AWA will be updating this page as we develop written comments, so stay tuned for more information on proposals we support and opposed throughout February!
This March, the Alaska Board of Game will vote on wildlife proposals in the Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, and Cordova areas. The Board of Game will not consider proposals in these areas for another 3 years - this is your time to make your voice heard!
*Commenting takes less than 5 minutes!
Visit the Board of Game website
Enter your personal information and comments
Optional: Fill out the proposal survey at the bottom
*For more impact, you can also testify in person!
The Board of Game will be accepting oral testimony March 17th and 18th in Soldotna. For more information on the in-person meeting, click here.
Commenting Guidelines
View the proposals and other meeting documents here
Include your name and/or organization at the top of your comments.
Include the proposal number(s) you are commenting on. Feel free to comment on multiple proposals in a single comment.
Clearly indicate your support or opposition to each proposal.
Describe your reasoning.
Limit comments to 100 single-sided pages or the equivalent.
Comments with personal or inflammatory remarks or inappropriate language may not be accepted.
Proposals AWA Supports
Proposal #145 - Submitted by Alaska Wildlife Alliance : ¼ mile hunting and trapping buffers from mouths of new highway wildlife crossings on the upcoming Cooper Landing bypass. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #146 - Submitted by Kachemak Bay State Park Citizen Advisory Board : 100yd. Setbacks from some trails in Kachemak Bay State Park. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #147 - Submitted by Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee, Sid Wolford and Kathy Sarns Irwin : 100yd Setbacks from some ski trails in Homer area. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #149 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : 100yd. Setbacks from Cooper Landing area campgrounds. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #150 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : 100yd. Setbacks from highway pull outs in Cooper Landing. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #151 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : 100yd. Setbacks from recreational areas in the Summit Lake Recreational Area. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #152 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : 100yd. Setbacks from some high-use Cooper Landing trails. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #153 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : 100yd. Setbacks from some Kenai Lake Beaches. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #154 - Submitted by The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee : Request for signage where active trapping is occurring. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #156 - Submitted by Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee : Close all beaver trapping in the Anchor River and Deep Creek drainages in Unit 15C for two board cycles with a required sunset review. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #157 - Submitted by Cooper Landing Fish and Game Advisory Committee :
Shorten the beaver trapping season in Unit 7 to start Nov. 1 [currently starts Oct. 15] - April 30. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #158 - Submitted by Cooper Landing Fish and Game Advisory Committee : Shorten the coyote trapping season in Units 7 and 15 to start Nov 10 [currently starts on Oct 15]- March 31. Read the proposal here.
Proposal #160 - Submitted by Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee : Limit beaver trapping to one set per lodge and only one beaver may be removed per lodge in Units 7 and 15. All lodges that have been or are being trapped in the current season must be visually marked with a pole set vertically in the ice. This regulation has been successful in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Read the proposal here.
Proposals AWA Opposes
Proposal #159 - Submitted by Caleb Martin : Extend the wolverine hunting season in Units 7 and 15 to start on August 10. Read the proposal here. Comment against this proposal here!
Why AWA opposes this proposal:
The author asserts that an extended season is needed because they believe wolverines are primarily found in the high country feeding on Dall sheep and mountain goats. This is not true. Although wolverines are capable of taking large ungulates as live prey (Magoun 1985), most ungulate presence in the wolverine diet is from scavenging—with some evidence of a seasonal reliance on local rodent abundance (Banci 1987, Magoun 1985, Gardner 1985) and marmots. Removing wolverines will not likely result in more Dall sheep.
The author also asserts that the Dall sheep in the Kenai Mountains are on a steady decline while predators continue to grow. This is also not true. Wolverine populations on parts of the Kenai Peninsula were estimated in 1995 and 2004. The most complete survey, conducted in 2004, estimated a population density of 3.0 wolverines per 1,000 square kilometers in the upper Turnagain Arm and Kenai Mountains (Golden et al. 2007b). A 1995 survey, using similar methodology but restricted to the northeast corner of the Refuge, estimated a density of 5.2 wolverines per 1,000 square kilometers (Golden 1996).
Other information about wolverines in this region
Wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) are uncommon on the Kenai Refuge. They are primarily restricted to the rugged subalpine and alpine habitats in the mountainous eastern region of the Refuge and appear to be rare on the western lowlands of the Refuge.
Wolverine are solitary animals, coming together only for a brief mating season. Males have territories of as much as to 240 square miles (621.5 square kilometers) and travel as much as 40 miles per day in search of food; females maintain smaller territories of 50–100 square miles (129.5 to 259 square kilometers).
Wolverines on the Kenai Peninsula were previously considered a unique subspecies (Gulo luscus katschemakensis). A recent study of mitochondrial DNA suggests that despite a single unique haplotype in the Kenai population, the “occurrence of common and widespread haplotypes on the Kenai Peninsula is not consistent with subspecies status for this population” (Tomasik and Cook 2005). However, Tomasik and Cook (2005) also point out that the Kenai Peninsula population may harbor a disproportionate amount of the North American mitochondrial diversity and, as such, warrants special conservation.
The wolverine’s affinity for remote wilderness, rugged terrain, low densities, and large home-range sizes, coupled with its sensitivity to human disturbance, all contribute to the challenge of managing and conserving this solitary and secretive species (Ruggiero et al. 1994 cited in Tomasik and Cook 2005).
Because wolverines have few natural predators, harvest by humans is believed to be the greatest factor influencing adult wolverine numbers (Hornocker and Hash 1981). Krebs et al. (2004) indicated that human-caused mortality was additive to natural mortality and that trapped populations of wolverine would decline in the absence of immigration from untrapped populations. However, as long as there was a source meta-population within a protected nearby refugium, harvested wolverine populations would likely persist. As with other low-density species, maintaining high annual survival of adult females is central to sustaining populations and harvest (Eberhardt 1990, Golden et al. 2007a).
Additional resources
To comment online, visit: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/e8e365c35aee48fe8fb7c587abbd1afa
To see a full list of proposals, visit: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=gameboard.meetinginfo&date=03-17-2023&meeting=kenai
You can also mail in your comments (online submissions are encouraged):
ADF&G Boards Support Section
PO Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811
or fax to (907)465-6094
If you have technical difficulties, questions, or other issues, contact the Board Support section at 907-465-4110
