CLARENCE RHODE AND NUNIVAK NARRATIVE REPORTS JANUARY-DECEMBER 1964

Ittvisioa of Wildlife efU es

HHWfelw Hgport Rooting fllig;

Refuge CUjlENOE RHODE *JSS2i-~- Year 196h

Wildlife: Mr. Ballou . Mr- Webster ______ Mr. Stiles _

Resourcegs Mr. StollbersX^^ tor. Ludb Mr. Brltt 6 J

r/xterpretation: Mr. DoMoot _ m VSr. Bfoneou ^ WjT Mr. CJoldxaan

Job Corps; 86% P^gRn • Mr^ue^ecks

1 "T

gLAWgCK RHODK NATIONAL VI LP LIFE RANGE

and

NUMIVAK HATIO.NAL WILDLIFE REFIT.E

Narrative Report

January 1, 196*» to Deceaber 31, 196U

Number k

STAFF

Jaaes G. King Calvin J, LenaInk Jerry L, Hout JMICB R, Geerdti

Joseoh Panuyak Laura J. Walker

Refuse Manager To - 5/31/ M Refuge Manager Froa - 7/19/6*1 Assistant Refuse Manager Wildlife Aid 6/U/6I1 - l?/13/6^ Maintenance Han Fron - 1?/13/6U Wildlife Aid T/5/6k - 8/?/6 Clerk TyMst Froa -

Department of the Interior Bureau of Sport fisheries and Wildlife

• fish and Wildlife Senrlce Bethel, Alaska

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. GENERAL

A. Weather Conditions 1

B. Habitat Conditions • 2

II. WILDLIFE

A. Migratory Birds 2 B. Upland Oaae Birds 6 C. Big Game 7 D. Fur AniaalB, Predators, Rodents end Other Ms—sis T E. Havks, Eagles, Owls and Ravens 8

III. REFUGE DEVELOPMENT AMD MAINTENANCE

A. Physical Development 8 B. Collections 11

IV. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A. Fur Harvest 15 B. Coaaerclal Pishing 16

V. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

A. Spring Migration 16 B. Nesting Studies 18 C. Brood Studies 19 D. Brant Trapping 20 E. Duck Banding 20 F. Swan Studies 21

VI. PUBLIC RELATIONS

A. Recreational Use 26 B. Refuge Visitors 26 C. Refuge Participation 26 D. Hunting ?9 E. Saftey 29

VII. OTHER ITEMS

A. Iteas of Interest 29 B. Acknowldgeaents 31

Appendix 32

CLAIUCMCE RHODE NATIONAL WILDLIFE RANGE

NARRATIVE REPORT

January—December 196*1

I GENERAL

A. Weathr Cooditlons, A nwary of weather data aa recorded at Bethel FAA Station it shown in Table 1.

The winter of I96V6M was slow in arriving and was equally slow in leaving. The first severe winter weather occured in February when teaneratures reached 20 to 30 below 0 with peak winds to k6 n. n. h. Snowfall was li^ht and the ground remained nearly bare until late February. Snow accumulated rapidly in March and continued to fall until May. Spring finally arrived during the last week of May and by June 1 the last of the snov drifts had aelted around the head­quarters.

The late development of enow cover resulted in thick lee on rivers and lakes. On May IT the ice on the Kuskokvla at Bethel measured 53 inches. Breakup of the Kuskokvla River occured on June 3 and by the following day the river was running nearly free of lee. This break­up vaa 20 days later than normal (May ill) and six days later than any breakup in kl years of records.

Breakup brought the usual spring floods. Some up-river villages were evacuated but Bethel suffered only minor flooding. However, the high water and wave action caused severe erosion along the banks of the Kuskokvim at Bethel. The Refuge Headquarters was not threatned, but the main road in front of town washed away and the Standard Oil plant was forced to move it's office and pumps.

Soring was also late in arriving 00 the Range. A flight on April 30 from Bethel to Kuskokvim Bay and along the coast to Cape levenham disclosed one small lead open in Kuskokvim Bay. This lead of ooen vater gradually videned until ice free water was reached in the Bering Sea near Cape Jfevenhaa. A Snail lead, three to fire miles off short, vas the only open vater observed during a flight along the coast bor­dering the Range from Cape Romansof to Nelson Island on May 1. On the Range, ice vas s t i l l present on the rivers, sloughs and ponds on June 9, but by June 19 all the vater on the Range vas free of ice. With the spell of winter finally broken, excellent weather vas en-Joyed from the end of May until the end of August.

TABLE I

WEATHER RECORDS FOR BETHEL I* 196k

Preciplftloo (inch—) Wind (aph)

Total Nonas Month Snowfall Total Bonsai This month Normal Mis. Average Peak

Jan. 5.2 .32 1.12 M 3.6 33 -26 10.3 28 Fob. fc.2 .36 1.12 -1.2 8.2 k2 -35 15.3 Ml North 10.3* .83 1.03 3.1 11.6 35 -39 12.6* 33* April i i .a» .88 .59 19.5 25.9 kl -22 li».6 37 May 5.T• .71 .95 31.0 39.0 (3 6 12.5 31 June 0.0 .79 1.18 52.5 51.6 76 30 10.6 22 July 0.0 .66 2.03 56.6 5*1.7 77 *»3 9.2 20 Aug. 0.0 1.71 t.20 52.1 52.3 66 38 10.1 39 Sept. 0.0 i.vr 2.59 vr.2 kk.6 6I1 31 11.2« 32 Oct. 8.2 1.1k 1.5 31.9 n.k *>8 5 11.2 31 lor. 6.6 1.06 1.06 11.9 17.2 38 -12 11.2 55 Dec. 8.3 1.02 1.02 -3.0 M.8 32 -31 12.6 36

• Estimates

t >

)

By Bid-Septeaber, the skies were clear end the teaperatures began dropping. The first frost vas recorded at Bethel on September 13* Saall ponds around Bethel started freeslog on October 15 end vere connletely frosen over on October 22. Ice started floving in the Kuskokvla on October 2k and the river froze over on October 29. This year the Kuskokvla ran free of ice a total of IkJ days as compared to 196 days in 1963.

B. Habitat Conditions.

Water: Because of high vater and ice, the nesting area along the Bering Sea coast vas not iamediately available to the spring algrants. As a result, vaterfowl nesting vas delayed from ten days to three weeks. In general, the low precipitation this summer resulted in lover vater levels in ponds and lakes than last year. The unusually high precipitation in 1963 {31% above noraal) resulted in flooding of the shorelines of many of the lakes. This situation vas not observed this year.

Coastal flooding produced by high vinds and tide occured be­tween August 30 and September 11. Official weather records at Bethel recorded peak vinds at 39 n.p.h., while vinds vere est­imated to 50 n.p.h. on the coast. Markers which had withstood the 1963 flood vere vashed away and the driftwood line vas moved Inland an estimated 2 1/2 miles (see appendix l ) . No waterfowl losses were observed, although brant were forced away from the coast and were observed as far as ?5 miles*inland.

Habitat: In the fall berries become an Important food source to waterfowl and ptarmigan. This year there was an abundance of berries and geese (brant, cacklers, emperors and white-fronts) were frequently observed foraging on the tundra. The crops of emperor and white-fronted geese collected In early September, contained exclusively crowberries (gapetrua nigrum). The principle berries on the Range are crowberry, llngenberry (Vacciniua vitis idea)* bog cranberry (Vaccioiua oxycoccus), nagoonberry (Rubus arcticus), cloudberry (Rubus chamssmorus), and bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursj).

II WILDLIFE

A. Although the arrival of spring vas the latest on record, migrating vaterfowl arrived nearly on schedule. However, snov and ice s t i l l covered the nesting grounds and nesting vas delayed from two to three weeks. As soon as nesting was poss­ible the birds wasted no tine in getting underway. By mid-June most of the waterfowl species had completed their laying and were starting incubation.

Broods of brant, cacklers, white-fronted and emperor geese were observed the first week of July.

At this time, or shortly thereafter, ducks and eese went into the moult. A drive July 11 produced a catch of 2906U flightless brant. These birds vere exanined for age, sex, bands and brood patches.

Duties on Nunivak Island National Wildlife Refuge during August interupted waterfowl studies and the development of young was not observed. Probably most young were flying by the end of August, although flightless pintails vere observed as late as the second veek of September.

By aid-September ducks, geese, swans and cranes vere banding to­gether to start their migration south. A flight over Dall Lake on October 15, disclosed that only a small flock of svans re­mained on this portion of the Range. The last snow geese, usually a late migrant, vere observed Just south of the Range on October 16.

Whistling Swan; The first svans vere observed flying over the Range Headquarters on May U. This migration continued through the month with the last swan Observed froa Headquarters on May

As in 1963 random observations vere made enroute to and from the Range on nearly every flight. A comparison with the 1963 counts and results of a production study conducted this year are Rlv*n in Section

In mid-August 23 local svans vere caught and banded. A throw net cast from the floats of a plane prooved to be a superior to the previous dip net method. A total of 39 svans vere banded this su—er.

Svans started concentrating in aid-September, prior to their fall migration. On October 15 the last svans vere observed on Eek Island in the Kuskokvla River.

Cackling Canada Goose: All nesting data for this snecles has been Obtained from studies conducted on areas established nrimariIv for observation of brant. These areas may not constitute optimum nesting habitat for cacklers, a factor which should be considered when evaluating the nesting data.

The nesting Information from 1961 to date has been taken from the same area (231 acre study plot at the mouth of the Kashunuk River) and is therefore comparable but does not necessarily give the true picture of cackling goose nesting on the Clarence Rhode Range.

Cackling goose nests on the study area this year numbered ?3 as compared to 60 in 1963. The ?5 nests constitute a SOt reduction from the four year average (1961-6U) and nav be a result or the late spring. While the number of nests were down the clutch sizes remained near average and the brood sizes of Class I yowwr were slightly higher than last hear (Table II).

TABLE II

CACKLING GOOSE PRODUCTION - ?31 ACRE STUDY PLOT

1961 1962 1963 196H Average Nests 19 ?5 50 Average clutch . - U.5 U.3 —

Number of broods 53 • 39 28 to Average brood 3.7 - 3.3 3.7

Lesser Canada Goose: Adequate information Is lacking for this laportant species as nesting occurs inland fron our ©resent study areas. Furthermore, Canada Geese are not nearly as gregarious on the nesting grounds as drant or Cackling Geese and propor­

tionately fewer nests were observed. Three nests were located near the field headquarters at Old Chevak and contained a total of 11 eggs for an average clutch size of 3.6.

Black Brant! This bird is the most important nesting sneties on the Range and as a result reeleves the major attention. Production studies were continued with methods and areas es­tablished in 1961.

The severe spring resulted In late nesting and was probably the major factor In the ?0% reduction of nests and ?J% reduction of number of eggs over the l(>6l-6U average. Clutch size (3.?) was also down from the four year average (3.5). A brood count of 30 broods par square mile was obtained from aerial transects established in 1962. The count on these transects was U5 broods oer squAre mile. The only bright Moot in this years pro­duction was the brood size average of 3.2: the highest on record since 1961.

