Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

Kodiak NWR – Established 1941

54,000 acres

On Afognak

And Ban Islands

Added with ANILCA

1.7 million acres on Kodiak, Afognak, and Ban Islands in the Kodiak Archipelago

Features

• Irregular coastline

• Mountainous

• Spruce forest in north

• Tundra in south

• Within 15 miles of coast

• Many streams

• 11 large lakes

Brown Bears

Approximately 3000 bears on Kodiak

Kodiak Refuge was specifically established in 1941 “… for the purpose of protecting the natural

feeding and breeding ranges of the brown bear

and other wildlife ….

Other Mammals

Randall Davis, Texax A&M

Bill Pyle, USFWS

Jen Leasure

Birds

Hank Pennington

400 Nesting pairs2 Million seabirds

150 Thousand wintering ducks and geese

Subsistence Management Support

Subsistence Council meetingJanine Saito, USFWS

Paul Banyas / USFWS

Other Photos: Bill Pyle / USFWS

Visitor Services Program

Connecting People with Nature

FUNYCC

Salmon Camps

Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center

Crossroads of Conservation & Education

Public Use

Bear Viewing

Volunteers: Keys to Success

143 volunteers

More than 17,000 volunteer hours

16 seasonal volunteers alone contributed 500+ hours each

Every program at Kodiak benefits from volunteers

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

Salmon Drive the System

Total run of sockeye salmon to the Karluk basin from 1922 to 2013

Sockeye Salmon historical early run

Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association (KRAA) Nutrient Enrichment Proposal for Karluk Lake

• Liquid phosphorus and nitrogen• Increase phytoplankton → zooplankton → smolt → • Ultimate goal → increased sockeye salmon production

Project Area

Alternatives

• No Action Continue current management strategy for Karluk Lake,

• Proposed Action : Lake Nutrient Enrichment

• Sockeye salmon fry stocking - Conduct back stocking program using adult sockeye salmon from Karluk Lake

• Combined lake nutrient enrichment and sockeye salmon fry stocking

Kodiak’s ANILCA Purposes

• to conserve fish and wildlife populations (and) habitats in their natural diversity including – brown bears, salmonids, sea otters, sea lions, marine mammals & migratory birds

• to fulfill the international treaty obligations;

• to provide the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents; and

• to ensure water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge.

Kodiak Refuge Goals• Conserve the abundance of natural

salmonid populations for continued human and wildlife use

• Ensure that Kodiak brown bears continue to flourish throughout the Refuge and congregate at traditional concentration areas.

• Provide opportunity for local residents to continue their subsistence uses on the Refuge

• Maintain the water quality and quantity necessary to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity

• Release EA December 1

• 60 days public comment

• Open House Kodiak – Jan 12

• Comments due End of Jan

Public Involvement – EA Tentative Schedule

Thank You