Section 5.92.127. Intensive Management Plans IX.

	(a)  Plans established. Intensive management plans for the following areas are established in this section:  
		(1) Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area;  
		(2) Unit 3 Predation Control Area.  
	(b)  Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area:   
		(1) The Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area consists of Gravina Island (Wildlife Analysis Area - 101); it consists primarily of United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service and State lands and encompasses approximately 248 square kilometers (96 square miles) or approximately 2 percent of the total land area in Unit 1(A); Gravina Island though near Ketchikan is semi-isolated by the Tongass Narrows on the north side, Clarence Strait on the west and south sides, and Nichols Passage along the east side; notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, and based on the following information contained in this section, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may conduct a wolf population reduction or wolf population regulation program in Unit 1(A);  
		(2) this is an experimental treatment program to evaluate whether (a) wolf control in a small portion of Unit 1(A) can reallocate a measurable proportion of deer mortality from wolves to humans, (b) whether population estimation techniques for both predators and prey can be refined enough to measure the effectiveness of the intensive management actions, and (c) whether 1 - 2 hired wolf trappers, operating during the established wolf trapping season and using standard trapping techniques, can reduce wolf numbers sufficiently to bring about an increase in the area's deer population; this is an experimental program that will have limited impact on the deer and wolf populations in Unit 1(A), and is expected to make only a small contribution to the intensive management deer harvest objective in Unit 1(A); at the end of the authorized period for removal of wolves, the control program will be terminated;  
		(3) deer and wolf objectives are as follows:  
			(A) the deer intensive management objectives established by the board for Unit 1(A) are for a population of 15,000 and an annual harvest of 700 deer;  
			(B) the deer harvest objective for the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area is 60;  
			(C) there are currently no precise estimates for the wolf population in Unit 1(A); population estimates for Unit 1(A) wolves are based on inferences derived from extensive wolf research, including radiotelemetry, conducted on neighboring Prince of Wales Island in Unit 2 during the late 1990s; based on estimates of average wolfpack and home range sizes in Unit 2, and similar wolf research work on Revilla Island located in Unit 1(A) during the early 1980s, we believe the pre-treatment wolf population in Unit 1(A) is approximately 250 (range 125 - 385); the wolf population estimate for the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area is approximately 12 wolves; a minimum population of 152 wolves in the remainder of Unit 1(A) will assure that wolves persist on a unitwide basis as part of the natural ecosystem in Unit 1(A) and assure continued wolf hunting, trapping, and viewing opportunities;  
			(D) the wolf control objective for the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area is to reduce the wolf population by 100 percent; the estimated number of wolves in the predation control area is approximately 8 - 12, during the entire intensive management project attempt to keep Gravina Island free of wolves;  
		(4) board findings concerning populations and human use are as follows:  
			(A) the Unit 1(A) deer population and harvest objectives have not been achieved;  
				(i) precise estimates of the deer population in Unit 1(A) are not available; estimated annual harvest in all of Unit 1(A) is 200 - 300 deer;  
				(ii) precise estimates of the deer population in the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area are not available; before 2011, the division of wildlife conservation estimated the Unit 1(A) deer harvest based on a regional questionnaire mailed randomly to 33 percent of deer harvest ticket holders; during 1990 - 2000 the estimated average hunter harvest within the proposed predation control area was 100 deer annually; during 2001 - 2010, the estimated average hunter harvest declined to 20 deer annually; based on resident testimonials, cost to obtain a deer has increased due to declining deer densities and increased fuel costs;  
			(B) predation by bears and wolves is a potentially important cause of the failure to achieve deer population and harvest objectives; studies from Prince of Wales Island and Heceta Island, both located in Unit 2, have documented black bears as the primary source of neonatal fawn mortality, whereas wolves are the primary predator of yearling and adult deer; based on radio-collared adult female deer in Unit 2 (2003 - 2011), total annual adult female and yearling female deer mortality was 16 percent, of which 3 percent was from black bear predation, 6 percent from wolf predation, and 7 percent other; total annual neonate fawn mortality during the same period was 65 percent, of which 50 percent was by black bear predation, 5 percent wolf predation, and 10 percent other; total annual adult male and yearling male mortality was 38 percent, of which none were killed by bears, 5 percent by wolf predation, and 33 percent other;  