A total of ?,06U flightless brant were cantured In a drive on July 11. These birds were checked for age, sex, bands, and brood patches. A complete summary of results is nrovlded in Section V.

By the Middle of 5«pte»ber the brant elcratloo toward the Alaska Peninsula and the "South kBT was veil undervay. RefUffe Haaacer, Jones recorded the first arrival of brant oa the Iteabek ftefW oa September l v vlth the aaia flights arrlvin« September Ik.

>r Geeaei The f irst geeae ve obeerve4 this snrlnr flock of enperors .lust south of the Range (Qulnhagak) on

April 30; Nesting and other phenological events vera not notlc-ably earlier than for other geese (Table III).

TABU* III

OeOOP 0O081 PHOOUXiT • 196k

Est1 aated f i r s t brood f irs t flightless Last date

Jeae It July 7 July 8 Sept. 12*

• Last date refuge personnel oa

Production any have decreased froa 1963. The average sise of eaperor's broods vas Slightly higher than laet year bet fever broods vera obeerved. In an aerial brood census between Tern Mill aad Baird Inlet, 221 broods vera counted. In 1963• 2k6 eaperor broods vere counted in this saw area, lasting data stsasarl sed froa past records are shown in Table IV.

TABU IV

mi 1961 1361 Total So. aeets • - • - i i Total la. egge • • • k9 Average Clutch m - k.k Total Bo. broods* 10 k2 15 106 Total Bo. young m 159 5k klk Average 01itch 5.0 5.3 3.7 3.6 3.9

Includes only thoee broods for which accurate counts of vera obtained.

White-froated Qeeeei This species is a aore interior aigraat than other reese of the Delta, generally following the large river valleys to the coast. White-fronts moving down the Kaekokvia River on Hay 2 vere the first geese observed at Bethel this spring.

Obterratloat related to phenology end production are shovn la Tablet V aad TI.

TABLE T

VHITl-FROWED 00081 PHUOLOOY - I96V

Estimated leitlna

Flret first Brood first flightless Laet Date

June 8 July 7 July fl Oct. 7 (Bethel)

TABLE TI

VUTE-PROVTED 00061 PHODUCTIO* - 19f>k

lo. of Mettt

lo. of Araraga lo. of lo. of Arerags

5 t* H.ft 6 20 3.3

Snoe Oeeaet Reports indicate that snov geesa aay occass tonally nest oa the Clarence Rhode Range, but, no nests have been found the past tvo susMrs. Large nuabars of snov geesa otilite the Pange for feed­ing and resting during their nigration, particularly in the fall. Snov geese are one of the last species of migratory vaterfovl to leave the Range. This year the last flock vas observed 00 October 16.

>i Information of ducks is Halted to data collected incidental to studies of brant aad other geese. Data so obtained is si la Table VII.

lo. lo.

Coamon Eider 2 11 Spectacled Elder 9 7 Greater Scaup 6 *»9 Green-vinged Teal 1 9 Old Sqnev 3 20 Pintail 10 66

SteItUl£ I I 2.

TABLE VII

Average

ami 5.5 5.2 8.1 9.0 6.6 6.6 2x2,

first lo. lo. Av. Brood Broods Tpuna Brood Obsvd, 3 13 CTI TTT 5 22 k.k 7/7 1 8 *.0 7/12

7 22

7.0 7.3

7/12 7/12

Villoy Ptarmlaani Ptarmigan vera relatively scarce on the tundra near Bethel until late February.

Nlfcratioa from winter forest habitat started In April end con­tinued into Hay. During this period flocks of 10-200 birds vere constantly in sight around headquarters. By aid-April the birds vere acquiring their breve breeding flaaaage. Cocks had est­ablished their breeding territories by early June, and nesting vas well underway by the alddle of June. On June 2, when birds vere dispersed on territories, a census of a 37 acre area in the vicinity of the headquarters site disclosed a density of .73 ptarmigan per acre. On July 2 the first brood vas observed oa the Range. Average clutch sise on the Range vas 8.2 (based on k neets).

Ptarmigan nypeared plentiful oa the Range this year but not enough information is available to adequately evaluate the status of the population.

These birds are eagerly sought by the Iskiaoe as they afford oae of the fev sources of fresh meat during the winter. The birds and their eggs are also taken in the aunner, but in this vast area, the proportion of the population harvested is insignificant.Any population fluctuation on the Range can be attributed to such natural Phenomena as adverse weather, failure of the berry crop or inherent cyclic fluctuations.

Moose. One bull moose was observed on the Range by Wildlife Aid Geerdts aad OMA Zahn. This animal vas feeding in one of the volcanic craters of the Ingakslugvat Mills. These hills mark the northeast boundary of the Range. Last winter tvo mooas vere re­ported to have been killed on Belson Island, but this report has not been confii

Observations of aooee on the Delta are becoming more frequent each year. Because there is no vinter habitat suitable for moose on the Delta, such observations are of stray animals from the adjacent forested regions, and may be related to the sise of the aoose population there.

Bear. Bo bear vere reported or observed on the Range this year.

D. fur Anlaa^s. Pi^atyf, RodfRtf ^d 0\^fT Nepaals

Mink. Discussed under fur Harvest, Section IV.

Tua4rm HT»I Tkrmm tundra haraa (Laput othua) vert ebttrvtd am t Raa«e thlt •mmmr. Vt vara ablate collact a reuse Here

•even p t — i i . Aa admit may vetch ae mech aa 9-10

ar of theee enlmala vhen "jm^red" dlfftra from the ihoe hare, eeaaoa near Bethel, Along the coaat, vhere there

la no cover for concealment, the hare reIra aolely on apeed to eecape tta eaeaiee. When fleehed, uaaally at Jb~kO yarda, the hare tafcae off running aad vlthout atornine for a baefcvard gl dlsappeara over the harlaoa. ,

Bodantt: Wee volet aad ahreva did not appear aa laet year. Trapa aet around the field headquartert at Old Chevak caught vary fev aniaala. Thlt trapping van conducted In aid-September, a time vhen the rodenta are moat active in aecurleg their vinter food aapply. Meevy raina during the trapping any hate curtailed their activity, bat becauae there vat vtry little rodent aign in the area It aaama probable that populationa are In a lev phaae of a cycle.

!• Wavkt. I<|g^ffn <*\% H i "^Tfm An apparent migration of gyr-falcona through the Bethel area occured during the first tvo veeka of Nay,

Bo havks, eaglea or owls vere observed on the Range this aiaater. Ohaervattona by omlthologitta froa the University of Alaska oa the Kolomak River, approalaately 15 ml lea north of the Raimre, In­cluded sightInga of rough-legged hawk, rolden tagle, oeprey aad gyrfaloea.

The vinter population of revena In the Bethel tree aeema to have Increaaed over laet year. Revena and ptarmigaae are the meet

birds locally.

in Rimoi pryrLunuj! AID HAirmAici A. Phrtical Pevelnieift. From December 18 to March 6 the Clarence

Rhode Refuge vaa a one man atatloo vlth develonment and main­tenance essentially oa a survival baaia. During thla period freeae ope, power failures and aechanieal break doves vert all too frequent. An unedited extract from Acting Refuge Manager Hout*a diary deacrihea one of the rougher periods during the via-terx

February 10, Nomday: *l6^5 vater freest up. Teams rat are in office 421*. Temperature 20* oa floor at base of vater storage tank. Pipe fro ten betveaa pw aad heat tane. 1800-2000 apent thawing pipes and devialag esthods to keep stall f l van. All heat vents doted txeept to #1 stall, carde board, tarpe end heats layed oa floor to help stop cold air coming in from crack.

2200 tM>p«rature at base of water tank 10°,H

Weathert Clear w/bloving snow. Tanp. -23°, wind 15-23

February 11. Tueaday; "0200 power went off. By the tine I got to office and got standby generator goimr the nower was back on - power off 25 minutes. In this time temoer-ature was below scale of thereostats in office and residence #2. Temperature at base of water rank 3°. Outside tenner-ature -30° with nph winds. With aid of David Bradley heater temperature vaa brought up to 60 in office. Ther-u mometer in stall #1 vaa broken so no reading at baae of tank. oUoo went to bed sick with carbon monoxide fumes from heater. 0600 started thawing nines. When water lines thawed and vater turned on, diacovered break in main line. Scrounged copper sleeves from Bureau of Indian Affairs and nine vaa repaired. Water turned on and second break dis­covered 8* from first break. More scrounging BIA and FAA and break repaired. Water turned on Mpow" break 13 about 5* from 12. Bach break vas behind loaded steel shelves so all sheveles moved from vail and rest of pine checked OK. Break repaired from material scrounged from Native Hospital as BIA was all out. Turned water on. Water in office but none in residence. 1900 shut off water and called it a day.' Weather: Clear w/lt breexe. Temp -28°

February 12 Wedneaday: "Turned water on and water guahing froa vail near overhead door. Wall aection removed and break in elbow Joint found and repaired. Water turned on "Hooray" water in all houses, but moatly in §?, Break in pipe over furnace in 12. Floor badly flooded. Wife and daughter helped in mopping up. lew section of pine obtained from hOepital and cut and threaded with their equipment. Pipe replaced. Weather: Clear, Teap -10

Excent for near daily freese ups in the water lines there vas only one other really critical period. On March 13 with a temper-attire of -28 and a 12 nph wind, the power vent off for aeven hours. With- uae of stand by apace heaters, installed for Just this situation, and the propane stove going a "livable" temperature was maintained in the utility room and kitchen of the residences. Some water lines frose during this period, but no pipes broke.

No damage occurred from the Good Friday earthquake. Only a gentle rocking action vas felt in Bethel. One young lady, vho had Just taken a sip from a martini, is reported to have sworn off liquor before finding out the cause of her ditsyness.

10

Jim Cmmr&tu, our full-tin* laborer la 1963, returned on May 15 to accept a poeltion of tenporary nalntenancenan. Thla poeltlon vaa later changed to Wildlife Aid. Currently he la anployed aa a "full tine** nalntenancanan for 10 months out of the year. Maintenance la not conaldered to be essential in vinter. With Jin*a return the backlog of fixing and building vas undertaken. The folloving Hat la a condensation of the 13 oage renort of develoreient and maintenance activltiea Geerdts submitted.

DfVflopmypt

1. Installed temporary fire alarms in all buildings at stra­tegic points i.e., above furnaces, stoves, dryers and power plants. A permanent systaO has been ordered and will be installed this winter.

2. Landscaped, fertilised and planted lawn at headquarters site

3. Winch and vinch stand installed at Old Chevak field station to facilitate moving cabin cruiser in and out of vinter dry dock.

k, Rain gutters Installed on all residences and office.

5. The garage stall adjoining the office vas converted into a lab and storage room. This room contains our 1,750 gallon vater tank end main vater line. With the overhead door

r replaced by e permanent vail and a floor laid sealing off the cracks, ve anticipate fever frosen vater lines this vinter.

