Section 5 AAC 92.118 - Intensive Management Plans IV(a)Plans established. Intensive management plans for the following areas are established in this section: (1) Unit 15(A) Predation Control Area;(2) Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area.(b)Unit 15(A) Predation Control Area. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, and based on the following information contained in this subsection, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may conduct a wolf population reduction or wolf population regulation program in Unit 15(A): (1) the Unit 15(A) Predation Control Area is established and consists of all lands within Unit 15(A) (1,314 square miles); non-federal lands identified for intensive management are approximately 83 square miles;(2) the intensive management population and harvest objectives for moose in Unit 15(A) are 3,000 - 3,500 and 180 - 350 moose, respectively; the sustained yield of moose is currently below objectives; the goal is to reduce calf and adult mortality for reallocation of moose from wolves to harvest; a November 2011 survey estimated 60 - 62 wolves in Unit 15(A); wolf control objectives are to remove wolves from the population through trapping, hunting, and wolf control activities and retain at least 15 wolves in Unit 15(A); wolf surveys will be conducted as necessary to ensure that the population contains at least 15 wolves;(3) the discussion of wildlife populations and human use information is as follows:(A) the moose population and harvest information in Unit 15(A) is as follows: (i) the moose population size in 2008 was estimated at 2,088 moose (95 percent confidence interval=264); the moose population is below intensive management objectives;(ii) the average yearly harvest during the past decade (2001 - 2010) has been 140 moose; this is a lower harvest compared to the previous decade (1991 - 2000) where the average yearly harvest was 194 moose; the entire area is a nonsubsistence use area so there is no amount reasonably necessary for subsistence uses established under 5 AAC 99.025 (8) for Unit 15(A);(B) declining habitat quality is the main limiting factor affecting low moose densities in Unit 15(A); there has not been a fire of significant size in the unit for over 40 years; studies from 1987 - 1992 showed 96 percent of cows aged 2 - 15 were pregnant whereas 73 percent of cows in the same age group were pregnant in 2006; twinning rates calculated in 1983 in an area that burned in 1969 showed a 72 percent twinning rate whereas twinning rates calculated in the unit for 2011 were at 16 percent; the moose population appeared to be at or above carrying capacity in the early 1990s and declined at a rate of nine percent per year during the 1990s; research on calf mortality in the late 1970s in the unit showed 48 percent of calves dying from predation, six percent was caused by wolves, six percent was caused by brown bears, 34 percent was caused by black bears, and two percent by undetermined predation from wolves or bears before July 15th; while habitat is limiting, wolf predation has been shown to limit calf and adult moose survival in the unit; predation rates by these three primary predators may have changed due to changes in prey availability; however, all three predator species are still relatively abundant in the unit; over the last decade highway vehicle collisions (41 percent cows, 51 percent calves, average 85 per year) represented approximately 38 percent of human caused mortality of moose in the unit;(C) with limited habitat this action is not intended to make significant progress toward the intensive management population objective, rather reducing predation will allow for possible reallocation of moose from predators to harvest; the program will initially focus on wolves due to potential effectiveness of aerial wolf control; additional black bear take will be considered if additional improvements in calf survival and recruitment are needed to meet harvest objectives;(D) the wolf harvest over the past decade in Unit 15(A) has ranged between 4 - 16 wolves taken each year with a mean of 11 wolves; the pre-winter wolf population was estimated at 60 - 62 wolves in November 2011; the harvest has been inadequate to reduce wolf numbers considering yearly growth; assuming a pre-winter population of 60 - 62 wolves, the wolf harvest would likely need to be 45 - 47 wolves from all methods including trapping, hunting, and wolf control, to reduce the wolf population and result in a reduction in predation rates on moose; the hunting season and bag limit for wolves has remained unchanged since 1989 but the bag limit on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, which was limited to two wolves per year on the refuge, was liberalized to five wolves per year in 2011; the trapping season and bag limits have been the same since 1997; additional active management methods are necessary to reduce the wolf population;(E) approximately 79 percent of Unit 15(A) is federal land, 18 percent is private land, and three percent is state and borough land; wolf control will be initiated pending authorization by land managers and owners;(4) The board requests that the commissioner work cooperatively with the Department of Natural Resources and area landowners, and especially the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to achieve habitat improvement through burning, timber harvest, and other recognized and prudent active management techniques;(5) the authorized methods and means used to take wolves include hunting and trapping of wolves by the public in Unit 15(A) during the term of the management program as provided in the hunting and trapping regulations; the commissioner may use department employed or contracted wolf trappers, operating during the established wolf trapping season and using legal trapping techniques, issue public aerial shooting permits, public land and shoot permits, allow agents of the state, or department employees to conduct aerial, land and shoot, or ground-based shooting as a method of wolf removal under AS 16.05.783, including the use of any type of aircraft; prey harvest may include bull-only harvests with variable combinations of antler restrictions, any-bull hunts, and antlerless harvest; factors described in (3) of this subsection and other considerations unique to the situation indicate that aerial shooting of wolves by department employees is the desired option to reduce predation in the management area described in (1) of this subsection to a level sufficient to improve survival of moose and the potential for population growth;(6) the anticipated time frame, schedule for update and reevaluation and conditions for termination of the plan are as follows:(A) this plan is in effect for approximately five years from March 24, 2012 through June 30, 2017 unless renewed;(B) annually the department shall, to the extent practicable, provide to the board a report of program activities conducted during the preceding 12 months, including