\.

SPEC COLL

NARR IZNWR 1979

IZEMBEK NATirnAL WILDUFE RANGE Cold Bay' Alaska

ANNUAL NARFATIVE REPORI' Calendar Year 1979

NATIWAL WILDLIFE REFOOE SYSTEM Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. JEPARTMENT OF '!HE INTERIOR

IZE:MBEK NATIONAL vJILDLIFE AANGE Cold Bay, Alaska

Including

Eastern Aleutians National vlildlife Refuge Semidi Nation.al vJildlife Refuge

Simeonof National Wildlife Refuge

& vVi!dlife Service

Tudor Road nchorage, Alaska 99503

ANNUAL NA~TIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1979

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEH Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. DEPAR.TI1ENT OF TIIE mTERIOR

·---

-.

The boundary shown includes lands affected by the Submerged Lands Act and the Alaska Statehood Act. The total area is a complete ecological unit essential to wild­life needs.

Names given are in common use locally and not necessarily identical with current offi­cial maps.

£ R/ N

B A Y

0 laanotski

Is. 0

s A Q

T 56 s T 5 7 S

~~~:~ ~AMAeAT "\.) ISLA liD

:r::r: moo oooo a:: a:

0

N

5

SCALE IN MILES SEWARD MERIDIAN

PLAN

L EGE.~D

D SAL T WATER

D FRESH WATER

10

PERSONNEL COLD BAY

1. Jessle M. Ambridge' refuge assistan.t 11/18/79-present career-seasonal, GS-4

2. Richard H. Eelk, maintenanceman, PIT, WG-10 4/10/77-6/13/79

3. Jean E. Chambers, administrative clerk, 10/25/78-7/28/79 PPI', GS-5

4. Sandra G. Dauer1hauer, assistant refuge 4/23/78-p~sent

manager, PIT , GS-11 5. Cecil W. Finn, maintenanceman, career- 9/9/79-10/6/79

seasonal, WG-10

6. John E. Sarvis, refuge ~er, PFT,GS-12 6/23/74-Drese.rlt

CAPE SARICJ1EF

l. Robert F. Bartels, w-ildlife biologist, PIT, GS-9

6/3/79-present

2. Hyrum D. Ferbrache, rraintenanceman, career-seasonal, 1..JG-8

6/4/79--oresent

·Photos of staff members are shewn in t~e t:ext.

~~~~~~llilll\llllliiiil\i~l!\\[[~ij\ 3 4982 00021117 6

Review and Ao=.;;;J . . :::-su/i.~.fF6.tt~. ""'"e~~~~~--4~~~6i'-=f;:;.;;;o '4ntix/l:!&'Jt :;!0r:/J·(_)

Date

~$_z.~m_kf< ___ a_ C.~ ______ ~~ -c.._.~~~ fo Reruge ~ ~ 7''7~

A$st. 4,6J., v,-,~ts,

A. B. c. D.

A. B. c.

A. B. c.

A. B. c.

A. B. c.

A. B. c. D.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. GENEAAL

Introduction ..... 0 • 0 0 e ••••••• 0 •• 0 e o e e o o e e o o o o o o o & 11 ~ e o o a .1 .2 .5

Climatic and Habitat Conditions. Land Acquisition •••••• System Status •••••••••

••• !!I (I

o • o o e

o o o o e o o e . ......... . o o & o a o o o

o e o e o e e e e 5

II. CONSTRUCTION MAINTENAl"JCE

Construction •••••••••• a o •••••••• e ••••••••• e It •• " ••• e •••••• .6 Haintenance ••• Wildfire ••••••

ooseoe-oooeoeoooeoe•eooo~oooooooooooeoe

o e c e Ill G $ o e ooo oe eo oe o e e & eo e eo o eo o eo o o o <li -11

III. HABITAT HAT'JAGEMENT

Introduction •••••• . ..... Wetlands •••••••••• • • • • c •• c . . . . • 0 ••

e e e o e o e 6 • ••• 8

• • 0

.9

.9 Other Habitat ••••••••••••• 0000Co!)-OOG000000&80001!1rG0000009

IV. WILDLIFE

Endangered and Threatened Species • . .... e e n & o .10 Migratory Birds • e • e • @ ••••••••••• e • • ••• 10 Harnrnals and Non-Migratory Birds and Others ••••••••••• • ••• 22

V. INTERPRETATION A\TD RECREATION

Information and Interoretation. Recreation •••• Enforcement ••••••••

Field Investigations •• Cooperative Programs •• Items of Interest •••

VI. OTHER ITEHS

Sa£ ety e Ill • a $ " •• o e o e o ~ •••• , 6 • 'l 6 •• e • " a ~ {'j o •

. .. ••••• 31 o~eoooe~~e35

Cl$0000180&938

.40

.41

.43 00!!10000®9G0081!145

I. GENERAL

A. Introduction

Sane 415,000 acres in size, Izernbek National Wildlife Range lies at the southwestern tip of the Alaska Peninsula and is bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, The headquarters is located in the "tcwn" of Cold Bay t which had its beginning during W'WII as Fort Randall and Thornb01uugh AFB. Accessible canmercially only by air, the refuge and headquarters are 650 miles from Anchorage, the supply center for south central and southeastern Alaska. Cold Bay is not a recognized government entity and consists of about 200 people, nearly all of whom are associated with state or federal government. Except for a small general store, airline office and gasoline pump, there are no comnercial outlets. All housing is government or business-o,.med, arTanged in compounds. There is no peace officer, doctor or service agency other than an itinerant nurse who is based in Cold Bay and travels throughout the Aleutians. The Public Health Service occasionally cernes through to vacci.-·1ate pets against rabies, which is endemic and periodically epidemic in the local area. A 12-grade school with 2 to 4 teachers serves 30 - 45 students. Most Cold Bay residents are associated with the 2-rnile long paved airstrip which serves as the transportation hub for the lower Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands area. In this mountainous and remote region, where weather is notoriously bad and unpredictable, the Cold Bay strip is the only one which is paved and fully equipped with navigational aids, and witl-J. fairly obstacle-free approaches. There is an FAA Flight Service Station and a National Weather Service Station here. Both serve pilots over thousands of square miles. The certificated comm­ercial carrier for the Peninsula - Aleutian region, Reeve Aleutian Airways , and the International Flying Tiger Lines both have fueling and maintenance facilities here, as does the local air taxi, Peninsula Airways •

Refuge habitats are highly diverse, and they support a rich variety of wildlife. No manipulation of either habitat or wild­life populations (except for hunting) is done. We are fortunate in that whole ecosystems still function naturally in this part of Alaska. The dominant vegetative corrununity is lew rolling coastal heath tundra vii th associated shrub willc:w and alder. Lew lands are riddled with freshwater lakes and potholes, many of them devoid of vegetation and little used by waterfowl. Narrcw, but deceptively deep-cut drainages connect many lakes, zigzagging through extensive shallow marshes and spongy areas of sphagnum. Potholes, especially in hilly country, a..~ kettle-like and appar­ently spring-fed, with no outlets or inlets. All stages of fresh­water succession are represented, from sterile open lakes to dry,

vegetated beds.

Mountains to 6,600 feet, largely of volcanic origin, form the eastern and southern range boundaries. Several sizeable streams drain through the refuge and support large salm:m runs •

Ocean beaChes of black volcanic sand are vegetated predominantly with beach rye grass (Elymus) and associated herbs and other grasses. Law barrier islands and spits separate and shelter rel­atively shallow state-a..'Tled tidelands and lagoons from the open ocean and account for muCh of the area's productivity of marine mammals and sea birds, waterfa.Nl, and shorebirds. The main lag­oon system - Izernbek - (including Applegate Cove and Moffet Bay) opens tlrrough three n~ entrances to the Bering Sea and covers some 95,000 acres. Four smaller lagoons - Big, Little, Middle and Kinzarof - contaL! approximately 2000 acres and open to the Pacific at the heads of Morzhovoi Bay and Cold Bay. All lagoon systems become shorebird paradises twice daily when semi-diurnal low tides expose thousands of acres of riCh mudflats.

The range was established in 1960 by FLO 2216, largely to protect the entire world population of Pacific black brant, whiCh migrate through the area eaCh spring and fall. Moving through in snail groups in spring, these birds flock up in huge rafts in fall to feed and rest here for two months before making their non-stop flight to Hexican wintering areas •

Other waterfowl concentrating here in fall are Canada and E>.mperor geese, dabbling and diving ducks and sea ducks. Hundreds of thousands of shorebirds work the tideflats during fall months before heading south. Passerines use the area year-rou.."'"ld, species and m.nnbers varying with the seasons •

Uplands and estuaries support about 200 Alaska brown bear, 5,000-6,000 barren-ground caribou, wolf, wolverine, red fox, river otter, and smaller furbearers • Marine mai'1mals include various rNhales, harbor seals, walrus and sea otter. Part of the former Bering Sea Land Bridge, Izembek has over 60 knoN-n archeological sites, with another two dozen mapped just outside its boundaries.

B. Climatic and Habitat Conditions

Cold Bay's weather is notorious among Alaskans and this is no false reputation. Its "typically Aleutian" weather arises from local topography and its location in the path of continual low­pressure systems which form in the \<lestern Aleutians, "Cradle of the ~rinds • "

The local Izernbek NWR area is largely a lew sea-level "dike"

2

3

5 - 15 miles wide separating Bering and Pacific waters. Tidal variations with differential heating of exposed mudflats and other differences in these two oceans , combined with mountain peaks which tend to form a wind tunnel across the "dike" , create rapidly changing and extremely diverse temperature, precipitation, visibility, wind, and turbulence conditions.

The area is mCMn for constant wind, overcast, fog, ralll, sleet, and few SWlily days.

Because Cold Bay is quite far south in Alaska, 55°12'N, 162043 1 \~,

it does not enjoy the extremes of daylight popularly attributed to the state. Shortest day is 7 hours, 7 minutes of "possible" sunshine; longest is 17 hours, 27 minutes.

Measurable precipitation occurs 200 days per year on the average but totals are not large.

Important weather features for 1979 are g1ven in Table l.

Table l Weather Conditions

Average temperature °F

Average High or Average la.; or Extrem:: High or Extreme lew °F

Highest Monthly average °F

Lcwest monthly average or Average sky cover in tenths

Average wind speed in knots

Total precipitation in inches of water equivalent

Heating degree days base 6 5°F

1979 Extremes or 30-year normals

40.8 37.9

45.3 42.3

36.4 33.5

67 (May 27 78 (Aug. 1948) July 18)

-1 (Dec. 30) -13 (March 1971)

52.3 (July) 55.3 (Aug.)

26.7 (Dec.) 23.6 (Feb.)

8.7 8.8

16.8 16.9

52.56 33.23

8703 9865

Izembek habitat is largely in its natural state, and ecological syste.'llS a.."'"€ intact. Several hund-red miles of gravel roads , trails and ruts remain from WWII , and dozens of quonsets and wooden buildings are foun:::l on the refuge as well as off. After 35 years of no maintenance, these stuctures are inexorably de­caying; every windstorm wreaks changes. Hundreds of rusted fuel drums and cans, cable, wire, packing crates, broken glass (rrostly nickel coke bottles) and other small items of debris are scatter­ed across the landscape in small dumps • Many pieces already bear a thick coating of rrosses and lichens. Only a small proportion

4

of the refuge is marred by this abandoned material. Many roads and now-empty building pads are being reclaimed by tundra mats, grasses and alders , but rrost of this exposed gravel - like natural blew-outs - will require centuries to recover.

Because of its location over 600 miles from the cor~ected road system, its inclement weather and its lack of economic opportun­ity, Cold Bay and the wildlife range have escaped serious man­caused damage since WWII. This may change in the near future, unfortunately, because of a surge of interest by the State of Alaska and individual entrepreneurs in developing a bottomfish industry with freezer ships and cannery based at Cold Bay.

Two land sales held in town to promote this enterprise drew great interest from investors , largely for speculation, since it re­leased the only private land available in Cold Bay except for 2 older 5-acre harnesites, Some 143 acres in 46 parcels were auctioned for a total of $7,757,300.00. Total appraised value was $1,498,100.00. Highest bid was $3,000,000.00 for a 10-acre dockside parcel, Controversy surrounding t."le auction procedtLY'88 , financial scandals and questionable suitability of the area for bottomfish development have cast doubt on immediate economic development.

It is likely t~at habitat deterioration is occuring for caribou although these changes are subtle and difficult to discern over the short run. Recent atypical winter movements point to poss­ible excess numbers and impending crash. In any case, wide swings in the caribou numbers are apparently centuries old, natural, and are definitely not man-caused as far as the Cold Bay herd is concerned.

Although human nature seems to prefer straight lines over curves, such cycles are common in the Arctic.

C. Land Acauisi tion

The Izembe.\: National 1tlildlife Range was set aside e.."'1tirely from public domain in 1960. The Service ams 320 ,000 acres of land and freshwater. The state-owned lagoon systems more or less encircled by the refuge, make up an additional 95,000 acres 1 for an effective total of 415 1000,

Three native village corporations - King Cove, False Pass, and Pauloff Harbor - selected lands from within the Izembek and Aleutian Islands NWR. On January 24, 1979, 9,695 acres were interim conveyed to King Cove out of Izernbek NWR. On May 16 , 19 79 , 8,105 acres from Izembek were interim conveyed to False Pass. Pauloff Harbor has selected approximately 320 acres from Izembek, but these lands have not yet been formally conveyed by Bu~. Lands selected primarily follow coastlines and are comprised of lagoon shores, ocean beaches, and coastal lc::wlands. All are of high wildlife value; some are traditional native use areas.

Under section 22g of ANCSA, these former refuge lands remain under refuge rules and regulations and must be so managed. The legal validity of this provision will undoubtedly be tested in court.

The Aleut corporation - the parent regional entity to which t"11e individual native village corporations belong - has identified dozens of midden sites under section l4(h) (l) of the act, which allows regional corporation selection of cemetery and archeo­logical sites • Legal parameters of this section are also not clear.

We have identified a munber of high-quality areas bordering the refuge for possible easements, acquisition or re-a0:1uisition. Given the recent prices in the Cold Bay auction, acquisition seems unlikely.

D. Systems Status

l. Objectives

Several major objectives were not met. No Canada geese -v;ere ban­ded because we were unable to replace the racket charges we had to destroy for safety reasons in 1978. No pintail were banded because these ducks did not arrive in large numbers until after waterfc::wl season started. We prefer not to bait birds during hunting season.

No cooperative agreements were worked out with native village corporations.

5

B~ bear telemetry '..Vork was largely undone for i:'...vo reasons. Our preferred trenquilizer, sernalyn, was outlavJed i:Jy the Drug Enforcement Agency because drug users were employing it on th~ selves. Sernylan was a widely used veterinary and research drug and its summary removal from these legitimate uses in order to protect a few ill-advised thrillseekers was a definite over­reaction. We worked through a wildlife veterinarian in Fairoanks to find a suitable substitute, but paperwork foul-ups on the part of the manufacturer delayed receipt of the new Clrugs until we were into our waterfcwl field season. To rrake matters worse, both radios from previous years failed this year, a11d we had only a few visual contacts. Public use and EE plans were not devel­oped.

On the positive side, we continued black brant and emperor goose caunts; assisted "..Vi t"rl the e.rnperor goose flyway management plan; color-marked 17 whistling swans a.t!d did extensive re-sighting; supported a University of Missouri Steller's eider feeding ecology project; made several attempts to band wintering sea ducks by night-lighting; and ran a few opportunistic beached marrmal/ seabiro surveys.

V.le continued to map and catalog midden sites and gave logistical (and moral) support to a F\IJS archeology team which spent 2 soggy mont'ls in small, cold, wet tents, mapping and digging meter-square test pits; we put a lot of energy into a joint state-federal brcwn bear management plan and pennit hunt system; did a caribou census on Izernbek; did LE patrols during all hunting seasons ; and made preliminary corrments on a refuge slide shcw. ~'le have no approved refuge activities which are contrary to objectives.

2. Funding

Funding is shown rn Table 2.

II CONSTRUCTION AND HAINTENANCE

A. Construction

No construction was done, but BlliP projects for a fourth res­idence, a bunkhouse, office addition and 3 garages was put out on bid with construction to begin hopefully in summer of 1980, A~uminum siding will be used to eliminate the tremendous weather­ing problems we have. Existing buildings will hopefully be sided in the near future.

B. Maintenance

Our maintenance oro gram finished its second year of inactivity.

6

Table 2 - Funding for Izernbek NWR (in thousands of dollars)

FY AUTHORIZED STAFF 1210 1220 1240 1500 Total

71

72

73

74

75

3PIT, lPPT

3 PIT, lPPT

3 PIT, lPPT, lT

3PIT,lPPT

7 6 3 PIT , lPPT, 2T

76(TQ) 3 PIT, lPPT, 2T

77 3PIT, lPPT

78 4PIT, lPPT, lT

79 4PIT, lPPT, lT

808 3PIT, 3PPT, lT

113 2 12

(12) (4)

933 17

1224 255

128 35

169 40

45

48

48

51.2

65.5

95.5

5 130

(3) 19

5 115

167

15

16 225

1Prior to FY70, Izembek funds were included in Aleutian Island Budget.