6. Assemble and set new headquarters sign.

7. Sand f i l l obtained and spread as nad for spring const­ruction of tvo stall garage and work shop.

6. Install space heater in shop.

9. Install ventlees hoods over all rangee in residences.

10. Rodent displsj board and valrue mount conatrueted for office.

Maintenance

1. All doors, latches and overhead garage doors adjusted rroua tlmaa due to constantly shifting buildings.

2. Spring and fall overhaul of all heating planta.

3. All vehicles (1951 Ford panel, 1953 Dodge kmk weapons carrier, 1953 Dodge kxU ambulance and 196* Willys Jeep) maintained and reparied aa necessary.

k. Repaired circulating puap on glycol aystea which heats utiliducts containing eewaga and water pipes.

5. Painted new storm porches, steps and skirting on office and residences.

6. Headquarters yard policed and all scrap aaterials left over froa construction disponed of.

7. Spring aad fall overhaul of outboard motors.

6. Cabin cruiser and skiffs repaired.

9. Inside of field cabin painted, broken windows replaced and rain gutters repaired.

10. Sewerhouse roof crushed by snow repaired and aore bracing added.

11. Residences winterised: windows caulked, attic vents boarded over to prevent entrance of blowing anew.

12. Sno-traveler overhauled for winter operation.

C. Collections. Ten ptarmigan were collected laet winter for the Alaaka Department of Fish and Game. Their upland game bird biologist requested a 50 bird sample of wintering birds from the Bethel area for morphological and food habit studies. This vinter an additional U birda have been collected for this study. Preliminary results of this study are discussed in Section VII.

Refuge Manager King collected eggs of several species of waterfowl at the request of biologists and propogators. These eggs vere pieced in an incubator, hatched and the day old chicks shipped. The following report of this project was submitted by King and edited by the refuge staff.

LIVE BIR06 MATCHED AMD SHIPPED FROM CLARENCE RHODE NATIONAL WILDLIFE RANGE - 196*

There is a dsmsnd for live specimens of certain species of water­fowl that are available on the Clarence Rhode Range, but are difficult or impoesible to obtain elsewhere. The policy of the Range is to f i l l requests for live specimens vhen furnishing them does not interfere with primary refuge functions, and requests are from public institutions or from qualified invest­igators who are affiliated with research institutions.

1?

In 1963, tlx Clnnt III napnror g««t« vnm caught for tha Danrar £00. Thla proJact antailad tvo flights to tha Rang* on tvo •aparata days, artraaaly rigorous ascareisa in running tha birds dovn and consldarabls aaponas and bothar vlth cratos, faadlng and vatorlng aquipmant. Attempts to ship riabla sggs by Olann Smart rosultod In only 23S surrlral. Boeausa of tha difficulties encountered in 19 3, only day old young hatched at Bethel, vere shipped in 196*. Thess included shipments to Mrs. Colleen lelson of the Delta Vaterfovl Research Station, for study of juvenile plumages aad behaviour, and to Mr. August Sebastiani of Sonoma, California for black brant breeding experiments.

Exa. Collection 1 Bggs vera taken vhere availabia vlth no regard to stag* of incubation. They vere peeked in nest dovn for trans­portation aad vere placed in the Incubator vlthin 5 hours of removal from the nest. The IT brant eggs collected on June 8 vere taken after 93% of the brant had hatched and nine of theee that did hatch vera pipped vhen collected. Obviously the A eggs that did not hatch vere dead vhen collected, so actually ve had 85t success vlth eggs that vere in the incubator.

IncubationI Bggs vera hatched in a 90 egg incubator obtained from Sears Roebuck Co. Instructions vlth the Incubator vers folioved, exeept that a vet rag vaa added to increase the humidity. Ooose aad duck eggs of several species vere incubated together. (See tabiee at the end of this report for results.)

Hatchiaa1 As the birds hatched they vere left in the incubator for about 2* hours until they vere veil dried. Bgg shells vere

id periodically.

Shiopiaai Birds vere shipped by air in cardboard cartons vlthout food or vater, aa soon aa poeslble after they vere dry. Air holes vere punched in the carton and nest dovn vas used for bedding. A talagraa vas sent to the consignee giving arrival informatloa. Boxes vere conspicuously Isbeled aa to contents, permit numbers, address, etc. Although f>l% of the birds shipped survived, several problems shoved up and a better survival rate could be expected another year. A aore porous bedding natarial should be uaed. Mrs lalson suggests sphagnum moss dried in an oven at 2009f. Square boxes should be used vhere poeslble so that the birds have plenty of room even i f tipped on end by careless airline employees. Mr. Sebastiani believed that 3 brant smothered aa a result of a box being tipped on end. There vere 9 brant la this box, possibly too many for the 12x15x8 inch carton.

13

Arrangements should be made in advance vith Custom. Inspectors vhen the birds are leaving the country. Customs held up several shipments for mora than a day reaulting in a good nercentage of the shipping loss I'm sure. Possibly airlines should be contacted in advance by mail and advised of the details of the shipment. In spite of the difficulties 8 out of 16 birds shipped to Winnipeg survived. The birds can go about 12 hours vithout food or vater.

Rearing; Tvo coamon eider, tvo spectacled eider, tvo brant, and tvo eaperor geese vere kept at Bethel to find out if these species could be hand reared here better than if they had been subjected to an arduous trip at an early age. Ho equipment for rearing vaa purchased. While Very saall the birds vere kept indoors in a cardboard box vith newspaper on the bottom. A light bulb vas used for heat vhen they vere vet. Food vas placed in email trays. Because of the poor equipment 1 brant and 1 emneror got vet and died. Accidents took the other brant and emperor. The eiders thrived and as they got larger ranged in the yard, slept under the house and swam in a $1.50 plastic wading pool. We fed them a coamercial chicken mash vith small portions of a supplement called "LIV4*, purchased from the Oasette, 1328 Allen Park Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. With a saall brooder and proper feeder and vaterer and a saall fenced pen, no difficulty should be encountered in raising vaterfovl during the siasscr at Bethel.

Conclusion: Forty-one percent {kit) of eggs collected vere successfully hatched and shipped aa day old chicks to Calif­ornia and Manitoba. As the project vaa largely experimental, better success aay be obtained In the future. Shipment of day old ducklings appears to be the least time consuming and most practical method of filling live bird orders.

Hatching and Shipping Success

Total eggs collected kk Total eggs hatched 32 % eggs that hatched T3S Total birds shipped 25 Shipped birds that survived Ik % shipped birds that survived 60% Total birds survived 18 % hatched that survived 56% % eggs collected that produced surviving birds kl%

1*1

6- ?»i 7- 5 7-7 7-9

6- ?* 7- « 7-9 7- 1* 8- 10

6- 2* 7- 1 7-2 7-2 7-3 7-* 7-8 7-9 7-10 7-11

7-1 7-11 7-12 7-13 7-13 7-1* 7-15

6-2*

Patt by Species

White Fronted loose

Collect 2 eggs Two eggs hatch Ship 2 chicks to Vinnioeg Two chlcka arrive Winnlneg All eggs hatched fc survired

Eaperor Geese

Collect 2 eggs One egg hatch One egg hatch One chick died aa a result of getting wet One chick killed by dog All egga hatched - all chlcka died

Black Brant

Collect * brant eggs Three eggs hatch One egg hetched - chick accidentally killed Ship 2 chicks to Winnipeg One chick died aa a result of getting wet Two chicks arrive Winnipeg - one dead Collect 17 eggs None eggs hatch Ship 9 chicks to San Francisco Nine chlcka arrive San Francisco - 3 aaothered cause of poor handling Eight eggs failed to hatch Six chicks died Seven chicks survived

Collect 5 sggs One hatch Three hatch One hatch Ship * Old Squaw to Winnipeg One chick died Four chicks arrived Winnipeg dead All eggs hatched - all chicks died

Spectacled Elder

Collect 8 eggs

15

7-3 Three eggs hatch 7-* One egg hatch 7-7 Ship 2 chlcka to Winnipeg 7- 9 Two chlcka arrive Winnipeg O.K. 8- 28 Release 2 Class III young on Range

k Spectacled elder eggs failed to hatch U birds survived

Elder

7-1 Collect 6 egga 7-10 Four eggs hatch 7-11 Tvo eggs hatch and chicks shipped to Winnipeg 7- 1* Four chicks arrive Winnipeg - 1 arrived dead 8- 28 Release 2 Class He young on Range

All eggs hatched - 1 bird died in transit

Jia King Iteterfovl Supervisor

IV RESOURCE MAftAOEMENT

A. Fur Harvest. Mink are the most laportant fur bearer In this area. A substantial number are obtained froa the Clarence Rhode Range. This year due to an unusually heavy, early snowfall and a 25-30$ drop In mink prices, the catch vas considerably smaller than laet year. In 1963 a total of 3,810 mink vere aold to the stores in Bethel vith the trap-ners receiving $130,176. This winters catch vas 2,083 mink and the trappers received $53,961.

These eniaals play a large part in the local economy. One store owner commented that his business vaa 25-30S below last year. He contributed this decline primarily to the low mink harvest.

The Yukon-Kuskokvim Delta alnk are considered one of the best alnk in the trade. This Is due primarily to their large sise. A mink pelt V2 3/8 inches long von the $100.00 prise offered by the local bank for the largest alnk caught thla year.

B. Commercial Fishing! No commercial flahing la done on the Ran e. Hovever, some of the villagers livlnpr on the Range may partici­pate aa fishermen or cannery workers in the commercial fish­er lea on the Kuskokwim River or in Bristol Bay.

A personal use fishery is carried out nearly year around on the Delta. In the spring, smelt run in the larger rivers. These fish are caught vlth dip nets and then dried or preserved in seal oil. During the late apring, summer and early fall king, chtiB, red, pink and silver salmon are caught in gill nets and dried or smoked. Whitefish, pike, sheeflsh, Dolly Varden trout and burbot are gi l l netted from early spring to mid­winter. Along the coast cod are caught by Jigging handlines through the ice. Blackfiah (Pallia pectoralia) are captured under the ice vlth the Eskimo version of a fyke called a "Tal-uyak". This same trap, baited vith blackfiah, is frequently used to capture mink.

Very little Is know of the fishery resource on the Range. Sur­veys conducted by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1957 and 1962 contained the folloving catch statistics for the personal use fishery occurring on or near the Range (Table VIII.).

TABLE VIII

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALMON CATCH BY VILLAGES OH OR HEAR THE CLAR­ENCE RHODE RANGE

VUlaae King Silver Red Pink Chum t^amnsi Klpnuk 800 610 k20 180 10,000 12,000 Chefomak* 680 500 300 180 8,520 10,000 Nightmute 60 — - 30 100 Tununak 10 m 10 - 30 100 Chevak - - - 1,*50 1 M 8 0 15,900

• Village located vlthin the boundaries of the C. R. Range

V FIELD INVESTIOATIONS

A. Spring Mi are t lent Aerial surveys vere made along the Alaska Peninsula fron Bristol Bey to Unlmak Island to determine the pattern of spring vaterfovl migration between the Clarence Rhode and Ixenbek Wildlife Ranges. These surveys vere conducted from the laenbek Range at Cold Bey and vere made from March 21 to April 8 and from April 30 to May 27. Participating personnel in­cluded Refuge Managers King and Jonea, Assistant Refuge Manager Hout and QMA's Zahn and Banning.

