Planning for Alaska's Big Game—Murie 259 



reflecting historical events that we have already experienced in 

 the more settled parts of our country, point to an inevitable 

 trend that should give us clues to intelligent planning for the 

 future. 



In recent years a striking up-swing in the wolf population 

 has been a dramatic factor in the wildlife situation, and this 

 deserves our attention. During the period of extreme public 

 interest in the wolf the only intensive work done on the game 

 in a selected locality took place in Mt. McKinley National Park, 

 jointly by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National 

 Park Service. This was followed by further research and check- 

 up by the National Park Service over a period of years. 



I shall not attempt to present the large mass of data as- 

 sembled, but it is of interest to note some significant findings 

 on mountain sheep. 



Results of the studies were published by the National Park 

 Service as a bulletin, "The Wolves of Mt. McKinley" by Adolph 

 Murie, and we learn that the winters of 1928-29 and 1931-32 

 were disastrous for mountain sheep in the park and they died 

 in large numbers. Unfortunately, we did not have comparable 

 research from other parts of Alaska for those years. At the same 

 time the wolf population was increasing in a striking manner, 

 and these animals took toll of the remaining sheep. The result 

 was a drastic reduction of the once numerous mountain sheep 

 population of interior Alaska. In his report Adolph Murie 

 commented: ". . . . it seems apparent that the wolf is the 

 chief check on the increase of the Dall sheep in Mt. McKinley 

 National Park." 



He had recommended a limited control of the wolf and a 

 continued check-up on the mountain sheep population, but 

 about this time the wolves themselves became scarcer in that 

 area and even the small number recommended for removal 

 were not obtained. Furthermore, the mountain sheep popula- 

 tion showed signs of being on the upswing again. 



Prior to the time of the heavier wolf predation the large 

 sheep population could not be accommodated by the forage 

 present on the more rugged, protected terrain. As a result, 



