PLANNING FOR ALASKA'S BIG GAME 



Olaus J. Murie 

 President, The Wilderness Society 



Nowhere on the continent do we have a greater variety of 

 big game species than in Alaska. Consider the list of them: 

 Moose, caribou, black-tailed deer, mountain sheep, mountain 

 goats, black bear, brown bears and grizzlies in great variety, 

 polar bears, and walrus— to mention only those large mammals 

 that have been hunted for sport. Add to these the interesting 

 non-game species and you have an assemblage of wildlife that 

 is an asset in any country. Certainly such an asset deserves the 

 most thorough study and planning for its perpetuation. 



I should like to give prior attention to moose, caribou, and 

 mountain sheep. These three present the diversity of character 

 and variety of habitat that pretty well typify the big game con- 

 servation problem for Alaska. 



Thirty years ago some of us who were then in Alaska could 

 on occasion drive our dog teams within rifle shot of large bands 

 of mountain sheep. On upper Chena River we could view an 

 impressive caribou migration. As I recall it, each person was 

 entitled to five caribou, three mountain sheep, and one or two 

 moose each year, and without a license. If you were travelling 

 in the back country you could take as many as you liked. You 

 could find mountain sheep, caribou or moose on the menu in 

 restaurants. 



Today the big game picture is far different. What has hap- 

 pened? 



We know some of the factors, but others are still obscure. 

 We know that Alaska has had a tremendous growth in popula- 

 tion. A road now crosses the route of the principal caribou 

 migration, providing easy access to the biggest game herd. With 

 road building and the prevalence of air travel there are no 

 longer remote areas in the old sense. These changed conditions, 



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