FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES 3 



The full value of the wildlife resource to the 

 residents of Alaska is greater than is immedi- 

 ately apparent. Wildlife plays an important part 

 in the economy of Alaska as judged by the 

 criteria of money, recreational use, time, employ- 

 ment, and social welfare. The value of fish 

 shipped from Alaska since its acquisition has re- 

 paid its original purchase price of $7,200,000 

 more than 300-fold; the value of furs, 30 times 

 over. During 1957, some 59,510 persons spent 

 $17,018,500 to purchase hunting and fishing 

 licenses; they spent 981,800 man-days enjoying 

 their sport. In 1958, tourists spent $18,165,000 

 in Alaska. If one-fourth of that amount was at- 

 tracted by wildlife, $4.5 million was expended 

 for the enjoyment of the wildlife. 



The four basic industries, numbers of per- 

 sons employed, and the raw value of products 

 in dollars for fiscal year 1957 were: 



Industry 



Persons 

 employed 



Raw 

 value 



Fish and Wildlife 60,000 



Agriculture 750 



Forestry 500 



Mining 1,991 



$ 90,115,739 

 4,231,134 

 6,914,000 

 23,408,000 



$124,668,873 



FISHING RESOURCE 



Of the 60,000 persons employed in some 

 business related to fish and wildlife, nearly 

 24,000, or 40 percent, were engaged in com- 

 mercial fishing. Salmon is the primary commer- 

 cial species. The entire packing industry depends 

 upon a successful spawn and healthy, thriving 

 young fish that return to the sea to complete 

 their life cycle. 



Fire-damaged watersheds deteriorate 

 through the action of the natural elements. Soil 

 becomes unstable, and overland flow following 

 heavy precipitation washes it into streams; the 

 combined effect of oxygen reduction and destruc- 

 tion of streambed algae and other necessary 

 minute food sources by scouring can render fish 

 habitat untenable. 



Any destroyed streambed ruins not only the 

 current year's salmon spawn, but also eliminates 

 proper grounds for spawning during the next 

 several years. Rebuilding a depleted salmon 

 population takes many years, even after a 

 stream is again conditioned for proper spawn- 

 ing. Any decline in fish population reduces 

 the catch for the cannery and the income to both 

 the industry and the State. 



Figure 3. - 

 watersheds. 



USFS 



Salmon thrive best in waters from stable 



3 Most of the statistical information for this section was 

 obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Buckley 

 1957). 



WILDLIFE RESOURCE 



The annual recreational value of Alaska's 

 wildlife runs into substantial figures. Expendi- 

 tures by residents of Alaska amount to 59 per- 

 cent of the $21 million spent, including an esti- 

 mate of $4.5 million worth of esthetic value. 



Some of the most important nesting grounds 

 for wild ducks and geese are in Interior Alaska, 

 especially along the lower Yukon River. Since 

 these nesting grounds support vast numbers of 

 migratory fowl that use the Pacific and mountain 



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