) were usable for compilation
and tabulation. Unusable returned questioinnaires included those marked
"Do not wish to participate" or questionnaires from the same household.
Where there was duplication of households, the information was combined
and tabulated as one response. The rate of return was affected by several
factors: the short study period dictated by a need to respond to the
Board of Game in March; permit holder addresses which were no longer
current; bulk rate mailing which prevented the forwarding of question-
naires; the use of numbetimarking the questionnaire necessary for mailing
reminder letters which may have appeared as a violation of respondent
anonymity; possible perceptions that the questionnaire's materials were
biased in some manner: and in a few cases, the mailing of multiple question-
naires to households with multiple hunters. Reminder letters were not
4
mailed out because of the time constraints and feedback concerned about the
confidentiality of the questionnaire. Generalizations from the survey
data should be interpreted in light of the 36.3 percent return rate. It
is possible that the answers of non-respondents may be different in some
systematic way from respondents, resulting in biased results. The schedule
of the questionnaire procedure is depicted in Appendix 1.
Interviewed Sample
A second sample of 86 persons was selected for personal interviews. Of
this sample, 33 represented persons who were participants in the current
permitted caribou system, the group to which questionnaires were mailed.
Interviews with this group were intended to give an indication of the
validity and reliability of the mailed surveys , and to provide more informa-
tion concerning use patterns than could be derived solely from questionnaire
responses. The remainder of the sample (53 persons) represented former
users of the Nelchina caribou herd who had not participated in the per-
mitted hunt for at least the past three years. Interviews with these
individuals were intended to provide information on use patterns which
occurned in the recent past when caribou populations were higher and
regulations structured differently. As previously mentioned, these uses
of the Nelchina herd may have continued given another set of environmental
or regulatory conditions.
The sample of former users interviewed was selected by the following
procedure. Letters were sent to the chairpersons of local fish and game
advisory committees in and near the range of the Nelchina caribou herd,
requesting the names of persons with an interest or history of involvement
5
with caribou hunting. Letters were followed by phone calls. Other local
organizations solicited for names included the Copper River Native Associ-
?tion, the Copper Basin $p&fSmen's Association, local Alaska Department
of Fish and Game offices, select village councils, and the Alaska Bow-
hunters Association. Inquiries also were made at service centers such as
lodges and restaurants in small communities. Consequently, persons con-
tacted for interviews were selected on a relatively unsystematic referral
basis from a variety of sources. Because of the unsystematic manner
through which the interviewed sample was selected, it cannot be taken to
represent any single population of caribou users, The selection technique
was not meant to provide a sample from which finding could be generalized,
but was meant to identify a range of different caribou uses from which a
set of exploratory data might be generated for comparison with the
questionniare data.
Letters were also sent to village councils and organizations in the villages
of Dot Lake, Tanacross, Tetlin and Northway to inform them of the study
and ascertain if there had been any past use by local people of the Nelchina
caribou herd.
Instrumentiation
The questionnaire mailed to permitted users is appended to the report '
(Appendix 2). As can be seen, the questionnaire contained twenty-six
closed and open-ended questions concerning characteristics of caribou
users, methods of hunting caribou, timing and geographic locations of
hunts, characteristics of patterns of sharing caribou products. and other
aspects of caribou use. The questionnaire followed a cover letter explaining
6
the purpose of the survey and assuring the anonymity of respondents. The
interview sessions covered the same topical areas as the mailed survey,
but were conducted following a flexible schedule of topics outlined in
Appendix 3. Interviews were conducted in the homes of respondents or their
places of business and generally lasted from 20 to 60 minutes. The
schedule of research components is depicted in Appendix 1.
FINDINGS
The Region
The Caribou Range
The geographic range of the Nelchina caribou herd circa 1950-1980 is
depicted in Figure 1. Four mountain ranges comprise the boundaries of
the primary Nelchina range--the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains,
the Chugach Mountains, and the Talkeetna Mountains. They outline the
northern, eastern, southern, and western parameters of the caribou range,
respectively.
User Residency
Permitted Caribou Users
The users of the Nelchina caribou herd derive from a much broader geo-
graphic area than the caribou themselves, Within the state, residents of
fifty-four cities and villages were successful in their applications for a
permit during the last three years (Table 1). Permit winners resided as
far north as Barrow, as far southwest as Kodiak and as far southeast as
Ketchikan. The vast majority of the mail-out sample, however, resided in
7
8
Table 1
QUESTICN?lAIRE SAMPLE
BY COMHUMITY
MA1 LED RETURNED
CONMUNITY NUMER PER- NlMBER PER-
CENT CENT
lnchorage 787 43.9% 297 45.7%
\nchor Point 2 0.1 1 0.1
lnderson 1 0.1 -- --
larrow 1 0.1 -- --
lig Lake 4 0.2 5 0.7
lird Creek/Indian 2 0.1 1 0.1
Zantwell 23 I.3 9 1.4
:hitina 1 0.1 1 0.1
:hugiak 47 2.6 18 2.8
:lam Gulch 1 0.1 -- --
Year 7 0.4 1 0.1
allege 7 0.4 -- --
:opper Center 14 0.8 4 0.6
Zordova 1 0.1 -- --
lelta Junction 16 1.0 2 0.3
Eagle River 154 8.6 58 a.9
Eielson AFD 40 2.2 10 1.5
Elmendorf AFB 32 1.8 9 1.4
Ester11 2 0.1 3 0.5
Fairbanks 180 10.1 49 7.5
Fort Greely 4 0.2 1 0.1
Fort Richardson 17 0.9 1 0.1
Fort Wainwright 12 0.7 2 0.3
Gakona - Gulkana 8 0.4 3 0.5
Girdwood 2 0.1 -- --
Glacier View 2/ -- -- 11 1.7
Glennallen 24 1.3 8 1.2
Gold Creek ' 1 0.1 -- --
Haines 1 0.1 -- --
Healy 4 0.2 3 0.5
d
MAILED RETURNED
COMMUNITY NUMBER PER- NUMBER PER-
CENT CENT
lamer 3 0.2% -- --
luneau 11 0.6 2 0.3
$silofl/ 1 0.1 2 0.3
:enai 5 0.3 2 0.3
:etchikan 2 0.1 2 0.3
:odiak
1
_1 0.1 1 0.1
.ake.:Louise -- 2 0.3
Cnkomen Lake 2/ -- * -- 1 0.1
1cKinley Park 1 0.1 -- --
hose Pass11 1 0.1 2 0.3
aabesna 2/ m- se 1 0.1
(enana 3 0.2 2 0.3
lorth Pole 15 0.8 11 1.7
aalmer 3/ 165 9.2 57 8.8
Jaxson 4 0.2 1 -0.1
Bmpart 1 0.1 -- --
Seward 3 0.2 -- --
Skagway 1 0.1 -- --
ioldotna 15 0.8 6 0.9
Sterling 1 0.1 -- --
Sutton 7 0.4 1 0.1
Talkeetna 10 0.6 7 1.1
razlina 2/ -- -- 2 0.3
l'ok 1 0.1 1 0.1
Trapper Creek 3 0.2 2 0.3
Usibelli 1 0.1 -- --
Valdez 22 1.2 5 0.7
Wasilla 105 5.9 32 4.9
Willow 13 0.1 4 0.6
Unidentified
Residence -- SW 7 1.1
TOTAL 1791 100X4 650 100%4/
I/ Respondents may have moved or have post office box in another zip code, explaining
higher number received than mailed.
2/Connnunities not identified by separate zip codes.
3/Palmer post office handles Glenn Highway addresses, too.
4/Column totals exceed 100.G percent due to rounding error.
Anchoraqe, the Palmer-IAlasilla area, Fairbanks, and the periphery of the
Nelchina Rasin. Fiqure 2 depicts many of the communities. As shown in
Table 1, of the randomly drawn sample, Anchorage residents comprised
43.9 percent (includinq Eaqle River and Chuqiak, a total of 55.4 percent),
Palmer-Wasilla--15.1 percent, Fairbanks--1Cl.l percent, and the Nelchina
Rasin periphery (ihcludinq Cantwell, Gakona, Gulkana, Glennallen and
Paxson) 4.6 percent. The response rate of 36.3 was similar across
communities; the number of responses from each area is proportionate to
the number mailed out.
Harvest Ticket Records
A review of harvest tickets for the 1969/1970 and 197n/1971 seasons largely
suhstantiates the qeoqraphic distribution. A small variation in the pattern
was noted in the peak harvest period, when the records suqqest that durinq
those two years, some of the Kenai Peninswla communities such as Homer,
Nikishka, Seward, and Soldotna, as well a$ the Southcentral communities
of Valdez, Kodiak, and Cordova, had a hiqher incidence of use.
Interviewed Sample
The interview sample came from areas predominantly in the Nelchina Basin
or near it, focusinq on smaller communities, althouqh Fairbanks was included.
The oriqinal design called for interviews in Palmer, Wasilla, and the
Anchoraqe area; however, time was too limited to finish the full inter-
viewing schedule. Table 2 identifies the residency of the interview sample
Additional communities that have hunted the Nelchina caribou in the past
were identified in a letter from Jerr,y Isaac, President of Tanacross Village
10
Figure 2. Communities utilizing the Nelchina caribou herd.
