262 Alaskan Science Conference 



management in North America and we have discovered certain 

 dependable principles. I should like to mention a few of these, 

 two of which I want to stress particularly: 1. The need for pre- 

 serving the habitat, and 2, the need for planning. They are, of 

 course, closely related. 



1. Animals require a habitat to which they have become 

 adapted, with the proper food and shelter and other require- 

 ments. Mountain sheep and goats have the advantage of occu- 

 pying a type of mountainous terrain that is not likely to be 

 sought for the usual economic purposes, and the preservation 

 of such habitat should be compatible with human use. The 

 deer of the southern coast are not highly specialized in habitat 

 choice and should survive in the large forested areas available 

 to them, since their presence there is compatible with other 

 land uses in that region. To some extent this applies also to 

 moose. But the caribou are a problem. Apparently their food 

 supply, particularly lichen, is critical. There is evidence that 

 to thrive the herds must have plenty of room in which to travel 

 about and be dispersed, in order to preserve their range. I 

 might point out that this principle of moving the animals and 

 keeping them dispersed is the principle that national forest 

 supervisors in the States attempt to put into effect in herding 

 domestic sheep. 



2. To accomplish habitat preservation, particularly for cari- 

 bou, broad scale land-use planning for Alaska is desirable. Social 

 and economic needs are both to be considered, such as agri- 

 culture, mining, hunting, tourist travel, and the wilderness type 

 of recreation which is having so much attention today, all the 

 interests that contribute to public welfare in the most compre- 

 hensive sense. 



We have had discouraging experience in many parts of the 

 States. We have in many instances discovered a herd of animals 

 on our hands with no place to put them. Animals need a place 

 to be, with the proper food. Yellowstone Park, for example, 

 was established in 1872, dedicated in part to preserve the animal 

 life. But the lowland winter ranges outside have gradually 

 gone into agricultural use and we now have to reduce the 



