Alaska Administrative Code
Title 5 - Fish and Game
Part 3 - Game
Chapter 92 - Statewide Provisions
Article 5 - Intensive Management and Predator Control
5 AAC 92.118 - Intensive Management Plans IV

(A) the moose population and harvest information in Unit 15(A) is as follows:

(B) declining habitat quality is the main limiting factor affecting low moose densities in Unit 15(A); there has not been a fire of significant size in the unit for over 40 years; studies from 1987 - 1992 showed 96 percent of cows aged 2 - 15 were pregnant whereas 73 percent of cows in the same age group were pregnant in 2006; twinning rates calculated in 1983 in an area that burned in 1969 showed a 72 percent twinning rate whereas twinning rates calculated in the unit for 2011 were at 16 percent; the moose population appeared to be at or above carrying capacity in the early 1990s and declined at a rate of nine percent per year during the 1990s; research on calf mortality in the late 1970s in the unit showed 48 percent of calves dying from predation, six percent was caused by wolves, six percent was caused by brown bears, 34 percent was caused by black bears, and two percent by undetermined predation from wolves or bears before July 15th; while habitat is limiting, wolf predation has been shown to limit calf and adult moose survival in the unit; predation rates by these three primary predators may have changed due to changes in prey availability; however, all three predator species are still relatively abundant in the unit; over the last decade highway vehicle collisions (41 percent cows, 51 percent calves, average 85 per year) represented approximately 38 percent of human caused mortality of moose in the unit;

(C) with limited habitat this action is not intended to make significant progress toward the intensive management population objective, rather reducing predation will allow for possible reallocation of moose from predators to harvest; the program will initially focus on wolves due to potential effectiveness of aerial wolf control; additional black bear take will be considered if additional improvements in calf survival and recruitment are needed to meet harvest objectives;

(D) the wolf harvest over the past decade in Unit 15(A) has ranged between 4 - 16 wolves taken each year with a mean of 11 wolves; the pre-winter wolf population was estimated at 60 - 62 wolves in November 2011; the harvest has been inadequate to reduce wolf numbers considering yearly growth; assuming a pre-winter population of 60 - 62 wolves, the wolf harvest would likely need to be 45 - 47 wolves from all methods including trapping, hunting, and wolf control, to reduce the wolf population and result in a reduction in predation rates on moose; the hunting season and bag limit for wolves has remained unchanged since 1989 but the bag limit on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, which was limited to two wolves per year on the refuge, was liberalized to five wolves per year in 2011; the trapping season and bag limits have been the same since 1997; additional active management methods are necessary to reduce the wolf population;

(E) approximately 79 percent of Unit 15(A) is federal land, 18 percent is private land, and three percent is state and borough land; wolf control will be initiated pending authorization by land managers and owners;

(A) this plan is in effect for approximately five years from March 24, 2012 through June 30, 2017 unless renewed;

(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 moose and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan;

(C) predator control activities shall be terminated;

(A) if there is no detectable increase in calf-to-cow ratios after three years of predation control, indicating that there is no significant improvement in calf survival;

(B) if, after three years, any measure consistent with significant levels of nutritional stress are identified;

(C) annually, if the wolf population falls below 15 wolves at any time estimated from one or more of the following techniques:

(D) the commissioner shall annually close wolf hunting and trapping seasons as appropriate to ensure that the minimum wolf population objectives are met.

(A) moose IM population objectives for Unit 15(C) as established in 5 AAC 92.108 are 2,500 - 3,500 moose. This objective is within the range of historic population estimates; the bull-to-cow objective is 20 - 25:100 for Unit 15(C);

(B) the moose harvest objectives for Unit 15(C) is 200 - 350 moose; which is eight percent of the low population objective and 10 percent of the high population objective;

(C) the department has determined that wolves can be removed from public and private lands within the control area to the extent possible without affecting the sustainability of the wolf population in Unit 15(C) because the control area is approximately 33 percent of Unit 15(C) and does not include all lands that the wolf population occupies;

(A) moose harvests were below IM harvest objectives in Unit 15(C) from 2011 to 2015;

(B) wolf predation is likely an important cause of the failure to achieve these objectives;

(C) a reduction in wolf predation in Unit 15(C) may make progress toward achieving the Unit 15(C) IM harvest objectives for moose;

(D) reducing wolf predation has been effective utilizing recognized and prudent active management techniques and based on scientific information;

(E) reducing wolf numbers is likely to be effective given land ownership patterns if conducted by department personnel;

(F) reducing wolf predation is in the best interests of consumptive users;

(A) hunting and trapping of wolves by the public in the Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area during the term of the program will occur as provided in the hunting and trapping regulations set out elsewhere in this title, including the use of motorized vehicles;

(B) notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, the commissioner may issue public aerial shooting permits or public land and shoot permits as a method for wolf removal under AS 16.05.783;

(C) department personnel will be allowed to conduct aerial wolf removal using aircraft under AS 16.05.783.

(A) through June 30, 2029, the commissioner may authorize the removal of wolves in the Unit 15(C) 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 moose and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan.

(A) when the mid-point of the IM population and harvest objectives for the moose population are achieved;

(B) if, after three years, the harvest of wolves is not sufficient to make progress towards the IM population objectives for wolves;

(C) wolf predation control activities may be suspended: