You are here

How Many Dead Bears Can Katmai Endure?

Share

Katmbearmap_copy    Alaska might be the last frontier in the United States, but even it has limits when it comes to consumption of natural resources. And in Katmai National Park and Preserve, it sure seems like state officials are pushing the brown bear population beyond the limits that a healthy population can endure.
    Back in 2003, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, Alaska wildlife biologists stated that the bear population in the preserve portion of the park could tolerate the hunting of 16 brown bears every other year. However, recent takes have been more than twice that, with 35 bears killed in the 2005 fall and 2006 spring seasons combined and 34 bears killed during the 2003 fall and 2004 spring seasons combined.
    “The current level of hunting is in direct conflict with the mandate from Congress to preserve this area as a premier bear-viewing site,” says Jim Stratton, the NPCA's regional director in Alaska. “Trophy hunters are killing two times the number of bears that can be killed to maintain legal levels of bears.”
    But that's not the only threat to Katmai's bear population, which roams throughout the park and the preserve. For 22 years the portion of the state-owned Kamishak Special Use Area that's adjacent to and just east of McNeil River State Game Sanctuary but which falls within the boundaries of Katmai National Park has been closed to bear hunting. Now, though, the Alaska Board of Game is proposing to open the area (in purple on the map) to bear hunting.

    If the over-harvesting in the Katmai Preserve is allowed to continue, and the Kamishak Special Use Area is opened to hunting later this fall as the Game Board decided two years ago, the region's bear population could be significantly stressed.
    The two proposals, says Stratton, are "both impacting the same bear population."
    "The bears at Katmai don't know political boundaries and they roam unaware through both conservation and hunting areas," he says.
    Fortunately, there seems to be a good deal of push-back against the proposal to open the special use area to bear hunters. Stratton tells me that groups as diverse as the Alaska Professional Hunters Association and conservation groups have petitioned the Game Board to reinstate the ban on bear hunting in the area.
    "You've got greenies to professional bear hunting guides" opposing the measure, he says.
    Another possibility exists that the matter could be legislatively removed from the Game Board's jurisdiction. Stratton says a bill just introduced to the Alaska Legislature, if enacted, would place the special use area within the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, where bear hunting is prohibited.
    As for the heavy hunting pressure in the Katmai Preserve, NPCA is recommending a variety of options, ranging from stopping the bear hunt entirely to shortening the hunting season or limiting the number of hunters.
    Both of these topics likely will surface when the Game Board convenes in Anchorage in early March to review game issues.

Comments

The McNeil sanctuary manager, a veteran of many years in the job, quit in protest over the game board's decision. He's a hero. The game board members are anything but.

Could it be that the Alaskan Game Board is in the hands of the NRA gun lobby...I wonder about these guy's that will go to extremes to get a bear trophy over the fireplace..."something like a huge gut pile is a happy hunter"! Where's Grizzly Adams when we need him.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.