11
Community
Anchorage
Cantwell
Chitina
Copper Center
Delta Junction
Fairbanks
Gakona
Glenn Highway 2/
Glennallen
Gulkana
Kenny Lake
Lake Louise
Paxson/Summit Lake
Sourdough
Tazlina
Table 2
INTERVIEU SAMPLE
Number of
Households
Contacted
3
14
4
9
2
18
4
4
9
5
1
3
3
3
4
86
Percent of
Sample
3i5%
16.3
4.6
10.5
2.3
20.9
4.6
4.6
10.5
5.8
1.2
3.5
3.5
3.5
l/ Column does not equal, 100 because of rounding error.
2/ Includes Gunsight, Eureka and Tolsona
12
Council. His letter was in response to a written inquiry as to local
use of the Nelchina herd. In his letter, he confirms an historical
use by people of Northway, Tetlin, Tok, Dot Lake and Tanacruss to allow the
population to rebuild. A copy of his letter is attached as Appendix 3.
Historical Overview
For centuries the Ahtna have occupied the Copper River Basin and much of
the area described as the Nelchina Basin. In the past, settlement patterns
varied seasonally with summer, fall, and winter sites matched to the
seasonal availability of food resources. Following is a brief summary
of the historical settlement of the region, with particular emphasis
given to the development of transportation corridors. These routes
have influenced access and molded the contemporary methods for taking
caribou from the Nelchina herd.
In the late 1800s, miners began filtering into the region. Ester,
Healy, and Nabesna started as mining camps. By the turn of the century,
work had been initiated on a telegraph line from the Prince William Sound
to the interior. The Abercrombie Trail, used initially by gold miners as
a sled and packhorse trail, evolved into a dirt road forerunner of the
Richardson Highway. Communities such as Copper Center, Fairbanks,
Gakona, Paxson and Sourdough sprang up late in the nineteenth century and
in the first decade of the twentieth with the establishment of roadhouses
or trading pasts at each locale. By 1913 the Alaska Road Commission had
finished its first effort at road construction, with the first automobile
travelling the dirt road from Valdez to Fairbanks.
13
Railroads were under construction dlfrinq this same period. Anchoraqe
was a central construction camn for the Alaska Railroad, which eventually
ran from Seward to Fairbanks with a Matanuska Vallev branch. Moose Pass,
Rird Creek, Palmer, Talkeetna, Sutton, Chickaloon, Cantwell and Nenana
attribute their establishment or qrowth to the Alaska Railroad. The Copper
River-Northwestern Railroad also was constructed in the ear1.y 1900s. This
railroad ran from Cordova to McCarthy. Chitina, an access point to the
McCarthy mine and a railroad stop, became a boom town during that era.
Hiqhway con,truction facilitated the establishment of Delta Junction
(in 1919) and Tok (circa the 1940s). The Glenn Hiqhway was next to
connect qrowing population and service centers with portions of interior
Alaska. The majority of the construction in the Anchoraqe to Glennallen
link transpired durinq the 1940s. The highway was officially opened in
lq43 and paved by 1952. Of the cities, towns and villaqes that Nelchina
caribou users live in, only three were established since 195%-Anderson,
Biq Lake and North Pole.
Ry 1957 the Denali Highway had been completed, providinq the first
road access to McKinley Park. The Parks Hiqhway, connectinq Anchorage
and Fairbanks, and providinq additional access to McKinley and the
Denali Hiqhway, was not far behind; it was officially opened in 1971.
Some of the communities established following the influx of miners and
the development of transportation and communication corridors were at or
near old Ahtna winter villaqes and summer camps. Some of the transporta-
tion routes follow early Native hunting, fishinq and trade routes. Road
14
construction has even in at least two instances (Gulkana and Mentasta)
prompted the relocation of Ahtna villaqes.
Population
Tables 3 and 4 show current population levels for select communities in the
caribou and user ranges. More specific population breakdowns were not yet
availahle from the 1980 census.
The Ahtna Reqion population statistics (Tahle 4) depict 1977 population
levels of communities of the Copper River reqion. This provides an
estimate of the number of residents in the Copper River Rasin areas. It
also sugqests that Cantwell, Gulkana and Mentasta are the only villaqes
where Alaska Natives comprise more than 5n percent of the population.
These three are also the smallest communities in the reqion. Other
communities in the area vary in ethnic composition. Glennallen, the
largest town in the Ahtna reqion had the smallest Alaska Native popula-
tion (9.4 percent). *
Characteristics of Users
Household Composition
The 650 respondents comprising the sample surveyed by questionnaire were
qrouped accordinq to residency for the nurpase of analysis (see Table 5).
The average household size of all respondents was 3.3. The smallest
averaqe household size in the qroupinqs was the Kenai Peninsula (2.5).
Groups with the larqest averaqed household size were "Military" (3.9),
Palmer, (3.5) and Anchoraqe (3.4).
15
Table 3
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS
OF SELECTEJ COM~XlNIT1E.S l/
CO!lMUN ITY
Anchorage
Copper River Area.2/
Delta Junction
Fairbanks
North Pole
Matanuska-Susitna
Borough
Palmer
Wasilla
TOTAL
POPULATION
173,017
2,721
942
22,645
724
17,766
2,141
1,559
E,THNIC AFFILIATIgN
WHITE NATIVE OTHER
147,334 8,901 16,782
2,160 516 45
808 27 110
18,085 1,596 2,964
673 15 36
16,796 684 286
1,998 75 68
1,466 74 19
l/ Source: 1980 Census, Advance Report, March 1981.
2/ Advance report does not specify boundaries of this area.
COMMUNITY
Table 4
POPULATION - ATHNA REGION 31
DECEEIBER 1977
TOTAL
PCPULATION
ETHNIC AFFILIATION
NON - NATIVE NATIVE
Cantwell 106 48 58
Chistochina 120 67 53
Chitina/Kenny Lake 579 480 99
Copper Center 406 273 133
Gakona 198 . 158 40
Glennallen 645 584 61
Gulkana 88 30 58
Mentasta 98 30 68
Tazlina 286 227 59
TOTAL 2526 1897 629
3/Source: Tribal Health Plan, Copper River Native Association Health Department.
16
Table 5
Hlll!SEHOLD SIZE T)F PERFITTED USERS
(n=650)
LOCATION AVERAGE
Anchorage
& Vicinity1
(n=363)
Kenai Peninsula'
(n-11)
Military3
(n=17)
Fairbanks n
& Vicin
(n=64)
Nelchina
(n=39)
Palmer
& Vicin
(n=lOl)
Basin5
Other Alaska'
(n=lO)
Missing Cases
(n=45)
Total Sample
(n=650)
3.4 1-12
2.5 l-6 1.4
3.9
3.1
2.8
l-8 1.8
l-8
l-6
1.7
1.4
2.0
1.7
3.5
2.6
3.3 l-12 1.8
IOUSEHOLD SIZE
RANGE
l-12
l-5
STANDARD
DEVIATIOl'l
1. Anchorage area includes Anchorage, Bird Creek,
2.
Chugiak, Eagle River.
Kenai Peninsula includes Anchor Point, Kasilof,
3. Military includes Anderson,
Kenai, Soldotna.
Eielson AFB, Elmendorf RFC, Fort Freely,
4.
Fort Richardson, Fort Wainwright, Healy.
Fairbanks area includes Delta Junction, Ester, Fairbanks, !fenana,
North Pole.
5. Nelchina Basin includes Cantwell, Chitina, Copper Center, Cakona,
Glennallen, Gulkana, Kenny Lake, Paxson, Tok, Nabesna, Flankomen
Lake, Lake Louise, Glacier View, Tazlina.
6. Palmer area includes Big Lake,
Creek, Wasilla, Willow.
Plamer, Sutton, Talkeetna, Trapper
7. Other Alaska includes Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Loose Pass, Valdez.
17
Table 6 shows the breakdown of males and females and the age ranges of
the households responding to the questionnaire. Males outnumbered
females in all areas. The age ranges of 11-15 and 36-40 had overall
higher means than the other ranges, The last four groupings, repre-
senting ages of household members 51 and over were the lowest figures.
Only the Nelchina Basin and the Palmer area reported any household members
55 years of age or older. Seventy-one respondents (10.9 percent) did
not fill in this information on the questionnafre.
Interviewed Sample
Household composition data were not collected from the interviewed sample,
so it cannot be reported for comparison with the figures above.
Residency
Permitted Caribou Users
Years of residency of permitted users in communities and in the state
of Alaska are presented in Table 7. Not surprisingly, the average
number of years of residency was lowest for the military in both cate-
gories. The length of residency i: the community was highest for the
Nelchina Basin. Mean years of residency in the state was highest for
Kenai Peninsula (18.7), followed by the Nelchina Basin (17.5) and Palmer
and vicinity (16.9).
18
I I C . - . N .
m .
d .
0 .
(u .
N .
0 .
-3 .
pr)
r-3
I * N . I I . v) F cu - . . . I cu hl . . .
w I q d . . .
e N F? . . . .
e a Fu N . . . .
N .
(u
.
ru .
I I . I I 7 I . . N
N .
m .
c3 .
m In (u m . . . .
0-l C - cu . . . .
cu * F N . . . .
m m d d . . .
\o cu m * . . .
In d N e . .
I I 07 . N .
N .
(v .
m .
l-7
cu .
C
.
- .
N .
I - . - . CXJ .
m .
d .
m
ru
N
r-3 .