2rncluded $33,000 for rehabilitation of Headquarters and Grant Point Road (gravel)

3rncludes $3,000 for rehabilitation of Grant Pt. buildings.

4rncludes $9,000 cyclic maintenance

5Includes $10,000 ANCSA

6Includes $15,000 cyclic maintenance

7 Includes funding for 3 months' operation and salaries at Cape Sarichef, Unirnak Island, Eastern Aleutians NWR.

8rncludes lPIT, and lPPT ceiling and funding for Cape Sarichef field station, Eastern Aleutians N"WR

7

Our only maintenance worker seriously injured his back in Dec­ember 1977 and was on workman's compensation until June 1979, awaiting a decision by his doctors • During that time he was on light-duty or no-work status , mostly the latter. We were not able to hire a temporary replacement because there is no private housing in Cold Bay and ncwhere for the :individual to live, since our injured employee was occupying the quarters assigned to the maintenance position. He was finally given a 25% disability rating and left for re-training in Anchorage under a state progra'll in June. Our new maintenanceman, Cecil Finn, had to resign after only 4 weeks and move back to Anchorage to resolve some personal problems. We are about to make another try as the year draws to a close. Needless to say, our main­tenance backlog is impressive. Mr. Finn worked hard on our decaying vehicles and got all of them to at least run, but build­ing repair remains critical, especially plumbing. Manager Sarvis, assistant Dauenhauer, and clerk Chambers reshingled sections of twJ residences blcwn bald by high winds • Sarvis and Dauenhauer repaired various flat tires, bad starters and other relatively small vehicle problems. Sarvis wired sections of our metal hangar roof back to its rafters after winds and salt corTOsion broke several bolts loose, allcwing the roof to balloon out alarmingly men ever the door was open. Serious furnace problems were repaired by maintenance personnel borrowed from Flying Tiger Airlines and the State Division of Aviation. These included several breakdowns of various canoonents in the assistant's house and the office, and the re~r of the underground fuel tank at the assistant's house. This last was necessary after an itchy brcwn bear rubbed against the intake and breather pipes, breaking them off at the tank 12 inches underground and allcw-ing mud and water to run into the tank, stopping the furnace.

Two of our five wooden shop garage doors were replaced with insulated steel doors, so the warm shop no longer fills up with wind-driven rain and snow, and the heater actually shuts off. The three cold shop doors also need replacing but we could not afford to this year (the two doors, professionally installed, cost some $5,000.00). The old wooden doors fill up with water during storms and are not only next to impossible to lift, but once raised, drain all over the shop.

One mile of gravel road leading to the Grant Point research and observation area was rehabbed by the State Division of Aviation under contract.

c. Wildfire

Nothing to report.

8

II . P.ABITAT 1'-'Al~AGEMENT

About 300,000 acres of the wildlife range was proposed for wild­erness designation in 1970, but was caught up in the seemingly endless political maneuvering over section d( 2) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, under which millions of acres of federal land in Alaska has been proposed for ne-,.; national parks, forests, refuges and wild and scenic rivers. Previous v7ilderness proposals , such as Izembek 's , have been included in many former and present d(2) bills and no separate Congressional action is contemplated.

Izernbek is largely de facto wilderness of the highest quality and is managed along wilderness guidelines. Access to most of the range is by foot and boat only. Aircraft are restricted to beaches belOH the line of mean high tide, (state land). Motor­ized vehicles are restricted to the established road system of about 35 miles.

9

Our major habitat management function is to monitor for man-caused changes. The refuge is a naturally functioning system which re­quires no manipulation to be richly productive. Manipulation is confined to planting a 1/2-acre rocket net site each August and closing old jeep trails to allow natural re-vegetation.

Natural expansion and destruction of vegetation, waterways, beaches, bluffs, etc. is monitored but not interfered with.

Only two listed habitat types occur on Izernbek.

C. Wetlands

Izembek's lagoon systems were suggested for consideration as research natural areas. Because they are state-cwned, actual designation is out of our hands •

A fishing vessel carrying several thousand gallons of diesel fuel sank just outside the entrance to Cold Bay. No fuel was seen on the water, and refuge beaches and Kinzarof Lagoon were unaffected ..

E. Other Habitat

The Air Force gravel pit under refuge pennit continued to operate in compliance.

10

IV WILDLIFE

A. Threatened or Endangered Species

Alaska at present has only two species - both birds - in this category: the Aleutian Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis leuco~ areia) and two of three subspecies or peregrine falcon (Falco :e_eregr:inus anatum and F ,p, tundrius), Neither are known to occur on IzembeJC, althougilit lS possible that some Aleutians may rest for a few days during migration in remote refuge locations. Thousands of Canadas are observed and dozens shot each fall and no leuconareia have ever been among them. Early reports of Aleutians in the area probably referred to Taverner's Canada geese, many of whom have wihte neck rings. Our local peregrine, Peale's, is the only non-end;;!.ngered subspecies in Alaska. No census has ever been conducted but undoubtedly several dozen pairs use the range.

B. Migratory Birds

Birds banded at Izernbek are shown m Table 3 •

l, Waterfowl

Two banding projects - Canada goose rocket netting and pintail bait trapping were not done. We were unable to replenish our supply of roc~et charges after being forced to destroy our stock­pile for safety reasons in 19 7 8. No other means are feasible for Canada goose banding, since the birds do not molt here.

Pintail arrived later than normal and the usual high August num­bers did not materialize. One trap was baited, this one in an area which was successful in 197 8, but the entire take was 14 shorebirds. We attempted then to continue using this 6-foot high wire trap to catch shorebirds for banding, but a short-tailed weasel or other small predator discovered it t~e second night and killed several rock and western sandpipers, forcing us to abandon the idea.

vle prefer to halt bait trapping on August 31 because waterfowl season opens September l and continuous ITDnitoring of traps for shooting violations would be impossible. V.le also feel that having numerous small closed areas scattered across the accessible port­ion of the refuge is undesirable and confusing to the public.

Our other waterfowl projects discussed below were carried out successfully.

Table 3 - Birds Banded at Izembek NWR, 1970-1979

SJ?ecies 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Total - - -- - - - - - -Pelagic Cormorant 1 1

Whistling Swan 3 4 27 17 49(2 repeats)

Canada Goose 109 143 252

Black Brant 1 26 27

Emperor Goose 2 2

Mallard 1 1

Pintail 98 98

Steller's Eider 17 886 l~57 1,405 502 516 3,783

Rock Sandpiper 1 12 13

Least. Sandpiper 1 1

Dunlin 2 2

Common Hurre 1 1

Crested Auklet 1 1

Bank Swallc:M 9 5 9 23

Lapland Longspur 157 143 106 139 28 14 9 4 600

Snc:M Bunting 417 433 614 418 241 201 162 15 33 105 2,639

McKay's BwTting 1 2 32 2 7 25 1 7 8 85

I-' I-'

Table 3 (Continued)

SJ2ecies 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Totals -- - -Common Raven 31 1 32

Black-capped Chickadee 1 1

Hermit Thrush 1 1 2

(~ray-cheeked Thrush 1 1

Water Pipit 1 4 3 1 9

Northern Shrike 4 10 2 2 18

YellCM VJarbler 22 30 66 118

Northern \>Jaterthrush 1 2 3

Wilson's Warbler 5 11 22 1 39

Gray-c~med Rosy Fincl1 232 49 1~3 43 78 45 128 50 40 113 821

Hoary Redpoll 1 1

Corrunon Redpoll 9 11 2 22

Savannah Sparrow 65 112 222 50 19 1 469

Tree Sparrow 2 1 3

White-Crowned Spar:ITM 3 3

Golden-crowned Sparrow 12 21 27 1 61

Fox Spar:ITM 10 10 7 27

Totals 9lf7 849 1,162 606 422 1,225 787 1,587 850 775 9,210 f--' N

13

Whistling Swans

Our collaring and banding project continued, with 17 birds banded. Two years' work has clearly shewn our swans to be resident during both mild and "no :mal" years •

One bird collared this summer was a repeat from last year, (T313) who had lost his first collar and was re-outfitted as T329. Thus, we have 43 birds collared. The swans are given blue neck collars, a matching tarsus band and standard FWS alumimnn band.

No family groups were caught in 1979. .AJ.though at least 5 nests were within reach of the road system, no broods were ever seen associated r.-1ith them. Only one pair - T333 and T334 - were marked, and 2 other pairs were canpleted when the uncollared mates of two birds collared in 1978 were captured (T328 and T335). The other 13 birds handled were in groups •

The same capture techniques were used as in 19 7 8 ~ tJ~at is, we attempted to sneak up on the flightless birds while they were ir1 the water and effectively "surround" the lake using 3 to 5 people standing on the skyline. Two people then pursued the birds on the water using a small skiff and lOhp motor. The "catcher" sat, lay, or assumed various other positions as necessary in the bow while wielding a long-handled fish net to scoop the bird up or at least restrain it so it could be hauled into the boat by hard. Generally the birds would not leave the water even in the face of the boat as long as the skyline "guards" could walk back and for"-J1 along the shore fast enough to make escape appear hopeless. The birds can be amazingly quick at detecting a gap, however. In addition, the best-laid plans oft went astray due to the sare­times large distances the various field parties had to walk to reach their assigned positions. Not only did this give the still­unsuspecting swans ample time to drift out of position after we had worked out our capture plan, but made conmunication between parties primitive at best. Sometimes different individuals start­ed from locations 2 or 3 miles apart to approach the capture lake undetected. Thirty to 60 minutes might elapse before all were at the lake and in sight of one another. CoordinatiD~ a sudden change of plans at that point without alerting the birds required gr-eat skill at c.l)arades. The only cover in this cou.."'"ltry is top­ography - a person inching along prone can still be detected by an alert eye.

In contrast to last year, this year many more swans breached our defensive line and escaped onto the tundra, at which point all pretense of stealth or strategy on our pa.......-t: was given up and t.~e chase was on. Swans are fleeter of foot than most people and the broken terrain worked in t.~eir favor as well since the

humps and fu.rraws of the tundra thrc:w the human runner off balance and quickly tire him/her.

Sarvis and Dauenhauer captured 9 swans during a 12-hour expedit­ion by dory down the Bering Sea coast to a large remote refuge lake 24 molting swans were using consistently, Our small Avon raft was partly deflated and stored aboard the dory along with various IIDtors and other gear. The dory was left anchored off­shore, and the Avon re-inflated and rewed ashore. The Avon, lOhp Irotor, gas cans, and capture equipment were rather laboriously hauled up and over a 20-foot high beach bluff thickly covered with tall beach rye and down the back slope to the lake edge, which fortunately is only a fesil hundred yards from the bluff. No sooner had we started than a 15-20 knot wind rose, kic.~ing up waves and spray which drenched us and made visibility on the water poor. About 5 hours later, we had 9 swanS. captured, pro­cessed and released, an excellent proportion in our experience, given the size of the lake, wind and water conditions, srrall

14

crew size, and scattering of the birds, Four of these swans have been subsequently sighted wintering with others at Peterson l..a.goon on nearby Unimak Island. The capturing ended with the failure of the lOhp outboard at the farthest possible :point on the lake from the starting place, necessitating an hour row by Sarvis ( fortun­ately ~ the wind) back to the beach.

Only one bird, T328, had leeches under the nictitating membrane this year, in contrast to six in 19 7 8 • Having learned over the winter how easily these leeches can be dislodged, we removed them from T328 and her lid instantly returned to the normal configuration with no sign of injury.

Two swans collared in 1978 were re-captured; female T326 and male T313, who molted together trus year with 3 uncollared birds. Not until all 5 birds were captured did we realize that T313 was already marked, since he had lost his collar. His plastic and aluminwn leg bands were removed and he was re-christened T3 29 • Both these collared birds were of interest, T313 was mated to T312 in 1978 and produced tr.-1o cygnets. There is some :possibility that we disturbed them during capture and collaring to the :point that the pair broke up, since each has been sighted several times either alone or with other swans, but never with the former mate. T326 was captured in 1978 with male T327, but we have no evidence they were actually mated. T326 was seen later associated with 8 other uncollared swans and was not seen again until she turned up with T313 and the three uncollared birds.

T328, the female with leeches under the nictitating lid this year, is the long-time JI'.ate of T323, who was first banded last year along with their cygnet, T3 2 5. After catching and banding

15

T3 2 8 this year, we were concerned when it appeared the old pair had not gotten back together, and this was heightened when T328 shewed un several weeks later with an uncollared bird. Subseauent observation showed' hcwever, that the uncollared bird was wearing a blue tarsus band. Although this small band was not read, we are certain the bird is T323 and that he, like T313 and an unkncwn number of others , has lost his collar.

We are relatively certain that male T317 has removed his collar. He was seen last winter with a large notch broken out of it, pemaps a result of biting ice off. His mate, T318 has been seen on Unimak with other birds , and their former nest terri tory Has occupied this year by a pair with only one collar, although no nest was found. Because of the difficult access, we were never able to read the collar on the nesting terri tory, but believe the pair was indeed T318 and the new collarless T317. Resightings during the fall were many fewer than last year. Even on aerial surveys we found fewer collared birds than expected, al thoug."l'l the total population was stable. Again, this implies collar loss.

The birds moved to Peterson Lagoon on Unllnak Island during October as they did the year before. However, this winter has been more "typical", with a number of cold snaps and more snow. In 1978, 361 swans were seen at Peterson Lagoon; in 1979 over 400 were seen on several occasions, (high count for this winter was in Feb. 1980, at 573 birds). Fourteen collars were seen at one time there in 1978; this season, the number was 17. Birds read at Unirnak this year are:

collared in 1978, read 1979

T301, T302, 310, 311, 318, 304

collared lD 1979

T328,332, 333, 334, 339) T341, 342, 344

Not all collars actually seen can be read due to distance and light conditions.

One especially interesting bit of data concerned the time of family break-up when newly territorial parents drive off sub­adult young. Our old standby pair T323 and T328 produced cygnet T325 in 1978. The family wintered together on Unimak and re­appeared as a unit on the old nesting terri tory on February 3, 19 79. The family was subsequently seen together on Marc.'l. 7, 17, and 18. From t1arch 2 2 on, the pair was seen rrany times alone on the territory, and T325 was seen once with a group of other sub­adults several miles av.1ay. Thus, we can pinpoint family breakup in this case to berneen March 18 and March 22.

Production seemed quite lew Corrrp:ired to previous years. Five nests checked by refuge staff in May contained a total of 28 eggs

16

but were all unsuccessful. A punctured eggshell was found several hund...red yards from one of these, in July. T323 and T328 produced one cygnet in 1979, but this was lost during early sumrrBr. We feel that predation by gulls, ravens, foxes, weasels, and poss­ibly bears takes a great toll. However, many previously unnoted family groups appeared on the Unirrak wintering area in the winter of 19 79. Sane of these probably moved in fran more distant loc­ations due to the harder winter, but some were probably missed during the production survey. Table 4 shews production counts fran recent years.

Table 4 Whistling Swan Production Counts, 1977-1979

adults cygnets

1977 174 34(in 10 broods)

1978 227 28( in 9 broods)

1979 235 17(in 7 broods)

An aerial nest survey was conducted during late April. This is earlier than optimum, but was necessitated by the manager/pilot's later absence. At that time, 12 nesting pairs were seen, and 48 pairs without obvious nests. At least one of these 48 are mown to. have produced a nest later, giving a minimum of 13 nesting paJ...rs.

Hany of these pairs chose unsafe nest locations , usually on small peninsulas, including T301 and 335, who had 5 eggs and 2 0;gnets in 1978 and at least 2 eggs but 0 cygnets in 1979. This pair nested late in 1979 due to high water in the preferred spot on a long, thin, boggy peninsula and may have produced more eggs after the nest check by refuge staff on 5/25/79. They nested in the same location in 1978, and we were curious to see if experience would teach them to choose an island in 1979.

This project will continue for the next several years. Ide are considering going to a two-digit rather than 4-digit collar in the hopes of obtaining more resightings. Frequently an observer with a 45-60x scone can see collars and even the white number routings, but (rsrely) bright sun or water, distance or (usually) wind or rain conspire to withhold the last tiny bit of optic resolution needed to be positive of the reading. This is always frustrating, since most readings require some hiking and stalk­ing to get into position. It is most annoying at Peterson Lagoon on Uniro.ak, since collar reading there requires a i:'..;o-hour round­trip flight via Supercub from Cold Bay and then a great deal of crawling about in the snow. Squinting at an almost-in-focus collar for half an hour UL'1der sometimes miserable condi tio:ns causes one to seek alternatives fast.

17

Black Brant

The standard annual production and family group counts were cond­ucted in September and October. 'itle were grateful for the assist­ance of manager Larry Dean from Salton Sea NWR, who spent 3 weeks in Cold Bay during October on a personnel exchange, Larry was not only a quick learner and l<ncwledgeable observer, but an interest­ing and companionable individual. Cape Sarichef biologist Bob Bartels also assisted in this year's waterfowl work.

