Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
May 2012

Iliamna Lake Seals
Local and Scientific Understanding

By James Van Lanen

During March of 2012 a resident of the community of Kokhonok, located on the southern shore of Iliamna Lake at the base of the Alaska Peninsula, described for me his traditional freshwater seal hunting practice. Traveling along thick ice by snowmachine, the hunter pulls in along a frozen beach, dismounts, and climbs through the spruce forest to the top of a large hill overlooking the lake. Utilizing the high point as an advantage the hunter glasses the frozen lake for pressure cracks in the ...   Iliamna Lake Seals Article Continued

Play by the Rules

By Lee and Will Leschper

Editor’s Note: Father and son Lee R. Leschper and William J. Leschper were charged with hunting violations in December of 2011. Lee was charged and pleaded guilty in January for one count of taking game from a motor driven boat, a class ‘A’ misdemeanor. Judge Thomas Nave sentenced him to pay a fine of $5,000 with $2,000 suspended; 20 days of suspended jail time; to write a story for the Department of Fish & Game; to forfeit the hide; and revoked his hunting ...   Play by the Rules Article Continued

Alaska’s Grouse and Ptarmigan Poster

By Riley Woodford

Small game hunters and bird watchers have a new tool to help them identify Alaska’s grouse and ptarmigan. The seven popular game birds are featured on a new full color, 18 by 24-inch poster. They are free at a number of Fish and Game offices, but due to the cost of mailing tubes and postage, posters will not be available by mail.

Rick Merizon, the small game biologist for ADF&G, spearheaded the project. In late April, between a trip Coldfoot to conduct ptarmigan surveys and ...   Grouse & Ptarmigan Article Continued

Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska
Making Outdoor Skills Programs Possible

By Nancy Long

“You have no idea how much it changed his life. He’s a new person. He has an interest in hunting now and he teaches us about safety and he asks us to go fishing and camping. He’s been asking all year long about going to Advanced Camp this summer. I think every kid out there should go to these camps. Thank you, thank you, for having this.” — Parent of a youth camper who attended the Alaska Conservation Camp - Basic Camp.

The enthusiasm, joy and appreciation ...   Outdoor Heritage Article Continued