Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
June 2014
Trapping Ptarmigan and Tracking Their Travels
With its bright red eye combs and snow white plumage, the rock ptarmigan was striking. But this ptarmigan was decked out with even fancier attire, a necklace that sported a small VHF radio.
The bird was one of 22 ptarmigan wildlife biologist Rick Merizon equipped with the small transmitters in May of 2014. Merizon coordinates the statewide small game program and is in the middle of a three-year study of rock ptarmigan along the eastern Denali Highway in game management unit (GMU) 13B. Merizon ... Trapping Ptarmigan Article Continued
The Economic Importance of Alaska’s Wildlife
Wildlife Generates Billions for Alaska
While it’s not surprising that wildlife is important economically, the scale is amazing. The non-monetary value is also profound – most Alaskans cite wildlife as a significantly important reason for living here.
The details came out earlier this year in study launched by the Division of Wildlife Conservation. About two years of work went into the project, and a summary of the report, The Economic Importance of Alaska’s Wildlife in 2011, indicates that spending ... Wildlife Value Article Continued
How to Fish for Arctic Grayling
People travel from all corners of the earth for a chance to catch an Arctic grayling, Alaska’s premier freshwater fish. It is a bit ironic that the Arctic grayling is such a draw for worldly, seasoned anglers, because Arctic grayling are also the perfect fish for beginners. They seem ready to rise for any fly and chase most any lure. Still, even the cooperative Arctic grayling can be difficult to catch if you have never fished before, or your preferred style of fishing is surf casting ... Grayling Article Continued
Alaska’s Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool
Through an initiative of the Western Governors’ Wildlife Council (WGWC), the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) is creating a web-based tool that allows the public to view crucial fish and wildlife habitat and corridors. This online GIS-mapping tool is designed to provide a coarse-scale view of important habitat across species to inform the pre-planning phase of energy and infrastructure development, among other land use planning and conservation interests. This interactive ... CHAT Article Continued