1Y

These surveys, while not extensive enough to provide a com­plete picture, did produce the following data and Impressions:

Emperor Geese: The Initial survey of Ixembek Bay on April 1 produced a count of T,776 emperors. Throughout April and May these birds continued to migrate through Ixembek Bay. The peak count in Ixembek vas ?9,000 on April 5. ea the ice cleared out of the bays the emperors moved north. A total count of 139,000 emperors vas counted during the period of May 22 to 28 between Port Holler on the Alaska Peninsula and Quinhagak in Kuskokvla Bay. By May 28 ice had not left the Delta nesting area, result­ing in a buildup of large flocks on the southern shores of Kus­kokvla Bay. The nesting grounds became available about June 15, and on flight over the Range on June 19, emperors vere distributed throughout their nesting areaa.

Black Branti Brant arrived at Ixembek Bay in early April vith an estimated 7,500 being observed on April 3. The brant popula­tion reached a peak of nearly 100,000 in thla bay by May 19. By May 28 acme 50,000 brant were on the north side of Bristol Bay. Reports vere received this year of brant crossing the Alaska Peninsula from the south at both Port Moller and Port Helden. Thla indlcatea that not all the brant viait Ixembek Bay in the spring.

Eiders: These birds are so numerous on the Alaska Peninsula in April and M ay that it is tempting to try to estimate their total numbers. Unfortunately, eiders are usually in such large and scattered flocks and these flocks are frequently of mixed species that they are difficult to census.

A peak population count of 350,000 eiders (200,000 ateliers and 150,000 king) vas made on April 5 in Ixembek Bay and Port Moller. Coamon eider vere preaent in substantial numbers but vere rarely observed in pure flocks. The largest count of these birds vas 9,000 at Cinder River on March 31. These counts are very minimal vhen considering the total population as only a saall portion of the Peninsula waters vere oovered.

Whistling Svanx No real aigration or concentration of svans vas noted during the survey. A total of 59 svans vas observed on Unlmak Island on April 5. On April 19 the first nesting vas noted on this Island. A total of 1*7 svans vas obtained by taking tha largest count in each area surveyed.

Segles: No attempt vaa aade to seek out eagles, but they vere recorded aa seen. A total of 96 vas observed of which 18 (19<) vere imaatures. The largest counts from each area vere Unlmak 23, Ixembek 8, Cold Bsy 11, Port Moller 13. Ugashik 6, and one each at Port Helden, Cinder River and Hagemeister Straits.

B. Besting Gtudles. A complete nest search of a 231 acre study area and of Uo plots of one acre each waa made from June 28-30. Assist­ing In the search vere Jin King and Jim Geerdts of the refuge staff, Pete Shepherd and Skip Braden of the Alaaka Department of Fish and Game, and Bill Anderson of the California Department of Fish and Game. Results of this study shoved a decrease In numbers of brant, cackling goose and spectacled elder neats. Clutch size and total number of brant eggs aa compared vith the four year average vere also lev (Tables IX and X).

TABLE IX

COMPARISOB OF BLACK BRAJfT BESTING 01 231 ACRE STUDY AREA AND ilO ONE ACRE PLOTS 1961-196*

231 Acre Four year % Departure study area 1961 V?62 19 3 I96* average from average

Number of neats 260 332 293 222 277 -20$

Average clutch 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.5 -81

Total number egga 936 1195 1055 732 979 -27$

i»0/l Acre plots

Number of nests 1.13 l.*3 1.26 .96 1.19 -20$ per acre

TABLE X

NUMBER OF CACKLING GOOSE AND SPECTACLED EIDER NESTS OK 231 ACRE STUDY AREA 1961-196%

1961 1962 1963 1?6U Four year average

tDeparture from average

Cackling Goose H9 67 60 25 50 -25$

Spectacled Eider 36 26 22 21 26.2 -191

19

To determine the rate of hatching and the hatching succens 100 brant nests on the 231 acre study area vere selected at random. Kach nest vas marked vith a numbered stake and checked every other day and the status of the nest recorded (Table XI)«

TABLE XI

HATCHING RATE OF 100 BRANT NESTS ON 231 STUDY AREA

July k July 6 Total number of neata Total number of nests vith eggs Total number of eggs % nests hatched — lunpipned eggs — % pipped eggs — % abandoned eggs

C. Brood Studies. Brood counts by boat vere made in all the major sloughs from Hock Slough to Rankin Slough at the mouth of the Kashunuk River. Counts vere made from July U to July 8. The majority of the young observed vere age Class I. Results of these brood counts are shovn in Table XII.

TABLE XII

BROOD COUNTS - LOWER KASHUNUK RIVER 196U

Date Species Total broods

Total young

Average brood site

TA black brant k 12 3.0 7/5 black brant 58 165 3.2 7/7 black brant 101 330 3.2 7/8 black brant 208 662 3.1 7/5-8 spectacled eider 5 22 u.u

common eider 3 13 U.3 vhite-front 6 20 3.3 emperor 7 25 3.6 cackler 28 111 U.2 pintail 3 22 7.3 old squav 1 7 7.0 scaup 1 8 8.0

D. Brant Traprtng. On July 10 a brant trap was constructed on the shore of Rankin Slough In the same location aa the 1963 trap. The trap was constructed with three foot high chicken wire fencing and consisted of a circular nen 60 feet in diaweter with a 300 foot lead. The drive which lasted two hours ennloyed the use of both a float plane and a skiff. Personnel Included four members of the Refuge staff and three members from Mana­gement and Enforcement. Approximately U,000 brant reached the trap, but about half of these were released as unessential to our study and to prevent overcrowding In the holdlnr nen. A total of six hours was required to age, sex and check for brood patches on ?,06U brant. Only 2,2% of these birds vere .luveniles. This small percentage reflects the heavy nesting loss sustained by floods in 1963. Sex ratio of 1,002 birds was Uf)% males to 51% females. In 196?, 3,600 brant were banded. All of these birds vere banded vlth aluminum bands and a sample of 1,000 vere double banded vlth rconel and aluminum bands. This banding vas designed to determine relative band loss betveen the tvo tvpes of bands. As the brant Is a "sea goose" It was anticipated that there ml^ht be some loss of aluminum bXnds due to electrolysis. Whatever the cause, the double banding confirmed a minimum loss of 60,3% of the alum­inum bands.

The presence of brood patches on 15,5% of the females Indicates that at least this proportion had lost or abandoned a nest. Some of these losses may be attributed to predation.

£• Duck Banding. Tha Refuge staff again cooperated with Manageaient and Enforcement personnel in a duck banding pro.lect on Takslesluk (Long) Lake, Also assisting in the operation were HI3udH Reinecker, California Department of Bish and Game and Demetri Bader, a student sponsored by the California Duck Hunters Association, from Humbolt State College, California-Construction on the 60* x 300, trap with 600* lead was comp­leted on August 1. After aborting one drive on Aiurust 5 and waiting out weather on August 6 and T, a successful drive vat>completed on August 8, Tvo Cessna ISO's, three sectional boats, and one Eskimo river boat vere employed in the drive on this three mile vide by tvelve mile long lake. A total of 3,73? birds vere captured In the drive, Tvo days were required to complete the banding. Number of birds banded by species and sex are shown in Table XIII,

TABLE III

BAUDIMO RECORD LONG LAKE - 196*

21

Species Hale Feaala Local Total

Greater scaup 1890 87 2 1979 Lesser scaup 27 1 - 28 Coamon goldeneye 38 59 - 97 Barrows goldeneye 6 - • 6 Old squaw 537 822 1* 1373 Bufflebead 157 3 160 Canrasback 39 11 50 Pintail 6 - 6 Horned grebe

Mortality Recoveries Total

,1^ 3711

Ik

r 3723

* Band Recoweries

SptciQf

Caneasback Greater scaup Greater scaup Greater scaup Greater scaup Greater scaup Lesser scaup

Lyat^op ded Date recovered

2/1/58 Riverside, N. C. 8/8/6* 2/l*/63 Westaoreland Ta. 8/9/6* 2/8/63 Seneca Lake, N.Y. 8/10/6* */23/56 Cepe Vincent H.Y. 8/10/6* 10/11/60 Oneida Lake, H.Y. 8/10/6* 1/21/58 Canadaigua, H.Y. 8/8/6* 8/10/63 Ohtig Lake, Alaska 8/8/6*

This is the first large catch of greater scaup and old snuaw in Alaska sod should provide valuable information on vinter distribution sad annual mortality.

F. 9van Studies. Infaraation on swans vas obtained froa obser­vations on a complete aerial census of a 112 square mile study area, and froa observations during routine flights over the Delta. Except for the ceneus of the study area, coverage vas not aa coaplete in 1963 as in 196*. All observations of svans in 196* are siaeurised in Table XIV.

TABLE XIY

SWAB 0B8EHYATI0M8 - 196*

Av. ' Av. Total % Month Meiti |m Clutch Broods Young Brood Pain 1/2 Pairs birds Young

Juno 35 119 M

July 6 18 3.0* 27 76 2.81

*6 110 2.93 237 96 122 9*

Total *! lyr 3-3* 73 ?t??

Svans vere first Observed in early May of both 1963 and 196*, but the extremely late spring of 196* caused a delay in nesting and the first eggs vere laid a veek later than In 1963 (Table XV). Figures fron the spring breeding censuses conducted by Waterfovl Supervisor H. A. Hansen and the Refuge Manager vere dovn from I963, but not sufficiently to account for the nuch lover prod­uction in 196* (Table XVI). The total count of adults vas dovn by 28$ fron 1963, but pairs by only 10$, suggesting that concentrations of nonbreeding birds may have been missed on the censuses. The decreased production in 196* vas indicated by a lover proportion of pairs that produced broods (Table XVII), and fron snaller average clutch site (Tables XVI and XVIII). The poor svan prod­uction thla year is probably a direct result of the late snrlng. This is corroborated by 1 of one t ion fron Bristol Bay, vhere the season vaa acre noraal, and brood sixes vere larger (Table XIX).

TABLE XV

PHEH0L0QY OF SWAB 8EA80M. 1963 - 196* 1

1261 126*

May 3 Nay * First svans (12 at Bethel in 196*)

May 6 *0 svans Observed in open voter of Kuskokvla

River above Anlake Bo open vater near the Range

May 3 May 15 Probable date first svans aoved into Range.

May 18 May 25 First egg laying

TABLE XV corr.

