Thinning caribou herd may no longer be state’s biggest

  • Tuesday, December 22, 2015 10:55pm
  • News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A rough estimate shows the Western Arctic Caribou Herd is not rebounding from its last several years of declining population.

State wildlife experts estimate the herd’s population at 200,000, down from the 235,000 counted in the 2013 census.

Fairbanks-based Fish and Game biologist Lincoln Parrett briefed the Western Alaska Caribou Herd Working Group last week and said the new estimated population size is not exact. An aerial population survey was nixed this summer due to technical problems, and scientists are planning another attempt in mid-2016.

The herd was at its peak in 2003, with 490,000 caribou. The 2011 census counted 325,000 caribou. Parrett said the good news is that the decline appears to be slowing.

Further population loss could mean a change in the annual hunt capped around 13,000 of the herd’s caribou. The historically “small role in demographics” that hunting has played “may be changing in the future if the herd size continues to decline,” he said.

He noted that those changes probably wouldn’t be seen until 2017. This year, new rules stopped the harvest of calves as well as the nonresident harvest of cows. Limitations were also added in the nonresident harvest of bulls.

Working group member Tom Gray said Thursday that, “In years to come, we’re going to have some hard decisions to make.”

Although the cause of the population decline is unknown, Parrett said climate change is one possible culprit.

“People are noticing on-the-ground changes,” he said.

Parrett says if the 200,000 figure is proven accurate, the Porcupine Caribou Herd along the northern Alaska-Canada border could now be the biggest in Alaska.

He said the Porcupine herd may be the biggest in North America. Parrett said in an email that recent population counts are not available for two other contenders for the title, the Leaf River Caribou Herd in Quebec and the Qamanirjuaq Caribou Herd in Nunavut and Manitoba.

More in News

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy’s veto of education funding bill puts pressure on lawmakers during final month of session

Governor also previews new bill with $560 BSA increase, plus additional funds for policy initiatives.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly kills resolution asking for option to cap property tax increases

Alaska municipalities are required by state statute to assess all properties at their full and true value.

City of Kenai Public Works Director Scott Curtain; City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel; Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche; Sen. Lisa Murkowski; Col. Jeffrey Palazzini; Elaina Spraker; Adam Trombley; and Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank cut the ribbon to celebrate the start of work on the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, June 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai bluff stabilization info meeting rescheduled for April 30

Originally, the event was scheduled for the same time as the Caring for the Kenai final presentations.

Project stakeholders cut a ribbon at the Nikiski Shelter of Hope on Friday, May 20, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Peninsula organizations awarded mental health trust grants

Three organizations, in Seldovia, Seward and Soldotna, recently received funding from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

Chickens are seen inside of a chicken house at Diamond M Ranch on Thursday, April 1, 2021, off Kalifornsky Beach Road near Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna council hears call to lessen chicken restrictions

The Soldotna City Council this month heard from people calling for a… Continue reading

Mount Spurr, raised to Advisory on the Volcano Alert Level, can be seen in yellow northwest of the Kenai Peninsula. (Map courtesy Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Department of the Interior)
Spurr activity ‘declined slightly’

If an eruption were to occur, there would be noticeable indicators that may provide days to weeks of additional warning.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche delivers a borough update to the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Micciche pushes mill rate decrease, presses state to boost education funding

Borough Mayor Peter Micciche delivered an update to the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
SPITwSPOTS employees speak to an attendee of the Kenai Peninsula Job and Career Fair in Kenai on Wednesday.
Job fair gathers together employers, job seekers

“That face-to-face has kind of been missing for a lot of people.”

A poster in the Native and Rural Student Center at the University of Alaska Southeast reads “Alaska is diverse, and so are our educators.” (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
University of Alaska holds virtual town hall to address fear and stress in changing federal landscape

Students, faculty and staff ask about protecting international students, Alaska Native programs.

Most Read