			(C) a reduction of wolf predation within the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area can reasonably be expected to make progress towards achieving the Unit 1(A) intensive management objectives; wolf control alone likely will result in a positive response in deer abundance after five winters of control, including reallocation of some surviving deer to harvest;  
			(D) reducing predation is likely to be effective and feasible utilizing recognized and prudent active management techniques and based on scientific information; reducing wolves in a small geographic area will likely result in increased deer survival and additional animals available for hunter harvest; harvest data will be collected using harvest ticket hunt reports;  
		(5) authorized methods and means are as follows:  
			(A) predator control activities will be conducted using department employed or contracted wolf trappers, operating during the established wolf trapping season and using legal trapping techniques;  
			(B) hunting and trapping of wolves by the public in Unit 1(A) during the term of this program may occur as provided in the hunting and trapping regulations set out elsewhere in this title, including use of motorized vehicles as provided in 5 AAC 92.080;  
		(6) time frame is as follows:  
			(A) through June 30, 2019, the commissioner may authorize removal of wolves in the Unit 1(A) Predation Control Area;  
			(B) annually, the department shall, to the extent practicable, provide to the board a report of program activities conducted during the preceding 12 months, including implementation activities, the status of the deer and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan;  
		(7) the program may be reviewed and possibly suspended if one of the following conditions are met:  
			(A) if deer abundance is reliably determined to have doubled in the predation control area, control will be suspended;  
			(B) if deer abundance has not increased significantly relative to the program objective (A) of this paragraph after 5 years the commissioner will reevaluate the program and recommend changes to the board or suspend it;  
			(C) if indices of wolf abundance indicate that wolf control has been effective (most wolves have consistently been removed from the treatment area each year), but indices of deer abundance have not measurably changed in the treatment area, the program will be reevaluated to determine if there are ways to make it more effective.  
	(c)  Unit 3 Predation Control Area: the Unit 3 Predation Control Area consists of Mitkof Island, Woewodski Island, and the Lindenberg Peninsula on eastern Kupreanof Island in Unit 3; encompassing approximately 648 square miles; notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, and based on the following information contained in this section, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may conduct a wolf population reduction or wolf population regulation program in Unit 3:  
		(1) the Unit 3 Predation Control Area consists of Mitkof Island, Woewodski Island, and the Lindenberg Peninsula on eastern Kupreanof Island, including Wildlife Analysis Areas #2007, #2008, #5135, #5136, #5137, and #5138); the wolf reduction area consists primarily of USDA Forest Service federal lands, and encompasses approximately 648 square miles surrounding the community of Petersburg, or approximately 22 percent of the total land area in Unit 3; the Unit 3 Predation Control Area does not delineate a deer or wolf population and is not intended to distinguish animals from within the Predation Control Area from populations in Unit 3; the purpose of the Unit 3 Predation Control Area is to focus wolf control in an area where deer are accessible to hunters; wolf control will be conducted only within the 648 square mile Unit 3 Predation Control Area;  
		(2) this is an experimental predator control program to evaluate whether (a) wolf control in a small portion of Unit 3 can reallocate a measurable proportion of deer mortality from wolves to humans, (b) whether population estimation techniques for both predators and prey can be refined to measure the effectiveness of the intensive management actions, and (c) whether 1 - 2 hired wolf trappers, operating during the established wolf trapping season and using standard trapping techniques, can reduce wolf numbers sufficiently to bring about an increase in the area's deer population; the predator control program will have limited impact on the deer and wolf populations in Unit 3, and is expected to make only a small contribution to the intensive management deer harvest objective in Unit 3; at the end of the authorized period for removal of wolves, the control program will be terminated;  
		(3) deer and wolf objectives are as follows:  
			(A) the deer intensive management objectives established by the Board of Game for Unit 3 are for a population of 15,000 and an annual harvest of 900;  
			(B) the deer harvest objective for the in Unit 3 Predator Control Area is 250 annually;  
			(C) there are no precise estimates for the wolf population in Unit 3; population estimates for Unit 3 wolves are based on inferences derived from extensive wolf research conducted on neighboring Prince of Wales Island in Unit 2 during the late 1990s; based on estimates of average wolf pack and home range sizes in Unit 2, we believe the pre-control wolf population in Unit 3 is approximately 250 with a range 125 - 385; the wolf population control objective for Unit 3 is approximately 200 wolves; a minimum population of 200 wolves is approximately a 20 percent reduction from the pre-control population and will assure that wolves persist as part of the natural ecosystem in Unit 3 and assure continued wolf hunting, trapping and viewing opportunities;  