1261 126*

Hmj 28 J warn * Ob««rrmtloas of avoo on aosts

Jun« 28 Jmly 8 Probablt pook of hatch

Sept. 11 Largo coacoatration aaar Old Chorak

Oct. 16 Oct. 15 Laat cvaac obcorvod

TABLE XVI

SWAB POPULATIC* 1963 - 196*«

^3 196*

Palra par 9%, alia (Haaaoa traaaocta) .69 .6? -10

Svaas par tq. alio " " 1.8 1.3

Total tq. al. Claroaoo Rhoda k Hasan Bay IVP 2822 2 22

Total pairs oa Hangs (pairs par sq. al. Z araa) 19*7 1750 -10

Total svans on Hangs (svaas par sq. al. X araa) la Jans 5080 3669 -28

% Jans population paired (total svaa) pairs X 2 77 95 M

% Pairs vlth broods (7/15 - 9/15) 30 16 -1*

Total broods raised on Ranga (t pairs vith brooda X total pairs) 58* 280 -52

Araraga brood si so la August* 2.89 2.55 -12

Total youag raised on Hangs to Sept. 1 (Ar. brood sise X total birds) *383 1688 -35

% Populstlon eoaposed of youag 25 16 -9

Average clutch sise in late June* 3.91 3.2 -1^

Bo. of youag i f all eggs survived 22H3 *>6 -61

Syrlra^ ra^f 9 t MMM - 8j£ii.^ _ ,

TABUS XVII

PROPORTION OF PRODUCTIVE PAIRS, AUGUST 1963 «r 196*

Year Pairs vith broods Pairs

vithout broods Total pairs*

% Pairs vith broods

1963 35 105 1*0 ?5.0

196* *6 333^ 379 17.6

* Number of observations reflects effort expended in observation and not sire of population.

^ Single birda are considered a pair.

TABLE XVIII

CLUTCH SIZES. 196*

Frequency Number Number Percent of eggs

5 0 0

* 19 38

3 2* *8

2 5 10

1 2 *

JIO 100

TABLE XIX

COMPARILION OF BROOD SIZES ON THE YUKON DELTA AND IN BRISTOL BAY

Frequency

Number Yuken Delta Bristol bay of young Number Percent Number Percent

0 0 3 PI

k 15 20 3 21

3 21 29 3 21

2 26 36 1 7

1 11 13 U 29

73 100 Ik 9?

A complete search of a 112 square mile study area betveen the Keoklivik and Kashunak Rirer vas made on June 20-23 (Table XX). It vas impossible to accurately locate each observation on the four mile to the inch map and thus the count vas not as accurate as had been hoped. The population figures from the study area vere vithin 10% of those from the breeding pair survey. Svans vere videly (and apparently randomly) distributed over the study area.

TABLE XX

COMPLETE SWAN COUNT ON STUDY AREA BETWEEN KEOKLIVIK, KASHUNUK AND COAST

Area searched Total birda Pairs Svans per square mile Pairs per square mile Nests Kggs

112 square miles 156 67

l .k .6 6 16 in 5 nests

VI PUBLIC RELATIONS

A. Recreational Uses. On the Range recreation per se Is nrlnarlly confined to waterfovl huntirur. Several nartiea from bethel usually make an annual trek to the Dall Lake area for snov goose hunting. Kskieos make extensive use of the Ranre during the f a l l to gather berries, but this use falls somewhere in between recreation and subsistence.

B. Visitors to the Refuge Headquarters. Due to the limited fa c i l ­ities at bethel, the majority of visitors were ^'l^en assistance in the form of transportation, meals, and lodging. Assistance in planning was given several viaitora conducting projects in this area. Visitors are listed on pages 27 and ?8.

C. Refuge Participation. On April 17 a two hour slide show, utilizing personal and official slides from this station, were shown 70 pupils of the Bethel 6th and 7th grades by Refuge Manager King. These slides depicted the waterfowl cvcle and included nesting and production on the Hnrwe, the migration south, wintering areas, and the return migration in the sprint. Bureau projects such as production studies, banding and cons­truction of resting and feeding areas were also shown.

before It Is possible to convince the Delta Eskimos of the damage inflicted by snrlng hunting, we are going to have to educate these neonl* on the "big picture**. Some of their current beliefs Include such things as: It dosen't hurt to shoot birds here In the spring as they also nest again dovn south; and that the birds are onlv raised here in the spring so that wealthy hunters in the "South Ufl" can shoot them in the f a l l . A slide show or movie tailored specifically to show in this area, with illustrations of local nesting, winter concentrations on southern refuges, and the fecdlnf': programs carried on by the Service, would help the Natives understand the Bureaus position In regard to sprln« hunting and other waterfowl regulations,.

On November 3, Refuse Manager Lenslnk was Invited to talk on the role of refuges in Alaska by the Bethel Uomane Club.

An Eskimo, Alexia Pavllla, vas hired this summer as a Wildlife Aid during the duck drive in an attempt to show the villagers our program on the Delta. Alexie was from one of the villages most hostile to the Fish and Wildlife Service. He proved to be an excellant hand and was a great aid in the duck banding. We feel Alexie will be an aid to public relations in his village.

rtte

VISITORS

21

Title 1 Organization Purpose

March March

26 26

April 17 April 27

May 6-11

May 18 May 18 May 19-21

May 22 May 22 May 25

May 25

May 27

June 2

12

2*

June July June July July 10 July 17

28 1 28 10

Heal Argy BiU Bellinger

Bill Bellinger Dr. Darld Klein

Jack Doyle

Bill Bellinger Mike McKay Elisabeth Robinson

Heinrch K. Springer Mr & Mrs Rathnsyer Wilbur Stevart

Prod Wolstad

Henry Hansen

Henry Hansen

Dr. David Klein

Willian Anderson

Pete Shepard « m

"Skip** Braden Milstead Zahn h vlfe Keith Banning Steve Young

GMA, BSFWt Fairbanks Protection Officer, Alaska Dept. of Pish I Game, Fairbanks ADFtG, Fairbanks Leader, Wildlife COOP. Unit University of Alaaka Fishery Extension Service University of Alaaka Protection Officer, ADF4G, Fairbanks

a e e a

Clerk, Kenal HWR

Ornithologist, Univ of Alaska Ornithologist, Seattle, Wash. Supervisor, Protection Div. ADFfrG, Anchorage, Alaska Supervisor, Protection Div. ADFfcG, Fairbanks, Alaaka Waterfowl Supervisor, BSFW Juneau, Alaska Waterfovl Supervisor, BSFW Juneau, Alaska Leader, Wildlife Coop. Unit University of Alaska Waterfovl Biologist, Calif. Dept. of Fish h Game, Gridley, Calif, Waterfovl Biologist, ADFfcG, Fbks

«• n « n

Protection Officer, ADFfcG, McCrath GMA, BSFW, Dillingham, Alaska W ft N H

Grad. student, Univ. of Alaaka

Beave sealing Beaver sealing

Visit

Field study

Infomation

Transportation N

Orientation of nev secretary Bird observations Bird observat1ons Visit

Visit

Waterfovl transects

Waterfovl transects Waterfovl utilisation study Assist in nest study and vacation Best study M N

Brant drire H N

Blueberry study

P8

Date leae

July 27 Denrin Seiu July 27 Milstead Zahn July 27 Keith Banning July 28 Denrin Sela July 28 Paul Panuyak July 26 Darld L. Spencer July 31 Capt. Nay field Aug. 2 Bovard Bovaan

Aug. k Howard Huenecke Aug. 6 Vally Salth Aug. 6 Alexie Pari11a Aug . 6 "Bud** Reinecker

Aug. 6 Diaitri Bader Aug. 6 Ray Treably

Aug. 6 Jack Maaley

Aug. 6 Nr. Barrett

Aug. 4 Howard Rnwan

Aug. 21 Richard Mundinger Aug. 26 "Bud" Burria Aug. 26 Skip Braden Sept. Ik Howard Boenaa

Sept. 1* Dr. Honainger Sept. 16 R. L. Cooper Sept. 16 Jay Grant Sept. 16 Ken Daniels Sept. 16 Prank Bailey Sept. 16 Ployd Johnson Sept. 16 Tberon A. Saith Sept. 18 Mr. fc Mrs. Hnwsn Oct. 6 Bill Adaaa Dec. 22 Bart Grares

Title k Organisation Purpose

Grad. student, Unir of Alaska GMA, 3SPV, Dillinghsn, Alaska

m m m m Grad. student, Unir. of Alaska Cherak, Alaaka Refuge Superrlsor, BSFW, Kenal State Police, Anchorage Predator Control Agent, BSFW Kotsebue, Alaska BSFW, Waahington D.C. GMA, BSFW, Anchorage Kasigluk, Alaska Waterfowl Biologist, Calif. Dept of Fish fc Geas, Gridley, Calif. Student, Humbolt State College, Calif. GMA, BSFW, Fairbanks, Alaska

Range Manager, BIA, Kotsebue

Superrlsor, Reindeer Serriee, BIA, Waahington, D.C. Predator Control Agent, BSFW Kotsebue, Alaska Branch of Realty, BSFW, Portland, Ore. Biologist, ADFfcG, Fairbanks, Alaaka Protection Officer, ADFfcG, McCrath Predator Control Agent, BSFW, Kotsebue, Alaska State Vetemarian, Juneau, Alaaka U.S. Forest Serriee, Juneau U.S. Forest Serriee, Anchorage U.S. Forest Serriee, Juneau U.S. Forest Serriee, Juneau State Dir. of Lands, Anchorage Aircraft Superrlsor, B6PW, Anchorage Predator Control Agent, BSFW, Kotsebue Bureau of Land Mgt., McGrath, Alaaka Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bethel

Waterfowl surrey Duck banding H m

Waterfowl surrey Waterfowl surrey Musk ox surrey Visit Airplane gas

Inspection Duck banding

Transportation of Reinecker fc Bader Transportation to BunIrak

Qnrters appraisal Musk ox transplant Musk ox transplant Visit

Viait Tlnber surrey

m m m m

Visit Jeep transfer Youth Corps Project

?9

D. Hunting. Spring vaterfovl hunting continued en per ueual.gMfe No Incidences

of open hostility vere encountered this year. In the bethel area some deacretlon vaa shovn and no actual observations of hunters vlth ducks vere made. Hoverer, the sound of "fire­crackers'* vas a common noise this spring.

H. Saftey. Service saftey requirements vere adhered to. Water saftey vas stressed during the field season. All employeea vere provided vith and vore new, approved life Jackets. All boats vere equipped vith styrafoam flotation. Accident free daya in 196* - jSl. Total accident free days - 730.

VII OTHER ITEMS

A. Itees of Interest. Preliminary results from the ptarmigan study conducted by the Alaaka Department of fish and Game indicate that the willow ptarmigan in the Bethel area are larger than those in the interior of the State. Weights and crop contents of these birds is shown in Table XXI.

TABLE XXI

AUTOPSY DATA OF WILLOW PTARMIGAN COLLECTED AT BETHEL

Specimen number

Date coll.

