The last wolf of the Eagle group was trapped just outside the northeast park boundary of Denali five days ago.  The famous Toklat (East Fork) group was in the same area and is missing seven wolves.  Toklat in particular will remain at risk with a good possibility of further ventures into the northeastern area this winter.  Typically there is an overall increase in trapping, hunting, and other outdoor activities in the Denali area and across Alaska with the arrival of the long, sunny days of late February, March, and April.              

 

For details about Eagle’s history and its northeastward winter migrations, read pp. 11-13 of the report at the August 2007 link and the December 2007 paper, both on the Reports2 page.  Refer to the February 4 blog entry for the status of Eagle and Toklat to that point and a summary of other winter 2007-08 trapping losses.  The red section of the map in the December 2, 2007 blog entry (in the archives) shows the area at issue, where Denali wolves from near and far most urgently need protection from trapping and hunting.

 

The Eagle male was trapped or snared in upper Dry Creek, in the southcentral portion of the red map area.  The same trapper caught five Lower Savage and perhaps Margaret wolves at this location in November 2007, and he or someone else shot the previous Lower Savage breeding female in this area at the end of April 2006, likely as she had just started or was about to den there.  He also trapped/snared a second adult male wolf at this site at about the same time he caught the Eagle male this past week; this wolf’s identity is unknown, but he may well have been from Toklat, per details below.  Denali study groups have ventured to this area from near and far during the winter since at least the 1960s and have periodically denned near Dry Creek.    

 

Recall from the February 4 blog entry that the Eagle male’s mate died from a natural cause on January 11, and that their two pups disappeared shortly thereafter.  The male was alone 45-50 miles (72-80 km) to the northeast two weeks later, in the northeast park boundary (red map) area, and subsequently ranged between there and 15-20 miles (24-32 km) back southwestward, until he was trapped.  His trip to the northeastern area was not unusual; Eagle was one of several caribou-dependent groups from central areas of Denali that routinely migrate northeastward to traditional caribou wintering areas, not uncommonly more than once per winter.  

 

 

The Dry Creek trapline, like most traplines in Alaska, is maintained with a “snowmachine” (which, in Alaska, is the term used for snowmobile).  Typically traps are placed in and along the snowmachine trail (wolves commonly travel in these trails) and snares (with baits) are clustered in brushy areas here and there short distances off the trail.  The Dry Creek snowmachine trapline trail follows the upper central and southwestern tributaries of Dry Creek, and possibly extends into the southeastern tributary.  It essentially follows right along the northeast park boundary (east-west) between the tributaries.  Obviously the trapper used a GPS receiver to set the line as close to the park boundary as possible.  However the aerial GPS locations that my pilot and I recorded while mapping the line two days ago indicate it may cross somewhat inside the park boundary in certain places; I provided this information to the National Park Service and hopefully a ranger will investigate on the ground.  

 

 

In late November, the National Park Service outfitted the Toklat alpha male with a GPS radio collar that records daily 8 a.m. locations and uploads to a satellite once every six days.  These locations (T. Meier, pers. commun.) indicate that from sometime late February 20 to early February 23 the Toklat wolves were ranging in the northeast park boundary area east of Savage River, including well inside southern portions of the red map area, eastward almost to the Parks Highway (near the southeast corner of the red map area).  They apparently traveled through the Dry Creek trapline area at least once and at times were in open terrain less than two miles (3 km) from occupied residences in the Healy area.  They may have traveled through the other two northeast boundary trapping areas as well.    

 

At 11 a.m. February 23, soon after I began the current period of field work, I found the Toklat alpha pair and eight others of the group six miles (9 km) inside the park near Savage campground, heading deeper into the park in a southwestward direction.  The February 23 GPS location indicates that three hours earlier they were 6-7 miles (9-11 km) northward, in the vicinity of the park boundary near the west or southwest side of the Dry Creek trapline.  These latest observations together with the others I recorded last fall and in earlier years again illustrate how quickly and unpredictably Toklat can venture into this dangerous area - in a matter of hours rather than days.  As I indicated in previous blog entries, Toklat’s wider-ranging movements this winter in combination with the recent trapping losses of the neighboring eastern and northeastern groups increase the likelihood of these northeastward forays.  The Toklat alpha pair and others were still inside the park, further westward, through at least February 28; high winds have halted my aerial observations for the past two days.    