-r .
m .
m .
u-l 0 co d N tn h e . . . . . F C -
ol In - a ro 07 cn . co . . . . . - - N - - F -
Anchorage
& Vicinity
(n=383)
Kenai
Peninsula
(n=lZ)
Military
(n=18)
Fairbanks
& Vicinity
(n-67)
Nelchina
Basin
(n=44)
Palmer
b Vicinity
(n=107)
Other Alaska
(n=12)
Overall
7-
I
Table 7
YEARS OF RESIDENCY OF PERMITTED CARIBOU USERS
(n=650)*
LENGTH OF RESIDENCY IN COMMUNITY LENGTH OF RESIDENCY IN ALASKA
STANDARD STANDARD
MEAN RANGE DEVIATION MEAN RANGE DEVIATION
11.1 O-46 8.3 14.7 l-71
10.2 2-24 8.5 18.7 3-64 16.6
4.1 2-12
8.4 041
12.0 l-67 14.3 17.5 1-67 15.0
11.6 o-71
6.3 2-24
10.5 o-71
3.1
7.5
11.3 16.9 1-71 11.6
6.1 10.5 2-24 6.5
9.3 14.6 1-71 10.9
5.8 2-24
10.3 l-31
10.4
5.5
6.6
* Missing Cases (n=7)
2.2
Interviewed Sample
Data on length of residency were collected in a different form in the
interviews. As shown in Table 8, of those interviewed in the Nelchina
Basin, 75.5 percent had lived there prior to the 1960s, while 31.2 per-
cent of the Fairbanks sample had lived in Fairbanks prior to 1960.
Table 8
FIRST YEAR OF RESIDENCY IN AREA OF INTERVIFidED WlPLE
(n=69)*
Prior 1960- 197a-
to 1960 1969 1979 1980+
Nelchina Basin
(n=53) (7&S) (179X) (A) (1.lg.d)
Fairbanks & Vicinity
(n=16) (6.:x)
* Missing Cases (n=17)
Birthplaces
Permitted Caribou Users
Birthplaces of permitted caribou users and household members are shown
in Table 9. States other than Alaska were the birthplaces of 73.4;percent
of all respondents. Those residing in "Other Alaska" and with the mili-
tary had the highest percentages of out-of-state birthplaces, 84.6 and
83.6 respectively. Palmer had the lowest percentage of its residents
reporting out-of-state birthplaces--66.8 percent. With regard to people
born in the areas where they are currently living, 22.4 percent of the
Fairbanks respondents were born in Fairbanks, 22 percent of the Palmer
residents were born in the Anchorage/Palmer vicinity, 18.7 percent of the
Anchorage respondents were born in Anchorage, and only 9.3 percent of the
Nelchina Basin residents were born in the Nelchina Basin area.
21
tnchorage
& Vicinity
(n-1104)
Kenai
Peninsula
(n=28)
Military
(n=61)
Fairbanks
& Vicinity
(w183)
Nel china
Basin
(n=107)
Palmer
& Vicinity
(n=340}
Other
Alaska
(n=26)
TOTAL
(n=1849)
Table 9
BIRTHPLACES OF MEMBERS OF HOUSEHOLDS OF
PERMITT~D,;;;;~~u USERS
NCHORASE2' FAIRBANKS NELCHINA OTHER OUTS IDE
BASIN A;;;;3/ USA USA
207
(18.7%) (0.L) n .
(3”L)
0 0 0
0 (9.6sx) ' 0
(1.k) (2;!4%) (0.:X
(l:T2%) (3.L) (9!&
6 0
(2570%
(3.23x)
0
1 (457%)
(2:50*) ( 1.8%) (7?%)
0 0 0
(1115%)
297
(16.1%) (36:x, (O’k, (48&)
825
(74.7%) (2Tk)
(75Th)
0
(8:16X) )O&
135
73.8%)
227
(66.8%)
8?6% )
1357
73.4%)
( 1. k,
0
(2.L)
(3.h
(24:x)
1/ Birthplaces were listed for all household members.
21 Includes those born in Palmer.
3'Also the category used when "Alaska" was given as birthplace on questionnaire.
22
Interviewed Sample
Of the individuals interviewed and their spouses, 43,6 percent of those
residing in the Nelchina Basin were born there, and 47.2 percent were born
outside of Alaska. The only areas where those born in Alaska outnumbered
those born elsehwere were at Summit Lake, Copper Center, Tazlina, Chitina,
and Gulkana. Of the Fairbanks users, none were born in Fairbanks, one
was born in Juneau, and all others were born outside of Alaska.
Employment
Permitted Caribou Users
The format of the questions on occupation, employment, and income in the
mailed out survey did not elicit quantifiable answers. The variety of
responses in the open ended "occupation" column would have required much
interpretation and guess work. The "months employed" column was not
specific and therefore also got a wide variety of answers. Incomes were
reported in ranges for individuals , so that a compiled household income
would have contained a large variance factor.
Interviewed Sample
The interviews provided insight into employment in the Nelchina Basin
vicinity. \/ith the possible exception of Glennallen and Delta Junction,
the communities and roadside population concentrations in the Nelchina
Basin were characterized by seasonal employment. Paxson, Gakona, Gulkana,
Copper Center, Tazlina, Cantwell, Sourdough, Summit Lake, and the Eureka/
Gunsight Mountain area have only a few jobs that last throughout the year,
23
most frequently with the State of Alaska, department of Transportation,
recreational lodqes, and roadside businesses such as qas stations and small
qrocery stores. Durinq summer additional employment opportunities arise
in construction, tourism, and recreational services. Lake Louise was
conspicuous in its lack of any industry aside from the lodge and recreation-
related services which operate year round.
Glennallen and Delta Junction, the larqest communities in the Nelchina
Rasin, offer a qreater number of lonq-term employment opportunities,
especially in state and federal work and support services. However,
employment in these towns also varies seasonallv. The tourist season
for Glennallen is primarily durinq summer, while in Delta Junction the
aqricultural industry expands durinq warmer months.
Ilse Patterns
Areas Hunted
Permitted Caribou Users
The areas hunted by permitted users seemed to vary according to their place
of residency. The penali Hiqhway was the most frequently mentioned hunting
area for caribou hunters from Fairbanks. Some indicated huntinq locations
on lakes or streams which would he accessed off the Oenali Hiqhway usinq
other transportation methods such as boat, all-terrain vehicle or horse.
Other areas mentioned b,y residents from Fairbanks included Lake Louise and
Paxson. It appears, then, that Fairbanks hunters travel a minimum of
140 road miles to access the Denali Hiqhway, and commonly travel in excess
of 200 miles by road to hunt the herd.
24
Hunters residing in the Anchorage vicinity most frequently used hunting
areas off the Glenn Highway. Almost one-third mentioned Eureka, Lake
Louise and Gunsight as hunting sites. The area surrounding the Denali
Highway also was used heavily by Anchorage hunters. Approximately 14
percent identified the highway itself and an additional 6 percent
indicated rivers and lakes accessed from the highway either by boat,
plane, all-terrain vehicle or foot. Other Anchorage respondents chose
areas off the Parks Highway and some travelled to sites off the Richardson
Highway. The minimum distance Anchorage hunters travelled was 125 mile
(to Gunsight Mountain). Hunters frequently travelled 175 to '200 miles
to reach Lake Louise and the Denali Highway via Cantwell. Appendix 5
gives estimated mileages to common hunting sites. The respondents from the
Palmer-Wasilla vicinity mirrored the Anchroage pattern of a higher per-
centage hunting the Eureka, Lake Louise and Gunsight areas, and a smaller
number hunting the Denali Highway region.
Interviewed Sample
Questionnaire responses from the smaller communities were too few to
permit the characterization of any pattern. From the interviews, however,
it was determined that Copper River Basin residents hunted along the
Richardson Highway between Sourdough and Paxson when the caribou were
more numerous during the 1960s. More recently, several households in
the Copper River Basin hunted the Mentasta herd in the 'rlrangells or
around Flabesna.
Two hunting areas in particular were used in the past, but with the
shortening of the caribou hunting season, this use was discontinued.
25
The Richardson Hiqhway between Sourdouqh and Paxson had been a very popular
huntinq locale, the site of larqe harvests in the mid and late lq6Os.
In their seasonal miqration however, caribou rarely reach that area until
early October, two or three weeks after the current season closes. Road
kills account for the major known harvests of caribou in this area
currently. The Crosswind and Ewan Lakes areas has been similarly affected
hy restricted huntinq season. This area is not as accessible b.y road
as the Hoqan Hill and Haqqard Creek areas alonq the Richardson Hiqhway.
The Crosswind and Ewan Lakes reqion has been a key huntinq area for Gulkana
residents, many of whom maintain cabins alonq the lakes. Historically
and currently, Gulkana residents have wintered in the reqion, huntinq,
trappinq and fishinq throuqhout the winter months. Caribou were hunted
there on subsistence permits this winter.
Roth the questionnaire responses and the local interviews suqgest that
hunting areas are chosen for a variety of reasons. The accessibilitv of
the herd was by far the most frequently qiven reason hy survey respondents
(Fiqure 3). The proximity of the herd, the fact that it was good huntinq
and the nice country were the next three reasons in order of frequenc,y.
Interview data indicated that huntinq areas for the rural residents
were utilized because of familiarity with the terrain and a lonq-standinq
tradition of using the area.