For the second year in a row, production was at a near-record low of 14.7%. A total of 16,023 brant were counted, of which 13,674 were adults and 2,349 juveniles (Table 5). Four FWS staffers sampled each of 6 areas several times throughout the period. One hundred forty six family groups were counted, containing a total of 361 young, for an average family group size of 2.47, well below the 14-year average of 2.72 and last year's average of 2.96, (Table 6).

Our first big northwest stonn was later this year than last, and several thousand brant left in advance of this . The bulk of them departed the area the night of November 12. 'itle got permission to use the A..ir Force radar again, but, except for a few blips about an hour after dark, we saw nothing that looked like flocks of geese. Pin aerial check the next morning turned up only about 5,000 brant remaining, so they did indeed depart.

Izembek staff assisted in a brant energetics study which involved collecting birds just before dej:e.rture fran Izembek and aga:L"1 just after arrival at San Quintin, Mexico. Sarvis spent 3 nights attempting to night-light birds for this project. The last attempt was successful with 7 birds captured. In addition, we looked at thousands of birds for neck collars which had been put on by staff of the Clarence Rhode NWR. Out of 210 collars, we accounted for 3. Considering that we checked over 16 ,000 birds, we ought logic­ally to have seen about 25 collars. ltle do not know if our lCNJ return is due to poor contrast between the blue collar and the black necks of the brant, to segregation of birds from that part­icular part of the Clarence Rhode range to remote parts of the lagoon, or to collar loss. Collar loss is a defimte possibility, given our experience with swans and coupled with the fact that one collar turned in to refuge personnel was s:i.mpl y slipped over the head of the dead brant without damage to either the skull or the collar. One collar was read on a living brant. The third was thrown into t."le tcwn dump by a rern.a.rkably uncurious yol.ll1g man who noted not..l-}ing at all about the numbers or letters. ~Vhen word finally filtered to us through t'l.e local grapevine, t'l.e dump had been burned and covered.

18

Table 5 Official Black Brant Production Counts

Year Adults Juveniles Totals

1963 3,968 1,243 5,211

1964 13,324 4,577 17,901

1965 21,210 5,050 26,260

1966 9,927 7,134 17,061

1967 15,219 3,081 18,300

1968 15,110 3,117 18,227

1969 12,829 3,577 16,406

1970 12,104 6,256 18,360

1971 4,820 1,953 6, 773

1972 6,599 3,698 10,197

1973 12,025 4,999 17,024

1974 l3 ,118 632 l3 '750

1975 9,396 5,452 14,848

1976 7,962 4,340 12,302

1977 8,856 4,092 12,948

1978 10,696 1,842 12,538

1979 13,674 2,349 16,023

Totals 190 '737 63,392 254,129

Table 6 Black Brant Family Group counts at Izembek NWR (1964 - 1979)

No, of Juve-niles *1964 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1 31 53 19 48 17 69 30 45 26 22 36 49 13 22 2 44 133 54 89 32 102 39 95 44 66 59 77 31 64

3 66 115 l~6 88 34 65 45 87 19 48 78 71 29 37 4 34 42 20 53 41 49 25 70 13 31 40 29 24 17 5 16 9 5 12 18 8 11 22 2 14 19 13 10 5 6 4 3 0 3 3 2 3 5 1 5 4 1 3 0

7 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 1 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Families 49 195 359 145 293 148 295 153 327 105 189 237 240 110 146

Total Juveniles 122 557 926 377 780 476 716 416 938 239 543 674 603 326 361

He an Family

Size 2. 49 2. 86 2.58 2.60 2.66 3.22 2.43 2. 72 2.87 2.28 2.87 2.84 2.51 2.96 2.47

* 1964 - Totals Only

I-' lO

Canada Geese

Our fall rocket netting was not done as explained earlier, due to lack of replace~nt charges for those destroyed in 1978.

1979 returns of previously banded Canadas are 1 from the Yukon­Kuskokw.i.'Tl DeL.ta and 1 from the village of Kotlik, Ak. v.Je scrutinized several thousand Canada geese looking for possible Aleutians and also for a few hundeed pink-dyed geese from Nunivak, whic.~ had been colored by Clarence Rhode personnel. We never saw any of either.

Emperor Geese

Emperors seem lCNJ again this year, but an accurate census of this species would require simul tan eo us flights over much of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands • Production counts were scanty this year, but data collected show only 11.8% juveniles (113 young and 841 adults) compared to 26.1% in 1978 (495 young and 1395 adults). Fifty three fanri.ly groups were counted with a total of 175 young, giving an average family group size of 3.30, compared to 3 • 0 in 19 7 8 •

Pin tails

One bird banded on the refuge in 1978, was reported taken in the Pacheco,Ca. area in November 1979.

Steller's Eiders

The annual 19 79 eider ordeal took place on September 15 , when weather and tides finally conspired to give us a rare good day. This drive, done using 3 dinghies with lOhp motors, netted 70 males and 446 female banded. 62 males were dyed with picric acid, and 25 rnales and 25 females weighed.

Sarvis, Dauenhauer and Finn were assisted by biologists Dirk Derksen, Margaret Peterson a.rtd Tom Rothe from the Anchorage office who were in the area conducting other studies.

Several aerial censuses were done by biologist Margaret Peterson of OBS Anchorage, who has worked with eiders for several surruners in Nelson Lagoon, about 100 miles to the north of the refuge. Thm of her flights show the inflUx of birds into Izembek Lagoon for the fall molt. On A11oaus t 20 , she counted 16 , 19 0 eiders ; on Sept­ember 10, the census turned up 36,816.

A female Steller's was brought to Dauenhauer's home on 11/24. It had apparently flam into a guy wire and lost an eye. It ~~as released on 11/29 and, after some initial taxiing difficulties

20

on the frozen lagoon, took off and headed straight for ope.Tl water where presumably its fellows were flocked up.

A feeding and wintering ecology study of Steller's eiders began in 1979 (see Field investigations).

2. Marsh and Water Birds

A pelagic cormorant roosting on the Cold Bay dock was picked up as sick by local residents. It was banded and released.

A fork-tailed storm petrel was picked up exhausted on the roof of the Air Force Site and turned in to the refuge. It was wa...Ylil.ed up and released.

3. Shorebirds , gulls , ~' and allied species

Twelve rock sandpipers and 2 dunlins were banded when inadvert­ently trapped in a large wire pintail bait-trap. Since we had been wanting to band shorebirds , we left the pintail trap in place for several nights , but had to discontinue this method \vhen a small predator discovered the birds one night.

4. Raptorial Birds

Fourteen bald eagles - mostly adult pairs - were seen in a S-mile stretch of Ne..mJan Island on March 28-. Beach carrion was probably the attraction. Eagles were quite canmonly seen along the beaches in winter, but always inspire appreciation in the observer.

A snowy owl was reported to have flown through tO>m by a reliable observer. These owls range erratically depending on the winter. This year's more"typical" cold blowy weather has apoarently brought a few into the area.

5. Other Migratory Birds

Dickybird banding gave us the usual assortment of interesting items. A snow bunting originally ba.J1ded on 12/20/70 was recapt­ured for the eighth time on l/26/79, and again on March 19. He did not turn up in December of 79 (nor as of this writing in March 19 80) , but has undoubtedly n1a.de the record books for long­evity. Two gray-cruvned rosy finches banded in 19 73 were recapt­ured in January 19 80,

The dicki~pird trap is a small cage with a battery-operated door which is released fran the office. Major species using it are gray-crowned rosy finch, snCNJ bu.Tlting, Hc..J<:ay' s bunting, lap land longspur, and savannah sparrow. Bad ~veather often crcwds 40 bir-ds

2l

22

into the trap at once. Many are retraps. On several occasions, we have almost managed to capture a northern Ehrike which •11as so frant­ically trying to get to the trapped birds as to be canpletely oblivious to an approaching person until the last possible second.

A common raven which had been wing-shot during waterfcwl season was captured by Bartels and Dean with the aid of Bartel's black lab, Ink, and cared for in the shop for 5 weeks. Ravens are highly intelligent, extraordinary flyers and justifiably famous in Alaska native folklore because of their forceful personalities. This one was also incredibly messy and odiferous. Needle-like talons and a no-release visegrip beak combined with a suspicious view of our intentions made the bird a definite behaviour problem. The wing healed a bit crooked, but the bird was still able to extend it, although it was not able to fly upon release at head­quarters, possibly fran the long confinement in our eider. holding pen. It was recaptured, taken to the tcwn dump, and released among 50 fellcws, where we are hopeful it had sufficient food and cover to regain use of the wing. We are quite certain t.t'"lat the bird could at least soar, given breeze enough to become airborne, which is never a problem for long around here.

The Christmas count was done on December 30. Table 7 shews results • The two observers covered 70 miles on foot and by car in 9 hours.

C. Mamnals and Non-Migratory Birds

1. Game Mamnals

Negotiations continued between the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the Service on bru..m bear management on Izembek. This year agreements ~.;ere reached to turn over administration of the limited n~S/permit hunt on Unimak Island to the state and to institute a state limited permit hunt on a Dortion of IzenJbek NWR and surrounding area. Det.3.ils are discussed under I and R. A number of philosophical preble~ arose and each had to be painfully thrashed out a number of times before consensus was reached. These differences are primarily based on the nearly completely opposite attitudes toward huntable species espoused by the t'"...;o agencies. The state often feels we are usurping their right to rranage resid­ent game and we often feel they are exploiting the resources beyond reasonable limits • As usual, agreement is easier to come by at the field level than among those who must sign off to make it binding.

Brcwn Bear

The research project started in 19 77 using radio collars to trace movements of bea......rs using the tmm as part of their range ground to a halt this year. Two factors - outlawing of our tranquilizing

Table 7 Cold Bav 1979 Christmas Bird Count

l.Don sp Pelagic Cormorant Emperor Goose Hal lard Pintail Greater Scaup Cammon Goldeneye Bufflehead Oldsquaw Harlequin Duck Steller's Eider vfuite-winged Seater Black Seater Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Gyrfalcon Willow Ptarmigan Glaucous-winged Gull Murre sp. Pigeon Guillemot BlacJ<-billed Magpie Common Raven Northern Shrike Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Sncw Bunting McKays Bunting

Seen during count period but ~ ~ count day

Rock ptarmigan Sandpiper sp. Dipper

2 12 91

8 2 1

64 21 30 40

164 25

124 545

2a 2

10 107

2 3 6

164 1

103 93

2

1,624

23

24

drug (sernylan) by the Drug Enforcement P,gency and expiration of both transmitters already placed on bears - effectively prevented much work on the project this year. We did get a few visual records , but nothing to compare with the amount of data we amassed the first two years.

We believe that our longest-collared bear, IZ-05, lost both her cubs during the winter of 7 8-79 • She was reported under observat­ion for an hour in May 19 79 by two ta..mspeople who saw her collar clearly enough to tell us the correct color without prompting. During that time, she was in the open and was unaccompanied. When she was last seen by us in the late fall of 19 78, we were Rot certain if she still had the cubs, since she was lying in thick alders and only portions of her body were visible. We are certain rlC1iJ that both cubs died late during their first year.

IZ-0 8, our other collared bear, was seen three times in 19 79 ; in Hay by a local family who saw her red ear flag; in July by several men at the Air Force Site who reported the red ear flag; and in August by Sarvis and Dauenhauer during the aerial bear survey, The red ear flag was still remarkable intact and bright after one year. We got no signal on the receiver even though we had the bear in sight for 15 minutes.

Efforts to substitute another tranquilizer for the banned semylan were finally successful, but only after the prime season was over and we were heavily involved in the annual T.vaterfowl projects, We were fortunate in being able to work through a well-known wildlife veterinarian in Fairbanks who was allowed by law to dispense nar­cotics to wildlife researchers, with certain conditions, Unlud<:ily, he ran into a paperwork mix-up with the drug manufacturer whic..'-1 took literally months to work out, We are new ready for next season hcwever. The drug we have chosen is M-99, with the H50-50 antagonist and rompun as anti-convulsant.

~·Je investigated other alternatives to M99/M50-50, and found no consensus • Some carnivore researchers had tried ketamine hydroch­loride with succesf#, but this drug has the unhappy effect of a rather sudden recovery on the part of the "tranquilizee", During a massive brcwn bear transplant project in south central Alaska using ketamine, state biologists were dismayed to discover that an animal supposedly dead to the world r,;as instantl'' on its feet follcwing a sudden sensory stimulus ). such as the noise of a p:rir of pliers being tossed into a ·truckbed. The thought of a perfor­mance of this kind a mile or two from the road (and truck) and 600 miles from the nearest tree made ketamine hydrcchloride rather unattractive to us.

May, June, and July brought an unusual m.rrnber of young bears to tcwn, and our annual efforts at people education and most residents1

best attempts at compliance were as usual thwarted by one or t:..;o persons too lazy, anthropocentric, or unthinking to keep their homes and yards free of attractants. One especially determined 2 l/2 year old walked into the deserted Reeve Airlines warehouse one night through the broken cargo door and feasted on a huge pile of groceries destined for a village further out on the Aleutian Olain. Hostess ding-dongs and bread were highgraded as the i terns of choice, although much of what remained was rendered inedible by the bear's thorough investigation of the lot. Bush operations being what they are, the empty wranpings and left-overs remained delectably in full view ~~der a broken window in the warehouse for another several days • The cargo door was repaired so it was closable, and we gave the warehouse crew sane pl:r,.,oocl to p3.tch the windCM. Unfortunately, the piece of plyv1ood chosen had a small hole in it, and this was enlarged the second night by the hopeful animal. This bear was finally chased away from the terminal by the airport security guard who sat up several nights in a reM with crackershells. It then explored other avenues of supply and dis­covered some discarded king crab in a garbage can in t"le FAA housing ccmpound. This was thoughtlessly left there by a young man (in violation of FAA rules) who was cleaning house prior to a transfer. Poetic justice was done when the same young man walked home that midnight at the end of his shift only to find his yard occupied by an unflappable bruin.

In an effort to impress the gravity of the situation more force­fully on the offenders, we hand-delivered a letter to every house­hold in Cold Bay. The letter pointed out , among other things , that everyone (including bears) was endangered by the actions of those few who persisted in poor house-keeDing habits. After that deli very, these incidents dropped off so dramatically that some people are accusing us of delivering CODles to the bears also. The letter is shovm as Exhibit A.

Bear problems at the Air Force Site droDDed dra~aticallv when the annual change of commanders stopped the-baiting illegally going on.

25

The annual fall bear survey shov.Jed 108 bears on or immediately adjacent to the refuge. Table 8 compares t"le survey results fran 1977-1979. Table 9 shows bear distribution in terms of accessibility to the road hunter. This is imDortant in terrns of the nev- limited permit set up for the Cold Bay road system.

The reasons for the T.-iide fluctuation in bear numbers turned UD on the survey are speculative. We knew that weather affects vislbi­li ty and thoroughness of the survey. The best time of day to survey is early morning fran 6:30 am to about 9:30 am ~vhen bears are feeding on saJmon streams before bedding dor.·m in the alders for the day. Next best time is late evening from about 6:30 pm

United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Izembek National Wildlife Range Pouch 2

Cold Bay, Alaska 99571

July 12, 1979

TO THE RESIDENTS OF COLD BAY:

26

As everyone knows, there has been a large influx of bears into town during the last several weeks. Many of these bears are 2Yz-year-olds which have recently been driven off by their mothers to begin life on their own. These yonng bears are relatively inexperienced 1,.,rith people and are without the protection and guidance of the sow for the first time. At least one fully grown individual has been seen in town, however.

These bears are after one thing: food. If they find none, they move on. Many families.have lived in Cold Bay for years without encount­ering more than a passing bear once in a while. Others have bears hanging around their Q.omes continuously. The basic difference is the handling of garbage, pet food, fish, game, and other "attractive nuisances". Unfor­tunately, once a bear finds food, it will not only return to the original source over and over again long after the offending attraction has been removed, but will also investigate neighboring areas. Thus, carelessly handled garbage, etc. not only creates a nuisance bear, it may ultimately endanger the lives and property of persons not even remotely connected with the original source.

In this regard, all of us need to be aware that .State regulations perrni t taking a bear in' defense of life and property only if 11 the necessity for taking is not brought about by harrassment or provocation of the animal or an unreasonable invasion of the animal's habitat; the necessity for taking is not brought about by the improper disposal of garbage or a similar attractive nuisance; and all other practicable means to protect life and property are exhausted before the game is taken."

"Property" is defined by the State as "dwelling, whether permanent or temporary, aircraft, boats, automobiles, and other means of conveyance, domesticated animals, and other property of substantial value necessary for the livelihood or survival of the owner. 11

A bear which is knocking over a garbage can or standing in a yard is not doing anything to endanger life and property.

27

Page 2

parka squirrels or patroling the beach for carcasses.

