REINDEER IN ALASKA. 29 
he handle his reindeer under a close-herding practice ; but in Alaska, 
to secure the best results under a fixed allotment system, the opposite, 
or open herding, must generally be practiced. 
CARRYING CAPACITY. 
In any successful range management a consideration of grazing 
or carrying capacity is a matter of primary importance. By this 
is meant the number of stock which a range will support for a definite 
period of grazing without injury to the range. To attain the great- 
est carrying capacity, both overgrazing and unnecessary undergrazing 
must be avoided. 
Carrying capacity estimates. — From the surveys thus far made, 
it appears that the range requirement for each reindeer is about 30 
acres. This closely approximates the acreage required by cattle on 
national-forest areas in the Western States, where it runs on an 
average about 2 to 2^ acres per cow per month, 9 or roughly, between 
20 and 30 acres a year. Some Norwegian figures give 25 to 28 acres 
a year in reindeer grazing. Specific observations thus far made on 
carrying capacity on two reindeer allotments in the vicinity of 
Unalakleet indicate 30 acres a year as a maximum requirement for 
mature animals exclusive of fawns. By including the fawns, on a 
basis of two fawns to one mature animal, the requirement becomes 
26 acres a year. It will be borne in mind, however, that observa- 
tions at Unalakleet were of necessity very general and involved 
largely range of the wet tundra type ; more detailed work is planned 
to cover all important conditions. 
The maximum range-carrying capacity is not realized and the 
acreage requirement is naturally higher under poor management. 
Present conditions of poor distribution of reindeer, close herding, and 
mishandling require large ranges. With an approach to the ideal 
in management, and a decrease in the present acreage requirement, a 
higher carrying capacity for each range unit should be developed. 
In determining carrying capacity, the matter of class of production 
must also be taken into consideration. As reindeer are now grown 
entirely on the range, without feeding, it is obvious that for the 
production of fat stock for marketing purposes a larger acreage per 
animal is required than for ordinary range stock. 
GRAZING UNITS. 
To control the number and distribution of reindeer on a given area 
is a fundamental requirement for effective range management. This 
may be attained by regulating the use of the range by a system of 
permits for definite grazing units, or allotments. 
9 Jardine, James T., and Mark Anderson, Range management on the national forests : 
Bull. No, 790, U, S. Dept. Agr., pp. 28-29, 1919, 