History of Use
Permitted Caribou Users
Table lrl portra,vs the earliestyears that surveyed permitted users reported
huntinq Nelchina caribou. Twenty-five percent first hunted the herd
26
cc -d In E 0
,
s v
S1N3al~OdS3ki JO i138HnK
27
,-I I I I i I
I ’ I I
.
28
within the last two years. Forty-two percent have a five year history or
less. Only 15 percent of the respondents indicated a use initiated over
20 years ago.
Interviewed Sample
Of those interviewed who live in rural areas, 15 percent indicated a use
of five years or less. Forty-two percent had first started using the
caribou prior to 1950, with 10 households having histories of 40 years
the 42 percent recounted
led trips in the early
or more. Exact dates were not given, but most of
first hunt ing at the age of 10 or 12. Some recal
1900s with their families to winter hunting camps .
Seasonal Use Periods
Permitted Caribou Users
August and September were reported most frequently as the months in which
people hunted (Figure 4). This is not surprising considering that a large
proportion of hunters began hunting caribou within the past five years when
seasonal use periods had been restricted by regulation. Figure 5 identifies
reasons for choice of hunting seasons. Most respondents (163) indicated
that open season was the only reason. Good weather, ability to get time
off from paidcemployment, and the condition of the caribou meat were three
additional reasons frequently cited.
29
300
275
250
225
200
75
50
25
207
270
58 53
42 36
31 29 ,
6 ug. 9 Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Fla r .
YO:ITH(S) HUNTED 2/
Figure 4: Seasonal Use Periods of rlelchina caribou, Yeported by
Sample of Permitted Qribou Users, Current and Historic.
l/ Only those reporting specific months were recorded. Answers such as
"Open Season" were not included.
2/ Columns are not mutually exclusive.
180 -
160 -
140 -
40 -
20 -
63 -
-
52
1
r -
DURING GOOD ABLE TO COND-
a4 - I
!
33
70
i I
58
1 -rL
OPEN RACKS ACCESS- EASIER OTHER
SEASON MOOSE !dEATHER TAKE ITION OF GOOD ABILITY TO 21
SEASON TIME THE MEAT FOR OF STORE
OFF l/ TROPHIES CARIBOU
Figure 5. Reasons for Hunting Seasons, reported by permitted caribou user
samp1e.Y
Question: "Why do you hunt at that time of year, besides the fact that it is/
was open season?"
l/ Includes "Before school starts."
2/ Includes "Prefer fall hunts," "like to eat caribou," "others went at that time,"
"for winter meat," "go fishino," "always hunt there," and others.
3/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
31
Interviewed Sample
Interview subjects in two of the communities, Gulkana and Sourdough,
mentioned a preference for a winter hunting season because of the access-
ibility of the Nelchina herd in areas utilized for winter trapping, fishing,
and hunting. Additionally, in these communtities with restricted mone-
tary income, electricity is relatively expensive. Caribou meat is
preserved more effectively and economically if taken later in the year
when cold weather assists refrigeration systems.
Many years ago, another season used was the late spring and summer,
when households in the Cantwell area reported that caribou hides were
in the best condition for making babiche (rawhide strips).
Harvest Ticket Data
Big Game Data Index File (B.G.D.I.F.) harvest chronologies for the three
year harvest period from 1969 to 1972, during which longer seasons were
open and prior to the permit system, further indicated that August and
September have not always been the primary harvest times. An average of
27.5 percent of the harvest occurred during the August and September
portion of the season during those years (Appendix 6).
Modes of Transportation
Permitted Caribou Users
Table 11 shows that the most often reported current mode of transportion
was the car/truck category (63 percent). Second in frequency of occurrence
32
h’
was foot (62 percent), then airplane (39 percent), ATV (32 percent), and
hoat (15 percent). The question posed to the mail out sample asked for
all modes of transportation that are used, so the responses are neither
mutually exclusive nor indictive of which are primary or more frequently
emplo,yed modes.
Interviewed Sample
Information from interviews sugqests that few people current1.y hunting
use only one mode of transportation. The majority of those interviewed
had not hunted Nelchina caribou since the permit system was initiated.
Of those that have hunted, however, almost all indicated that they drove
to an access point and then made use of ATV's airplanes, or boats. A
few reported hikinq to caribou ranqes from access points, first reached
by some motorized transportation.
A noticeable trend was that several of those interviewed who had a huntinq
history pre-datinq the 1972 caribou decline and requlation restriction
had chanqed or supplemented their modes of transportation. In some
cases, canoes had replaced snowmachines as a means of access to caribou
areas. In other instances, tracksters had been purchased to extend huntinq
areas off the road. A few respondents perceived the new technoloqies as
too expensive, so that investment reached a point of diminishinq returns.
These individuals have discontinued huntinq Nelchina caribou until the
animals become more ahundant or more accessible.
34
Harvest Ticket Data
Statistics from past harvest tickets reveal chanqes in levels of use of
transportation modes (Table 12). In 1970 snowmachines were reported by
more hunters than anv other individual form of transportation. 5ince
that time, use of snowmachines has declined rapidly, primarily hecause of
restricted seasons. What was recorded as "hiqhwayjafoot" (cars and trucks)
was the major cateqory of transportation in 1971, reported by 39.6 percent
of the hunters. This peak year for use of cars and trucks was also the
lowest year for use of airplanes, with 11.5 percent reportinq use of air-
craft in their huntinq. For the 12 year period for which statistics were
readily available, 1980 was the peak year for use of aircraft (30.8 percent).
Off road vehicles (ORV) saw their lowest relative use in 1969 (8.5 percent)
and their hiqhest use year in 1977 (49.4 percent).
Other Huntinq Technoloqies
Permitted Caribou llsers
Guns were clearly the most frequently utilized piece of huntinq equipment
both in the recent past and present (Fiqure 6). Current use of how anrf
arrow has been described as a means of increasinq the challenqe and addinq
interest to the hunt.
Interviewed Sample
Interview sub.jects residinq in the smaller communities all used groups in
their caribou huntinq. Even older residents said that the qun was in common
use in the early 1900s.
35
Table 12
MODES OF TRANSPORTATION UTILIZED
1969 to 1980 l/
AIR MOTOR- SNOW HIGHWAY NOT TOTAL #
PLANE HORSE BOAT BIKE MACHINE ORV2/ "A FOOT"3/SPECIFIED HUNTERS
1969 926
(23.8%)
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
058
9.2 1
262
1.4 )
385
(21.6 1
449
(22.6 1
621
(24.3 )
41 a
(21.0 1
456
(25.2 1
113
(31.4 1
226
(30.2 1
268 .~ (13.6)
80 302
(30.8)
MEAN
PERCENTILES 22.9 1.5 5.4 1.3 6.7 24.7 23.9 13.4
283
(3.5)
74 1683
(20.8)
1429
(25.9)
3491
(31.6)
(23:)
(O!$
1
687
(8.5)
543
(9.a)
937
(8.5)
1683
(20.8)
973
(17.6)
4377
(39.6)
1710
(21.2)
1296
(23.5)
643
(5.8)
144
(a.1 1
303
(15.3 )
288
(11.3 1
212
(10.6 )
140
(7.7 1
1
(0.3)
(0.: )
1031
(52.3 )
)
8076
(100.0) 4/
5521
(100.0)
11046
(100.0)
1783
(100.0)
1982
(100.0)
2550
(100.0)
1991
(100.0)
1807
(100.0)
360
(100.0)
747
(100.0)
1972
(100.0)
981
(100.0)
154
(2.8)
242
(2.2)
(0.;)
1
0
1
1
0
$34
(:!6
$7
(?5
(?a
5
130
(7.3
110
(5.5
152
(6.0
174
(a.7
118
(6.5
(5139
(65;
419
(23.5
452
(22.8
745
(29.2
603
(30.3
588
(32.5
178
589
(35.0
602
(30.4
657
(25.8
510
(25.6
453
(25.1
41
(1.4)
(i76)
(Y95)
(0.8) (49.4) (11.4)
$3)
$6)
$2)
281 156
(37.6) (20.9)
(3509)
(77:)
328 225
(16.6) (11.4)
276 253
(28.1) (25.8)
RANGE 11.5-30.8 0.3-2.5 2.2-8.7 0.5-2.3 O-31.6 8.5-37.6 11.4- 0.3-52.3
39.6
l/ Adapted from Big Game Data Index File C-5 Annual Region II Harvest Reports,
1969 - 1980.
2/ Off-road vehicles.
3/ Includes cars and trucks.
4/ Column totals do not equal 100.0 percent due to rounding error.
350 -
325 -
300 -
275 -
250 -
225 -
200 -
175 -
150 -
125 -
100 -
75 -
50 -
25 -
-
y? ::: ::: ,‘.‘.’ ;:: ::: ;:: ;:: ;:: . ,.:.:. ;::
Ii!
-
Past
T ,.:.I. ,‘.‘,’ ::: ,‘.‘.’ ::: ::: . . :_:.:.,
”
E
-
j-l GUN
BOW & ARROW
0 i:i:;:i:;:;:;: BOTH . . _
;:;:. taai
- . . . . . . . . . ,. _.
Now Past Now Past Now Past Now Past Now Past Now Past Now
ANCHORAGE KENAI MILITARY FAIRBANKS NELCHINA PALMER OTHER
PENINSULA BASIN AREA ALASKA
Figure 6. Hunting Equipment Utilized by Permitted Hunters:'
Questions: "What weapon(s) do you use to hunt?" and "What weapon(s) have
you used in the past?"
