REINDEER GRAZING INVESTIGATIONS IN ALASKA 6 
underground ice. In areas adjoining the Arctic coast solid ice is 
reached within 3 or 4 feet of the surface and extends downward to 
great depths. In the spring of 1925 the carcasses thus stored were 
removed in excellent condition for shipping. 
During the period 1918-1925 more than 1,875,000 pounds of rein- 
deer was shipped from Alaska, the total for 1923 being nearly 
200,000 pounds, for 1924 about 375,000 pounds, and for 1925 approxi- 
mately 680,000 pounds. With continued development, there promises 
to be a steady increase in the output. Steers for butchering sell 
(1925) at $10*10 $12 a head. Breeding stock is valued at $18 to $30 
a head. The average cost of production for each animal is about $1 
a year. At Nome and St. Michael reindeer meat retails at 15 to 20 
cents a pound. 
Scientific investigation of reindeer grazing by the Biological 
Survey were first begun in 1920, when a reindeer experiment station 
was established by the bureau at Unalakleet; this was subsequently 
(1922) moved to Nome, and in 1925 was transferred to its present 
location at Fairbanks. During the progress of the investigations 
the conditions, both as to class of livestock and their environment, 
have constantly developed new problems. One of the more funda- 
mental of these has to do with the relation of lichens to grazing. 
Improved methods in the control and management of the herds and 
the range are essential 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 particularly the forage and range management phases. 
The first report x 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 
1 Hadweri, Seymour, and Lawrence J. Palmer, reindeer in Alaska. U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bui. 1089, 74 pp., illus. September, 1922. 