The major difference between bears and people is that people have the intellectual capacity to be flexible. It's impossible to make a bear understand that raiding houses in town creates a no-win situation for all concerned. People, however, have become the most successful species on earth by adapting to every conceivable situation. By far the safest and most reasonable solution to our current (re-current) bear problem in Cold Bay is for the human residents to exercise our intellects aDd our truly remarkable flexibility and change our living habits for a period of approxi­mately 4 months out of each year (roughly from June through October, with a brief respite during July-August when the salmon are running). By keeping garbage inside until pick-up, not feeding pets outside, not storing walrus skulls on the porch, and storing all food well away from windows, we can stop 90% of bear depredations. The current marking and radio-collaring study of Cold Bay brown bears by the FWS is aimed at learning, among other things, when in a bear's life it is most likely to be attracted to town, how long it stays if not rewarded with food, and how young bears acquire a territory.

The suggestion is often made that the refuge staff should tranquil­ize and relocate any bears which become town bums. There are two basic difficulties with this. First, relocating hardly ever works. The animal either returns in a remarkably short time or it simply heads for the garbage dump nearest its new location. If this happens, then the people in the new location really have a grievance! Surprising as it seems, there is virtually no place in Alaska any more which is far enough from some human encroachment to be "safe" for dropping off drugged bears. Secondly, humans who live in prime wilderness bear country, such as Cold Bay is, need to make allowances in their own lives for this fact. It is much more reasonable and responsible to stop the problem before it starts by giving advance thought to running a clean operation, than to handle garbage and other attractants carelessly and then ask to be bailed out with a transplant. The individual bear is not the problem; therefore, it cannot be the solution. The only solution is per­manent flexibility on the part of us human inhabitants of the area with our superior mental processes. We must be willing to anticipate these problems every summer and to discipline ourselves to the point of keeping our homes and grounds clean of any attractive nuisances.

The refuge staff is always willing to help anyone with questions or problems about all wildlife. Please feel free to call us any time you want to talk over your particular situation. We'll be glad to help you any way we can, short of automatically relocating the habituated animal.

Fish & Wildlife Service (24 hr. phone) - 2445; Dauenhauer - 2468

SGD: JC

Table 8 - Comparison of 1977, 1978 and 1979 B:ru.vn Bear Surveys on Izembek NWR

Singles Sews w I Cubs of the Year Sows w/Yearling Cubs Total Bears

1 Cub 2 Cubs 3 Cubs lf Cubs lCub 2 Cubs 3 Cubs

1977 39 0 9 1 1 3 6 4 115 1978 40 2 2 1 0 4 4 1 78 1979 43 0 4 7 0 6 3 1* 108

•'%ese laree cubs were probably 2 -1/2 -year-olds rather than yearlings

Table 9 Distribution of B:ru.vn Bear in 1978 and 1979 Surveys

Visible from or accessible b:z road ( 1/ 2 hr hike) Remote Total

1978 1979 1978 1979 1978 1979

Singles 6 6 34 37 40 l.f3 SaJs w/1 cub of Year 1·'· .. ( 2) 0 1(2) ;': 0 '4 0 SaNs w/2 cub of Year 0 0 2(6) 4(12) 6 12 Sews w/3 cub of Year 0 .0 1(4~. 7( 28) 4 28 Sows w/1 Yearling 1 ( 2) 0 3(6) 6(12) 8 12 Sows w/2 Yearlings 2 ( 6) 0 2(6) 3(9) 12 9 Sows w/3 Yearlings 0 0 1(4) 1• .... '(4) 4 4

Total individuals accessible TI3 108 from road = 16 1978 Total individuals Remote = 62 1978

6 1979 102 1979

•': Nu;·nbers in parenthesis are individuals counted •'d: These very large cubs were probably 2-1/2-yeaD--olds rather than yearlings.

N 00

to 9 : 30 pm when they are emerging from day beds to feed. Unfort­nnately, weather, especially aut1..JJTI11 fogs, do not always penni t us to use these optimum times, and factors suc.'l as turbulence can fo­n;::e us to give steep valleys and mountainous areas short shrift •

Cyclic abundance of salmon, berries, and carrion probably also influence bear numbers • Streams brimming with salmon one year may be poor for several years thereafter. We suspect that this year some bears moved onto the refugeJ especially the Right- and Left-Hand Valley and Moffet Bay areasJ in response to excellent salmon runs in Izernbek Lagoon.

Caribou

ltJe have no formal caribou management. Records on incidental observations during other aerial surveys are kept , and a census is attempted once a year, Aronnd Nov. 15-25, 1979, the Cold Bay herd moved into the area in mass and bnnched up along the road system, which acts as a barricade for several days because of hunting pressure concentrated along its length. Eventually, how­ever, the nomadic urge overcomes the reluctance to cross the road, and, usually at night, the mass of animals moves on to remoter refuge areas south of to...m. This year, behaviour is a bit anOTn­alous, probably because of a population increase beyond carrying capacity. Having once crossed the road system in mass , the caribou broke into small bands as usual, but then began criss­crossing t.'le roads, often in broad daylight and in front of moving vehicles. Sma.ll herds frequently grazed in sight of the roads.

Hnnting pressure rerrained steady well into early 1980. Bag limits at 4 per hunter are very ·liberal compared to the rest of the state. The sole restriction is that only antlered caribou may be take..'l., which attempts to place selective pressure on females, who retain their antlers longer. Hnnters generally seek the larger animals, hONever, and many legal males are taken. Even considering non­locals who come specifically to hnnt caribou, the impact on the herd from harvest is negligible, so far. Cold Bay residents are currently blessed with an eJilbarrassment of riches, but we suspect the next few years will bring a crash. Harvest limits will probably not need to be lONered, haN ever, unless the human population grows astronomically, but the easy road hunting of the last two years could well disappear for several years.

Sarvis and Dauenhauer flew a caribou census on November 21, when the herd was bnnched up along the road. V.le used photography for the first time in this census, both to get a complete count and also to cross-check our estimates. We estimated 5, 8 44 individuals total. This total includes a summation of large herds which were photographed and s:rraller bands which were individually counted.

Halves

Few wolves are ever seen around Cold Bay. Assista..'"1t Dauenhauer and a visitor saw two frcm the Frosty Road at a distance of about 1/2 mile. A single wolf was seen frcm the air on a lake bank during a swan nest survey, seemingly eying a young brood in the water. Sarvis and Dauenhauer saw a pack of 7 during the 19 79 caribou survey.

Hoose

Again this year, we had a moose in this subunit. The first moose ever recorded on the refuge was seen in August 1978 by Sarvis and Dauenhauer during a bear survey. A few weeks later, two more were seen nearer tawn by waterfowl hunte...""S.

This year only two moose were reported in the area and both were apparently shot illegally, one in the native village of King Cove and the other in the village of False Pass. There is no open season on this species in this subunit since none had ever been seen here before. Neither was take..Tl on the refuge and neither carcass was ever found. The cases were thus non-existent, but we feel certain from various grapevine reports that the two incidents did occur. The suspicion of outsiders which characterizes rra.ny villages and many recent court decisions granting exceptional privileges to native hunters and fish~an make any sort of atta~pt at investigation and prosecution discouraging.

2 • Other Mammals

Red Fox

The fox population continues to increase and is becoming fairly high. A rabies outbreak in King Salmon, some 3 50 miles to the north, caused sane concern on the Alaska Peninsula, since rabies is endemic throughout the region. It has been about 4 years since the last siege in the Cold Bay area and we are probably due. The Public Health Service made the rounds of Peninsula tcwns in Hay, vaccinating all dogs and cats free of charge for rabies and dogs for distemper, which is also carried by foxes and wolves. Some Cold Bay families also vaccinate their own pets wit~ mail-order serum from Pnchorage, but many pets are unprotected.

Harine Mannna.ls

The usual assorbnent of gray whales, sea otter, and harbor seal carcasses turned up on beaches during the year. What is probably another rare beaked whale washed up during Deca'!lber but was frozen into the sand such that refuge persormel were not able to examine the jaws for the critical diagnostic lower teeth.

30

The biggest marine mammal news was a transient herd of about 500 walrus, mostly young, who Sf\owed up during June on .Amak Island,

31

part of the Eastern Aleutians NWR about 15 miles offshore from Izernbek Lagoon. Headless walrus began washing up on Izernbek beac.~es in unusual numbers during cormnercial fishing season, when m.nnerous boats, largely native-awned and operated, are in the vicinity. Refuge staffers, a Law Enforcement agent and walrus researcher fran Anchorage made several reconnaissance flights over the course of a month, and watched the herd dwindle. About 100 carcasses were accounted for, 34 on one flight. The final flight on 9/6 turned up 9 live and 24 dead. Most were headless, shot for their ivory tusks. Others washed ashore intact, presumably having sunk upon death or otherwise eluded capture. The remaining living animals finally left. The Service has become tangled in incredibly illogical, conflicting, and unfair laws and regulations concerning rrarine rrammals and native take. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 allows unlimited native take, conditioned only by the requirement that it be "non-wasteful". The act recognizes canm­ercial uses such as sale of ivory carvings, as legitimate "sub­sistence". Therefore, one could argue that an animal killed solely for its ivory is not wasted, although this requires a rather strange ethical sense. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 theoretically extinguished all native "aboriginal rights" in exchange for the land and cash settlement, but the courts con­tinue to grant to native privileges based solely upon race and religion. Unless the person trespasses on Amak Island itself to retrieve the ivory, YvJS is apparently helpless.

3, Resident Birds

Ptarmigan hunting is done both for itself and incidental to v.Jater­fowl hunting. We keep no records of harvest, which is light.

4 • Other .Animal Life

Record saJmon runs were recorded for the second year in a ra..:;. The refuge has two major runs in Frosty Creek and Big River and two more occur just off-refuge, in Trout Creek and Russell Creek. In addition, red salmon manage to inc.'1 up barely detectable, grass­choked trickles throug.'1 the tundra and marsh to spawn in many refuge lakes. These fish are the base of several avian and mammal food webs, as well as of huge corrmercial value. Table 10 shews area saJmon catch and escapement for 1969-1979.

V. INTERPPLTATION .AND RECREATION

A. Infonration and Interpretation

1. On-refuge

Table 10 Salmon Catch and Escapement, Vicinity of Izernbek NWR 1969-1979

(Data supplied by Alaska Deparbnent of Fish And Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries,

Pjnk (Humpy) Salmon in Thousands Chum (Dog) Salmon in Thousands

Cold Bay Izembek & Cold Bay Izembek & & Moffett & Moffett

Morzhovoi ~·: Morzhovoi 1:

Year Catch Escape Catch I~scape Year Catch Escape Catch Escape

1969 0.2 20.3 0 2.3 1969 0 24.6 4.5 94.4 1970 1.5 43.9 0 0 1970 1.8 43.5 10.0 53.4 1971 3.6 4.5 0 0.1 1971 0.5 54.3 36.3 54.8 1972 0 5.7 0 0 1972 0 51.0 57.9 72.7 1973 0 4.6 0 0 1973 0.7 30.4 96.6 70.3 1974 0 9.9 0 0 1974 0 30.9 11.2 70.6 1975 0 8.3 0 0.1 1975 0 17.7 3.4 77.6 1976 0.8 55.8 0.1 0 1976 2.9 38.7 40.8 123.3 1977 0 21.7 0 0.2 1977 0 139.1 20.3 368.3 1978 6.0 157.7 2.2 0 1978 5.9 102.2 81.4 119.0 1979 0 19.2 0 0 1979 4.6 27.4 17.8 178.0

•':Much of the Cold Bay-Mor~1ovoi runs occur off-refuge

Kodiak)

w N

Red

Year

1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

Table 10 Salmon Catch and Escapement, Vicinity of Izembek NWR, 1969-1979 (Cont'd)

(Sockeye) Salmon in Thousands King ( 01inook) in Thousands

Cold Bay Izembek & Cold Bay Izembek & & &

Morzhovoi .;, Moffett Morzhovoi Moffett

Catch Escape ·catch Escape Year Catch :...Escape Catch Escape

2.2 7.5 6.1 ll~ .o 1969 0 0 0 6.9 1.0 3.3 3.1 7.5 1970 0 0 0 2.1 1.1 2.3 6.9 3.5 1971 0 0 0 0.2

0 2.5 0.8 4.8 1972 0 0 0 0.2 0.2 3.3 1.2 2.0 1973 0 0 0 0.7 0 27.3 4.7 3.7 1974 0 0 0 0

0.5 15.6 1.5 13.6 1975 0 0 0 0 1.4 27.3 20.4 15.3 1976 0 0 0 0

12.5 28.7 3.1 26.1 1977 0 0 0 0 1.0 24.7 15.5 23.0 1978 0 0 0 0

0 8.5 10.8 8 .lf 1979 0 0 0 0

-1: Much of the Cold Bay-Morzhovoi runs occur off-refuge

w w

Table 10 Salmon Catch and Escapement, Vicinity of Izembek NWR, 1969-1979 (Cont'd)

Coho (Silver) Salmon::=~·, in Thousands

Cold Bay & Izembek & Morzhovoi ;': Moffet

Year Catch Catch ---1969 0 0 1970 0 0 1971 0 0 1972 0 0 1973 0 0.2 1971! 0 0 1975 0 0 1976 0 0 1977 0 0 1978 1.3 0 1979 7.0 0

;': Much of the Cold Bay-Morzhovoi runs occur off-refuge

•'=~': Coho esca1)ernent data is incomplete. Some surveys are done but they are rarely peak counts. Fishing effort is usually very light on Alaska Peninsula coho. Unusually large runs occurred in 1979, (pers. Comm. Arnold R. Shaul, A.D.F.&G., Corrun. Fish Division, Kodiak)

Izrmbek has no formal interpretation and infonnation program. Visitor numbers are very low. Most users are Cold Bay residents, but perhaps 5 or 6 individuals come during the summer for wildlife photography and observation or camping. Our biggest influx of out­of-tcwners occurs in October, when Reeve Aleutian Airways charters Electras and YS-lls to groups of waterfowl hunters. We prepare an infonnation packet for each charter, which is duplicated by the charter organizer and distributed to each participant. Packets explain refuge regulations, give advice on wildlands safety· and on avoiding wildlife conflicts , and list shooting hours and local tides. The refuge has no facilities of any kind, including trails. lDw visitor numbers permit personal contact with each user. Locals drop by the office or stop the staff in the field or around town throughout the year for infonnation or clarification or to ledge complaints. All of the false information generated by anti-d2 forces in the state has created endless misunderstandings of FivS IIUSSlODS,

2. Off-refuge

Two articles on the range appeared in Alaska Magazine; one con­cerned lagoon dynamics and the other a bear transolant we reluc­tantly made in October 1978,

A swan news release was printed in at least one state newspaper, copy attached. Various bulletins were put on FivS information boards at the airline terminal, Flying Tigers store, and the Air Force Site. The bear letter on pages 26-27 was distributed to every household in town, as explained in the brcwn bear section.

Refuge personnel Sa.-rvis and Dauenhauer s:p:>ke at the Cold Bay school on Izembek wildlife in general. A hands-on demonstration in the office was given to the 10 3rd- and 4th-graders by Dauenhauer and temporary biologist Keith Metzner. Specimens included various study skins , wings , and bones. Highlight 1;-1as a necropsy of a Steller's eider performed by Metzner. Nearly all the students handled the "guts" and were much impressed by the procedure. The thank-you letters we received were classics. Dauenhauer gave an evening demonstration of study skins for a stmmer youth club. Seven persons attended, She also gave a talk at the AFS at the Commanderl; request, to explain refuge programs and state hunting regulations.

B. · ·Recreation

1. Wildlife-Oriented

A system of limited brown bear permits was instituted by the state for an area l<ncwn as the central Izembe.lc area. This includes both

35

U.S. Fish· and Wildlife SerVice biologists who thought some Alasltan swans may winter· in Alaska instead of flying south were not. just whistling a swan song. ·

Personnel at Izembeck National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Islands discovered that over half of the 'lJ whiStling swans collared last sununer did not migrate this winter and remained in the state.

"Thls is the ffrst definite evidence that at least ·some Alaska Peninsula swans are resident throughout the year rather than· migratory," the USF&WS announced in a press release. ''These non--migratory swans are unusual. · · · . ··

'""A:-::LA~S:::l:-:-Zl:-\-C:::::-L-::1-::l':-;:;P:-;I;-:N;-;G-:- "Other areas in the U.S. also have fairly SERVICE constant swan populations all year, . but

~__;.~~.;;._...o.::-:-:-:.--marking studies have shown that.these birds Ketchikan Daily are not resident, but rather the summer and

N e•t~ s winter populations are made up of different Ketchikan, Ak. individuals," the release stated.

,,.Av •:r n Jg?q The collaring project, undertaken last il] J ~.J ·J - sununer, was supposed to get information on ·

timing and routes of migration, seasonal distribution, pair and family bonding and behavior. Collars are blue with white letters, the release stated.

The swans- were captured during their annual summer wing molt, when the flight feathers are lost simultaneously and the birds

are flightless for several weeks. Four family groups (15 birds) and 12 single or paired adults were collared in 1978'. .

"After collaring, most swans deserted the capture lake and walked overland· to new locations. Seven walked at least six miles to a new lake," the release stated. The birds Jived on large lakes while flightless where food and protection are available.