.
l/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
37
Hunting Partners
Another variable explored in both the mailed questionnaire and the inter-
views was with whom the individuals went hunting. The questionnaire pro-
vided data consistent with the interviews. ,Yousehold members and other
relatives were mentioned by 79.8 percent. Twenty-eight percent reported
hunting with friends (Figure 7).
Transmission of Hunting Skills
Permitted Caribou Users
There were two questions in the survey dealing with bow techniques for
hunting caribou had been learned and whether the respondent had taught
anyone else (See Figure 8). Half of the respondents reported learning
to hunt on their own. Almost one thi rd learned from a relative (fathers,
husbands, and uncles were frequently specified), and one fifth reported
learning from a friend. Almost half of the respondents indicated that
they had taught no one. One third had taught a relative, such as a wife,
a child or a cousin.
Interviewed Sample
or persons who initially taught them to hunt, 91.7 percent had learned
interv
lative
Of the 36 households in the interview sample that identified the person
from
iew a relative, most frequently their father. Only thirteen of the
subjects mentioned teaching others, and in all cases it was a re
(.either children, spouses, or granchildren).
38
400 -
350 -
300 -
250 -
200 -
150 -
100 -
50 -
18
L I
111
IL
182
r
No one Household Other Friends Others l/
Members Relatives
Figure 7. Composition of Hunting Parties of Permitted Caribou Users. Y
(Question: Who goes along with you when you hunt caribou?")
l/ Clients, Co-workers.
2/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
39
350 -
tr)
E
300 -
52
5 250 -
2
0" 200 -
Ei
r" = 150-
loo-
50 -
From a From a
Relative Friend Myself
LEARNEDY
- -
A A Other No
Relative Friend 1/ One
TAUGHTY
Iji 12
298
r-
Figure 8. Transmission of Knowledge about Caribou Hunti
Caribou Hunters.
(Questions: "How did you learn to hunt caribou?" "Has
to hunt caribou from you?")
l/ Client, Co-worker.
Z/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
ng by Permitted
anyone learned
.
40
Learning to hunt caribou was only one facet of the learning and teaching
processes involved in the harvesting and handling of natural resources.
Life-long Copper Center residents and other old Copper River Basin residents
remember being taught as children the different resources that could be
used for survival. The teaching included which ones were edible, where
to find the resources, the methods of harvesting them, and how to cook
them. This occurred both at hunting camps and fish camp sites.
Distribution and Exchange Networks
Permitted Caribou Users
Sharing of caribou meat occurred most frequently within a hunter's house-
hold. Eighty-three percent of the respondents indicated they shared cari-
bou with household members. One-third of the respondents reportedly shared
meat with friends (Figure 9).
Respondents were questioned concerning persons in addition to household
members who might depend on the hunters for caribou. Very few responded
to the question. Possibly the randomized permit system leading to inter-
mittent hunting has not allowed for any kind of consistency upon which
dependencies may be based.
Interviewed Sample
Data co1 lected in the course of interviews revea led some distribution
patterns for caribou in rural areas. There were basically three possible
times of distribution of caribou meat. The first division of the meat
occurs between members of the hunting party, if each hunter does not get
41
550
500
450
400
350
2 300
2
0"
65 250
E
200
1 so
100
50 -A-
No One Household Neighbors Others Relatives Friends
Mgnbers Not In out Of
Household Town
Figure 9. Recipients of Caribou Meat From Permitted Hunters.v
(Question: "With whom do you share caribou?")
I/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
.
a2
a separate animal. The second division and distribution usually takes
place as the individual hunter and members of his household butcher their
portion of meat, and prior to the processing of the meat, share pieces
or packages of meat with other households. In the Copper River area,
eight different households mentioned sharing with relatives or having
received portions of locally harvested game from relatives. Brothers-in-
law and fathers-in-law were recipients as well as were sisters, uncles
and local elderly people. The interrupted use and the bag limit of one
caribou has limited the number of people who have recently harvested or
received caribou. Five households commented that one caribou does not
go very far, even towards one household's food supply.
A third possible distribution of wild game meat and other resources
occurred later in the year if relatives, friends, or neighbors ran out
of food. Then pieces or packages of the wild meat in its preserved form
might be shared with those whose food supplies were running short. A
death in the community also prompts the functioning of the sharing system.
Intermittent hunting resulting from the permit system also has affected
the religious or ceremonial utilization of caribou. Caribou was utilized
historically for potlatches. Use of resources is contingent on the avail-
ability of the animals. The limited seasons, bag limits and smaller oop-
ulation of caribou all have restricted the use of caribou in these ceremonies,
Another nossible determinent in the use of wild game for potlatch is the
local policies regarding potlatch animals. Recently, when the need
arises for an out-of-season animal for potlatch purposes, local people
43
have been in the hab~it of contacting the local Fish and Garle or Fish and
Wildlife Protection office. While this is not a legal requirement, there
has often been cooperation. between the offices and the individuals seeking
a potlatch animal. Fish and Game or Fish and Wildlife Protection personnel
have, at times, been able to direct the next.road kill moose to lccal
people, or have known of a moose that might be causing traffic hazards, or
an old bull that is nearby that would be a more desirable animal for
harvest from the management perspective than a Cow. In one instance,
when no bull moose were available, staff suggested the.taking of two
caribou. The suggestion was not acted upon, as the local people felt
that the usable meat on two caribou would not be enough for thG potlatch.
Thus, staff recommendations may influence the potlatch use of various
animals.
Utilization of Caribou
Processing and Preservation
Permitted Caribou Users
Questionnaire responses indicated that the primary method of preserving
caribou meat was freezing, reported by 606 households (33 percent of
the sample). In addition to, or instead of, freezing the meat, 71 house-
h'olds (11 percent) cited drying as a method employed to preserve the meat.
Other methods including canning, smoking, and making sausage were speci-
fied by 104 households (16 percent).
44
Interviewed Sample
Interview data illuminates the drying procedure. In communities such as
Copper Center, Gulkana and Cantwell, the drying and smoking of meat was
accomplished by some households by hanging the meat on racks over an
open fire; Some respondents have abandoned the practice because they
feel it is a waste-of meat (i.e. they don't eat the dried crust). Other
respondents hang the meat for a perioA of time ranging,from two days to two
weeks, depending on the weather, and then freeze it. A few respondents dry
the meat completely and reconstitute it by soaking the meat in water before
cooking. A family in Gakona mentioned that in prior years, caribou pre-
served by drying would last the entire summer.
Households in almost all areas agreed that the amount of meat resources
possessed, including moose meat, determined to some extent what was done
with caribou meat, Glennallen and Fiarbanks residents in particular
reported that it they had sufficient meat to stock the freezer, the
remainder would be made into sausage, pepperoni and jerky.
A few individuals indicated that caribou was used primarily as "camp
meat" while moose hunting, Whatever was not consumed was brought out
with any moose kills. By contrast, one Fairbanks family placed caribou
at a high cremium and canned the caribou meat at the hunting camp to
ensure the quality.
Other Caribou Products
While the primary use of caribou was consumptive, in response to the
questionnaire inquiry "what parts of the caribou do you utilize and for
45
what purposes?" some specific parts were mentioned ('igure 10).
In addition to or instead ofresponses such as "meat" (76.1 percent)
and "everything" (23.1 percent), organs were specified by 19.3 percent
of the sample. Questionnaires and interviews revealed that internal organs
such as the heart, liver and kidneys were used for human consumption, dog
food, and trap bait.
Only seven percent of the sample specifically mentioned utilizing csribou
bones for purposes such as soup or dog food. Older residents in Copper
Center and Cantwell described the process of cooking the bones and
scraping out the marrow for human consumption. This use persists in
those communities.
Hides were put to multiple uses by 25 percent of the sample. Wall-
hangings mentioned on the questionnaire were in evidence in several homes
and some of the lodges visited during the course of interviewing. Bed-
rolls and rugs were additional uses. Leather from tanned hides was used
for rawhide strips (babiche), mukluks, and other clcthing items. The
strips of leather were used in some instances to make snowshoes. Six
of the interviewed households indicated that they would be utilizing
hides if they were able to harvest the caribou. Two households were
in the process of home-tanning a moose hide and some small fur-bearer
pelts.
Caribou hooves were being salvaged and made into ashtrays, lamps, "hoof-
a boos" (hooves fashioned into a face, put on a plaque), and other decorative
46
500 -
475 -
450 -
425 -
400 -
375 -
350 -
325 -
300 -
;3 275 - z
x 5 250 -
% 2 225 -
200 -
175 -
150 -
125 -
100 -
75 -
50 -
25 -
4 95
Meat
1
I
!50
126 - 131 1
I
.-.
34
r-l
"Every- Organs Antlers Bones Hide
thing"
Other l/
Figure 10. Caribou Products Utilized by Permitted Hunters. Y
(Question: "What parts of the caribou do you use and for what purposes?")
l/ Hooves, head, tongue, etc.
2/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
47
items. Older residents in the Copper River area described cooking
and eating part of the hooves as well.
Caribou antlers, salvaged from time to time by 20 percent of the respondents,
were -primarily mounted and displayed. A few persons fashioned antlers
into jewelry, buckles, buttons and knife handles, or passed the material
on to others for similar uses. Other caribou products used as display
items included the head and the cape.
