Alaska. Department of Fish and Game
Published: 2014
Total Pages: 14
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Sufficient population information on caribou is needed to evaluate effects of the proposed Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project on important seasonal ranges, such as calving areas, rutting areas, wintering areas, and migration/movement corridors. The Nelchina caribou herd and Delta caribou herd will be studied in an area that includes most of Game Management Unit 13E east of and including Broad Pass, and will include also drainages empting into the upper Susitna River and the northwestern portion of Game Management Unit 13A, and areas on the south slope of the Alaska Range outside the Susitna basin. The study supplements ongoing ADF&G caribou research in the study area and surrounding region by increasing the sample size of radiocollared caribou from both the Nelchina caribou herd and the Delta caribou herd. Telemetry and GPS locations from these radiocollared caribou are being used to document the seasonal use of and movement through the Project area by both females and males of both herds, to document the extend of herd mixing between the two herds, to document productivity and survival of caribou using the Project area, and to compare current movements and distributions in the Project area to historical data. This draft document details Alaska Energy Authority's status in implementing the study as set forth in the FERC-approved Revised study plan.