Total vt. (gms) Sex

Crop contents (cc) Sails Betula T

1 1/11 66*.2 M Ad. 3.5 3.0 *.0 2 1/5 618.3 F Ad. 2.0 1.0 3 1/2* 536.3 F Ad. 0.5 1.0

1/2* 618.* N Inm. 1.5 *.5 5 1/31 58*.* F Inm. 9.0 6.0 6 2/8 652.7 M Ad. 7.0 0.0 7 2/8 733.0 N Ad. *2.0 2.0

The commercial and subsistence fishery in this area plays a ma.) or role in the Eakiao econoay. This year vae cons ids rded one of the best seasons on the Kuskokwim vith the second highest king salmon and the highest silver salmon catch on record (Table XXII). Commercial fishermen received a total of $83,030.00 for their catch.

30

TABLE XXII

196* COMMERCIAL ABD SUBSISTANCE SALMON CATCH ON THE KUSKOKWIM RIVER

Fishery King Coho Red Pink Chum Total

CoBBerciel ?0,kOO 29.197 12.953 - - 62,550

Subsistence 28.959 8.16* 10* 177.696 21»».923

Total .359 37. 1 12I?53 10* 177.696 277.73

Soma idee of the Natire economy in this area can be determined from the folloving stetistlcs vhich apply to the Bethel mana­gement area of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This area includes all the villages on an adjacent to the Clarence Rhode Range.

ESKIMO INCOME (PER CAPITA)

Percent of popu^atloft

30 *8 1* 8

Yearly income

11.000 $2,000 $3,000

over $3,000

ESKIMO HOUSING*

Percent of Popm^QP

86 10

*

Number of In house

1 2 3

*8o£ of the houses are not ineulated

31

On May 31, Refuge Manager King accepted a transfer to Juneau vhere he aasuaed the position of Waterfovl Sunenrisor. Jim's duties v i l l include conducting the annual aprlng vaterfovl breeding pair census and coordinating all banding operations vithin Alaska.

Dr. Calvin J. Lenslnk. Wildlife Biologist, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland accepted the appointment of Refuge Manager on July 19. Lenaink took up residence on September 21 after completing his study of vaterfovl populations on the Yukon Flats (Rampart Dam impoundment area). Lenslnk has had considerable Alaskan experience. He obtained his Master's Degree from the University of Alaska, vhere he vorked on marten. From 1957 to I960 he vas employed aa a biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He obtained a Doctorate Degree in i960 from Purdue University for vork on the history and statua of the sea otter in Alaska. From 1961 to I96U he vaa employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service as project leader on the Yukon Plata vaterfovl study.

B. Acknovledgements. The Clarence Rhode and Nunivak reports vere vrltten and typed by Assistant Manager Hout. The reports vere edited by Refuge Manager Lenslnk and ex-Refuge Manager King. Maintenanceman Oeerdta prepared the section on development and maintenance. Waterfovl Super­visor King contributed the reports on the svan study and storm tides.

APPEIDIX

33

STOR* DRIYD FLOOD TIDES 01 THE CLAHOCB RHODE NATIONAL WILDLIFE RAN B

The "talt flats 1 1 bstvean noraal high tidss and axtraaa high tldaa on tha Claranca Rhoda National Vildlifa Ranga ara haarlly utlllsad by nesting vaterfovl and short birds. In the pest 13 yaars Fish and Wlldllfs Servlca crevs hava observed floods on thesa flats 5 tines (Table 1). Floods in July and August ara considered noraal aad no daeage to nesting birds occurs at thia tine. It has alvays been aasuaed that a June flood could be disastrous.

On June 30, 1961t s southerly wind flooded the nesting area. As it was aa early year for seating the peek of the hatch had occur­red on June 22 or 23 end tha young birda sustained vary little damage. On June 22, 1963* the predicted diaaster occurred whan a store tide hit et the peak of the hetch, destroying an astlaated So to 90 percent of the Yukon Delta black brant production aa veil aa nests of aany other birde.

The veathar en Jane 21, 19 3 vaa cloudy and sultry, folloving a period of fair veether. By lata evening a steady southwest wind vss bloving. The Refuge Manager and Biologist Shepard, Alaaka Department of Fish and Oaae, vho had been staying at Old Chevak, aade a flight over the salt flats et 3:'>0 a.a., June 22, shortly after high tide. There had been no daaage at this tins. Another flight was aade froa the Kashunuk River to Hasen Bsy at 1:00 p.a. the 22nd during the next high tide. Judging by tha old drlftvood liae this vaa a maximum high tide and much of the flats vere flooded to a depth of a foot or aore.

Aa effort has been made to analyse the veether factors causing flooding on the flets and to predict the frequency vhich ve caa expect nesting disasters on the salt flats. The problaa la ocap-lieated by lack of a long backlog of accurate veether reoorde for this area. Pertinent veether end tidal infomation that ve have is suaaarised in Table 1 for each of the flood tides. Vied speeds and directions not included in the table vere not recorded. Thus this table suaaarisee all available Infonsetloo. Data are froa the U.S. Weather Bureau records in Anchorage, Alaaka.

Fqgure 1 illustrates the relationship betveen height of the tides as calculated at Cepe Roaansof, the speed of the vind aa recorded la Bethel aad the occurrence of flooding on the flats. It shoes that the hl^ner the tide the less vind it takes to causa flooding. The liae on the graph is arbitrarily drawn at about the point vhere flooding occure.

3*

• 2

Mr. Philip W«b«r, Vmithmr Bureau Bataareh Poracaatar in Aaehoraga, proriM tha map froa vhich Pleura 2 ia takan, thoviat tha path of aach of tha ttoiaa that vo kaoo flopioi tha flatt. Ia toaoral tha lev praaaara it era cantara aoraa ia froa tha aoathvost acroat tha Alautiaa Itlaada and hit tha aalnland ia tha riclnity of Hoopor Bay (1951, 1952. 19*3) or ia tha Capo Tboapooa araa (195*. 1961). Ia aaeh aaao thara vaa aa aaaociatad cold front or ocoladod front that paaoad dirootly orar tha Dalta aorinc aaat.

Dally vaathor aapa aad voathar raeorda for Jano eororlaf tha 2S yoara froa 1937 ta 196* vara aaaainad. A total of 16 Juna days ia tha 28 yoar parted vhich had aouthvoat to aouthaaat vinda avaragad 18 a.p.h. or aoro at Bathal (Tablo 2). Boat vaathor for tha poriod aad eoaa data ahootn for Bathal vara unavailabia, howrar, ocaaialag all aval labia data thlt nooaod to bo a ably raliabla flgara.

Tldaa far tha four yoar poriod 1960-6* for Capo Boaantof gl' la tha U.S. Coaat aad Oaodatic Surray Tida Tablat (i960-6*) lad-icata that thara art aa araraga of four tidat of tight foot or highor ia Jaat (Tablt 3). Tha aoan high tida it 3.3 foot aad tha highttt tidat rtaah 8.6 ftat.

Capo ntataaaf v froa vharo tida lava It hart boon coaputad, it 35 air allot froa tha aoath of tha Kaahanak Bivtr vharo paat floodt hart baaa thttt ltd. Bathal, tha dooott plaao vhort accurate vlad rotoait htva baaa hopt, it 135 ailao froa tha aouth of tha

la obtaiaiag tha folloving tttiaato of tha froquoncy of ttorm tidas, only tha 30 daya of Jana ara contidarad. Although aott-lag taa bagia oarliar or txtond lator ia txtrtaa yaart, rulaortbllity oaly lattt 30

For tha taltalatloa tha 16 ttoraa ara aaad and thoir araraga vlad tpaad vhith it found to bo 20 a.p.h.. that va hara .53 thtato of ta tllgibla vlad occurring ia any Jaat aoath.

Oaly tha four tidat of 8 foot or abova art uttd at it ttktt thlt tida lorol to canto flooding vlth 20 a.p.h. vinda. That vt hara * or .133 tllgibla tidat par yoar.

.933 I .133 • .07088 or a 7t thtatt of a flood la any or a flood ovoty 1*.3 yaart or 7 atttlag diaattart a very eaatury

35

There are tvo bits of evidence indicating that June floods are rather rare. First the black brant are a fairly successful species' and they obviously could not maintain their population in the face of frequent 8oJt nesting losses. Secondly the Eskimos from Chevak have an old saying that the flats do not get flooded at the tine the birds are nesting. All things being considered, it seesis safe to say that the annual chances of a destructive flood are not aore than

TABLE I. WEATHER DATA DURING STORM TIDES ON THE CLARENCE RHODE NWR,

7/15/51 8/10/5? 1/P1/5U 6/30/61 6/2P/63

Cape Romantof Wind Direction Wind Speed (MPH)1

Higheat Tide (Feet)2

Hooper Bay3 Wind Direction Wind Speed (MPH)

Mekoryuk3 k

Wind Direction Wind Speed (MPH)

Bethel1* 5

Wind Direction Wind Speed (MPH)

7.5

SSW-SE ?3-20

SE-S ?8-U0

7.2 7.68

ESE-SW : II 36-38 13

S 35 8.32

SE-SSF 25-2*

sw 22 8.»i

SE 15-20

SW 20

SSE-SSW SSE-SSW SSE SW 35-50 28-38 2?-32 IB-?*

Peak vinds for the day

Data from U.S. Dent, of Commerce tide tables

^ Weather observations aade during day at request of aircraft

Morning and afternoon observations

^ Observations by nrofessional Weather Bureau observers

First figure is average for day, second figure is peak gust.

TABLE 2. JURE VINDS AVERAGING MORE THAN 18 MPH FOR A 2k HOUR PERIOD, 1937 to 196*.

Year

1937 - 19*1 Bono 19*2 6/29 (21.5) 19*3 - 19*5 Bono 19*6 6/7 (18.3) 6/10 (19.2) 19*7— 19*8 Bono 19*9 6/23 (19.7) 6/2* (23.0) 1950 6/9 (19.5) 6/13 (18.1) 1951 Mono 1952 6/10 (19.3) 1953 - 1958 Bono 1959 6/* (18.1) I960 6/26 (2*.l) 1961 6/30 (22.6) 1962 6/1 (22.*) 1963 6/22 (18.2) 6/26 (18.3) 6/27 (19.3) 6/28 (19.0 196* Bono

Average vind 20 MPH Higheat vind 2*.2 MPH

TABLE 3. ANNUAL TIDE LEVELS ABOVE 7 FEET IB JUNE AT CAPE ROMANZOF

Ho^t ip Fffl j — l Mi 1 1

7 - 7.5 6.5

7.5 - 8 3.8

8 - 8.5 *.0

1 Four year average, 196l - 196*

•1

8.6

8.*

8.2

8.0

7.8

7.6

7.*

7.2

7.0

6.8

6.6

Start of Flooding

10 12 1* 16 18 20 22 2* 26 28 30 32 3* 36 38 Uo

Winds In MPH

Figure 1. Relationship Between Wind and Tides that Produced Flooding

3a

8ub«ltt«d by

ApproTed tot ^ t d * * ^ . C 2 ^ ^ ,

Approved ten / W i J ^ ? A • j / ,

MAW 9 / l / b 5 John D. Findlay Associate Regional Director

Eskimo spring camp on the Kuskokwim River with smelt on drying rack.

