Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
April 2007

Collaring Wildlife
Tracking Devices Revolutionized Wildlife Biology

By Riley Woodford

North of Berners Bay in Southeast Alaska, 20 brown bears are hibernating with GPS collars.

About 60 mountain goats with similar collars have descended from wind-swept alpine ridges overlooking Lynn Canal to the shelter of lower-elevation forests. Gustavus Moose, Admiralty Island toads and Petersburg owls have been equipped with telemetry devices.

Why do biologists put these things on animals, and what do they do?

In the mid-1960s, VHF (Very High Frequency) radio telemetry ...   Collaring wildlife ArticleContinued

Invasive Northern Pike Targeted
in Caring for the Kenai Project

By Tammy Davis

Northern pike are a problem in Southcentral Alaska and this winter Nikiski High School sophomores Tyler Bethune and Alex Ross decided to take the offensive on this invasive species.

The students were looking for a project for the annual Caring for the Kenai competition. Caring for the Kenai (CFK) is a nationally recognized, environmentally focused contest that invites school students of the Kenai Peninsula to answer the question, “What can I do, invent or create to better care for the environment ...   Targeting Pike ArticleContinued

Alaska’s Thorny Pig
The Charismatic and Troublesome Porcupine

By Nancy Long

As Alaskans, we are privileged and sometimes plagued by healthy populations of wildlife, even in urban areas. Most notable are the larger varieties – especially moose and bear. Front-page stories and photo essays often feature these big mammals roaming our neighborhoods and streets. A few recent headlines include: “Moose attacks helicopter,” "Gratitude for place with more bears than streetlights,” “Watch out for moose on the loose.”

But there is a smaller wild creature found throughout ...   Alaska’s Thorny Pig ArticleContinued

What is Age Validation
and How Does it Relate to Fortune Cookies?

By Lisa Stuby

Years ago, while eating at a favorite Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, I had a fortune cookie state, “You will age well.” I didn't realize then that this was a premonition. It foretold my future, but not exactly in the way I would've anticipated.

You see, when most people think of fishery biologists, they visualize people zooming around in boats in remote locations, catching, tagging and tracking fish. I've often been asked, “But what do you DO during the winter?” Winter months ...   Aging fish ArticleContinued

Signs of Spring are Sometimes Unpleasant

By Stacie Hall

You're strolling along your favorite trail enjoying the budding signs of spring. The snow is melting, the birds are singing, and the air is filled with the scent of…melting dog poop?

Call it scat, feces or waste if you'd like. “Whatever you call it,” says Tracy Smith, “poop is a problem.” Smith is one of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's representatives on the Anchorage Scoop the Poop Committee.

Picking up after your dog doesn't top anyone's list of fun things to do. But ...   Dogs and Clean water ArticleContinued

Recipe
Gameburger Spaghetti

By Riley Woodford

This recipe works well with venison, caribou or moose – any of the wild game found in April wrapped in white paper in the freezer with the word “burger” scrawled on it.







1 -2 lbs. ground meat
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion
1 can tomato sauce
1 can whole stewed tomatoes
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup green bell pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons soy or Worcestershire sauce
Garlic- ...   Gameburger Sauce ArticleContinued