implementation activities, the status of the moose and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan;(C) predator control activities shall be terminated;(i) when the upper levels of intensive management objectives for the moose population size and harvest are exceeded; or(ii) upon expiration of the period during which the commissioner is authorized to reduce predator numbers in the predator control plan area;(7) the program will be suspended if one of the following conditions are met: (A) if there is no detectable increase in calf-to-cow ratios after three years of predation control, indicating that there is no significant improvement in calf survival;(B) if, after three years, any measure consistent with significant levels of nutritional stress are identified;(C) annually, if the wolf population falls below 15 wolves at any time estimated from one or more of the following techniques: (v) pilot and trapper interviews;(D) the commissioner shall annually close wolf hunting and trapping seasons as appropriate to ensure that the minimum wolf population objectives are met.(c)Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area. The Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area is established and consists of all lands within Unit 15(C) north of Kachemak Bay including the Fox River Flats (1,171 square miles); state and private lands are approximately 856 square miles; (1) this is a continuing habitat enhancement and predator control program that was first established by the Board of Game (board) in 2012 for wolf control; it is designed to increase moose population and harvest by improving moose habitat and reducing predation on moose by wolves and is expected to maintain the intensive management (IM) objectives in Unit 15(C);(2) moose and wolf objectives are as follows: (A) moose IM population objectives for Unit 15(C) as established in 5 AAC 92.108 are 2,500 - 3,500 moose. This objective is within the range of historic population estimates; the bull-to-cow objective is 20 - 25:100 for Unit 15(C);(B) the moose harvest objectives for Unit 15(C) is 200 - 350 moose; which is eight percent of the low population objective and 10 percent of the high population objective;(C) the department has determined that wolves can be removed from public and private lands within the control area to the extent possible without affecting the sustainability of the wolf population in Unit 15(C) because the control area is approximately 33 percent of Unit 15(C) and does not include all lands that the wolf population occupies;(3) findings concerning populations and human use are as follows: (A) moose harvests were below IM harvest objectives in Unit 15(C) from 2011 to 2015;(B) wolf predation is likely an important cause of the failure to achieve these objectives;(C) a reduction in wolf predation in Unit 15(C) may make progress toward achieving the Unit 15(C) IM harvest objectives for moose;(D) reducing wolf predation has been effective utilizing recognized and prudent active management techniques and based on scientific information;(E) reducing wolf numbers is likely to be effective given land ownership patterns if conducted by department personnel;(F) reducing wolf predation is in the best interests of consumptive users;(4) authorized methods and means are as follows:(A) hunting and trapping of wolves by the public in the Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area during the term of the program will occur as provided in the hunting and trapping regulations set out elsewhere in this title, including the use of motorized vehicles;(B) notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, the commissioner may issue public aerial shooting permits or public land and shoot permits as a method for wolf removal under AS 16.05.783;(C) department personnel will be allowed to conduct aerial wolf removal using aircraft under AS 16.05.783.(5) time frame is as follows: (A) through June 30, 2029, the commissioner may authorize the removal of wolves in the Unit 15(C) Predation Control Area;(B) annually the department shall, to the extent practicable, provide to the board a report of program activities conducted during the preceding 12 months, including implementation activities, the status of the moose and wolf populations, and recommendations for changes, if necessary to achieve the objectives of the plan.(6) the commissioner will review, modify, or suspend program activities as follows: (A) when the mid-point of the IM population and harvest objectives for the moose population are achieved;(B) if, after three years, the harvest of wolves is not sufficient to make progress towards the IM population objectives for wolves;(C) wolf predation control activities may be suspended:(i) if, after three years, there is no detectable increase in the total harvest of moose in the control area;(ii) if, after three years, any measure consistent with significant levels of nutritional stress in the moose population is identified, such as twinning rates and short-yearling mass;(iii) when the moose population and harvest objectives within Unit 15(C) have been met; or(iv) if the population exceeds a density of 3.0 moose per square mile;(7) to increase potential moose carrying capacity, the department will plan and execute habitat enhancement projects in areas identified for improvement based on evidence at the landscape or population level through prescribed bums, wildfire, or mechanical means.Eff. 10/1/93, Register 127; am 8/18/95, Register 135; am 7/1/96, Register 138; add'l am 7/1/96, Register 138; am 7/27/97, Register 143; am 2/22/2000, Register 153; am 7/1/2000, Register 154; am 7/19/2000, Register 155; am 1/3/2001, Register 156; am 7/1/2001, Register 158; am 8/22/2001, Register 159; am 7/26/2003, Register 167; am 7/1/2004, Register 170; am 1/1/2005, Register 172; am 7/1/2005, Register 174; am 1/26/2006, Register 177; am 6/24/2006, Register 178; am 9/1/2006, Register 179; am 7/1/2007, Register 182; am 3/21/2008, Register 186; am 5/20/2008, Register 186; am 5/21/2009, Register 190; am 7/1/2009, Register 190; am 5/16/2010, Register 194; am 7/1/2010, Register 194; add'l am 7/1/2010, Register 194; am 12/15/2010, Register 196; am 1/29/2011, Register 197; am 5/14/2011, Register 198; am 7/1/2011, Register 198; am 3/24/2012, Register 201; am 4/1/2012, Register 201; am 7/1/2012, Register 202; am 7/1/2013, Register 206; am 7/1/2017, Register 222; am 7/28/2023, Register 247As of Register 203 (October 2012), and acting under AS 44.62. 125(b)(6), the regulations attorney made technical revisions to 5 AAC 92, replacing former 5 AAC 92.125 with smaller sections to facilitate printing of the regulations in the Alaska Administrative Code. As part of those revisions, material formerly set out in 5 AAC 92.125(p) and (q) was relocated to 5 AAC 92.118 without substantive change. The history note and authority citation for 5 AAC 92.118 carry forward the history of, and authority for, former 5 AAC 92.125.
Authority:AS 16.05.255
AS 16.05.270
AS 16.05.783