THE ISSUE
If you’ve been to the Kenai Peninsula, you’ve likely experienced traffic on the Sterling Highway. One of Alaska’s busiest roads, the highway sees 1.2 million vehicles each year, averaging 2 to 3 vehicles zooming down the road per minute.
The Sterling Highway is incredibly scenic - passengers often see wildlife on the commute through mountains, along rivers, and atop peatlands. Despite this apparent vastness, wildlife has become increasingly constricted on the Peninsula. Only three landscape-scale corridors, shown in the map below, remain for north-to-south wildlife movement, just 20% of the area historically available.
Wildlife corridors across the Sterling Highway.
As you can see, the Sterling Highway (and it’s 1.2 million vehicles) bisects these corridors. What does that mean for wildlife?
There are about 10 years where humans killed the same number of moose in this area through vehicle collisions as we did during the general season hunt (~250 moose-vehicle collisions per year). And vehicle collisions are even more detrimental to moose populations than hunting; 90% of moose killed by cars are cows and calves, as opposed to the general season hunt which primarily targets bulls.
The cost of these collisions is high for both humans and wildlife.
The Role of wildlife crossings
Without wildlife crossings, moose populations can become isolated. A study by ADFG, UAF, and USGS reflects that the moose populations on either side of the Glenn Highway are becoming genetically distinct because wildlife has such a hard time crossing the road.
The Sterling Highway MP 45–60 Project contains plans for 5 wildlife crossing structures along the road. These structures, costing over $10 million, are expected to reduce moose-vehicle collisions and to allow them and other wildlife species to move freely across the road.
The Cooper Landing Bypass wildlife crossings are circled above. Two of these crossings have already been completed:
Wildlife crossings have also been established on the section of the Sterling Highway that transects the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge reports a 50% reduction in moose vehicle collisions since their development in 2019 (between MP 58-79). Some photos from those crossings are below:
Trapping, hunting, and Wildlife Crossings
Monitoring of existing structures on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR) has shown current use by wildlife, with more use expected once trails have been established. If wildlife use were to increase, these structures would create an unnatural choke point where wildlife would be concentrated and more easily harvested. On the KNWR, hunting and trapping are currently prohibited around these structures through safety restrictions implemented through refuge-specific regulations. However, without regulations prohibiting the taking of wildlife at the to-be-constructed crossings on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), these new structures meant to benefit wildlife may be targeted by those harvesting wildlife.
We want to protect all wildlife using these crossings, including moose who may be incidentally caught. In summary, these crossings will work to funnel wildlife across the road, but the more than $10 million spent to develop these crossings will be null if there are no hunting and trapping setbacks protecting these corridors. Instead of becoming wildlife funnels, they will become wildlife sinks. We sought a common-sense approach to protecting these corridors.
Historic Trapping Regulations and AWA’S SOLUTION
Across most of Alaska, trapping is allowed along trails, beaches, and roadways, including the Sterling Highway. There have been several proposals in the last ten years attempting to restrict trapping and hunting near public roads and trails, as well as populated areas, including:
In 2015, the BOG considered Proposal 180 to prohibit trapping within 250 feet of most public roads and trails in the Cooper Landing area. The Board opposed the proposal, stating trappers and local residents needed to work together to find a solution on which all users can agree. BOG members also noted concerns about the enforceability of the proposal and loss of trapping opportunity by requiring trappers to travel 250 feet off trail and back to set and check traps (ADF&G 2015).
In 2016, the BOG considered Proposal 80, to restrict trapping in and around cities with populations over 1,000 people. It would have restricted trapping within ¼ mile of publicly maintained roads, 200 feet of publicly maintained trails, and one mile of permanent dwellings, schools, businesses, and campgrounds. ADF&G stated that proposals restricting trapping should be addressed at regional rather than statewide BOG meetings, so affected local communities can comment. The BOG opposed the proposal due to opposition by 26 Fish and Game Advisory Committees and concern for unintended consequences (ADF&G 2016).
In 2020, Proposal WP20-20, submitted by Robert Gieringer, requested that hunting and trapping in Unit 7 be prohibited within one mile of roads and trails, and traps be marked with brightly colored tape. The Board rejected the proposal. The Board stated Federal regulations would be more restrictive than State regulations, violating the rural subsistence priority mandated by ANILCA. The Board also stated marking traps with brightly colored tape could result in attracting more people to the trap and possibly pets (FSB 2020).
In March 2022, the BOG considered deferred Proposal 199 at their Statewide Regulations meeting. Proposal 199 requested 50-yard setbacks along certain multi-use trails and trailheads in Units 13, 14, and 16. This proposal was deferred from the January 2022 BOG meeting so a workshop could be held to reach a compromise on the proposal. The BOG attempted to modify the proposal with different amendments, including language created from the workshop. All versions of this proposal were rejected.
In 2022, AWA submitted a proposal to the Board of Game requesting ¼ mile hunting and trapping setbacks from current and future wildlife crossings along the Sterling Highway. Over the next year, ADFG and the public submitted comments on the proposal, including over 300 AWA supporters who wrote in support of safe wildlife crossings! In March 2023, AWA testified at the Southcentral Board of Game meeting in Soldotna, advocating for wildlife across the region.
“If wildlife movement is funneled toward and concentrated around these wildlife crossing structures, any trapping or hunting effort in the vicinity may have an undue impact on the wildlife and could also create public safety concerns. Adopting this proposal will mitigate public safety concerns and reduce regulatory complexity and confusion by aligning Federal and State regulations regarding take adjacent to wildlife crossing structures.”
VICTORY!
In March 2023, at the Southcentral Region BOG meeting in Soldotna, the BOG considered numerous trap setback proposals. The BOG adopted amended Proposal 145, submitted by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, making it illegal to hunt, trap, and take game within a quarter mile of wildlife crossing structures along the Sterling Highway. The BOG felt that as more of these structures are installed there needed to be protection in place to keep the unintentional choke point that is created from being targeted by hunters. The amendment to the proposal prohibited the take of game within the buffer zone by anyone outside of the buffer zone. This is the first AWA proposal the Board has passed in decades.
But, we were only halfway there.
The State proposal only limits State hunters and trappers, and because most of the land along the highway is federal, we needed concurrence from the Federal Subsistence Board. The Federal Subsistence Board oversees the Federal Subsistence Management Program, a multi-agency effort that administers the subsistence priority and manages regulations for the use of fish and wildlife resources for subsistence purposes on federal public lands and waters in Alaska. So, in 2023 we submitted the same proposal to the federal process. In April, at their 2024 meeting, the Federal Subsistence Board passed the proposal (WP24-08) unanimously!
This is an exciting victory for AWA and the wildlife we seek to protect. A lot of the work we do involves going to meetings and doing hard regulatory work. It’s unglamorous, and can be unexciting, but it’s incredibly important for long-term conservation. Getting the proposal passed is a big win for Alaska’s wildlife!
THANK YOU FOR HELPING WILDLIFE SAFELY CROSS THE ROAD!
Highway crossings have proven very difficult for many species, especially moose. These crossings are critical to the safety of wildlife and humans by reducing vehicle and wildlife collisions. Affording wildlife a safe migration corridor makes sense morally, fiscally, and ecologically. Thank you to the 300+ people who submitted comments in favor of these proposals – your advocacy made the difference!
We know not everyone wants to sit in meetings to advocate for wildlife, but we’re happy to do it for you. All we ask is for your support, and we’ll sit through the drab and let you know when and where your voice is! Please consider becoming a member or donating. to AWA to make more victories like this one possible.
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