TRENDS OF DEER AND DEER HUNTERS ON PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND

1. TRENDS OF DEER AND DEER HUNTERS ON PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND Todd J. Brinkman, University of Alaska Fairbanks

2. OUTLINE Titus and Beier Background Deer Hunters Deer Populations Future Opportunities

3. Hunters experiencing difficulty harvesting enough deer to meet their needs #1 Game management issue amongst State and Federal Agencies in southeast Alaska. Unit 2 Deer Planning Subcommittee of the SE AK Regional Advisory Council

5. 1950-1995 Clearcut logging Roads

6. 600 500 400 Logged mmb 300 200 100 0 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 Year Logging Boom & Bust

7. Brinkman et al. 2007. J. Ecological Anthropology; Brinkman et al. 2009. Ecology and Society • Hunter interviews • Deer hunter patterns • Deer population trends • Deer habitat and access • Used geographic information systems to quantify changes in: • Logging activity • Forest habitat composition • Road access through time

8. Brinkman 2006. Community Report • 88 hunters • 31 Native, 57 non-Native • Average age = 47 (18 to 94) • Average hunting experience = 20 years • Average harvest = 6 deer/yr

11. Hunter/Deer/Land 1950-1995 (Ellanna and Sherrod 1987, Brinkman et al. 2007)

12. Brinkman et al. 2009. Ecology and Society Best hunting = 2 year old clearcut Good hunting = 0-8 year old clearcut Unhuntable (86%) = clearcut >12 years

13. Clearcut logging Roads Second-growth forest

14. Brinkman et al. 2009. Ecology and Society

15. ~3000 km of road

16. ~1,650 km of road

17. How are the deer responding to these changes?

18. Wallmo and Schoen 1980 Hanley 1984, 1993 Schoen et al. 1988

21. Klein 1965 Wallmo 1981 Parker et al. 1999 White et al. 2009

22. Energy costs dramatically (5 times normal) elevated when snow depth above knee height (Parker et al. 1984) • Particularly in wet and heavy snow Wallmo and Schoen 1981

23. Photo Courtesy LaVern Beier and Kim Titus

24. How have these changes affected deer population size on POW? Photo Courtesy LaVern Beier and Kim Titus

28. DNA-filled coating DEER PELLET

29. Brinkman et al. 2009a. Conservation Genetics • Identify individual deer • Allowing estimates of population size. • Identify the sex of the deer • Determine the relationship between deer on POW

32. 3 years (2006-2008) 3 month/yr (March-May)

33. Extract DNA

34. Microsatellite Markers Isolate pieces of DNA that are unique among individual deer

35. 634 unique individuals • Probability of Identity = 0.0003 • 1 of 3,333 • Success rate • 2006 – 41% • 2007 – 50% • 2008 – 87%

36. 30% decline overall

37. Young Harvest (<30 year old) 10.5 deer/km2 Nonharvest 12.3 deer/km2

38. Nonharvest 12.3 deer/km2 Old harvest (>30 years old) 7.6 deer/km2

39. A WHOLE BUNCH! Or NOT ENOUGH!

40. Pellet counts vs. DNA-based estimates? • Increase the value of 30 years of hard work? • Sex ratios • 2008 – 25% males (1 out of 4) • Habitat use

41. 8 2 3 12 6 8 2 12 2 9 8 16 7 9 11 5

43. Identification of Gene Flow (mixing of deer subpopulations)

44. Staney 36 km Steelhead Maybeso 1 Effective Migrant every 5 years

45. Thank You Very Much! The End

46. Funding was primarily provided by the USDA Forest Service. Funding and in-kind support was also provided by the Alaska Trappers Association, the Resilience and Adaptation Program (IGERT, National Science Foundation 0114423), the Bonanza Creek LTER (National Science Foundation grant 0423442) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Biology and Wildlife Department and Institute of Arctic Biology. I thank all the hunters who participated in this study for kindly sharing their time, knowledge, and hunting experiences. Craig Community Association, Hydaburg Cooperative Association (especially Tony Christianson), and Klawock Cooperative Association assisted with interview participation and scheduling. Alva Perotrovich, Joey Adams, Nicole Phillips, and Rett Janzen. Dr. Terry Chapin, Dr. Kris Hundertmark, Dr. Gary Kofinas, Dr. Dave Person, and Dr. Winston Smith