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 wild gam...
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Resilience Alliance
2009
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02805-140136 https://doaj.org/article/6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 2023-05-15T18:03:32+02:00 Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes Todd J. Brinkman Terry Chapin Gary Kofinas David K. Person 2009-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02805-140136 https://doaj.org/article/6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss1/art36/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-02805-140136 https://doaj.org/article/6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 Ecology and Society, Vol 14, Iss 1, p 36 (2009) access forest change hunting local knowledge logging Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis Sitka black-tailed deer subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02805-140136 2022-12-31T07:52:20Z 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 ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Prince of Wales Island Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Prince of Wales Island ENVELOPE(-99.001,-99.001,72.668,72.668) Ecology and Society 14 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
access forest change hunting local knowledge logging Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis Sitka black-tailed deer subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
access forest change hunting local knowledge logging Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis Sitka black-tailed deer subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Todd J. Brinkman Terry Chapin Gary Kofinas David K. Person Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes |
topic_facet |
access forest change hunting local knowledge logging Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis Sitka black-tailed deer subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
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 ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Todd J. Brinkman Terry Chapin Gary Kofinas David K. Person |
author_facet |
Todd J. Brinkman Terry Chapin Gary Kofinas David K. Person |
author_sort |
Todd J. Brinkman |
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 |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02805-140136 https://doaj.org/article/6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 |
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_source |
Ecology and Society, Vol 14, Iss 1, p 36 (2009) |
op_relation |
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss1/art36/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-02805-140136 https://doaj.org/article/6188c395b9f844b08ce732f4b96c39b3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02805-140136 |
container_title |
Ecology and Society |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766174421562687488 |