 

Toklat consisted of 17 wolves as of early February.  Only 10 were together, including the alpha pair, in my February 23 observations when they returned from the above northeastward foray.  Perhaps some or all of the other seven will show up; they could be separated for various natural reasons.  But it is also possible that some or all were trapped or shot on this latest foray, including the unidentified adult male that was trapped at the Dry Creek site near the Eagle male.  Given the loose wolf trapping and hunting reporting requirements (last paragraph of Jan 23 entry), it may never be possible to make this determination.    

 

Most urgently needed is a complete wolf trapping and hunting closure covering the red area shown on the December 2 map.  This closure must be applied quickly, given the added risks that wolves face in February, March, and April.  Readers should mount immediate individual and group efforts in as many ways as possible to effectuate an emergency closure.  Spread this Web site address around and emphasize that recipients should review all of the relevant blog entries, including in the archives section (via the link at the bottom of the Blog page).      

 

The commissioner (head) of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Denby Lloyd, has the authority to apply an emergency wolf trapping and hunting closure for biological and other reasons, some of which I’ve already provided (e.g., Jan 19 entry).  Email and phone Lloyd’s office, his deputy commissioner, the director of wildlife, and the governor with a request for this closure (email addresses and phone numbers are provided below).  The closure should remain in effect through May 31, the end of the current trapping and hunting seasons (trapping ends April 30, hunting May 31).  Meanwhile, the commissioner should also pressure the policymaking Board of Game to call a special meeting sometime during the summer or fall for a comprehensive reexamination of Denali wolf protection issues in areas surrounding the park, not only regarding permanent protection in the red area but also related measures in other boundary areas, including temporary, mobile closures (e.g., see the October 2002 link on the Reports page).  The commissioner should re-apply the red-area emergency closure if the board has not acted prior to the beginning of the next wolf hunting season on August 10, 2008 or the beginning of the next trapping season on November 1, 2008.

 

Lloyd will consult with his deputy commissioner for wildlife, Ken Taylor, and the director of the division of wildlife conservation, Doug Larsen, and they will consult with other ADF&G biologists - many of whom (including Taylor) have been among the major obstacles to protecting Denali wolves in the past, either directly or indirectly (Lloyd, Taylor, and Larsen are biologists as well as managers).  So it is important for readers to get as many other scientists as possible involved in approaching the commissioner, via university zoology and wildlife departments (students as well as faculty), scientific societies, and the like.  And again, share this Web site with all of them.  ADF&G biologists won’t be so quick to ignore pressure from other scientists, so long as the latter make it clear they will hold the ADF&G biologists accountable.  There have been previous petitions regarding wolf management issues from non-ADF&G scientists, but these were directed to no avail at the governor and other policymakers instead of ADF&G and ADF&G biologists, thus allowing the professionals who are most responsible and would be most affected by peer pressure to once again hide in the background, unscathed.

 

Petitioning the policymaking Alaska Board of Game directly would be unproductive at this time.  I’ve tried that route in the past.  The board has already indicated it considers Denali wolf issues to be a waste of its time and is currently under a self-imposed hiatus against considering these issues.  Moreover, the commissioner of Fish and Game could apply an emergency closure much more expeditiously than would result from any board action - tomorrow, if he wants to.  ADF&G will resist.  But with enough pressure, especially from other professionals, this is still a better bet for an emergency closure than the board route.  

 

Be creative.  There are many more ways to mount this kind of effort than I could spell out here.  Focus on the ADF&G commissioner and his biologists, but also share your emails, etc. with the media in Alaska and elsewhere.  Copying the governor won’t hurt either.  In general, spread the word as widely as possible to individuals, organizations, academia, legislators, media, etc.  

 

I’m a scientist, not an organizer.  I can provide the field information, biological and other arguments, other basic guidance, and point to where the pressure should be applied.  But I am sure there is much more expertise out there than I possess as to exactly how to organize and apply all of this.  Go for it.

 

Some contacts:

 

Denby Lloyd, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

 

Ken Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Wildlife

 

Doug Larsen, Director, Division of Wildlife Conservation

doug.larsen@alaska.gov ; 907-465-4190

 

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska

gov.state.ak.us (click on the “Email Governor” link); 907-465-3500