Use of Other Resources
Importance of Selected Resources
Permitted Caribou Users
Almost half of the respondents reported that caribou was important to
their household's food supply. An additional third ,described it as "very
important." By contrast, almost half of the sample reported moose as "very
important" with an additional third describing it as "important" (See
Figure 11). Other resources reported frequently as important were
salmon, other fish, and garden produce,
Interviewed Sample
No information was collected on the importance of different resources.
48
350 -
::
5 250 - -0
z CL.
z 200 ; CT
Y-
0
& 150 -
a
5 z 100 -
50 .
.I Important
Very Important
26
Caribou Moose Birds l/ Salmon Other Wild Plants Garden
Fish & Berries Produce
Figure 11. Importance of Selected Resources to Permitted Caribou Users. Y
(Question: How important are these natural resources to your household's ,
food supply?) 2/
l/ Includes migratory waterfowl, spruce grouse, ptarmigan.
2/ Choices offered: Very important, important, not very important, do not use.
3/Categories are not mutually exclusive.
49
Alternative Resources
Permitted Caribou Users
Fifty-four percent of,the survey sample reported that if they could not
harvest a caribou, they would try and get a moose (Figure 12).
Interviewed Sample
The perception of alternative resources differed from area to area.
Several Fairbanks residents mentioned three other caribou herds, the
Delta, Forty-Mile,and Porcupine herds as options--ones that they hunted
prior to using the Nelchina herd and ones they were utilizing instead.
Hunters in that region also mentioned a wider variety of areas utilized
for moose hunting. However, locality was not a definitive factor in the
realm of perceived alternatives. People in Glennallen, Cantwell, and
Fairbanks all mentioned going to other parts of the state, including
Kodiak, Cook Inlet, and the Alaska Range, to hunt and fish. Some men-
tioned areas outside of Alaska as hunting sites that they still use,
Consistently lifelong residents of the local areas did not share this
attitude. When Nelchina caribou are not available to them, then the
alternatives were local, either added emphasis on moose, and/or use of the
Mentasta caribou herd. Salmon, lake fish, and small game were also the
alternatives they commonly mentioned.
Another alternative for families in the 'Nelchina range area having
harvested little or no wild game is to salvage meat from road kill
50
400 -
350 -
300 -
250 -
2
z 200 -
g
i 150 -
100 -
50 -
354 -
-I-
81
55
41
12 I 1
None Moose, Store Salmon Other Not
Bought Resources l/ Specified 21
Figure 12. Other Resources Used if Caribou Not Taken.
(n=650)3/
(Question: "If you could not get a caribou, would you use other resources?
If yes, which ones?")
l/ Including responses: deer, "anything available", sheep, goat, "other game",
berries, other fish,
2/ Indicated they would use other resources, but not which one(s).
3/Missing cases = 37
51
animals. There are lists of people desiring to receive such meat, and
willing to go salvage it on file with the State Troopers and Fish and
Wildlife Protection offices in Glennallen and Cantwell.
The number and location of road kill moose and caribou are contingent
on the snowfall and the animal populations from year to year, This winter
there has been substantial snow, and consequently, a relatively high number
of road kills. The Glennallen office, responsible for animals hit on
the Richardson and Glenn Highways, reported approximately 60 animals,
evenly divided between moose and caribou, killed on the Glenn Higi-Iway
between Mile 130 and 160 and on the Richardson Highway between Mile .
160 and 180. It was estimated by lccal personnel that 80 percent of the
animals are salvageable.
In the Cantwell area, in addition to the moose killed on the Parks Highway,
there are also train killed moose. Almost every household interviewed in
Cantwell had received a portion of road killed or train killed moose on a
regular basis.
Case Examples
The following cases are provided as examples of use patterns of the Nelchina
caribou resource. The cases describehow particular individuals have used
the Nelchina herd in the past or during the contemporary period. The
cases provide detail at the level of the individual household, detail
which tends to become lost in statistical summaries from group survey data.
Most of the cases represent uses by rural residents. The rural cases are
52
presented because their characteristics are not adequately described by
the survey information presented previously which derives primarily from
urban hunters. The cases should illustrate some of the range of attributes
that exist among rural users and uses of the Nelchina herd.
Case One
Case 1 illustrates a customary use pattern which became discontinued
because of biological and legal factors. A life-long Gulkana resident
in his sixties, this hunter reportedly harvested caribou on a regular
basis since childhood, a use pattern learned from his parents who also
hunted Nelchina caribou. This pattern of use was disrupted ten years
ago, which was the last time he harvested a caribou. At that time the
season was open in the winter months. The caribou was taken near Cross-
wind Lake, where the hunter still has a cabin and traps during the winter.
At that time, the caribou was dragged back to the village with a snow-
machine and dried for later consumption. In addition to caribou, the man and
his wife also harvested (and continue to harvest)moose, rabbits, beaver,
whitefish and lingcod during the winter. In the summer months they
operate a fishwheel for salmon. The hiatus in this hunting pattern for
caribou was due to the random draw permit system and discontinuation of
the winter season. The random draw reduced the opportunity to obtain a
permit. Furthermore, caribou primarily frequent the Gulkana hunting
area during winter; thus, the fall season restricted the chance to obtain
a caribou near his home. The initiation of the subsistence permit system
has changed this situation. In 1981 this man had obtained a subsistence
caribcu permit and was planning at the time of the study to take a caribou
for the first time in ten years.
53
Case Two
This case depicts a strategy employed by one hunter since the availability
of Nelchina caribou was restricted by the random draw permit system. This
man in his mid-forties is a lifetime resident of the Copper Piver Basin
and currently holds full-time wage employment. During his adult years he
has run a fishwheel for salmon and hunted moose and caribou. Previously,
he hunted the Nelchina caribou in the Paxson area. Because of the reduction
in Nelchina herd size and the difficulty of obtaining a permit, about ten
years ago he switched to the Mentasta herd in the Nabesna area. The
chances of obtaining a random draw permit for the Mentasta herd was
substantially better than for the Nelchina, and although he had to travel
farther to hunt Mentasta caribou, the chances of obtainingone for his
family was greater. He has hunted the Plentasta herd regularly for the
past ten years. This past season he drove up to Nabesna and walked
into the caribou range there. He hung, aged, and then froze the harvested
caribou meat. In addition to his immediate family, this man shared meat
with other households including those of his parents, his brother-in-law,
and some of his friends. This man and his family also harvest salmon,
moose, rabbits, spruce hens, blueberries, and mossberries.
Case Three
This case illustrates a Nelchina caribou use by a rural resident in the
capacity of a guide and a permit winner. This man and wife own and operate
a lodge year round in the Nelchina caribou range area. The man also guides
for game. An Alaskan resident for fifteen years, he started hunting at an
early age outside of the state. The woman recently started hunting and
54
received a permit for the Nelchina hunt this last year. She killed a cari-
bou while they were hunting toqether and hrouqht out "the leqal meat"
(e.q. only the meat required by law), the antlers, and the cape. They
qave the meat to friends in the area, and salted down the cape. This
couple also received meat from persons they helped as quides. In addition
to caribou, this couple harvests red and kinq salmon, sheep, moose, qoat,
whitefish, qraylinq, hurbot, trout, and wild berries.
Case Four
Case 4 illustrates a lonq time rural resident and user of Nelchina
caribou, recently relocated to an urban area, who returned home to contri-
hute to the harvest of caribou with her family. This woman, who recently
moved to Anchoraqe, drew a permit for the Nelchina hunt in 1982. She was
born in the Copper River area and raised there by parents who are lifetime
residents of the area. Throuqhout her life she has hunted with her
father. With increasinq aqe and disabilit,v, the father has hecome limited to
road huntinq of moose and caribou. When the woman drew a caribou permit,
she returned home to hunt with her father. Because the caribou were early
in their migration this year, the herd reached the Lake Louise road
durinq the open season. The wnman and her father harvested a caribou there.
The meat was shared between the woman, her parents, and an elderly ladv
in the area.
Case Five
This example portray a childhood use pattern hy a rural resident which
was interrupted and then reestablished after service in the armed forces.
55
This man in his thirties was horn in a Copper Basin village and had
learned to hunt caribou with his family as well as harvest other local
resources. In his early twenties he served in the armed forces, which
resulted in a thirteen year absence from the Copper Basin area. During
his absence, he married and established a family of three children. In
1981 he returned to his home in the Copper River region with his family.
He was planning to reestablish himself in the economic pattern he had
learned as a child. In 1981 he borrowed a fishwheel in the summer and
harvested salmon. He did not harvest any big game in the fall, but
received some packages of meat from local relatives. Rabbits were being
harvested for the family.
The last hunt he recalled was sixteen years ago in March in the Sourdough
area. He and two other hunters drove to Sourdough and snowshoed in fourteen
miles before they shot a caribou. They gutted the caribou and saved the
edible organs. Then the animal was dragged out, one person broke a trail
with snowshoes while the other two dragged the caribou to the road. The three
hunters divided the meat among themselves. The bones were cooked,
marrow scooped out and eaten, and the bones were given to the dogs.
