Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
March 2011

Trail cameras provide candid look at wildlife
Researchers benefit from remote cameras

By Riley Woodford

A wolf pack on moose carcass, bears on a beached whale, a wolverine in striking detail, a deer on the trail – motion-triggered trail cameras provide a candid view into the natural world.

Hunters use these cameras to scout game and biologists are discovering applications for research. “Camera trapping” is a growing hobby, enabling wildlife watchers to capture candid still images of elusive animals.

In coming months, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will feature a gallery ...   Trail cameras ArticleContinued


A Trail Camera Gallery in the Works
Submissions Welcome to ADF&G Online Gallery

By Riley Woodford

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will soon feature a gallery of trail camera images on its new website, and submissions are welcome. The gallery will showcase images by the public as well as researchers.

Fish and Game invites the public to submit images for display in our online trail camera gallery. The gallery offers a way to share images, and photographers retain all rights to their pictures. We can watermark the image with a copyright symbol and the photographer's name. People ...   Photo Gallery Plans ArticleContinued


Cyanide-poisoned Moose
Ornamental Chokecherry Tree a Devil in Disguise

By Riley Woodford and Cathie Harms

Fragrant white blossoms cover the many ornamental chokecherry trees in Anchorage in the springtime. Also known as European bird cherry trees, these ornamentals have been introduced to Alaska. In summer the blossoms turn to berries that feed birds like Bohemian waxwings. The “chokecherries” are harmless to birds, but under certain condition, these plants can be poisonous to ruminants – animals like cattle, goats, deer and moose. This winter three calf moose were poisoned by these introduced and ...   Poisoned Moose ArticleContinued


Anadromous Waters Atlas and Catalog
Where The Salmon Are

By J. Johnson

Before Alaska became a state, territorial laws were already in place to protect anadromous fish bearing streams. With statehood, various territorial provisions were replaced with state statutes that broadened the protection afforded anadromous species in the state's rivers, lakes, and streams. Subsequent legislation, passed in 1966, lead to a formal listing of the state's anadromous rivers, lakes, and streams. With the enactment of Alaska Statute 16.05.870 which required the Alaska Department of ...   Where The Salmon Are ArticleContinued


Big Wolves and Ordinary Wolves
Wolf Weight Depends on When and What They Last Ate

By Tim Mowry

If you're looking for the biggest wolves in Alaska, head to the Fortymile country.

That's where legendary Alaska wolf trapper and hunter Frank Glaser caught a 175-pound male in the summer of 1939, the largest wolf ever documented in Alaska. Glaser trapped the wolf on the Seventymile River near Eagle.

“They run some big wolves in that country,” state wildlife biologist Craig Gardner, who spent 20 years working in the area while stationed at Alaska Department of Fish and Game in ...   Big Wolves ArticleContinued