Brant i n t y p i c a l nesting habitat that vas unusually tame -

- everyone got a picture.

Trap containing 2,06U brant

Brant checked for sex, age, and presence of brood patch,

Title 43—PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR

Chapter I—Bureau of Land M a n a g e ­ment, Department of the interior

[Public Land Order 2253]

[Fairbanks 012151]

A L A S K A

Renaming of the Kuskokwim Nat iona l Wi ld l i fe Range

It is ordered that the name of the Kuskokwim National Wildlife Range be changed to the Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range.

This wildlife range was established by Secretarial order of December 6, 1960 (25 F.R. 12597. Public Land Order 2213) which contains a detailed description of the area involved.

•Iiis order is effective upon signature lis order.

FRED A. SEATON, Secretary of the Interior.

JANTTARY 16, 1961.

(P.R. Doc. 61-555; Piled, Jan. 23, 1961; 8:48 a.m.]

[Public Land Order 2213]

[Fairbanks 012151]

ALASKA Establ ishing the Kuskokwim Nat iona l

Wi ld l i fe Range

By virtue of the authority vested in the President and pursuant to Executive Order No. 10355 of May 26, 1952, it is ordered as follows:

Subject to valid existing rights, the f ol-1 'ng-described public lands in Alaska

hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, except the mining and the mineral leas­ing laws, and disposals of materials un­der the act of July 31.1947 (61 Stat. 681; 30 U.S.C. 601-604) as amended, and re­served for use of the Department of the Interior as a refuge, breeding ground and management area for all forms of wild­life, to be known as the Kuskokwim Na­tional Wildlife Range: Provided, That the reservation made by this order shall not prohibit the hunting or trapping of game animals and game birds or the trapping of fur animals in accordance with the provisions of applicable law and as may be permitted by regulations of

the Secretary of the Interior prescribed and issued pursuant thereto:

A R E A I

Beginning on the shore of Bering Sea at the line of mean high tide and at the south side of the entrance to Hooper Bay near latitude N . , longitude 166 012' W., f r o m Greenwich; thence southeasterly wi th the l ine of mean h igh tide on the south side of the entrance to Hooper Bay and along the south side of said Bay, 16 miles to the mouth of Asklnuk River (Kleoklevuk River) near latitude 61 026' N . . longitude 165 , ,48' W.; thence easterly up the left bank of said river 22 miles to its source at the Kashunuk River near latitude 61''24' N . , longitude 165<>26' W.; thence easterly up the le f t bank of K a s h u ­nuk River, 12 miles to its Junction wi th a channel " A " flowing to the south, near l a t i ­tude 61'23' N . , longitude 165 011' W.; thence southerly down the right bank of the last aforesaid channel " A " IVa miles to a point near latitude 61'21' N . , longitude 165°10' W., about one-half mile south of the mouth of an unnamed stream coming into said channel on the left bank side; thence due east approximately 38.6 miles to the volcanic cone i n the Ingakslugwat Hi l l s near latitude 61° 21' N . , longitude 164' ,00' W.; thence due south approximately 10 miles to the north shore of a lake " B " ; thence southerly around the easterly side of the last aforesaid lake " B " one mile to a point on the southeast side of said lake " B " ; thence south 63° east four miles to a point near latitude 61<>101/2' N . , longitude 163 0 56' W., on the northwest shore of Aropuk Lake opposite the center of an island; thence southerly wi th the western shore of the said lake and a chain of lakes 45 miles to a point of land near latitude 60 o 50i / 2 ' N . , longitude \GZ°bT W., on the nor th side of Baird Inlet; thence westerly along the north side of Bai rd Inlet 50 miles to •R point of land near latitude 60°54' N . , l on ­gitude 165 ,>02' W., at the mouth of Bai rd Inlet and at the line of mean high tide on the shore of Bering Sea; thence northwest­erly at the line of mean h igh tide of Bering Sea eight miles to the point of a headland near latitude 60°58' N . , longitude 165° 12' W., at the south side of Hazen Bay; thence north 38° W., eight miles across the mouth of Hazen Bay to the point of a headland at the west side of Hazen Bay; thence northwest­erly wi th the line of mean h igh tide of Bering Sea 50 miles to the place of beginning, con­taining approximately 1,870 square miles of lands and waters, but excluding lands be­neath navigable waters as defined i n section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (67 Stat. 29; 43 U.S.C. 1301).

AREA n

Beginning on the shore of Bering Sea at the line of mean high tide and on the north side of the mouth of K i n i a River, near latitude 6 0 o l l ' N . , longitude 164o30' W.; thence north­westerly wi th the line of mean high tide of Bering Sea 8y 2 miles to the headland at the mouth of a stream " C " separating Nelson Is­land f rom the mainland; thence northeasterly up the lef t bank of the last aforesaid stream " C " 46 miles to a point near latitude 60°39' N . , longitude 164° 12' W., at the south end of

the southwest bay of Baird Inlet; thence east­erly, northerly, easterly and southerly along the south shore of Baird Inlet 35 miles to the mouth of a small stream " D " , near latitude 60 o33 1/2' N . . longitude 163''43' W.. at the south end of the east bay of Baird Inlet; thence southwesterly up the lef t bank of the last aforesaid small stream " D " four miles to the head thereof; thence south 10° E., 4*4 miles to the head of a stream " E " draining to the south, near latitude 60°28' N . , longi­tude 163046' W.; thence southerly dov/n the right bank of the last aforesaid stream " E " four miles to the mouth thereof i n the north shore of Da l l Lake; thence westerly, south­erly, easterly and southerly around the west shore of Da l l Lake 75 miles to the most southerly point of said lake near latitude 60 , 08 1 / 2 ' N . , longitude 163047' W.; thence south 30" W., IVi miles to the head of the Kuguk l ik River; thence southwesterly with the right bank of the aforesaid Kuguk l ik River 19 miles to the mouth thereof at the line of mean high tide of Bering Sea, near latitude 59°59' N . , longitude 164o07' W.; thence northwesterly with the line of mean high tide 20 miles to the place of beginning, containing approximately 1,054 square miles of lands and waters, but excluding lands beneath navigable waters as defined in sec­t ion 2 of the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (67 Stat. 29; 43 U.S.C. 1301).

The descriptions above are based on Alaska Reconnaissance Topographic Maps designated Baird Inlet, Hooper Bay, Marshall and Nunivak Island, Edi­tions of 1951.

This order shall not be construed to abrogate or impair any legal or aborigi­nal claim of right of the natives to use the lands, if any, and they may hunt, fish, and trap in accordance with appli­cable law, and carry on any other lawful activities.

FRED A. SEATON, Secretary of the Interior.

DECEMBER 6,1960.

(F.R. Doc. 60-11518; Filed, Dec. 8, 1960; 8:53 a.m.]

Krekatok I 6 2 °

Cape Romanzof

Dall Point

Hooi

Neragon I , ^ \ Q S c a m

Alakah

a" Kwlklokchilj

Kogomiuty B l a c ^ ^ ^ u k s u k a l

Kwikal B lmiu^

^ K a k e c h i k * & " ^ , .-1

'n .

HAZEN BAY NATlORtf 1 W I L D L I F E R

T k * ' . > ^ -E-bow

V L A

roligamut ^ <

EFUGE

• ' geya luy ik -Chuk^k^o l i k , Kv iga | l uk a ^ | ,J .

>-f 3 ~ , ' ^ • a Nanvarnarluk I ^ ^ T S a a ^ y \ Nunavakpak ] . ^ 5

iliklugukn(. t , , n i J > 0 . • VaoakiaTk'

Mohican R 0 B E K T s 7 C a p e r a n n i n f i r

N , j k , u g u ^ s l a n d / ^ Vancouve r.

Napakl*K f

o -

R A K ^ ^ ^ ^ u n t a ^ i a ^ ,

Cheeci

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ K l . k . 5 ^ Kwigillingok .

A y

Capd Corwin

Kwigamiut

agavik

Cape Avin

S C A L E 1 : 1 584 GOO 1 INCH = 25 MILES

•^rrmtlTa IWport

1, 19^ to 31, 1**

TABLE of coMTnrre

I. GHOUL

A. Weather Condition. 1 B. Itinerary 2

II. WILDLIFE

A. moratory Birds 2 B. Upland Oaw Birda 2 C. Big GMM 2 D. Pur Aniaala 7 E. Pith 7

U I . OTHER I TENS 6

I GKIUUL

W««th»r data ar* froa tha aaeond elaat veathar station at Mekoryuk. Tha viator of 196*i vas considered aild hot vith aa unusual aoount of lata sprinf snov and o lata brook-up.

A. wyf^fr c ^ U y t itatl

Snovfall

Temperature ('f}

Month Total Maxlouo MlnisaM Avara*

Jan. l.W Si 3k ~lk U.3 Poh. 1.35 tf 3k -30 -1.1 March 2.10 3k -30 1.8 April 1.T6 kt 37 •8 21.0 Moy .kl 20 39 0 26.0

. * • 5T 26 1.9 July lo record Auc. 1.91 62 3k 7.6 Sept. l.kk - 5« 28 kl.k Oct. 1.50 ao record k€ 12 36.1 lov. 1.00 • N 35 2 22.1 Doc. 2.20 m M 35 -20 7.7

B. Itl—rary. Fire trips vere aade to lunlvak Island this /oar. Dates and i purpose of visits are aa follovai

Doto

March 18

July 26 s

July f t to August 3

August ^

August 18-26

King and lout

Lenslnk 4 King

Sponsor » Hout

Sponcer, Mout aad Muanecke

Hout

Purcoae

BspariMtal nusk ox count

faadliartBatlan

OS

count

f « i l l l a r l s a t l o n

Capture of ouak ox calvas

•^OXJO^SM JO S»SXXTA sift pvs d|j%» 9u|pu«t »M> ooon^o^ pooa sqi fooxo pssji>MO OJOO «o9|«io^(i

'asASAOH * ssaaw uooyoq ^OOS^OOQ •%{% JO joyog 4sog poiiojs »«HIM • T i l * posaosv •^•o oolimio^d off -Ifl'lt M o > W W

*loAjnis so istw s^ Huurxp po unoo OJOO OOOOJS nmpoos 9 jo xo%o% V

*so|xioq 00 Xxtsastojd • sdoi s l p M »tu 00 fsxposj PSAJSS^O SJOA ISf IOSJ JSSSSX •MJ.

• « 09 jo noou %OOJf • •

m m

U ^ ao^ •OiT "TT J© s^soi i

orooso T # l i l » l s

* . «• 6T J© 190\4 • s

JOM** H—U U ) (C) Ofooj^ OJM xm«w

airiBi xvAim - saoixvAiorafo TACMWUVM

1 rrtvi

•I OTW • ! potTJri»»s OJO tuoT^sAJSsqo OOOHX * 92-91 ooootoq po|Jisd SM>

*ivmf ofo* oxoo SOO|>SA.ISSOO X S ^ J J O M A XVt 'WIM JtioioJWTH 'V

lirKnm n

An Initial attaapt vaa aada to count froa a high elevation (6,000 feet), in hopa the anlnala would not group into their defense formation before thay could be counted. This attaapt failed because tha aniaals started grouping aa aeon aa thay heard the plane, frequently at a distance too great for an accurate count, for this reason it vaa necessary to revert to tha old aethod of flying at a lov alavatioa aad circling tha herds until a count vaa obtained.

