Motorized Access and Moose Harvest in Alaska: 25 years in game management unit 20B

Abstract

Moose hunting is a popular activity in Alaska enjoyed by a wide variety of people. Hunting provides personal satisfaction and cultural identity, as well as food for both urban and rural residents. As the human population grows, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) technology improves, and development encroaches into currently less accessible areas of Alaska, hunting pressure on moose populations will likely increase. Our current understanding of how increased ATV access may affect harvest is limited. Understanding the relationship between hunter access and harvest is crucial as potential road development to access natural resources around Alaska will increase areas available for ATV access. The area near Fairbanks has seen substantial growth since 1990 both in number of people (77,720 in 1990 and 97,581 in 2010) and in construction of access routes. This research project will examine how much increase in motorized vehicle access over 25 years influenced moose harvest while controlling for other factors such as moose density, topography, and vegetation. The goal is to determine how road and ATV trail access may have influenced moose hunting in Game Management Unit (GMU) 20B, north of the Tanana River near Fairbanks, and to develop a model which could be applied to other areas of Alaska.