By Jim Magowan
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Wolverine trapping season in Game Management Unit 14C opened Nov. 10 and will continue until Jan. 31. The season limit is two per trapper.
And with the start of the trapping season, questions about regulations and trapping techniques are always a point of contention between trappers and non-trappers.
For an animal that is rarely seen, the wolverine became the subject of considerable controversy in 2007 when the Alaska Board of Game opened wolverine trapping in Chugach State Park. At its March 2009 meeting, the board again prohibited wolverine trapping in Chugach State Park, a move supported by several conservation organizations.
The wolverine debate focuses primarily on two issues: the impact of trapping on a small population and the impact of trapping on other park uses.
“Alaska Center for the Environment supports the move toward more ecology based wildlife management,” said Toby Smith of the Alaska Center for the Environment. “The decision to stop wolverine trapping (in the park) made sense from a scientific perspective, particularly in view of its proximity to Anchorage and high human use of the area,”
In 2008, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game conducted what biologists Earl Becker and Todd Rinaldi described as, “The most accurate wolverine survey ever done in Alaska.”
“Four biologists flew for three days and covered a survey area of 3,600 square kilometers,” said Rinaldi.
The survey found that there are 18 wolverines in Unit 14C.
This is an average of about one wolverine per 100 square miles, in the 1,900 square miles of Unit 14C and is about the same number that was found in a far less precise survey in 1995.
ADF&G data indicate trapping has taken as much as 23 percent of the 14C population in the past two years.
“The population in Chugach State Park cannot support trapping at this time,” said Smith.
ADF&G biologists estimate the wolverine population can sustain a take of 7 or 8 percent and could decline if the current harvest level continues. A decline in the population has not been documented.
According to published reports, ADF&G felt that allowing trapping in the park would probably add to what is already an over harvest of wolverines.
In addition, dogs have been caught in traps in the park and this is another reason cited in opposition to trapping in the park. Hikers have expressed concern about dogs being caught in traps in the park on the Anchorage Adventurers web site.
Trappers on the other hand, feel that trapping is their livelihood—a right that should not be taken away so others can enjoy a walk with their dogs. One online letter writer said pet owners should leash and control their pets so they don't get into traps.
Chugach State Park is 495,204 acres, and Game Management Unit 14C encompasses more than the park. It includes the northern side of Turnagain Arm all the way to Portage. Human recreational use of this area is some of the most intense and diverse in the state.
But the roads and trails that provide to the backcountry also provide access to trappers.
One trapper in an online letter felt that dog owners should not permit dogs to run off leashes in the park.
In trying to reach a reasonable compromise, the Game Board reinstated the ban on wolverine trapping in the park, but did not ban other kinds of trapping such as for lynx. The Board imposed a seven inch jaw spread limit on killer style traps because dogs are most likely to be caught in larger traps.
The board also prohibited trapping within 50 yards of a trail and a quarter-mile of a trail head or dwelling. The board rejected requests to ban trapping within 100 yards of a trail and a quarter-of-a-mile of the Seward Highway.
“This kind of multiple use often generates conflict,” said Rinaldi.
