264 Alaskan Science Conference 



past years there have been instances when reindeer were placed 

 where they were not wanted and not needed; for example, on 

 Atka Island, where the inhabitants didn't care for them; on 

 Umnak Island, where for years everybody had forgotten about 

 them; and on Alaska Peninsula, where hybridizing is doing 

 away with the native species of Grant's caribou. These are 

 examples of single-track planning without regard for other 

 interests. We must insist on coordination of activities of differ- 

 ent bureaus. 



I would point out that the dedication of extensive areas for 

 conservation of caribou herds could be combined with other 

 compatible uses. Sportsmen, and those who take game pri- 

 marily for home use, of course welcome provisions for main- 

 taining a substantial game supply. Many of these areas could 

 also be considered primitive or wilderness land, useful in the 

 field of science, particularly ecology, for education, and for 

 many types of recreation. Certain non-agricultural portions of 

 Alaska could well be designated for such multiple use, featuring 

 the caribou herds as the special object of concern. 



Certain well meaning people have proposed that elk be 

 brought into interior Alaska. I can think of nothing more 

 dangerous to Alaska's game animals, if the elk should succeed 

 in establishing themselves. Elsewhere we have found elk 

 competing with mountain sheep and moose. Some years ago 

 I had several sacks of reindeer lichens shipped from Alaska to 

 Wyoming to try out on elk. Though this was a strange food to 

 the elk, and it had been dried a long time, they ate it. We know 

 that elk eat other lichens native to their range. We can not 

 afford to add to the caribou problem by introducing another 

 herd animal that would deplete their favorite food. 



Unfortunately, there are also proposals to introduce the coast 

 black-tailed deer into the moose range on Kenai Peninsula. 

 Here again the present forward-looking program aims to keep 

 a famous moose herd in balance with the browse supply. Such 

 worthy effort should not be thwarted by placing there a com- 

 petitor. 



A word should be said about the walrus. From ancient times 



