Alaska Administrative Code
Title 5 - Fish and Game
Part 3 - Game
Chapter 92 - Statewide Provisions
Article 5 - Intensive Management and Predator Control
5 AAC 92.127 - Intensive Management Plans IX

(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;

(A) the Unit 1(A) deer population and harvest objectives have not been achieved;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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.

(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;

(A) the Unit 3 deer population and harvest objectives have not been achieved;

(B) predation by bears and wolves is a potentially important cause of the failure to achieve deer population and harvest objectives;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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.