When flight was regained, most of the:' collared birds went back to COld Bay until: freeze up, then moved to tmfrozen estuaries.; Fourteen collared swans wer~ seen on Unimak Island among some 300 swans during) one observation. ·

"It bas also been possible to determine pairing among the single, collared birds and to discover quite exact dates of expulsion of year-old young by newly territorial parents," the release .stated. "Young remain with the parents for one year, and the winter is spent in large non-territorial, all-age flocks.

"These large congregations break up as spring approaches, and breeding pairs scatter out to begin establishing territory in March: At the time, year-old yotmg are driven off to join associations of other non-, breeders." Swans mate for life and do not

. sexually mature until they are three years old. ..... ~. . · -·-- ~. · . J

refuge and non-refuge lands accessible by the local 35-mile road system. The present system grew out of FW'S efforts during the mid-70 's to curb the circus atrrosphere created by dozens of hunters of varying expertise descending on the tcwn and refuge during open season. The local area had been closed to bear hunting until 1974, when a visitor was killed and eaten while camping on a salmon stream in August. The area was then opened during every other reg­ulatory year in conformance with the rest of the unit. The pur­pose of the opening was to reduce the number of bears frequenting the populated sections • Ease of accessibility compared with the rest of the Peninsula soon led to crowding and lrn hunt quality in terms of both success and aesthetics, Tcwnspeonle feared for themselves and their dogs as inexperienced armed bands roamed the area. The. first step was to begin an ill'~imited permit system simply to quantify pressure. During the May 1978 two-v1eek season, 41 hunters cruised the roads and 2 bears, bot"1 2 1/2-year-olds (and both marked for our research project) were taken. Anned with this and similar data from other recent seasons , we worked with the state to set up a limited permit system more or less agreeable to both agencies. The system has its drawbacks , but it is much better than the unregulated free-for-all it replaced. Under its terms, 5 permits per week are issued by the local state fisheries biologist (there is no game biologist in Cold Bay) and 5 by refuge staff. Each permit is valid only for the Heek issued, Two sep­arate Hai ting lists are maintained: one for first-time hunters in excess of five per Heek and one for unsuccessful previous permit holders, Hho may have a second chance only if no first-tin:e hunters are Hai ting, As far as He are concerned, the most important pro­vision is one by Hhich the state game biologist in King Salmon (closest game biologist to this area) closes the season by emer­gency order Hhen 4 bears have been taken, The system was implem­ented during the October 1979 season.

Glitches Hhich appeared were many. First, the state ga.Tfie board opened the permit area for 9 weeks (all of September and October) instead of the usual two Heeks in October Hhen the rest of the subunit is open. Second, the 4-bear limit was left out. Third, the state Hishes to open the permit area every year instead of every other year. The entire Alaska Peninsula, except an area around the town of King SaJJnon, is open only every other year because of an indisputable decline in size of bears taken in this region, wtlich Has once noted for trophy animals •

We succeeded in having the 4-bear limit re-instituted, largely through the intercession of the Alaska Area Director. This done, the 9week season was no longer a problem, because the area Has closed by emergency order the first week. In addition, state biologists readily agreed Hith our contention that openLDg the season in September rtJas counter to the purpose of the hunt iil the first place, which was theoretically to eliminate nuisance tCNm

36

37

bears. In September, bears congregate on salmon strearrs, three of which lie near the roads. The hunter cannot discern the tcwn bear from the wilderness bear at that time of year. We feel that 2 of the 4 an:imals taken were wilderness bears who were drawn solely to the salmon streams • Present plans are new to open the penni t area concurrent with the rest of the subunit, in October and May.

The third problem of annual versus bi-ennial seasons has not been resolved.

Trapping permits were required for the first time on the refuge. Prime target is the red fox, with occasional mink, erm.:ine, wolf, wolverine, or river otter taken. Strict requirements for humane operations are included as special conditions . Trapping is rec­reational, and the refuge takes no share. Eight permits were iss­ued. A few vociferous locals complained about the age requirement (over 18) but most applicants were pleased to see the program up­graded.

Caribou hunters led "the life of Riley" this fall when the herd broke into bands, many of which hung around the roads , As often happens easy accessibility led to violations as less experienced or less dedicated individuals went out to "get theirs", only because so little effort was involved. Most hunters are ethical 1 hc:wever, but complaints of herd-shooting and crippling were corrnnon.

That activity whic."'"l draws most interest is waterfowl hunting during September and October, when the lagoons are full of brant , Canadas, emperors, and assorted diving and dabbling ducks. Locals participate heavily throughout t~e season ( Septe.rnber 1 - Decerrber 16) and are c.'1ec..~ed opportunistically. During t'1e "~;oose charter" weekends, refuge personnel spend all day in the field, checking bags and licenses.

This year, as last, we had two charters : October 6-8 and 20-2 2 . A third originally scheduled for 13-14 was cancelled and only 35 hunters came on the second one. Frequently, the first charter is full (about 70 hunters) and any subsequent ones depend on the success of the first. This year, ha..rvest was quite low. t1any hunters went at least one day with no birds at all and others took only one or two. V.Jeather was against the first charter, with high overcast allo~Ving the birds to evade the guns.

These charters. of largely Anchorage hunters have been going on for several years and are very well organized by now, and re­markably disciplined. Only rarely do we have any problems with these non-locals. 'tle !IB..I<e it a ooint to educate eac.l-1 individual by letter concerning refuge regs. and safety precautions and this, coupled with the organizers' desires to be welcome next year,

has eliminated all but minor problems.

Bag check data are shewn in Table 11.

Two individuals came in July to kayak in the area. Southeast headwinds rose to 25 and 30 knots during their entire trip and they seemed perpetually surrounded by bears, but the final blow was the ingestion by a large brown bear of their entire stock of freeze-dried food, leaving them a jar of boullion to power their return trip to Cold Bay. Arriving at 4 am after travelling all night, they camped on the beach bluff near refuge headquarters for two days due to a foul-up in airline reservations. Their second night unfortunately saw winds to 40 knots which demolished their dome tent, previously damaged when a curious yearling bear had leaned on it.

2. Non-wildlife Oriented

A large upsurge in 3-wheeler and motorcycle use on Bering Sea beaches occurred this summer when people discovered they could transport the "bikes" across the lagoon by skiff. Though tech­nically off refuge, the beaches will undoubtedly grew boring after a while and the temntation to ride the dunes and bluffs vJill be great. It's dishe~ening to see tracks 30 miles frcm town and know that mechanized disturbance is coming to normally remote wildlife •.

C. Enforcement

Violations were wanton waste of caribou, taking antler less caribou and hunting without a duel( starnn. The duck stamp violation r,;as

38

not taken to the magistrate because evidence, though strong , 1,;as circumstantial. The wanton waste violation drew a $200.00 fine, very stiff for this area. The antlerless caribou case got a $500.00 fine with $400.00 suspended. Ide are fairly sure "D'1at rurnors a....">'"B

true concerning a local man who supposedly took 2 bear on his penni t during the central area hunt. \'le have no prcof, just rumors and an intuitive suspicion of the fellow. I•Je are continuing to check leads on tr~s case.

Serious vandalism occurred on the refuge this year for the first time. The Courtney Ford, a 146-foot wooden brigantine which went aground on Operl Island on t'"le present refuge in 1902, has lain there all that time. New filled with sand, with masts broken by storms and wind, and the den of an enterprising red fox dug out inside, it makes an impressive picture and draws several exped­itions by locals each year by boat and airplane. In July of 1979, ~~own persons c~t 6 holes of v~;ing sizes in the hull with a chainsaw. Finding nothing but sa.T"ld, (which was obvious before any holes were cut), they then stuffed their tent, oil, gas and

39

Table 11 S~; of Bag Check Data - 1979

Izernbek NWR

Species IM IF AM· AI'' UM. lJI'. IU AU w·crinules Total % Pintail 8 9 9 6 1 3 1 37 (34.9) Mallard 7 5 2 4 2 1 21 ( 19 .8) G.W. Teal 2 1 4 6 1 1 18 2 35 (33) Gadwall 1 3 2 6 (5.6) Shoveler 1 1 2 ( 1.9) Greater Scaup 2 1 1 4 (3.8) Wigeon 1 l (0.9) Gameducks CUnid) 21 127

Steller's eider 1 1 4 1 7 Harlequin 1 1 Total Seaducks 8

Canada 19 26 28 36 42 34 41 30 256 -(54) Brant 2 2 2 3 17 28 34 17 105 (22) Thlperor 14 7 11 10 20 20 13 '18 113 (23.8) Total Geese 474

Ducks Seaducks Emperors Canada Brant Daily Bag Limit 8 15 6 4 4 Possession Limit 24 30 12 8 8

Hunters checked;': Ducks Emperors Canada Brant Charter \-Veekends 229 82 69 209 68 Non-charter days 27 24 44 47 37

* Estirrate 90% of charter hunters chec~ed and 5% of others

Est. charter weekend bag

Ducks Emperor Canada Brant

82/.9 69/.9

209/.9 68/.9

= 91 = 77 =232 = 76

476

Estirrated other ~ Est. Crinples Est. Total

25/ .OS = 480 64 635 44/ .os = 880 95 1052 47/ .os = 940 127 1299 37/ .OS = 740 246 1062

3040 532 4048

trash dCNm a hatch. He got notice of the damage fran a local pilot who noticed it during a pleasure flight and went out the next day in the Supercub. 1,-,Je gathered all the trash and equipment, but we were never able to find the guilty party. Shifting sands have new covered some of the cuts, and the wind-driven sand will undoubt­edly soften the now otvious saw marks, but our sense of frustration at this arrogant and useless destruction will be less easily erased.

The Courtney Ford is in the process of nomination to the National Register, Refuge personnel registered several pieces of raw ivory as local representatives of HvS Law Enforcement, under the t1arine .Hamnal Protection Act of 1972.

A. Field Investigations

The Institute of Marine Science from the University of Alaska continued its long-term study of eelgrass dynamics in Izembek Lagoon. Emphasis this season was on differences in growth and structure of plots shaded fl~m direct sun and those receiving add­itional energy by use of reflectors.

A cooperative study on Steller's eiders be~~een the FWS and the University of Missouri began in February and will continue until the summer of 19 81. Keith Metzner was hired by the refuge for 4 months in the spring of 1979 as a wildlife biologist to conduct the project. In subsequent years, he will be a cooperator rather than an employee and will work under a research grant. He is using the project as his Naster' s thesis at l1issouri. Object of t.""le study is winter feeding ecology of the Steller 1 s eider. The project includes limited collecting, color marking, stomach ai1.al­ysis, body composition analysis , plumage characteristics , behaviour, ets. It is the first detailed work ever done on the Steller's, which is a little-kncwn bird which winters on the range in the tens of thousands. Incidental collecting and observations are made of other sea duck species, also.

Keith showed amazing stoicism in persisting in his shore observat­ions during rain, hail, sleet , sncw, and dark of night, using a night vision scope born:NJed fran the U.S. Army at Fort Richardson in lmchorage.

During his first season, Keith selected 6 observation points and refined his study design to allow for factors of weather and remoteness. Weekly censuses of all sea ducks seen at the obser­vation ooints were made and detailed notes taken of Steller's eider b~aviour, A time-lause movie camera was mounted in a weather-proof box on both Cold Bay and Izwbek Lagoon and 3 rolls of film taken. These will be analyzed for bird presence and numbers.

40

Birds collected for analysis of food choice and intake, and parasite' pllDTlage and body comoosi tion studies included 6 6 Steller's eiders, l common eider, 3 oldsquaws, l harleauin, 2 white-winged scoter, and l black scoter. Blood smears were taken during two eider drives.

Five FWS archeologists spent 2 l/2 months split between Izembek and Eastern Aleutians NWRs. Two of them, Mike Yarborough and Steve Klingler, are permanent employees; Jeannie Williams , Trish McAnany, and Tom Bullard are summer temr:oraries who have worked

41

in various parts of Alaska for several years • Except for brief stays at our Cape Sarichef field station or the Cold Bay Air Force Site, these five persons spent most of the summer in small tents and rray have set a new record for masochism. Experienced Alaskan wilderness campers , they avoided serious bear conflicts while camping in areas where such confrontations are inevitable. Only once did things take an exciting turn. The team was camped on a laY bluff overlooking the lagoon; all food and cooking equipnent was parked on the beach well away frcm the tents . During the night, with the wind at 20 knots flapping the tents and masking the sound, a bear trashed their supplies and feasted on their honey, jam and peanut butter, can of tuna and blazo, but fortun­ately left their Zodiac raft intact. The bear then ambled up the bank tCMards the tents and one of the archeologists wakened in time to see it meandering in their general direction. Not wishing to attract its attention by shCMing himself, he stuck his shotgun vertically out the tent door and fired into the air, frightening off the bear, jolting his companions in other tents awake, and blasting a large hole in his rainfly. See:L."'1g the darrage to t~e fly, he let out a loud groan, which sent further shockwaves -rhrough his already startled companions , who assumed he had shot himself. Not much sleep was had that night.

The team waL'<ed and boated several hundred miles and dug several dozen meter-square test pits, as well as mapped and described some 30 sites. Bone and charcoal found in some pits will be dated; their estimate based on stratigraphy is that most sites are about 1,000 years old. Most are on beach bluffs or streams, since the Aleuts looked to the sea for nearly all resources. A few sites presently up to a mile inland have probably been stranded by rising land (rebound upon release from the crushinp; pressure of glaciers) • Points , hammers , and a stone lamp were collected.

B. Cooperative Programs

Special Use Permits

A special-use permit was issued to BLM to fly under 1,000 feet with a helicopter and land every mile along several survey lines. This was part of the survey of lands selected from the refuge by

42

the native villages of False Pass and King Cove. Since most of the state has never been surveyed on the groW1d, a great deal of corner setting and flagging was required. We were somewhat frus­trated that the line rW1ning straight through wild Right-Hand Valley was flagged. This line marked the north limit of the selection area for King Cove, but no lands anywhere near it were selected, except for a narr<::YN strip aroW1d the shores of Cold Bay. We saw no reason to have this line exist, but survey procedures were inflexible. No brushing was done, but the fluorescent flag­ging stands out dramatically against the tW1dra. We are confident that a single season of storms and bear curiosity will eliminate most of these, but would prefer not to have this artificial line on maps. Once a line exists on paper, it seems to take on import­ance in the minds of planners, completely out of proportion to its original purpose.

Columbia University continued monitoring earthquake activity with seismic equipment buried on Baldy Peak.

The Institute of Marine Science from the University of Alaska conducted its field work this year under special-use permit rather than coo'l::erative agreement.

Other special-use permits issued were: one for brown bear and caribou guiding on the refuge; 8 for recreational fur trapping, and one to the U.S. Air Force for continuation of a gravel pit operation.

Other CooDerative Programs

Three sarrmles of caribou heart were sent to the state Fish and Game pathologist in Fairbanks as part of his stateNide sarcocystis study.

Several hours in May and JW1e were spent cruising local roads looking for reported "sick" foxes , which residents feared may be rabid. Only once was the animal in <±uestion located and it proved to be alert, spry, and in excellent condition. Because local foxes are curious and perhaps even playful in spring, "G'ley freque...'1tly allow people to approach quite close. This is especially true on the first, rare warm and sunny days of the year when both people and foxes are out catching some rays. A warm, relaxed fox, reluc­tant to leave his chosen spot, becomes a "fox so sick he could just barely move".

Refuge staff sealed bear hides as a courtesy to the state Fish and Game Department, whose only staff in Cold Bay are fisheries oriented. Since many bears taken are from the refuge or may be tagged, we wish to have a look at each hide, so it is most effi­cient for us to do the sealing. T'nis procedure consists of taking

several measurerrents, pulling a pre-molar for aging and placing a locking metal tag on both the skull and the hide.

Dauenhauer collected bi-weekly eelgrass samples during the first half of the year, for a researcher in Seattle.

In addition to the raven, storm petrel and Steller's eider ment­ioned earlier, staff also cared for various lapland longspurs and savannah sp~s brought ,to the office by residents.

Dauenhauer and Sarvis attended a few meeting of ~1e ·local volunt­eer fire departrrent, but were not able to make all the frequently scheduled sessions. Our maintenance worker v.1ill be designated · our representative to this in;Portant organization.

The refuge donated some feed to Reeve Aleutian Airways personnel when bad weather left them babysitting several dozen chicks for a week.

We assisted the captain of the ~OAA Ship Surveyor ~~ getting a seat aboard an FAA Supply plane for a crev.1 member who had to go on emergency leave. The local airline was booked solid.

c. Items of Interest

Workshops and Special P..ssignme."'lts

Sarvis found himself coordinating the writing of a marlne mammal chapter for the new refuge manual and got it done after muc.'"l frustration over the inadequacies of the Marine Mammal Act.

Sarvis and Bartels attended a refuge retreat at Kodiak NWR, and Sarvis took part in several emperor goose and brant management plan meetings in Salish an, Or. and Reno, Nv.

Personnel

Dauenhauer went to central California for three weeks in January 19 79 on a personnel exchange between Region 1 and Alaska. She spent the time at the Sacramento-Delevan-Colusa-Sutter complex, with a few days at San Francisco Bay and San Luis ~JWRs. On the return portion of the exchange, Larry Dean, refuge manager at Salton Sea NWR, spent three 1.-1eeks at Izernbek in the fall.