Case Six
This case illustrates a relatively recent rura 1 res dent in the Nelchina
Basin, living on a limited annual monetary income, rely
resources for a substantial portion of their livelihood
moved to the Nelchina area from outside Alaska in 1970.
a two-story house, with a chicken coop and rabbit hutch
Both husband and wife moved to a cabin in the Fish Lake
ing upon local
. This couple
They have built
on the grounds.
area to trap
56
each winter where they have also hunted caribou. A portion of the caribou
meat is frozen, snme is canned, some is dried, and part of it is made
into sausaqe. They current1.y use snowmachines for transportation hut are
raisinq and traininq a dog team. Ninter harvest activities in addition to
the trappinq and caribou hunting include huntinq for rabbits, spruce hens
and ptarmiqan, and icefishinq for linqcod. They also harvest other
resources such as salmon, black bear, ducks, blueberries, cranberries
and raspberries as they hecome available.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of the study was to describe and anla,yze the ranqe of uses
and characteristics of users of the Nelchina caribou herd. The finriinqs
section presents the information that has been qathered toward that end.
The discussion is intended to hiqhliqht the data available in such a wav
as to facilitate the Roard's consideration of the herd and necessary
requlations.
nf the 650 permitted users surveyed in this stud.y, most demonstrated
a recent use pattern of the Nelchina herd. Only one third hunted and used
Nelchina caribou prior to 1970. Forty-two percent demonstrated a five
year history or less.
In contrast, rural residents in the interview sample tend to demonstrate
relativelv lonqer use patterns of the Nelchina herd. Forty-two percent of
the interviewed sample livinq in rural areas initially hunted anrl used
the Nelchina caribou herd prior to 1950. Only fifteen nercent of the
57
rural sample had a five year or less history of use. However, mar.y lonq
term users have not hunted in recentyears. Case one is an example of
this. The suspension of caribou use was initially due to a precipitous
decline in caribou numbers in the early 1970s. Requlation chanqes,
includinq shortened seasons, the random drawinq permit system, and
decreased haq limits have further restricted use. A perceived increase
in competition with non-local hunters has also inhibited hunting patterns
and caribou use by some local residents. Caribou use has been char-
acterized b,y this scarcity of animals followed by various forms of requlatory
restrictions for over a decade, makinq it difficult for persons to main-
tain a consistent pattern of use, althouqh the history of use exists and
the desire to return to the use persists,
Surve.v respondents from all areas most frequently cited accessibility
and proximity as the reasons for hunting the Nelchina caribou. This herd
is perceived by the questionnaire respondents as more accessible and
closer than most of the other caribou herds. Considerable effort is
still required to qain access to the herd for the non-local hunters.
Fairbanks hunters travel a minimum of 140 road miles (to Cantwell and
the Oenali Hiqhway) and commonly travel in excess of 200 miles by road
to hunt the herd. Althouqh some walk in from the road, most utilize
additional modes of transportation such as off-road vehicles, airplanes,
hoats, and horses to reach the actual huntinq sites. Anchoraqe hunters
qenerally travel at least 125 miles (Gunsiqht Mountain) and frequently
drive 175 to 200 miles (Lake Louise and the Denali Hiqhway near Glennallen).
Appendix 5 q ive estimated mi leaqes to cammon huntinq sites.
58
Local communities also utilized the herd because of its accessibility
and closeness. Because of the location of their residences, common hunting
sites are almost always within 100 miles , and frequently within 50 miles.
The closer they lived to the actual range area, the less distance local
hunters travelled to hunt, depending on legal seasons and the location
of the caribou during open seasons.
\iJith regard to seasonal use of Nelchina caribou, the majority of surveyed
permitted users have only hunted in August and September; the most
frequently given reason for this was that it is the legal season. The
survey data reveals that other months have been used inthe past when a
longer season was allowed. However, the questionnaire format did not
provide precise information on the recurring use during any specific
months.
Reported seasons varied in the interview data. Some rural residents,
such as in Gulkana and Gakona, indicated historical use of winter months
to hunt. Other communities mentioned historic use of other seasons,
including winter, spring and summer; however, the small sample size and
variety of answers did not provide generalizable information.
Given the high percentages of Anchorage and Fairbanks area residents
in the sample, the high use of airplanes by questionnaire respondents
suggests an efficiency and economy of time in travel to caribou sites, but
not an economy of monetary outlay. The long distances travelled by-car,
use of lodges, use of guides or chartering of aircraft frequently result
in substantial monetary costs to hunt caribou from urban areas. It would
59
appear that to economize expenditure of time by use of expensive equipment,
monetary costs are incurred; conversely, an economy of monetary cost by
utilization of other modes of transport would entail a greater investment
of time.
Urban hunters perceive the efficiency and economy of hunting the Nelchina
herd in relation to the use of other herds. It is more accessible to them
and from this perspective, it probably is more economical for the urban
residents to hunt the Nelchina caribou than most of the other caribou herds
in the state.
Eight percent of the sample mentioned hunting caribou in conjunction
with other game animals, such as moose, sheep and goat, which suggests
another form of economy and efficiency.
In replying to questions about how they learned to hunt caribou, the
majority of questionnaire respondents indicated that they had not been
taught to hunt caribou; nor had they taught anyone else to hunt caribou.
It seems likely that most people learned about caribcu hunting at least
partially from an external source such as reading about good hunting
areas and methods, or through advice from relatives and friends. The
questionnaire data does not identify the sources of information and
knowledge of the majority of the respondents. Another limitation
of the questionnaire was that it did not identify where the respondents
learned to hunt caribou or how old they were at the time they learned.
60
By contrast, the interview queries revealed a great deal more about the
sources of hunting knowledge, ages of hunters, and when and where they
learned to hunt. The majority of all respondents irrespective of length
of residency or birthplace indicated that hunting skills had been learned
from relatives; fathers in particular were commonly mentioned. All
but two of the Fairbanks hunters had learned to hunt some form of game
outside of Alaska. Delta Junction households and the majority of Cantwell
interview subjects had also learned in states other than Alaska. Other
rural areas had a higher number of people who had learned to hunt in the
local area.
Several of the women interviewed indicated that they had learned to hunt
from their husbands. Some of the women a'nd most of the men had grown
up in hunting families and learned to hunt as children, often starting
with small game when they were big enough to hold a rifle.
In the questionnaire, the permitted caribou users were asked to indicate
with whom they shared caribou. Over three fourths of the respondents
shared the meat with members of their own household. One third shared
with friends and sixteen percent replied that they shared with neighbors.
In rural areas, distribution networks were much wider. That is, sharing
'tias not ordinarily restricted to persons within one's own household.
Relatives outside of the household often received at least a small portion
of the meat, with parents and in-laws me'ntioned most frequently among those
outside of the immediate family as recipients of portions of meat. Case
example four was one such instance of parents receiving wild game from
61
children who were now livinq in another household. In some communities,
hunters and their families also provide neat to the elderly and the handi-
capped.
Gulkana residents still enqaqe in the villaqe-wide distribution of many
resources. In the absence of recent caribou harvest, moose provides the
resource for sharinq. Only one huntinq party was successful this fast,
fall, brinqinq a sinqle moose into the village, which was divided amonq
all the households. The first salmon harvested each summer are also
distributed throuqhout the villaqe each year.
Another kind of distribution network operates within communities with
quides. For example, many residents of the Lake Louise area receive
meat from local quides. Caribou meat was also used b.y a few of the
quides for partial payment to their assistant quides.
The primary method of preserving part of all the caribou mea% b,y ques-
tionnaire respondents was freezinq (93 percent). Eleven percent of the
respondents dried at least some of their meat. Other methods, incluriinq
canninq, smokinq, and makinq sausaqe, were specified by 16 percent of the
respondents.
A variety of approaches to handling the caribou neat were employed by
those interviewed. Some field dress the meat, SOW bone it out on-site,
and some even can the meat at hunting camps.
Preservation methods also vary, from the above mentioned on-site canninq
to the traditional hanqinq of the meat for prolonqed periods of time to
62
the immediate freezinq of the meat. Gulkana residents in particular continue
to preserve caribou predominant1.y by smokinq and dryinq. Some residents of
rural areas prefer and, in fact, depend on the natural refriqeration of the
winter months to oreserve the meat. A few of the areas are still without
electricity, which limits considerably their options for meat preservation.
In addition to caribou, the permitted users mentioned salmon, moose, and
qarrien oroduce as important resources which they use. Many survey respon-
dents also indicated the use of more than one caribou herd, either
currently or in the past. Data on this topic could not he adequatel,,
qathered from the questions on the mailed survey.
Similarly, almost all interviewed households mentioned several different
resources that are important to them. Almost all households cited salmon
as an important, it not essential, element in their resource harvest acti-
vities and diet. Location of harvest differed amonq communities, with
Copper River area residents usinq the Copper and Gulkana rivers, Cook
Inlet or the Tanana River.
Other resources varied amonq areas and available loca 1 resources. Smal 1
game, includinq rabbits, ptarmigan and spruce qrouse, were used by many
hut especially hy the rural residents. Fish other than salmon, such as
hurhot, trout, qra,ylinq, whitefish and suckers, were also mentioned.
Road kill moose and Caribou also are a source of wild meat for local tT!SidefltS.
63
Neither the questionnaire nor the interview schedule identified all the
resources utilized by the caribou users. Quantity was also not addressed,
and is an important factor neerlinq further study. The deqree of reliance
over tine may he assessed with quantifiable data.
The questionnaire data, interview material and case examples have described
a variety of uses and characteristics of users of the Nelchina caribou.
Users residinq in urban communities (Anchoraqe area and Fairbanks area)
overall demonstrate a shorter history of use than users with rural resi-
dencies. Urban residents travel lonqer distances than rural residents,
who tend to hunt closer to their homes.
Past regulations and declines in the caribnu population have tended to
restrict to eliminate uses by many rural residents who might hunt under
a different set of requlations.