			(D) the wolf control objective for the Unit 3 Predator Control Area is to reduce the wolf population by 80 percent; the estimated number of wolves in the control area is approximately 60;  
		(4) Board of Game findings concerning populations and human use are as follows:  
			(A) the Unit 3 deer population and harvest objectives have not been achieved;  
				(i) precise estimates of the deer population in Unit 3 are not available; prior to 2011 the division of wildlife conservation estimated the Unit 3 deer harvest based on a regional questionnaire mailed randomly to 33 percent of deer harvest ticket holders; during 1997 - 2006, the estimated hunter harvest in Unit 3 was 840 deer annually; during 2007 - 2010, the estimated hunter harvest in Unit 3 declined to 542 deer annually;  
				(ii) precise estimates of the deer population in the Unit 3 Predation Control Area are not available; during 1999 - 2006, the estimated hunter harvest was 216 deer annually; during 2008 - 2010, the estimated hunter harvest declined to 86 deer annually; based on resident testimonials, cost to obtain a deer has increased due to declining deer densities and increasing fuel costs;  
			(B) predation by bears and wolves is a potentially important cause of the failure to achieve deer population and harvest objectives;  
				(i) we have no quantitative information on deer body condition in Unit 3; hunters report that deer are in excellent condition with large reserves of body fat during the hunting season in October; there is no evidence indicating that deer are nutritionally stressed in Unit 3;  
				(ii) studies from Prince of Wales Island in Unit 2 have documented black bears as the primary source of neonatal fawn mortality, whereas wolves are the primary predator of yearling and adult deer; no estimates are available for neonatal fawn or annual adult deer mortality rates in Unit 3;  
			(C) reduction of wolf predation within the Unit 3 Predator Control Area can reasonably be expected to make progress towards achieving the Unit 3 intensive management objectives; deer abundance should slowly increase in response to wolf control that increases yearling and adult deer survival; wolf control alone likely will result in a positive response in deer abundance after five winters of control, including reallocation of some surviving deer to harvest;  
			(D) reducing predation is likely to be effective and feasible utilizing recognized and prudent active management techniques and based on scientific information; if wolf predation is an important source of mortality, reducing wolves in a small geographic area will likely result in increased deer survival and additional animals available for hunter harvest; harvest data will be collected using harvest ticket hunt reports; deer population data collection will include fecal pellet-group surveys, motion detecting camera trap surveys and aerial surveys of deer in alpine areas to measure changes in deer abundance;  
			(E) reducing predation is likely to be effective given land ownership patterns, ease of access for conducting predator control, proximity to traditional deer hunting areas for the community of Petersburg, and habitat suitability;  
		(5) authorized methods and means are as follows:  
			(A) predator control activities will be conducted using department employed or contracted wolf trappers, operating during the established wolf trapping season and using legal trapping techniques;  
			(B) hunting and trapping of wolves by the public in Unit 3 during the term of this program may occur as provided in the hunting and trapping regulations set out elsewhere in this title, including use of motorized vehicles as provided in 5 AAC 92.080;  
		(6) time frame is as follows:  
			(A) through June 30, 2019, the commissioner may authorize removal of wolves in the Unit 3 Predator Control Area;  
			(B) annually, the department shall, to the extent practicable, provide to the board a report of program activities conducted during the preceding 12 months, including implementation activities, the status of the deer and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan;  
		(7) the program may be reviewed and possibly suspended if one of the following conditions are met:  
			(A) if deer abundance is reliably determined to have tripled in the predator control area, control will be suspended;  
			(B) if deer abundance has not increased significantly relative to the program objective in (A) of this paragraph after 5 years the commissioner will reevaluate the program and recommend changes to the board or suspend it;  
			(C) if indices of wolf abundance indicate that wolf control has been effective (most wolves have consistently been removed from the predator control area each year), but indices of deer abundance have not measurably changed in the predator control area, the program will be reevaluated;  
			(D) if the wolf population estimate for the control area reliably falls below the minimum management objective of 10 wolves, predator control activities will be suspended.  

Authorities

16.05.255;16.05.270;16.05.783

Notes

Authority

AS 16.05.255 AS 16.05.270 AS 16.05.783 ________________________

History

Eff. 7/1/2013, Register 206