Wildlife Biologist Metzner came aboard in February and resigned in May to continue his studies at the University of Missouri. Keith will return in the future as a research cooperator.

Maintenanceman Rick Bell< was finally declared 25% disabled as a

43

result of his December 1977 bac..'l.c injury, and resigned on June 13, 1979. He is nc:M in Anchorage on a 4-year retraining program.

Maintenancernan Cecil Finn was hired to replace Rick and entered on duty September 10 ~ Unfortunately, personal problems forced Cecil to resign on October 6 and return to Anchorage. He was an eager worker and accomplished a good deal during his month with us.

Wildlife Biologist Robert Bartels transferred from Quivira ~ to our new remote station at Cape Sarichef, Unimak Island, in the Eastern Aleutians N\<JR. Bob is proving to be not only an eager researcher and good observer, but a mechanic as well. Bob EOD 1 d JW1e 3.

44

Maintenancernan Dennis Ferbrache was hired for the Cape Sarichef field station, and came aboard on JW1e 4. A recurrence of an old injury sent him to Anchorage for nhysical therapy in December. \ve are awaiting the decision of his doctors concerning his return to work.

In Dennis 1 absence, Bob is having to maintain 3 160kw diesel gen­erators which power and heat the entire station, clear sna,.,r, pump water and fuel, and handle general maintenance of the facility, which was formerly a 24-man Coast Guard l.DRPN station. Nearest assistance is Cold Bay, 9 0 miles away by air, during good weather. On frequent stonny days, the back side of the moon seems more accessible.

Jean Chambers resigned as clerk in July. Jessie Arrbridge came aboard in November and has reduced our mountain of backlogged filing to a relative molehill.

Manager Sarvis attended the OAS annual ground school in Decernber and received first aid/ CPR brush-up in Cold Bay. Assistant Dauenhauer attended the Cold Bay first aid/CPR course as well. Biologist Bartels took a CPR course and went through a v-1eek' s training by the National Weather Service on taking and reporting weather observations. The information from Cape Sari chef is very important, sd.nce it lies on a major air route be"b,.;een Cold Bay and the Aleutians and adds a much needed data point for flight planning. TI-.e data are also used by NWS in forecasting.

In the Alaska area contest Sarvis won a First Place and an Honor­able mention in the General category, a Seeond Place and Honorable mention in the public use category, and an Honorable mention in the Work of the Service category. The first place ( (5eneral category) photograph was also selected Best in the Shew and won third place in the national contest.

Dauenhauer received a special achievement award for running the office alone for 2 :rronths, (acting as rranager, clerk and main­tenanceman) during which the Cape Sarichef remote field station was opened, and for doubling as refuge clerk for over 5 months.

Sarvis had 6 photographs published in Alaska Magazine.

Problems

45

Alaska is being pushed and pulled in violently different directions largely as a result of the "energy crisis" • Pc:werful forces are urging the exploitation of all lands for their mineral resources for short-term gain. The statels unemployment rate is high (around 15%), largely because of a high~·- population left over fran the pipeline boom days of the early and mid 70 's. Proud of its "Last Frontier" heritage, and riding the oil bonanza rollercoaster, the state is pushing development at every turn. Long-standing anim­osities from pre-statehood days crop up over and over again when­ever a state project (road, hatchery, dam, mineral extraction, etc) comes up against a federal boundary. President Carter's December 1978 dedication of areas of federal land (including two wildlife monuments) under the Antiquities Act was probably necessary be­cause of the failure of the d-2 bill in Congress, but added salt to the wound. Many "responsible" Alaskans are not able to keep sight of the fact that lands proposed for federal parks and refuges are and always have been federal lands . They have not been unfairly wrested from t"l'le state. Yet we hear repeated ad infinitum the accusation of federal theft and double-cross. -DurJJ1g 1979, state officials urged hunters and trappers to violate National Park Service prohibitions on trapping in ne# monuments . It's little Honder that the locals of Cold Bay get hot under the collar the instant they run up against a refuge reg­ulation •••• the exanTDle is being set by their elected and appointed public officials.

D. Safety

A paint and oil cabinet was received. ErnergenC'.J survival gear for the Supercub was bought to replace personal items being used. State of Alaska law requires 2-•.Jeeks food, tent, sleeping bag, etc. for each Person aboard. A 3-stage fuel pump for av gas re-placed our old filter pump. A back-up HF radio for t'-le remote Cape Sarichef field station r.-Jas purchased to increase c.'-lances of contact.

Maintenancerran Ferbrache at Cape Sarichef aggravated an old injury in December. Extent of the damage is unknown at this tirne.

Manager Sarvis developed a serious infection and blood poisoning in his hand after puncturing his palm with a bear toot'! extractor

while pulling a tooth during the hide sealing process. He was hospitalized for 4 days in Anchorage in spite of prompt first aid treatment on the job. Bears I bites are well kncwn for causing infection, even second-hand.

Two young men from Cold Bay were injured - one seriously - when they discovered a long-buried cache of anti-tank mines left behind at the close of the Aleutian campaign of World War II. The boxes were buried about 100 yards off the Frosty Road, about 4 miles from town just inside the approxirrate refuge boundary as marked by the sign. Freeze-thaw cycles or other forces had even­tually worked one box to the surface. The young men attempted to set off same of the detonators by firing at the~ with a rifle and dropping them onto the ground from on top of some old quonset huts nearby. ~'lhen nothing happened, they loaded several detonators and a couple of the mines themselves into their truck to turn over to the local airport security guard, the only quasi-law enforcernent official in tc:wn. One of the young men dropped a detonator and this one v7ent off, breaking one of his index fingers so that it

46

had to be removed and damaging nerves and tendons in both hands. Both feet and his upper arrrc and legs were peppered with shrap­nel. Fortu.""la.tely, he had crouched over to pick up the detoD.ator when it exploded, and r.is midsection was thus shielded. His eyes were also spared. The Air Force Site medic and two EMT-trained tcwnspeople treated both men (the other received only superficial Hounds) until a Learjet medivacked them to Anchorage. The Army Ordnance Team from Fort Richardson in Anchorage came out the next day and blew up the remaining mines. Whether more remain buried, on and off the present refuge, is unkncwn after more than 30 years.

Cold Bay suffered an"epide."Iri.c" of mononucleosis in August and Septa~er when approxi~tely 5 persons contracted the disease. Refuge staffers avoided contagion by kissing only disease-free certified persons.

Accolades

This report was wTi tten by Sandra Dauenhauer, edited and revieHed by John Sarvis, typed and assembled by Jessie Awbridge

The ansHer to the caribou photo quiz is ca. 1,165 12 Cold Bay 4th - 8th graders estimates ranged betvleen 200 and 2,000 for an average of 906.

EASTEPJJ ALEUTIANS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

I GENEAAL

The Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was created fran public lands in 1913 by Executive Order 1733. The refuge is admin­istratively divided at Unimak Pass, all refuge lands to the east of this line being managed out of the Cold Bay office because of logis­tical efficiency. The split also conforms to natural boundaries, Unirnak Pass forming a distinct and extremely imnortant biological "divide" before the unique Aleutian flora and fauna of the central and western islands . The Eastern P~eutian unit consists of Unima.l( (989,000 acres), Caton, and Arnak Islands and a few scattered rocks and islets, aggregating about l,ooo,ooo acres.

Unimak is the only island reachable by our single-engine Supercub; multi-engine aircraft or boats are required to reach the others. Amak is not accessible by aircraft at all, since it is too steep and the beach too rocky.

Unimak:'s habitat closely resembles that of the P~aska Peninsula, although it is some~..;rhat impoverished. Cover, such as alder and willow shrubs , are quite restricted in distribution, and t.'1ere are fairly extensive bare or nearly bare ash and lava flows of varying ages. Especially in the western DOrtion, salmon runs are small or nonexistent, due rartly to steep terrain and bluffs 1...;rhic..'1 make up­stream negotiation impossible.

The weather on Un~~l( and ~Dre particularly at the new Cape Sarichef field station ( 54°36 'N, 164°56 '1:1) is very similar to that of Cold Bay, although Cape Sari chef seems to experience a few more su.rmy days. The vegetative development at Cape Sarichef is advanced over the seasonal plant development at Cold Bay by 1 or 2 \-Jeeks • Straw­berry, nagoonberry and crowberry crops on western Unimak were excellent in 1 79.

Eastern l\leutian habitat falls into tr.-1o categories: wetlands and other. vJetla11ds include both salt and freshwater areas and supp­ort seasonally abundant waterfowl, notably whistling swans, Canada, emperor and black brant geese, sea ducks, mallards, pint ails , gadwalls, green-winged and common teal, widgeons , buffleheads, common goldeneyes, and greater scaup.

Other habitat includes beaches, cliffs, tundra, bare rock, lava flews and perpetual snow and ice. Species using these t'jpes are red foxes, bears, caribou, wolves, bald eagles , short-ear:=d oHls, geese, sea birds, marine maiTim.als, passeri..11es and shorebirds.

~<Jetlands are extensive on Unimak. Three large lagoons - Swanson,

lEi • oo'

54"4!3'

S4"3o'

-

{ \ {I Q e e

Seal Cape

.. \ \ \

~ Q

S e a

0 ..

..

..

opprox. mean declination 1951

(within the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge) (headquarters located at Cold Bay, Alaska)

Drown from the followinG 1!2!50,000 U.S. Geoloaical Survey maps: Unimak (191!!51), False Pan (1949), qnd Cold aay(l943) .

scale: I: 2!50,000

5ik.c:e=::E=ioi:::====j5ik;;========;l.'' o mile•

163'001•

55"001

Peterson, and Christianson - provide nesting, feeding and resting habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds in summer; during winter these lagoons are especially important for feeding and resting when freshwater freezes. We '!<new from the swan collaring study that Izernbek whistling swans winter for the most part on Unimak, flock­ing up in these lagoons (primarily Peterson) during freezes, then spreading out to lakes and rivers for part of the day during thaws • Wet spongy areas occupy most low areas adjacent to the coast and lake systems. The glint of water is obvious for hundreds of acres from the air even though no open water is present. Game trails -largely caribou and brown bear - cut these areas in every direct­ion, often converging like spokes tCMard the hub of a small rise or other anomaly in these essentially flat expanses.

Volcanoes form the backbone of t~e island, from Roundtop in the east to Faris-Westdahl in the west. Perpetual snc::w fields and glaciers surround the five ITDSt promine.Tlt peaks - Eoundtop, Is~otski, Shishaldin, Pogranni, and Faris!Westdahl. At 9,372 feet, Shishaldin is the highest peak on the island, and also the ITDSt spectacular, being a perfect volcanic cone. Tnis mountain is a National Historic Landmark because it has served as a nav­igational aid for seamen at least since the days of Russi&"1 explo~ ation and was undoubtedly used by the Aleuts as well. Active vol­canoes include Shishaldin, Pogromni, Faris, and ~-Jestdahl. No kncwn eruptions of any Unimak volcanoes occured in 19 79 . Hc::wever, steam rising from the vent of Mount Shishaldin was quite common. A mild earth tremor was experienced at Cape Sarichef on August 31. No damage occurred. A huge lake - Fisher Caldera - lies in west-central Unimak in the crater of a volcano.

Extensive lava flows of varying ages are found below Shishaldin, Isanotski, Roundtop and Faris /\vest dahl. Some of those on the north side of Shishaldin have revegetated, although so sparsely that the nature of the substrate is obvious from tt"le air. Several rivers -arrong them North Creek, Coal Oil Creek, and others w.named - fla..J" partly through wide ash flats. To the southeast of Roundtop, Isanotski and Shishaldin, are areas severel thousand acres in size overlain with virtually bare lava and ash. These are also drain­ed by sizeable streams.

Cliffs ranging fran steeu bluffs to spectacular wave-cut promon­tories and sea stacks cccur along the coast, except at Uninak Bight and the north side from St. Catherine Cove to Urilia Bay) where ITDre gentle beaches and dunes are found. The more iP.access­able bluffs and cliffs support some seabird nests, but are most important for bald eagles •

2

Because of its large size and wuque features , Unimak was proposed as a separate unit for wilderness in 1972 but has been held up pend­ing resolution of the d-2 land issues by Congress resulting from passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Amok Islanq ca. 2,600 acres in size, is a geologically new form­ation only same 5,000 years old, lying about 15 miles offshore from Izembek Lagoon. The island rises to 1, 760 feet and is gener­ally tundra-covered with sheer cliffs dropping to the sea or extre­mely rough, cobblestone beaches. Murres and kittiwakes nest on the cliffs. Large sea lion rookeries are found on the island and at nearby Sea Lion Rocks. Amak is included in the Aleutian Islands wilderness proposal awaiting resolution of the d-2 issue by Cong­ress.

II CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENAl\ICE

A remote, manned Fi-B field station at Cape Sari chef, on the west­ern tip of Uninak Island, became a reality in July, and a rermanent staff of one biologist and one maintenance worker are now assigned there, in the former Coast Guard lDRAN A station.

The obsolete navigation facility vias taken off the air and signed over to the FWS on July 1, 1979, although a skeleton Coast Guard crev1 ra....rmined until July 6. We were extremely fortunate that our tl..;ro staff members could come aboard early in June to get the feel of operating the station urder the guidance of the experienced "Coasties" • Many of them also knew the surrounding area and pro­vided good infonnation on 'tJildlife movements. They gave us an invaluable transition period for which we are grateful.

Their departure July 6 was a si&'"lt to remember, as the huge Cl30 transport, with eight JATO (jet-assisted takeoff) rockets attached, roared off the 3500-foot gravel airstrip at dusk, carrying the men, their dogs, and all baggage and gear originally s-cheduled for two flights.

3

Virtually all of the station's equipment, vehicles, and furnishings were left for use by the f'itJS. One wing of the 24-man composite building serves as residence for the biologist and maintenance worker and their families. A single, large kitchen and messhall is s):t,c:J.:re_St by l;lQ:tlL£amilk~ In addition there a.-re recreation areas, offices , shop, and engine room. Communications are by FVlS radio. The local Cold Bay charter, Peninsula .Airways, carries mail, freight, and groceries once or twice a month.

Power is generated by three caterpillar D342 eng1nes with electrical generators. One engine operates at a time, with the other DN'O being serviced and held as back uD. Engines are alternated monthly. The only real maintenance problem to develop in 19 79 was the breal<ing down of two out of three cooling-system hoses, necessitating an emergency Supercub trip to Cape Sarichef by manager Sarvis with replacement hoses • A system of better preventative maintenance was dev€loped to help solve these emergency situations.

A nearby abandoned U.S. Air Force D.E.W. site, on refuge lands near Cape Sari chef, was visited three times by Air Force personnel in 1979. During the first trip, four people spent over a week packaging all of the salvageable smaller i terns from the building canplex. The second visit by the P...ir Force and Army personnel was to survey the building for demolition in October or November, 1979. Hcwever, 1979 passed and the D.E.vl. site still stands. This second trip left two Air Force personnel at Cape Sarichef for over one week to do final packing and supervise loading of pallets on COOL barge "Skilak" for backhaul to Elmendorf AFB in hlchorage. The final Air Force visit was to check on the condition of two pieces of heavy equipment left behind by the barge crew. The status of the D.E.W. site demolition was very uncertain as the year ended.

Wildfire

P.ny wildfires which rray occur would be of sane cause other than lightning, Hhich is extremely rare in much of Alaska. Man-caused fires would be rare, because of lew public use, lack of wood except driftwood, and generally wet conditions • There are no kncwn burn areas on the refuge. Most likely cause of fire is volcanic eruption which has obviously buried large areas with ash and lava on Uni:mak within the last 25 years, the last time in 1978. Lava would likely burn adjacent , unburied areas. Because the refuge is functioning as a natural ecosystem, attempts to "manage" any such fires would be counterproductive, even if it were possible.

III HABITAT HP.NAGEl'illiT

No habitat mar~gewEnt is carried out in the Eastern Aleutians, since the area is fortunately functioning naturally, except for ca. 4,000-acre Caton Island, which has a grazing lease. This lease is not for purposes of habitat management but is an inherited sit­uation. The operation itself is conditioned to lessen L~pact. Limit is 100 animal units per year.

The village of False Pass received interim conveyance to 45,956 acres from the Eastern Aleutians on Hay 16 , 19 7 9 • These lands will be essentially private when conveyed, but still subject to refuge rules and regulations under ANCSA section 22c, although this may be challenged in court.

IV vliLDLIFE

A. Threatened and endangered species

None are kncwn to occur on Unimak:, but it is possible that some Aleutian Canada geese could rest there duri.11g- migration.

4

5

On September 2 8, Sarvis and Bartels checked the Canada geese util­izing Peterson Lagoon in the Urilia Bay area. Of t"l-le 2,305 geese present, 734 were observed closely enough with a scope to determine the presence of neck rings. Thirteen geese had varying degrees of neck rings and these birds were randomly dispersed throughout the flock. It is felt t'"lat these were Taverner's Canada geese, which frequently sport neck rings similar to those of Aleutians and which occur in the area by the thousands. Seven sightings of Canada geese were made by Bartels in the Cape Sarichef area during Sept­ember. None of the geese observed were thought to oe Aleutian Canadas.