Tha spring count vaa 25 aniaals less than tha 1963 coaat of k06. Aa only tha pariaatar of tha Island vaa covered, prob­ably aoaa of these missing aniaals vara inland. Also,, as it is frequently imposeIble to accurately count hards of more than 15 aniaals, some of tha aiaaiag ausk ox aay have boon in tha larger herds.

Ia general, our thoais regarding batter visibility, restric­ted distributloa, and larger horde proved valid. The aniaala vere ia marked contrast vith their background and vore definitely aaaler to see than in tha summer. Tha majority of the ausk ox (8ll) vera distributed along the south side of tha Island froa Cape Corvia to Cape Mohican. Sixes of herds vere larger in spring than in suaaar (Table II).

TABUC II

MUSK OX HJtRD 811*8 - SPIUiO AND SUmCR 196k

Sise of herd Spring Suaaar

1 - 5 19 62

6 - 1 0 9 2

11 - 15 9 7

16 -20 2 1 (16)

2 1 - 2 5 1 0

2 6 - 3 0 2 0

31-35 1 (3M 0

Total ausk ox 381 kf>l* 9 Includes 102 calvas born la spring of I9€k

Total tlat for thm count from Bethel nnd return von five hours. Being able to coaplete the count In one day and return ia a distinct advantage aa it it poeslble to bo trapped by veathar for days or vaaks at a tiaa oa the Islaad.

Although the spring census aay provide tha aost accurate count of adults, sal vae a#s bora in early sMaer aad a lator coaat vould be necessary to deteraiae production.

froa July 30 to August 2. The entire Island vas searched systaaatically. Alaaka Refuge Supervisor, Soencer piloted tha FVS Beaver IT15* sad Assistant Refuge Manager Moat acted aa obeerver aad recorder. Actual flying tlat for tha survey vas sixteen hours aad forty aiautes vith 1,640 alias flovn. Visibility during the survey vaa good.

A total of b67 auak aa vore counted of vhich 102 (211) $ vore calvee. Too dead auak ox, oae bull aad oae sow vere observed oa tha aoath side of the Islaad. The total nua-bar of aniaals by sex, age aad araa a re listed belov:

Date Area of Island Largo bulls

Saall bulls Totai

7/30 Morth central 7 30 6 kl

T/31 Borthvaat 19 90 3k

8/1 laat 23 123 kl 187

8/2 Sort beast k Interior it-

The record of Tabic III.

ox counti froo 1936 to present is dhovn is

TABLE III

MUMIVAX MUSK OX SURTEYB 1936 - I96U

Adult Itt£ MltL

FsBsles sod

1936 none 31 1939 t 39t 19 7 T 41-49 19U 7 0 57 19 9 8 0 65 1950 7 3 61 1951 21 36 16 1 76 1952 23 M 9 1 77 1953 31 44 15 90 195 25 54 21 3 100 1955 29 66 19 3 116 1956 31 • 26 5 126 1957 30 88 25 143 1958 kk 105 32 1 181 1959 39 128 39 6 206 1060 43 57 2 256 1961 60 69 3 293 1962 • 78 2 340* 1963 73 7 ko6* 1964 68 291 102 28* ken

/Vor£D

• March count • 353 ff March count • 381 • 23 calres

la tha fall of 1964 paraits vere giveo Mr. John Teal of tha Institute of Northern Agricultural Research to Centura 33 ausk ox calves. Mr. Teal vaa given a Kellog foundation Grant to exparlaent vith the doaiestlcation of auak ox vith the vork to be carried out at the University of Alaaka. Teal*a part/ spent August and port of October on the Islaad and succeeded la capturing 23 calves. All calves vera suceaa-fully transported to the University of Alaaka aad at laat report vere doing veil. Several nethods of capture vere tried vith the aoat suceasful being the uae of a helicopter to cut the calf out of a herd and bring it to bay aglnat a

000*02 jo •••axo

55 JSSTTt %5CT 190*1 000*21 296T

2tC*nT 0961 000*21 6i6T

000*01-000*9 9 61 000*1 146T 006*1 9 61 000*i Ii6l

000*01-000*1 •9 61

siMnoo mzranr mimr

AI rnvx •(AI •WA)

9161 ooaii >«oo a^mm HI • ! a m •f^M 00i*iX jo uo\impwlod po*w|*«o >w«*jid JMO qmixim%— o% f m

•«tdM»ovH|d pv« Donoo •»»iu '••It •«> H^dWo^oqd JO p»>imoo aj»A •pu»x»i M|i uo •xmr|«i am IT* T aaa

aajamaoo *«pJM| uaxaxa jo oox^«Jiuaouoo y 'poax*! oo Jaapa|aj jo aaqonu 1**0% mq% auT«J»iop 0% va atmoo to ana xvmraa a% aouoaafaoa aj

eaavojja •jaapaxavi

••ai a^l ao aao 9u|jap«aa jo tl^oaj a iiqaqoju •paax*! aoaxaff ae da paqaaA

•oadjao so ana a o9a aja^api oaj, • sad aox aq^ ae %mo axaaraa eaa^ ua a ajaoao X>TTa*Joa aaea Xx qaopun

•%oad H I m\ pajjneoo aaq opoaxtT ajoqajje 9% 9vxdaj%s

•jetaxa a m W^l"ai 0% aja^aj XTP» •raaxaa aaaq t | M *Ja aa qaajj paq oa* eq* jo jaSjax mm 'paaaamjaao aq o* pojaadda epaaxaf aq> jo JM^log •efi* aot *a HOOOJ

PXTVOO Aos* q IHA paaxM XV** Joq oaa o\ aaoaea paq ttaaiaa 000m *adoi)e pool u; aq o* pajoedda exaaiaa H I >an»nv

m\ pa oaqo uam« •jaaaia xxo oja^ piaiaMJ pua papaaj a aaaooq •XTM WT*« *>T ao n 'jotapi tear paaxti

aaoqajjo aa o* ao| aq* jaao ponoa •XTM «o **«a aagmx

••Xoaxaa oi »«l aq* aja^dao o* javaia %xaa aja^ai 0% oaaxd r»»x •JM

auoo9ax Jo^oa ^T»« « o>a| poajoj eoa puaq o JOIJO poaaojp aoo panoX a 0014* pojjaooo X>|xo>oj aao "\\ mo adoj

a pxaoe poaojS am ao aaa ajeqa aaaj^i a e| JO ^ooq %no

'A

7

Th« MMgMMt of tbo rolndMr herd it the responsibility of the Burvtu of Indlen Affairs, Reindeer Senrlce. Thlt susHwrs butchering operatloa produced 180,000 pounds of asst and byproducts froa 2,612 adult aad 50 fawn reindeer. Ia additloa 190 raIsdeer vara utlllsad by tha residents of Mekoryuk. Tha bureau of Indian Affaira estiaatas a population of 15*000 reindeer after tha k i l l .

D. Pur Aniaals. Reports hsva baaa received thai ths fos (both rod sad arctic) population has baaa over harvested as a result of intensive hunting froa aaovplaaaa. Ths gsneral snov eoaditioas ara ideal for these prop-driven sleds aaklag it poeslble to traverse either ths length or width of tha Island ia a single day. Prior to the Introduction of thess aacbines, transportation, a aajor factor ia trapping effort, vaa restricted to dog teaas. Aa Invest­igation will be aade of this situation and the appropriate action taken.

B. Pish. Pishing is a aajor activity oa Bunivak Island during Jane and July for personal subsistence uae. Many of the Baklaoa froa Mekoryuk aova to fiah csapa oa the south end of the Islaad vhere they fish for saloon. Salaon ara cap­tured by round-hauling gill nets in the stresa mouths, or occaaslonely by tha use of rock vlers ia tidal areaa. According to the flshemen the sise of the runs hsve not been depleted in aany yeara of this practice. They also claia they take Just enough to f u l l f i l l their needs.

POur species of salaon occur on tha Island and include pink salaon (Oacorhrnchus gorbuacha). chiai or dog salaon (0. Beta), silver or coho salaon (0. kisutcb). sad red salaon (2. aarka). Oaly the pink and chua salaon are fished extensively ae their early aigration allows the fisheraea to return to Mekoryuk ia tiaa for the reindeer slsaghter.

Ths silver salaon eater the streaaa later, usually ia August aad September. Oaly oae ayatea (Dookaook) is known to have a run of rod aalaoo. Prior to this year the occurrence of this run had not been doeuaaatad. Salswrn wore first observed at the hood of Dookaook Lagoon duTiag the auak ox survey, but it vaa not possible to Identify then as to species. On August 28 the Assistant Refuge Manager flaw over thia lagoon In a helicopter and counted an eatInetad 200 red salaon in spawning condition. It appeared that theee fish were spawning ia the iatar-tidal area of the streea entering the heed of the boy.

Other speciM of fish known to be utilised toy residents of the Island Include Dolly Varden trout, halibut, tea cod, herriag aad saalt.

We nroroee to evaluate the fishery resources of Muni yak ia the near future aa such studies can be coordinated vith studies of auak ox and reindeer. The objectives of the coateaplated study are: (1) to deteraiae the species sad tha sise of the population utilising aach atrasa, (?) to deteraiae the magnitude of tha catch, (3) deteraiae the tiaea of aigration, aad (4) to delineate tha location, character aad laporteace of spavaiag areaa.

Ill OTHW ITMB

Autopay of tha internal organs of a feaale ausk ox calf sent to the Arctic Health Heaearch Center revealed that the prob­able cauae of death vaa severe congestion of the lungs. A few neaatodas and tapevorae vere discovered la the aboaasua and intestines. These paras1tea vera not considered to be in suffleant nuabars to hsvs effected the health of the anlaal. This salnal vaa found by the Teal narty and vas suf­fering froa a large wound la the hip.

A full tiaa resident reindeer manager for the Bureau of Indian Affaira, *r. John Clare, aoved to the Island this fall. The Nunivak BeIndeer Project haa been vithout a resident manager for several yeare.

Musk ox b u l l stranded on offshore i s l e t .

Reindeer herd on Nunivak Island. Most herds counted of t h i s s i z e .

Reindeer in corral at Mekoryuk

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT Of THE INTERIOR

ISTMO' R I04W RI03W »r*w

NUNIVAK ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ELECTION DISTRICT NO. 16-BETHEL. ALASKA

U. S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE

165 •50 '

BUREAU OF SPORT FIS

R 9 6 W R95W

MEAN DECLINATION

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PORTLAND,OREGON CONTOUR INUKVAL OO FCCT 0*TUH IS m£AM SC* LCYCL IR ALA III 403i