Kuletz and others 



Chapter 15 



Inland Habitat Suitability in Southcentral Alaska 



western Prince 

 William Sound 



Kenai Fjords 

 National Park 



Kilometers 

 o 20 40 



STUDY AREA 



Figure 1 The four study areas of southcentral Alaska surveyed for inland murrelet activity between 1 991 and 1 993: Naked Island, western Prince 

 William Sound (PWS), Kenai Fjords National Park (KFNP), and Afognak Island (in two parcels). 



Sound is approximately 100,000 birds (Klosiewski and Laing 

 1994). Within 5 km of the Naked Island group (Naked, 

 Peak, and Storey islands), there are an estimated 3,000 

 Marbled Murrelets (Kuletz and others 1994a). At-sea surveys 

 of Kenai Fjords National Park have been restricted to shoreline 

 surveys (within 200 m of shore) and complete counts in 

 some bays. In 1989 the estimates ranged from 2,000 

 Brachyramphus murrelets in June to 6,500 in August (Tetreau, 

 pers. comm.). At-sea surveys off Afognak Island in summer 

 1992 produced estimates of 2200 murrelets off the northern 

 section, and 2000 murrelets off the southwest section (Fadely 

 and others 1993). Brachyramphus murrelet population 

 estimates include a small percentage of Kittlitz's Murrelets 

 in Prince William Sound (approximately 7 percent; Laing, 

 pers. comm.) and Kenai Fjords National Park (between 7- 

 12 percent; Tetreau, pers. comm.). 



General Habitat 



Prince William Sound, the northernmost portion of the 

 study area, is characterized by protected waters, numerous 

 islands and bays, and deep-water fjords, including some 

 with tidewater glaciers. Forested areas of mixed hemlock- 

 spruce forests (Tsuga mertensiana, T. heterophylla, and Picea 

 sitchensis) are interspersed with muskeg meadows, alpine 

 vegetation, and exposed rocks. Tree line ranges from 30 to 

 600 m (see Isleib and Kessel 1973). Naked Island is in the 

 center of Prince William Sound, and vegetation is a mix of 

 forest and muskeg meadow, but lacks other habitat types 

 (Kuletz and others, in press). 



The Kenai Fjords National Park, on the southern Kenai 

 Peninsula, is characterized by steep, rugged coastline and 

 numerous islands on the outer coast. There are protected 

 waters and tidewater glaciers at the heads of fjords, and 



142 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