Aleutian Canada geese may pass through this area in· the fall, but it was not proven in 1979.

B. Migratorv Birds

Seventeen whistling swans were collared on Ize.rrbek MVR during July. One bird was a repeater whose lost collar was replaced, giving us a total of 43 swans collared. The collaring project shewed last year that these birds winter on Unimak Island, at Peterson Lagoon. Subsequent 1979 observations of large winter congregations at Peter­son Lagoon indicate that collar loss rr.av anproach 50% or more. During several flights to or past Peterson Lagoon, we coWlted as many as 573 swans at one time, standing on t'"le ice or sH:imning in narrcw areas of open water, as opposed to a maximum of 361 in 1978. Some 400 to 500 birds have been seen on several occasions, rraking this winter population greater than the area's summer and winter population duri.Tlg the recent past. This year's more 11 typical" cold and snowy winter may have brought to Unimak' s open springs swans which remain elsewhere during open winters.

No ice-covered collars were ever seen. Although we noted in their 1978 narrative that a swan collar at Red Rock Lakes collected a mass of ice, we suspect our less severe winters coupled with the swans ' ability to work at the collar reduces t'"le chance of this causing a problem. In fact, T317 probably broke his collar by biting ice off or working at it during cold weather, since we saw a large chip in the collar the first winter.

This year's observations indicate the swans may sometimes feed in open rivers and rest on the lagoons, rather than always vic~ versa as previosly thought. They often take off in small flocks on what appear to be short reconnaissance or "sightseeing" flights, landing on frozen lakes to rest or preen before returning to Peterson Lagoon.

A discussion of swan data collected during the 1979 field season is given in the Izembek portion of the narrative.

6

Five different beaches within walking distance of Cape Sarichef were selected to survey for beached birds by Bartels in late '79. The beaches will be walked as often as possible, hopefully at least monthly, to check for bird and mammal carcasses. Seven such surveys were conducted in 1979, with very few bird carcasses seen. The largest number was 36 dead common murres found in early December. OtherNise fewer than ten were seen altogether.

Two sandhill cranes r,.1ere observed from the Supercub on 8/19 m the Laz~~f river area.

One bald eagle nest was discovered on a bluff south of Cane Sarichef in June by Bartels. The nest was m::mitored until the single eaglet present Has successfully fledged in August. Six active bald eagle nests are present on Unimak. Except for the one at Cape Sari chef, nest success was not monitored in 1979.

A list of all bird species occurring at the Cape Sarichef area is being compiled. The 1980 narrative should have a bird list, or at least one full year's data will be available.

One sighting of a golden eagle was JI'.ade ir1 Sent ember.

The first annual Christmas bird count at Cape Sarichef, took place on December 28. The temperature was 22° - 25°, and winds s:,v 20 VJ.PH. Four to six inches of snow cover was present. Three observers in two pa.r1:ies covered 14 miles on foot. Twenty-six species were observed with 1,984 individuals counted. An additional species was seen the week of the count, but not on count day. Table l shows the results.

C. Hammals

A brown bear survey of roughly the western tr,..;o-thirds of Unimak Island was conducted in August, operating out of Cape Sarichef. The south-western tip of the island from Sennett Point to Cape Lutke was not surveyed. The eastern one-third of Unimak was surveyed out of Cold Bay due to turbulent conditions cancelling the Cape Sarichef operation after two beautiful flying days.

Straight-line transects are flown over open areas, stream courses are follc::wed in their entirety, and hilly and rough terrain is covered as safety conditions permit. An altitude of 400' to 500' AGL is maintained when possible, with lower elevations used to estimate bear sizes, and adjustments JIB.de higher or lower accord­ing to terrain and flying conditions. Bartels had seen four diff­erent bears on several occasions during June and July, sout~ of Cape Sarichef. The aerial survey accounted for three bears in this area,

1

Cape Saridhef 1979 Christmas Bird Count

Species

Loon SD Pelagi~ cormorant Emperor goose Oldsquaw Harleauin duck Stel1~r 1 s eider Common eider King eider whl te-winged scoter Black scoter Common merganser Bald eagle Gyrfalcon Pergrine falcon Rock sandpiper Sanderling Glaucous-winged gull Comm:::m murre Common raven Dipper Hinter wren Gray-crowned rosy finCh Dark-eyed junco Song s-parrowr Sncw bunting l1c..Kays 1 bunting

Seen during count period, but ~ ~·count day

Short-eared cwl

Nt.mlber

2 525 18 35 50 50

135 50

225 80

6 2 (la, li) 2 2 2 4

350 90 12

1 4

210 2 5

120 2

1,984

1

7

The results of the 1979 survey were very similar to 1977 both m number and distribution. (See tables 2 ~ 3)

At least four red fox and 2 wolves moved in close to Cape Sarichef late ·in ' 79 • Presumably this is a result of the lack of Coast Guard vehicle traffic, and no dogs running loose. The Coast Guard had between five and ten mascot huskies, which roamed the land adj­acent to the buil(ling.

A team of biologists from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMIS) censused gray whales as they migrated past Cape ?.arichef the last two months of '79 • The results shCJNed several lCJN peaks. Their total count was 3,000 to 4,000 below that of previous years. It is uncertain if this decreased count actually reflects the population or merely a change in migration rcute by some whales,

A total of 40 4 caribou were seen during the .A11gust brown bear sur­vey. Four hundred of the caribou were seen in the northern portion of the island.

A beached marine mammal survey was flcwn around the entire coast of Unimak Island on 8/19. The remains of four Steller's sea lions were observed. All of these carcasses were within 10 miles of beach n~~ the Cape Rukavi tie area on the south coast of Unimak. Seven brcwn bears Here seen either feeding on the carcasses or in the general area.

A brovm bear year ling was found dead on a beac..'l south of Cape Saric..'lef by Bartels in late Septe.rnber. The bear had puncture wounds in its skull, and probably was killed by an adult bear. Tne carcass had been fed upon by wolves. One week later on the same beach a Steller's sea lion was found dead. Cause of death 'tJas not detennined.

V INTERPRETATION Al\fi RECREATION

There is no formal information program for the Eastern Aleutians. Poor weather, great travelling distances, and expensive logistics combine to discourage use.

Most use has come from natives from the village of False Pass or Coastguardsmen from Cape Sarichef. Their use was largely inciden­tal in that all these people (about 100) were virtually living on the refuge and did not voluntarily choose to visit. Final convey­ance of selected lands to False Pass village and pull-out by the Coast Guard has dronped visitor use far belCJN recent levels; the first by chailging the refuge boundary, the second by removing the visitors themselves.

Table 2

UNII'1AK BFDWN BEAR SURVEY RESULTS, 1977, 1978, 1979

Year Singles Sews w I cubs of year Sews with yearlings Total w/1 w/2 w/3 w/1 w/2 w/3

1977 36 3 4 0 l 4 2 76

1978 19 0 3 l 2 l 0 39

1979 39 l 0 l 5 4 2 75

Table ·3

COMPARISON OF BEAR LOCATIONS 1977, 1978, 1979

1977 1978 1979 Urilia Bay (North Creek to Shishkof Pond) --,:'i --rT -:m-North Creek to St. Catherine Cove 24 19 21

False Pass/Ikatan Peninsula 2 0 2

Lazare£ River ltrea 6 3 8

South side to Scotc.'1 Cap ll ._': 124';1:

West Urilia Bay to Sarichef 6 -1:

~': Not surveyed

~·d: fu::>ea Cape Lutke to Scotc.'1 Cap not surveyed

4

9

10

Recreational use consists of hunting, tranping, hiking, fishing, photography, and beach-canbing. Aircraft use is -restricted to the airstrips at the village of False Pass and Cape Saric.~ef, and to lakes, lagoons, and beac.~es only.

A movie on t~e Aleutian Islands Has shown to the National Marine Fisheries persormel during their stay at Cape Sarichef, and to the Coast Guard before they left at mid-year.

A couple from Texas landed their Cessna 180 at Cape Sarichef in July. They were on an extended vacation and sightseeing trip, having flam all the way to Alaska from Texas . They told Bartels they just wanted to see "what t~e first Aleutian Island looked like 11

• They stayed one hour and then headed back to Anchorage, Two other lig.ht nlanes were forced to land at the Cape Sarichef airstrip due to bad weather. Both groups stayed overnight until the weather improved.

Unimak is in state game management unit 10 and is open to brcwn bear hunting each 11ay and October. Fifteen permits are drawn for in March. This permit system was transferred to the State of Alaska beginning in the spring of 19 80 • The 19 79 drawing was thus the last one conducted by us. Usually about h3.lf of the permittees actually show up, since distance, weather, logistical difficulties, and expense are important factors. There is no regularly scheduled air service to any part of Unimak. Hunters must either have their cwn plane or charter with the local Cold Bay air taxi. Flying on one's own has the severe disadvantage of having t"'1e aircraft to tend 24 hours a dav due to the unnredictable Aleutian T,.;reat~er vii th frequent sudden wi.Dds and accompanying stonn tides. The hunter can never stray more than an hour's hike from his aircraft and expect to have it in one piece on his return. There is virtu.ally no shelter. Weather can also easily delay pick-up for several days or even weeks.

Unirrak, therefore, lS not a focal point for Alaskan recreationists, although this year at least 10 of the 15 nermi ttees did hunt the island and at least 7 bears were taken.

Tables 4 and 5 shew data on Unimak bro:,.;rn bear hunts for the last decade.

Cooperation

A team of HJS archeologists spent the sumner locating and mapping Aleut midden sites on northern and western Unimak Island. Tney mapped a total of 34 sites.

ll

Table 4

Brown bear hunter· numbers and success, 1970 - 1979, Unimak Island

Permits Issued Hunters Active #Bears l<ncwn taken

Fall 1970 -Spring 1971 15 8 4

Fall 1971 -Spring 1972 15 10 4

Fall 1972 Spring 1973 16 8 5

Fall 1973 -Spring 1974 20 10 3

Fall 1974 10 3 _ 9Cl

3

CY 1975 20 9 6

CY 1976 18 10( 2 4

CY 1977 15 10( 2 7

C:I 1978 15 /2 l

CY 1979 15 8(3 7

(l It is not clear whether a "no" answer in fall of 1974 records means "did not hunt" or "hunted but was not successful".

(2 One nermittee failed to return questionnaire, unknown if active

( 3 Three nermi ttees failed to return nuestionnaire. Unl<nown if active. One additional hunter was lost at sea on his return flight to Anchorage. Not l<ncwn if he took a bear.

12

Table 5

Data on Bears Taken on Unimak Island, Fall 1971 to end of CY 1979

Year

Fall 1971 -Spring 1972

Fall 1972-Spring 1973

Fall 1973-Spring 1974

Fall 1974 -End c y 1975

Ci 1976

CY 1977

C:I 1978

Ci 1979

Sex

u F M u

u u M u u

F u M

SiZe~·, Kill Date

71 8 I 8 I

7 1 611

7'1 71 9 I

7 1 611

7 1 911

7 1 611

6 I 1111

9 I 411

10/4/71 10/4/71 10/6/71 10/12/71

10/2/72 10/2/72 10/13/72 10/16/72

5/21/73

10/2/73 10/23/73

5/21/74

Location

Scotch Cap Sennett Point 4 mi. n. of s~~ett Point Sennett Point

Scotch Cap Sennett Point Urilia Bay Urilia Bay Urilia Bay

Cape Sarichef Seimett Point Lazare£ River

9 U Other data not available

4 F Other data not available

F M M F F F F

F

H M M M F F

F

6 I 71 8 1 11"

8 I 111

6 1 4 11

8 I 411

7 1 811

9 l 1111

9 I 811

9 1 711

9 '10" 8 1 6 11

7'10"

7 I 111

5/12/77 5/12/77 5/13/77 5/21/77

10/1/ 77 10/2/77 10/2/77

10/5/78

5/10/79 5/11/79 5/13/79 5/14/79 5/22/79

10/2/.79

10/3/79

Brown Peak Shishkof Pond 1..Jinding Creek at Oksenof Beach Urilia Bay Urilia Bay 4 mi s. Christianson Lagoon 3 • 5 mi. upstream Swanson

Lagoon on coast 3 mi. so. Cape

Sari chef

5 mi. so. Christianson Lagoon Near Conical Red Hill Cape Rukavitsie \vest side of Brown Peak 4 mi. so. Cape Sarichef Springs 5 ~. s. Christianson

Lagoon $ mi. so. Christianson Lagoon

Our size information is usually * size of hide as measured fresh in the field by the hunter, and not the official state seal.L1g records.

13

H-IS and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted Dr. Bruce Mate, whale biol­ogist from Oregon, monitor a radioed gray -:.Jhale as it went through Unirnak. Pass in June.. The whale was J'Ilaiked in Scamnon's Lagoon~ r·lex.

The Cape Sarichef T'l.lrW'ay certification was transferred by FAA to FWS. The dirt strip is 3 ,sao feet long with a short rudimentary crosswind runway, generator pcwered lighting and a wind-sock. There is no beacon or other nav aid. We must maintain the strio to meet FAA regulations for its type and use categories, in order to keep their certification. Certification is needed for the local air taxi to operate within insurance limitations.

Special Use Permits

The u.s. Geological Survey was host to a group of foreign volcano­logists visiting Alaska. Tney made a trip under special-use permit to look at Fisher Caldera and Mount Shishaldin on 6/16. Their helicopter picked biologist Bartels up at Cape Sarichef and flew him to Fisher Caldera to meet the party, and receive a short brief­ing on the volcanology of the caldera.

Dr. William Cassidy and an associate from the University of Pitts­burgh spent a week on Amak Island, under special-use permit, study­ing the possible origin of a large crater thought to be a meteor impact crater. l'1anager Sarvis provided transportation.

Other SDecial-use oerrnits include one for Caton Island grazing and 15 for brown bear hunting.

PERSONNEL

Bob Bartels transferred from assistant refuge manager, Quivira r.RVR, Kansas, to the new Cape Sarichef wildlife biologist position on June 3. He and his \-Iife Kay, a registered nurse, became first-time parents in October 19 79 . Six T!'Dnths old new, Erin Katie Bartels is prospering as the total child population at the station.

Dennis Ferbrache started as the Cape Sarichef maintenance worker at the same ti.Jne. Bartels and Ferbrache had approximately one month of overlap time with the Coast Guard crew at Cape Sarichef, to familiarize the two H~S personnel with the operation of the station facilities. Almost all of these Coast Guard personnel were in favor of the refuge regulations and appreciated the '.-lild­erness asDect of Unirnak. Island. Bartels received a lot of quest­ions on the role of the Fv/S and wildlife on the island.

In December, Bartels, his wife Kay, and fl...rs • Dennis Ferbrache received trairLing from tl-te National vJea"b'ler Service to qualify them to make standard aviation Heather observations for the Cold

Bay Flight Service Station. This will help any pilot in the Sar­i chef area, as well as provide a valuable, permanent record of Unimak weather, and serve to increase the accuracy of forecasts in this notoriously unpredictable area.

Bartels was CPR certified before going to Cape Sarichef.

SAFE'IY

14

Maintenance worker Ferbrache apparently aggrevated an old and still existing injury in a fall in the engine room on 12/20/79. He dep­arted Sarichef on l/2/80 for Anchorage to undergo medical treat­ment.

This report was written by Sandy Dauenhauer and Bob Bartels, reviewed by John Sarvis, and typed by Jessie Ambridge.

SEMIDI NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUc:;E

The 256,000-acre refuge lies 3S miles off the Alaska Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean and consists of 9 islands, associated rocks and islets aggregating 8,422 acres, and approximately 248,000 acres of submerged lands. The refuge was created by Executive Order 5858 in 1932 primarily to protect several million seabirds which breed on these spectacularly rough and stormy islands and sea stacks. There are 55 miles of coastline on this small refuge •

. No refuge personnel presently in Cold Bay have ever been to tl1e Semidis because of its remote location, difficult access and the high expense involved. Information is kncwn from a wilderness study and from several stunmers' work by the Office of Biological Services in Anchorage.

The climate is maritime, with frequent overcast, rain, gale-force winds, and fog. Annual precipitation is over 50 inches. Summer temperatures average about 4QOf, winter about 20°F. Access is only by sea-going vessel or amphibious aircraft on rare calm days. There are few anchorages, and only one beach, that one on Aghiyu.~, t~e largest island. Terrain is precipitous cliffs rising from the ocean and generally steeply sloping tundra. Highest elevation occurs on Aghiyuk, at 1,024 feet. Spectacular sea stacks and jagged cliffs are the ITajor feature of D~e islands.

Vegetation is a typical subarctic lo.-J mat of grasses, mosses, willow, crcwberry, and tundra wildflONers. Some kelp beds occur off-shore. One spruce tree was planted on Chowiet in recent times but has not reproduced. Its age is undetermined.

