Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes
"The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wi...
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ftdlc:oai:http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu:10535/8377 2023-05-15T18:03:32+02:00 Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes Brinkman, Todd J. Chapin, Terry Kufinas, Gary Person, David K. North America United States 2009 http://hdl.handle.net/10535/8377 English eng http://hdl.handle.net/10535/8377 Ecology and Society 14 1 June access forests hunters and gatherers local knowledge logging landscape change Forestry Journal Article published Case Study 2009 ftdlc 2021-03-11T16:18:46Z "The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wild game by drawing on local knowledge and ecological science to evaluate the relationship between forest change and opportunities to harvest Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. We used data collected through interviews with local deer hunters and GIS analysis of land cover to determine relationships among landscape change, hunter access, and habitat for deer hunting over the last 50 yr. We then used these relationships to predict how harvest opportunities may change in the future. Intensive logging from 1950 into the 1990s provided better access to deer and habitat that facilitated deer hunting. However, successional changes in intensively logged forests in combination with a decline in current logging activity have reduced access to deer and increased undesirable habitat for deer hunting. In this new landscape, harvest opportunities in previously logged landscapes have declined, and hunters identify second-growth forest as one of the least popular habitats for hunting. Given the current state of the logging industry in Alaska, it is unlikely that the logging of the remaining old-growth forests or intensive management of second-growth forests will cause hunter opportunities to rebound to historic levels. Instead, hunter opportunities may continue to decline for at least another human generation, even if the long-term impacts of logging activity and deer harvest on deer numbers are minimal. Adapting hunting strategies to focus on naturally open habitats such as alpine and muskeg that are less influenced by external market forces may require considerably more hunting effort but provide the best option for sustaining deer hunting as a local tradition over the long run. We speculate that managing deer habitat in accessible areas may be more important than managing the overall health of deer populations on a regional scale. We further suggest that the level of access to preferred hunting habitat may be just as important as deer densities in determining hunter efficiency." Article in Journal/Newspaper Prince of Wales Island Alaska Indiana University: Digital Library of the Commons (DLC) Prince of Wales Island ENVELOPE(-99.001,-99.001,72.668,72.668) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Indiana University: Digital Library of the Commons (DLC) |
op_collection_id |
ftdlc |
language |
English |
topic |
access forests hunters and gatherers local knowledge logging landscape change Forestry |
spellingShingle |
access forests hunters and gatherers local knowledge logging landscape change Forestry Brinkman, Todd J. Chapin, Terry Kufinas, Gary Person, David K. Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
topic_facet |
access forests hunters and gatherers local knowledge logging landscape change Forestry |
description |
"The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wild game by drawing on local knowledge and ecological science to evaluate the relationship between forest change and opportunities to harvest Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. We used data collected through interviews with local deer hunters and GIS analysis of land cover to determine relationships among landscape change, hunter access, and habitat for deer hunting over the last 50 yr. We then used these relationships to predict how harvest opportunities may change in the future. Intensive logging from 1950 into the 1990s provided better access to deer and habitat that facilitated deer hunting. However, successional changes in intensively logged forests in combination with a decline in current logging activity have reduced access to deer and increased undesirable habitat for deer hunting. In this new landscape, harvest opportunities in previously logged landscapes have declined, and hunters identify second-growth forest as one of the least popular habitats for hunting. Given the current state of the logging industry in Alaska, it is unlikely that the logging of the remaining old-growth forests or intensive management of second-growth forests will cause hunter opportunities to rebound to historic levels. Instead, hunter opportunities may continue to decline for at least another human generation, even if the long-term impacts of logging activity and deer harvest on deer numbers are minimal. Adapting hunting strategies to focus on naturally open habitats such as alpine and muskeg that are less influenced by external market forces may require considerably more hunting effort but provide the best option for sustaining deer hunting as a local tradition over the long run. We speculate that managing deer habitat in accessible areas may be more important than managing the overall health of deer populations on a regional scale. We further suggest that the level of access to preferred hunting habitat may be just as important as deer densities in determining hunter efficiency." |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brinkman, Todd J. Chapin, Terry Kufinas, Gary Person, David K. |
author_facet |
Brinkman, Todd J. Chapin, Terry Kufinas, Gary Person, David K. |
author_sort |
Brinkman, Todd J. |
title |
Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
title_short |
Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
title_full |
Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
title_fullStr |
Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
title_sort |
linking hunter knowledge with forest change to understand changing deer harvest opportunities in intensively logged landscapes |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10535/8377 |
op_coverage |
North America United States |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-99.001,-99.001,72.668,72.668) |
geographic |
Prince of Wales Island |
geographic_facet |
Prince of Wales Island |
genre |
Prince of Wales Island Alaska |
genre_facet |
Prince of Wales Island Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10535/8377 Ecology and Society 14 1 June |
_version_ |
1766174422989799424 |