|
Porcupine caribou herd shows increase Biologists tally ‘significantly’ more animals than the 123,000 seen in last survey; herd figures prominently in ANWR debate Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
Northern Alaska caribou appear to be flourishing.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Jan. 20 said a new survey has found “significantly greater” numbers in the Porcupine caribou herd than were seen at last count.
“Numbers are higher than we expected to find, and we’re confident the herd has grown since 2001,” said Beth Lenart, a department biologist.
An estimated 123,000 animals were counted in 2001.
In July 2010, the department conducted a new “photocensus,” which involves counting individual animals from aerial photographs of the herd.
The department is still working on the count, but it’s clear the Porcupine herd is bigger today.
“We’ve counted more than 123,000 caribou so far, and we haven’t finished,” Lenart said.
The higher count is good news, as five photocensuses conducted from 1989 to 2001 showed a decline in the herd from 178,000 animals to 123,000.
“Alaskan and Canadian biologists thought it was possible that the herd may have continued to decline since 2001,” the department said. “However, concerns of a declining herd have faded as counting of the 2010 photos progressed.”
The Porcupine herd ranges in Yukon and northeastern Alaska, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The caribou calve on the coastal plain. Alaska and Canada cooperatively manage the herd.
The Department of Fish and Game said it expects to finish the herd estimate by early March. The department said it released the incomplete count because Canadian managers are meeting in early February to establish hunting regulations in Yukon.
Alaska biologists are confident of an accurate count, as the photos are of high quality, the caribou were well-aggregated, and all the animals wearing radio-tracking collars were located.
“Conditions were excellent for a photocensus,” Lenart said.
Other herds also growing Potential displacement of caribou is part of the controversy involved with oil and gas development on Alaska’s North Slope.
The Porcupine herd, which factors heavily into the debate over whether to allow drilling on the ANWR coastal plain, is one of four herds that use northern Alaska. The others are the Central Arctic, Teshekpuk Lake and Western Arctic herds.
Caribou herds are identified by where females give birth to their calves.
The Central Arctic herd, which is smaller than the Porcupine herd, has been of special interest to industry, as most of its calves are born in areas on either side of the Prudhoe Bay oil complex.
A photocensus completed in July 2009 showed the Central Arctic herd had grown to 67,000 animals from about 32,000 counted in 2002.
A count of the Teshekpuk Lake herd, also in 2009, likewise found an increase to more than 64,000 animals from the 45,000 seen in 2002.
Biologists attributed the 2009 increases to “good production rates, good weather, low predation, and good habitat.”
| 