More detailed information on uses and users is needed qiven these diverse
use patterns. Interview an observational methodoloqies would provide more
precise information than nailed surveys.
Some of the topics that would benefit from further research irlclude:
a) dependency on other resources;
h) hunting areas;
c) preferred seasons;
ri) quantification of caribou harvest;
e) distribution patterns; and
f) social attihutes of caribou huntinq.
64
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copper River Native Association
1981 People Cdorking together in the Copper River Basin.
Copper River Native Association.
Copper River Native Association Health Department
n.d. Tribal Health Plan, Copper River Native Association
Henning Bob, ed.
1981 The Milepost, Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Northwest
Publishing Company.
Orth, Donald J.
1967 Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, Geological Survey
Professional Paper 567. Washington: United States
Government Printing Office.
Pitcher, Kenneth Irl.
1981 Susitna Hydroelectric Project Annual Progress Report,
Big Game Studies, Part IV: Caribou. Alaska Department
of Fish and Game, Anchorage, Alaska.
Stanek, Ronald T.
1981 Nelchina Caribcu User Group Assessment, Alaska
Department of Fish and Game, Subsistence Section,
Anchorage, Alaska.
Tobey, Robert
1981 Nelchina Caribou Report, Alaska Department of Fish
and Game, Division of Game, Anchorage, Alaska.
65
Appendix 1
SCHEDULE OF PROJECT CCMPONENTS
DATE PROJECT COFIPONENT
September 1, 1981 Project design initiated.
October 16, 1981 Copies of questionnaire sent to Advisory
Committee Chairmen.
October 28, 1981 Questionnaire mailed out.
October 29, 1981 Interviewing in communities began.
November 6, 1981 Requested return date of questionnaire.
November 30, 1981 Second letter to most Advisory Committee
Chairmen and Officers.
December 1, 1981 Press Release to local radio stations and
newspapers requesting return of questionnaires
by December 16, 1981.
January 5, 1982
February 18, 1982
Coding and tabulation of questionnaire
responses begins.
Data collection, interviewing concluded.
66
DEP.4RTJIEXT OF FISH AND GA AME
I
333 RASPBERRY ROAD
ANCHORAGE. ALASKA 99502
October 19, 1981
Dear Nelchina Caribou User:
The enclosed questionnaire is being sent to half the people who
received Nelchina caribou permits in 1979, 1980, and 1981.
It recently became necessary for the ?oard of Game to make some decisions
on the allocation of Nelchina caribou hunting permits. However, lttle
information is currently available on the wide range of uses of the
Nelchina caribou. In order to provide the Board of Game with information
about the users and their use of caribou, the enclosed questionnaire
was put together.
Your participation is completely voluntary and totally confidential.
We welcome any additional comments about your use of the herd, the
nature of the questions, and/or current or desired regulations. The
report which will be based in part on yowr reponse will be presented
to the Board of Game at their Spring 1382 meetings and will be available
to the public.
It is very important that'you return the questionnaire by November 6, 1981.
A postage-paid envelope is enclosed.
Thank you for your participation. If you have any questions, please
contact me at the above address.
Sincerely, A
Lee Stratton
Resource Specialist
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
344-0541 ext. 118
67
ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
NELCHINA CARIBOU USER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Community/vicinity of residence: - -_.
2. How long have you lived there? years months
3. How long have you lived in Alaska? years months
4. Household Composition: please start with head of household as iii.
P w \o 03 Ln w m v 0
t
5. Nhat weapon s) do you use to hunt?
gun xbou and arrow
other (please specify):
6 What weapon(s) have you used in the past? -
68
Reduced from actual
8% x 14 size
7. When did you first hunt caribou?
R. Since then, in what years and what months have you hunted caribou?
9. 4hy do you hunt at that time of year, besides the fact that it is/was open season?
10. In your lifetime, in which area(s) have you hunted caribou, including this Year?
Why have you used these areas rather than other areas?
11. How do you transport yourself
Check all that apply:
-foot car/truck
airplane ATV
and your harvested caribou?
horse
snowmachine
boat
other (please specify):
12. How did you transport yourself and your harvested caribou in the past?
13. With whom do you share caribou? Check all that apply:
no one
members of your household
neighbors
local relatives not living in your household; how related:
relatives out of town; how related:
friends ,. _-_
14. Who goes along with you when you hunt caribou? Check all that apply:
no one
- household members, which ones: (example: son, wife-etc.)
other relatives; which ones
friends
other:
,'
15. How many people, if any, outside of your immediate household depend on
you to provide them with caribou?
Why do they depend on you for caribou?
16. How did you learn to hunt caribou?
from a relative; which ones? (example: father)
-from a friend
-1 learned by myself
17. Has anyone learned to hunt caribou from you? yes
What relationship are they to you, if any? no-
18. What parts of the caribou do you use and for what purposes?
19. How is the caribou meat stored (if at all)? Check all that apply.
frozen
dried
not stored, eaten fresh
other: (please specify)
69
2~3. How important are these natural resources to your household's food supply?
Resource Very Not very
Important Important Important Do not use
CdribOu
Moose
Sheep
Birds/Ducks
Other game
Salmon
Other fish
Wild plants and berries
Garden vegetables & fruits
Other:
21. Roughly how much of your household's diet comes from store bought food?
All Most About half Some None
22. Are there special occasions (holidays, funerals, religious events) when
harvesting or eating caribou are important to you? Please describe in
as much detail as possible.
23. Oid you apply for a Nelchina caribou subsistence permit (503W) in 1981?
yes - no
If no. why not?
24. If you could not get a caribou, would you use other resources?
yes - no
If yes, which ones?
25. Optional: Are you or your spouse members of a regional corporation?
ye= - no
If yes, which corporation(s)?
26. Additional conxnents:
Reduced from actual
8% x 14 size
APPENDIX 3
INTERVIEkI SCHEDULE
I. Personal Caribou Hunting History
****focus on most recent hunt****
A. When & Where & Why
B. People involved
1) relationships
2) roles/responsibilities
C. Activities
1) focusing on caribou
a) methods of hunting
b) transmission of knowledge
c) parts salvaged
d) purposes/uses of parts salvaged
2) focusing on other resources
a) use of other resources as relating to the hunt
b) other resources harvested to bring back
c) who is doing what
D. Changes over time
E. Distribution of caribou
1) roles
2) network
3) preservation
4) preparation
II. Household Picture
A. Subsistence Activities
1) roles: Who in household contributes what efforts/resources?
2) resources: What is being harvested/shared?
3) use: preservation and preparation
4) distribution network: relationship to meaning of kill
8. Cyclical picture
C. Use of groceries
1) catagories of groceries used
2) when is the diet being supplemented
D. Demographic/economic considerations;
1) employment
2) income
3) ethnic affiliation 71
Appendix 4
Jerry Isaac, President Tanacross Village Council General Delivery Tanacross, Alaska 99776
January 25, 1982
Lee Stratton, Resource Spec. Dept. of Fish & Game
333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, Alaska 99502
Dear Mr. Stratton:
This letter is in reponse to your letter which I received dated January 15, 1982.
As per your request, yes the people of Tanacross along with
other people from Northway, Tetlin, Tok, Dot Lake, and others have, in the past hunted the Nelchina Caribou herd. Because of -, cf
thecsudden crash of the population numbers of that particular hezrdd these people under self-imposition of abstinence had
quit hunting that herd to help the reqrowth of population. This has always been the case.
When certain species 33eerr\to reduce in population, the Native people impose upon them selves a management of self-abstinence from hunting or trapping of those declining game and the location in which they are found.
As far as I can see, yes that caribou herd along with the Taylor
Highway herd are important as concerned with Tanacross.
The declination-of population is the reason these people do not apply for permits.
These people had always used the two caribou herds I have pre- viously named since I can remember.
If there are any further questions feel free to contact me via my address above.
Sincerely yours,
72
APPENDIX 5
ESTIMATED HI LEAGES FROM SELECTED RESIDENCIES
TO HUNTING SITES AND ACCESS POINTS 1/
\nchorage 125
Zhitna 129
:opper Center 76
lelta Junction 215
-airbanks 313
;lennallen 62
;ulkana 76
:enai/Soldotna 273
'almer 83
Tok 203
Valdez 177
l/ source: 1981 Milepost
128
126
73
212
310
59
73
276
86
200
174
179
112
59
198
296
45
59
327
137
186
160
173
81
28
167
265
14
28
321
131
155
129
187
67
14
153
251
X
14
337
145
139
115
201 219
77 99
24 47
139 118
237 216
14 32
X 16
349 369
159 177
127 142
125 147
257 211
137 269
85 216
80 215
178 149
70 205
56 191
407 315
215 169
180 315
785 319
2/ access to Denali Highway
73
Table 2. Harvest Chronology
APPENDIX 6
Nelchina Caribou
Xonth
Percentage of Kill
1969-70 1970-71* 1971-72
August 14.9 17.8 8.8
September 12.5 , 18.4 10.1
October 3.6 1.6 13.7
Xovember 19.4 32.0 42.0
December 12.1 4.6 8.3
January 4.9 2.4 4.8
February 11.0 5.6 7.8
Yarch 21.7 17.6 4.5
* Caribou season was closed in Units 11 and 13, the complete month of
October, 1970. All harvested caribou in October were reported taken
from Unit 13.
Submitted by: Loyal Johnson, Game Biologist III
74