There are no funds or positions carried for the Sernidis, and there are no structures, trails, or other facilities of any kind.

No habitat management takes place , since the Semi dis are fortunately functioning completely naturally as an insular ecosystem. Because of lack of safe access and formidably bad Heather and often rough seas, human interest in t~e islands has been nil. The possibility of pollution from oil spills from sea traffic is present, but the route is not heavily used at this time. Chances of diverting or containing a major spill in the area are non-existent.

The Semidis were studied for wilderness ootential and found to qualify in their entirety. Halibut and ~ab fishing take place in ocean waters on the refuge, but were found to be compatible pre-existing uses, The wilderness proposal r.-Jas completed in 1972 but has been delayed pending approval of t~e Alaska Lands bill by Congress under terms of the Alaska ~ative Claims Settle­ment Act.

\

• ** '

\

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE'

SEMI D I NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CANDIDATE WILDERNESS AREA

0

+

300

Aghiyj lslan ·-, '

I . \ \ 7

'C'

N

-+

SEMIDI\ ~ \ISLANOS

\

157"

\ \

,....

'C''C)'C' nowik 1\

Kateekuk 1·· ' ,.... ~ \ VABM , e ""' * Kilikta',:ik I

508 .- "" F ,

'1' • I ""~ '\.suklik 1 ~~ .. I

Q

-\ ~ I

3

By far the most outstanding wildlife species on the refuge are seabirds, which occur by the millions during the breeding season.

2

A total of over 2 million breeding adults alone have been estimated by Biological Service teams which have spent 4 summers on t"l-le refuge. Seventy-nine species of birds have been identified, many of which depend prirnaril y on maritime habitat. Twenty species of seabirds have been found to nest on the islands, including 3-5 pairs of least auklets, 70 miles outside their closest known colony in the Shumagin Islands, and 386 pairs of rhinoceros auklets, 140 miles west of the Barren Islands, the only other colony known outside of Southeast Alaska. A breeding colony of Cassin's auklets on Suklik Island probably numbers in the tens of thousands. · Fulmars are the most abundant breeding bird, and they occupy about 43 miles of the 55 miles of coastline during spring and SUJiliiler. The Semidis rep­resent, as far as is presently known, the largest breeding aggre­gation of northern fulmars in the Pacific. Crested auklets were seen on the refuge, and could well nest there since sui table habitat occurs. Hany of the smaller islands and islets have not yet been carefully surveyed, however.

Table 1 fran the 1978 Office of Biological Services rer;ort by Scott and Hartha Hatch g1 ves estimated seabird numbers .

All kno;.m Semidi birds including t"'l.e seabirds are listed in table 2, which was compiled by Scott Hatch.

In 19 79 , 17 small Canada geese were seen by Scott and Hartha Hatch on Kiliktagit Island. Some of these birds had white neck bands characteristic of Aleutian Canada geese. One bird was captured and measured, and these measurements may be helpful in determining if the birds could be B.C. leucooareia. If they are, we are not convinced of the wisdom of formal study of this tiny band of birds which could easily be harrassed off the Islands where they are quite safe from predators , including man.

Harnmals found on the refuge include Steller sea lions (including a rookery of 5,420 on Chowiet), harbor seals, sea otters in low num­bers, occasional Pacific killer whales, and sei, Hinke, finback, and humpback whales. The only terrestrial mammal is t'"le arctic ground squirrel, found so far on Chcwiet, Kateekuk, Aghiyuk, Anc:Mik and Kaliktagik.

The Semi dis receive little nublic use. In the last few years , the Lindblad Exnlorer has called at the refuge once or twice, but did not do so iD 1979.

In addition to the OBS teams nresent the past few sumners, the University of P~aska Geophysical Institute maintains a seismometer on the refuge, which requires annual servicing. A special use

Table 1. Species and estimated pcnulations of marine birds breeding in t.1.e Sernidi Islands •

Species

Northern Fulmer

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel

Leach's Storm Petrel

Pelagic Cormorant

Red-faced Cormorant

Ccmmon Eider

Black Oystercatcher

Parasitic Jaeger

Glaucous-winged Gull

Black-legged Kittiwake

Corrm:m Murre

Thic~-billed Murre

Pigeon Guillemot

Ancient Murrelet

Cassin's Auklet

Parakeet Auklet

Least Auklet

Phinoce...."''s Auklet

Horned Puffin

Tufted Puffin

Total

Ponulation

475,000

?

?

100 1,500

100

200

100

2,500

200,000

800,000

200,000

400

1,000

lO,OOO's

100,000

15

1,000

300,000

300,000

2,400,000

Distribution

All Islands

Kateekuk, Suklik, others?

Kateekuk ,Suklik, others?

Mainly Chcwiet, mobile

Mainly Chcwiet, mobile

Hainly Chcwiet

Most Islands

Chcwiet, Aghi yuk, others

All islands

All islands

All islands

All islands

Mainly Chcwiet, Aghiyuk?

Kate~~, others?

Suklik

All islands

Chcwiet

Choviet , others?

All Islands

A~l islands

3

Table 2. Checklist of the birds of the Semidi Islands, Alaska

Snecies

Yellow billed loon* Arctic loon Red-necked Grebe* Northern Fulmar Fort-tailed Storm Petrel Leach's Storm Petrel Double-crested Corrrorant Pelagic Cormorant Red-faced Corrrorant Canada Goose Black Brant Mallard Pintail Green-winged Teal Arrerioan Widgeon Shoveler Greater Scaup Harlequin DuCk Common Eider King Eider White-wL~ged Sooter Surf Scoteri: Black Seater Red-Breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Peregrine Falcon Blac~ Oystercatcher Semipalmated Plover Surfbirct~·: ~·:

Ruddy Turnstone Black Turnstone Comnon Snipe wrillnbrel Bristle-thighed Curlew Wandering Tattler Yellowlegs (unid) Rock Sandni per Pectoral Sandpiper"="= Least Sandpiper Dlmlin Dcwi tcher ( unid) SeiT~palmated Sandpiper vJestern Sandpiper1=~·:­Red Phalarope Northern Phalarope~'::':~·=

Relatlve Abundance

R R R A ? ? u c c u u c c u u u u c c u u u u u c c c u R u u u R R c R u R u R R u R R R

X '1 1\.

X

X X

X

X X X

4

5

Table 2. C'nec..~list of t~e birds of the Sernidi Islands , Alaska ( Cont 1 d)

Specles Relatlve .Abundance

Breecbng

Parasitic Jaeger Glaucous-winged Gull Mew Gull~H: Black-legged Kittiwake Corrrrnon Murre Thick-billed Murre Pigeon Guillemot Ancient Murrelet Cassi.'1 1 s Auklet Parakeet Auklet Crested Auklet Least Auklet Rhinoceros Auklet Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Short-eared Owl Violet-green Swallow Tree Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swalla,;1 Carmon Raven Winter Wren Varied Thrush Hennit Thrush \<later Pipit Yellow Harbler Wilson 1 s ~<larbler

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Corrunon Redooll Pine Sisk:iD~':~':

Savannah Spa.rru1-1 Golden-crowned Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Lapland Longspur Snc:w Bunting

c c R A A A c ?

A A u u c A A R u u u u c c u c c u u c u R c c c c c c

X X

X X X X X X X

X X X X

X

X X

X X X X X

X X X X X X

A=Abundant. Usually used for the most numerous of cliff-nesting seabirds.

C=Common. Relative to normal range of nesting densities for breed­ing species, or denotes migrants observed in considerable numbers in both 1976 and 1977.

U=Uncommon. One or a small m.rrnber of individuals observed on only a few occasions.

R=Rare. One sighting of one or a few individuals

:': Reported by H. Troyer, Hay 19 71 :'::': Reported by L. 'Leschner and G. Burrell, 1976

;':-/::': Reported by I.N. Gabrielson, 1940 or 1945

permit for this was issued ln 1979.

This report was written by Sandra Dauenhauer, reviewed by John Sarvis, and typed by Jessie Anbridge

6

t~fagoonberry (Rubus) and Strawber=y ( F:!:'agaria) ere two of a doza~ edible fruits and berries founa on ~e refuge. These grew widely scattered, and especially t.''1e strawberries are often worked over by parka squirrels before fully ripening.

Photo by SarJis 8/20/79 <224) :n

Tens of thousands of shorebiF-S such as 1:-'"lese sandpipers feed on lagoon tide flats and beaches i."1 =a11 and win-cer. Their sudden wheeling flig.~ts in uniscn are r<=> .... markable ~ watch.

Pnoto by Sarvis 12/24/78

Our new BI.JiP construction has il'!tproved refuge headquarters immeas~...ably, but electricity and phone are still intermi-ttent. Actually, these are World "..Jar II quonsets and build-ings which present a ghostly reminder of the days when several thousand troops spent the JUeutian Campaign in these and "thousands of other similar buildings t:hroug.~out t.'-le c.'lain.

Photo by Dauenhauer 12/78

Irmume.rable ruts remain frcm ··lorld :..lar II, since the tundra heals slcwly . These ere along t~e Site Rd. nu..'1dreds of miles of such tracks are visible :rem t"1e air.

Photo by Dauenhauer 3/79

Spectacular sunrises occur on those mornings when the sky is not totally obscured. This view is frcm refuge headquarters look:L1.g across Cold Bay . Active volcano Mt. Pavlov is at extreme left edge.

Photo by Sarvis 9/S/79 ( 230) 19

The viet..; fran t.~e Grant Point resea_"'"'C.i-1 s-ra-::ion, shcr..;ing the Air Force Si-re r..ri.th Mt. Dutton in -rhe bac.1(grour.d

Photo by Sarvis 1/1/80 ( 240) 15

Clerk Chambers holding swan T333 after a rai."'l.y c.i-lase .

Photo by Sarvis 7/23/79 ( 196) 36

Fnoto by Sa.rvis 7/23/79

Female T328, shc. .. d.ng !1er nictitat.:ng r.PJnbrane s-wollen with leecnes • The lid :-eturned to ncMaJ. whe.'1 rl'le removed -:he three lee~~es under it.

Photo by Sarvis 7/20/79 ( 196) 4

Several t'l-tousand e.~eror geese t.;inter in Izerrbe.l( Lagoon and Cold Bay. The last bird, t·ri:t:!:l slightly ~y cheeJ<S, is a juvenile.

Steller's eiders in rapid fli~~t across _ze~e.~ Lagoon. ?em.ales are rrostly brcwn, males have r..;hite wings. Tnese birds are in •f all plummage.

All locals freak out during rare warm and sur.r.y days , including Alaska brcwn bears. This one is enjoyL"'lg t.'""1e heated roc'<s alol"'.g the beach.

Photo by Sarvis 8/20/79 (217)22

; . . . . • • • •• r ,. .

.. : . - , ... -: ...

-- ·:~ --.. . ... -­- .. .. ~

.. ......

.. -~~---

I ICM many caribou do you estimate to be in this picture. AllaN 15 seconds. Answer is on last page of the Izemi.Jek portion of the narrative. Cold Day's 11th ~ 8th graders also estimated this picture . Their answers are also ei ven.

Photo by Sarvis 11/21/79 (237)2

Four barren ground caribou in various stages of s.~edding winter coa1:s. These animals are stc:nciLt1g in t.~e dunes at ~1offett Point, Izembek Lagoon.

Photo by Sarvis 7/15/79 (185) 32

Naintenancem:.n Cecil Finn stretc.'"les his legs on ~'1e Bering Sea beach of Neumann Island during a beached mammal survey. The station Supercub N745 is equipped wi til large"tundra ... ires" to oenni. t ooeration on oac.'<ed sand. The send's blac.'< color is d~e- to its volcanic ori~.

Photo by Sarvis 10/5/79 (232)32

P.ssistant :-!anager Deuenna.uer inspect:.; ng me ca."'Ca.Ss of a subadul t male walrus on the tide-exwsed mudflats of Izembek Lagoon.

Photo by Dauenhauer 10/78

One of the locals inspects the damage to the brigcnt:ine Courtney ~ caused by vandals with a chai.nsaw .

This red fox has a c!e.'1 dug out of the sand whic.~ pad<s me hull.

Photo by Sarvis 1/1/ 80 ( 240) 6

The wetlands of Peterson Lagoon on Unimak Island provide winter food and resting areas for the area's resident: whi.s tling swans, shown here in open water and on the ice.

Photo by Sarvis l/9/80 (244)15

Ht:. Shishaldin, an ac1:ive volcano and National Historic Lanc:llnark in the center of lJnilrak Island, is strikingly beautiful en a clear day.

Photo by Sa_rvi.s l/1/80 (242)35

P..eriel view of Cace Sarichef. The LORAN station is t~e collection of white buildings at the cliff edge, over­looking Uniirak Pass. The abandoned Air Force site sits on the small hill. The airstriD is t."le "T" carved out of the tundra at lef1:. -

Photo by Sarvis 8/21/79 (225)28

Wildli=e biologist Bob Ba..""tels (lef-t) and Ccas1: Guard I.DRJll~ station colTI!!'ander Lt. Tan Vorholt relax en a Sat:"..l....-.ca.y afternoon at Cape Sarichef .

Photo by Dauenhauer 6/9/79

Thousands of murres use Arnak Island's clif""s i11 sumner, brooding the eggs on narrow ledges without benefi~ of nesting material.

Photo bv Sarvis 7/16/79 ~ (187)31

A oortion of t'11e 500 walruses whic..~ used Amak Island as- a. hauling ground for June and July, before being harassed bad< to sea by hunter'S.

Photo by Sarvis 7/16/79 ( 19 7) 1

A playful sow brcwn bear splashes water a.t her cub on a warm afternoon , near Cape Saric."lef .

Photo by Sarvis 8/20/79 (218) 21

Unil!lak' s barren ground caribou feeding, ·..ri. t h extinct Isanotski Peaks in the ba.c.'<.5 round.

Photo by Sarvis 1/ 9/80 (244)37

SIMEONOF NATIONAL'\~LDLIFE REfUGE

Simeonof is the outennost of the Shumagin Islands near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean and measures about 11,000 acres. It was placed in the refuge system in 1958 by Public land Order 1749. The !)3fuge--is._someV?hat ~}ffiusual ~at~j_gcent sub­merged lands extending a mile beyond mean lew water are included. All exposed rocks and islets within this radius are part of the refuge. Total refuge area is 25,271 acres.

Simeonof is granite overlain with thin soil. The island is nearly flat, gradually rising to three small peaks, the highest at 1,436 feet. Cliffs are found only on the north end of the island. Soils sup:pJrt very limited grasslands along mountain bases. Otherwise heath tundra is the cover,consisting of a heath-salmonberry-willaN association. The island is also noted for its wanner. climate than surrounding lands, and its white sand beaches.

No funds or :pJSi tions are carried for Simeonof.

The refuge was designated primarily to protect marine mammals, especially sea otters and harbor seals. About 500 sea otters and 1,000 harbor seals use the refuge for breeding, rearing young, and feeding. Other marrrnals are river otter, arctic fox, ground squir­rel and several species of whales. There are some eelgrass beds in the unit, and some waterfONl and shorebirds use the area. Three bald eagle.nests are knOND on the island. Other sDecies occuring there are rock and willow pta.rmigan, glaucous-winged gulls, oystercatchers, arctic terns, and mew gulls. Few seabirds occur because of lack of sw.~able cliffs.

Some Dink salmon and Dolly Varden use refuge streams.

A grazing lease due to expire in 19 80 is administered by BLi'1. Serious overgrazing has taken place in the past along the limited area available to cattle, which generally use a 1/4 mile beac.'l-t fringe. We have reccmmended against renewal. Livestock v1ere introduced in 1896 and have included cattle and foxes. Ranch buildings are located on a small Darcel on Simeonof Harbor, a 2-mile long bay which offers protection from the frequent storms characteristic of the region.

Alaska Area Office representatives accompanied BU1 personnel on a grazing inspection in the sumner of 1979. Overgrazing and aniJD.al numbers in excess of that stipulated in the lease were found. In addition, the lease has supposedly changed hands infomally a humber of times and several indi victuals ffive approached BU1 claim­irJ.g partial interest in the cattle and buildings, and one person is new claiming tl'J.e "ranch11 as his primary place of residence under

SIMEONOF ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE PROPOSED WILDERNESS AREA

/

<

:I

the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act , although he has app­arently not lived there since \tJorld War II.

2

The cattle are all wild and some of t'l.e bulls extremely dangerous. FWS is detennined to oppose renewal of the lease, and Bl.M has ind­icated that our view will prevail. Area Office personnel are neg­otiating with some of the "interested parties" over methods of rormd­up and disposal of these spiritual descendents of the Texas long­horn.

Public use is limited to ranch personnel (usually l or 2 care­takers) and perhaps a handful of fishermen who take refuge in the harbor. Access is solely by boat or float plane.

Sirneonof is a National Natural Landmark because of its white sand beaches, a rarity in the entire Alaska Peninsula-P~euti.an region where black volcanic sand is the rule. It was studied for wild­erness and so designated on October 19, 1976 by P.L. 94-557.

This report was written by Sandra Dauenhauer, reviewed by John Sarvis arid typed by Jessie A~ridge.