deserts on much of the northwest end of the island apparently result 
from the absence of surface water, due to the excellent drainage af- 
forded by the decomposing bedrock. The entire northwest end appar- 
ently receives only limited summer use by a small number of large 
bulls. 
Vegetation on the heavily utilized wintering areas adjacent to 
Big Lake and Cape Upright readily shows the effect of reindeer use. 
Lichen growth has been seriously depleted through the combination 
of winter grazing, trampling and shattering and actual removal of 
the dry, shattered pieces of lichen by the persistently strong winds. 
With wind velocities often averaging in excess of 20 knots during 
winter months, the potential for plant desiccation and erosion is 
great (See Weather Summary, Appendix Table 1). Lichen growth, which 
formerly occupied the slight depressions between the raised hummocks 
of prostrate willows, has been almost completely removed. Lichen 
growth on these over-grazed areas apparently was quite similar in 
the past to ungrazed areas at the northwest end of the island and on 
reindeer-free Hall Island where the lichen mat is 3 to 4 inches deep 
(Figs. 18 and 25). Now the lichen mat on the winter range seldom 
exceeds an inch in depth and is composed of badly shattered lichens 
unattached to the ground. Unfortunately, the preferred lichen 
species, such as Cladonia alpestris, are the most vulnerable to 
shattering through trampling, while the more resilient forms which 
resist shattering, such as Thamnolia vermicularis, are less palatable 
to reindeer and make up a smaller percentage of the original stands. 
The willows on the winter range have fared somewhat better than 
the lichens and in fact, have increased their area of ground cover- 
age as competition with the lichens decreased. In similar lichen- 
willow-sedge stands at the northwest end of the island, which have 
not been utilized by reindeer, the willows and sedges have been sup- 
pressed by the engulfing growth of lichens. While the removal of 
lichens on the winter range has stimulated growth of willows and 
sedges, more recently reindeer have been forced *o rely heavily on 
the willows with the result that evidence of this heavy use is also 
apparent on these prostrate shrubs. Exposed stems and some "die 
back"' occur on willows throughout the dry flats and low ridge tops 
at the south end of the island as a result of reindeer browsing, 
pawing and trampling. Widely scattered willows growing in the 
Empetrum nigrum flats, between Big Lake and, the sea, have suffered 
the greatest damage from pawing. 
Sedges on the winter range have apparently increased as a result 
of the reindeer activity on the lichens much the same as the willows 
have. However, while the willows have increased their ground cover- 
age wholly through expanded growth of existing plants, the sedges 
appear to have extended their coverage through both rhizome sprout- 
ing and reseeding. Also, the sedges which are mostly Carex nesophila, 
have not been important constituents of the reindeer's winter diet 
while lichens were abundant, although they are utilized extensively 
28 
