HKIXDKKK (iUAZINC IN VKSTKiATIONS IN ALASKA 



3 



uncler<2:roun(l ice. In aroas a(lj()iniii<r tlu' Airtic coast solid ico is 

 rcacluHl within >i ov 4 foot of the surface and extends downward to 

 <:-reat depths. In tlie spi-in-r of l!»2r) the carcasses thus stored were 

 removed in excellent condition for shippinjx. 



I)urin<r the j)eriod l!)lS-l!)2r) more than 1,875,000 ]:)Ounds of rein- 

 deer was shipped from Alaska, the total for 19'2;5 being nearly 

 200.000 pounds, for 1924 about J^T^.OOO ])()unds, and for 1925 approxi- 

 mately (iSO.OOO pounds. "With continu(>d development, thei'e promises 

 to be" a steadv incivase in the output. Steers for butcherin<r sell 

 (192.-)) at $10"to $12 a head. Breedin<i- stock is valued at $18 to $:50 

 a hea(l. The avera<re cost of pi'oduction for each animal is about $1 

 a yeai-. At Nome and St. Michael reindeer meat retails at 15 to 20 

 cents a pound. 



Scientific investi^ration of reindeer prazinp; by the Biolo<rical 

 Survey weie first be<iiin in 1920, when a reindeer experiment station 

 was established by the buieau at I'nalakleet: this was subsequently 

 (1922) moved to Xome, and in 1925 was transferred to its present 

 location at Fairbanks. Dui-in<r the pro<rress of the investi<>:ations 

 the conditions, both as to class of livestock and their environment, 

 have constantly developed new prol)l('ms. One of the more funda- 

 mental of these has to do with the relation of lichens to grazing. 

 Impi'oved methods in the control and management of the herds and 

 the range are es.sential to the development of a well-grounded in- 

 dustry. The present publication constitutes a second report on the 

 reindeer investigations being conducted by the Biological Survey 

 and treats i)articidai'ly the forage and range management phases. 

 The first repoi-t ' dealt also with the biology of the reindeer and the 

 diseases and parasites of the animals. 



Plans for future work contemplate studies chiefly along the fol- 

 lowing lines: (1) The development of interior ranges; (2) con- 

 ditions governing forage and range management; (3) the various 

 relations of lichens to grazing; (4) relative carrying capacity of 

 lichen and nonlichen ranges; (5) methods of feeding and their 

 effects: and (6) breed improvement of reindeer and the control of 

 the diseases and parasites to which the animals are subject. In view 

 of the fact that conditions in Alaska are so different from those in 

 the States as regards the kind of animal under consideration, the 

 nature of the forage, and the climate, it is particularly important 

 that thorough studies be made. 



HERD OWNERS 



In addition to the Lapps, who were brought to Alaska to care for 

 the original stock of reindeer and to teach the Eskimos reindeer herd- 

 ing, and who in some cases have since acquired large herds of their 

 own, there are three general classes of reindeer owners in the Terri- 

 tory: (1) Eskimos, (2) white men married to native women, and 

 (3) other white men. The Lapp is by heritage and training a 

 reindeer herder, but is conservative and not inclined to discontinue 

 methods to which he has become accustomed. The white man mar- 

 ried to an Eskimo woman differs from others of his kind, so far as 



' Iladwen, Spymoiir. and Lawrence .T. rainier, reindeer in AL.iSKA. V. S. Dept. Agr. 

 BuL 1089, 74. pp., illus. September, 1922. 



