No refuge for bear hunt — Public fired up about bear hunting closure

It’s been more than a month since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued an emergency closure of brown bear sport hunting on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 26, but debate continues over whether this decision was reached for biological or philosophical reasons.

On Nov. 25 nearly 100 people — federal and state employees, representatives of conservation and pro-hunting organizations, as well as members of the general public for and against the closure — had an opportunity to share their views during a public hearing in Soldotna pursuant to the federal regulations with the emergency closure.

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Russian River Fishing Season

Black Bear in Russian River, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Angler and visitor responsibility and respect to natural and cultural resources is key to a safe season Cooper Landing, Alaska— The Kenai-Russian River area, located on the Chugach National Forest and Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, is an intensively used fishing and recreation area, valued by anglers, federally qualified subsistence users, and other visitors for its easy access. High human use
between the months of May and September, coupled with abundant fishery resources, has led to public and employee safety concerns and impacts to the resources in the area.

The agencies managing this area are asking visitors to be responsible with their actions to ensure respect for the area’s waters, fish, wildlife, and cultural sites.
The 2013 interagency priorities include responsibly managing retained fish, human food and human generated waste (including fish waste) responsibly to reduce the potential for human-bear conflicts.

Food Storage Regulation
A food storage regulation is in effect on both the National Forest System lands and US Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters in the area. All attractants (for example: food, beverages, and garbage) and equipment used to cook or store food (for example: coolers and backpacks) must be acceptably stored (in a bear resistant container, in your vehicle, or kept within 3 feet of you at all
times).

Retained Fish in Possession Regulation 
Fish must be kept within 12 feet of you all at times to ensure that bears do not attain your fish.

Fish Waste Management
To minimize the attainment of fish waste from bears during the 2013 field season, anglers are being asked to help by following the requests below:
Take fish out whole – Please take fish out whole when possible (gutting and gilling is acceptable) and manage fish waste offsite in a responsible manner based on local solid waste standards.
Process fish only at established fish cleaning facilities- If you must clean onsite, please use fish cleaning tables at the confluence or ferry site and chop fish waste into numerous small pieces and throw into fast-moving river current.

“Do Your Part” – Help move fish waste downstream by regularly moving any fish waste you encounter along the shore or hanging up on rocks into faster moving water so it will move downstream.

Visitors are also strongly encouraged to respect the areas that are fenced or roped off to protect sensitive plants and cultural sites. They need to stay on maintained and established trails and
boardwalks. Visitors are also strongly requested to use the public restroom facilities that are dispersed throughout the area due to the potential of disturbing sensitive cultural sites along the river corridor.

A Russian River Interagency Coordination Group was formed in 2006 to coordinate management of public resources of the Russian River area. The group includes representatives from the USDA Forest Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Divisions of Wildlife and Sport Fish; Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor
Recreation; Cook Inlet Region Incorporated; and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe.

In February 2013, a five-year action plan was finalized that outlines actions that will be implemented to reduce the potential for human-bear conflicts in the Kenai-Russian River area. To view summaries from the public process or to view the final plan, please visit https://projects.ecr.gov/kenai-russianriver/default.aspx

Results of Kenai Brown Bear Population Study Released

A study conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service has produced the first estimate of brown bear population size on the Kenai Peninsula using local field data. Conducted in June 2010 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and the Chugach National Forest, the study concluded that the best estimate is 624 brown bears. Prior to the study, land and wildlife managers lacked information on the number of bears in the area.

Scientists arrived at the final estimate for the Peninsula through two steps. First, they used field methods and DNA analysis to sample the brown bear population on a well defined study area that included 70% of the Peninsula’s available brown bear habitat. This yielded an estimate of 428 brown bears (with a 95% confidence interval of 353 – 539 bears) on the 2.9 million-acre study area. The scientists then used the best estimate of brown bears on the study area and expanded it to available bear habitat on the entire Peninsula, producing the estimated total of 624 bears.

Federal and State resource managers on the Kenai Peninsula have long recognized the importance of developing a population estimate to guide brown bear management. Terri Marceron, Forest Supervisor on the Chugach National Forest noted that the investigation was both valuable and timely. “Brown bears serve important functions in ecosystems on the Peninsula, and are highly valued by residents and visitors.” She added, “As we initiate Forest Plan Revision in February, our first phase will be sharing status and trend information on various resources, including this new data on brown bears.”

The study used a methodology called mark-recapture, which relied on identifying individual bears through analysis of DNA extracted from hair samples collected on a grid across the study area. Hair samples were obtained by attracting bears to barbed-wire enclosures, each of which surrounded a scented lure. The accuracy of the population estimate was improved using information from radio-collared bears known to frequent the study area; which was made available through independent studies being conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The estimate includes both cubs and adult bears. Using information on the average litter size of cubs accompanying radio-collared female bears on the study area and the overall sex ratio determined from this study, the estimate of 624 bears translates into approximately 200 adult female, 200 adult male, and 224 cubs.

Results of the study are detailed in the report The Kenai Brown Bear Population on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest. The study’s lead scientists, Dr. John Morton, supervisory wildlife biologist at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge; Martin Bray, a Chugach National Forest wildlife biologist; and Dr. Greg Hayward, wildlife ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Alaska Region, were assisted by two experts in their respective fields. Dr. David Paetkau, who conducted the DNA analysis, heads Wildlife Genetics International, a renowned wildlife genetics laboratory in Nelson, British Columbia. Dr. Gary White, professor emeritus at Colorado State University, conducted the data analyses which generated the population estimate. Dr. White is one of the world’s leading experts on wildlife population estimation using mark-recapture methodology.

Andy Loranger, Refuge Manager of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, described the importance of the study’s results. “Kenai brown bears are a highly valued wildlife resource. Enumerating bears in heavily forested habitats like those on the Kenai and over large areas encompassing millions of acres is extremely challenging. This estimate of the Kenai brown bear population is an important piece of scientific information that will help inform land and resource management decisions and benefit the long-term conservation of this iconic wildlife species.”

A full copy of the study report can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here.