The latest estimate for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd is 121,000, a steep drop from 2023. The last time the herd's numbers were this low, Jimmy Carter was president — almost 50 years ago.
Once one of the world's largest herds, its range is the size of California, stretching across a large swath of northern and western Alaska. For the remote communities of the region, caribou are not only a central food source, they also have considerable cultural importance.
Alex Hansen is a Kotzebue-based wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He said the latest population count from earlier this year is down considerably.
"Basically, based on the last count in 2023, we've lost 20% of the population," Hansen said.
Hansen's department announced the findings this month at the annual meeting of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd working group in Anchorage. The working group makes recommendations about the herd to federal and state regulators, who then set policy and bag limits for hunters.
This year's population count led the working group to classify the herd as "critical, declining." It's the lowest population tier in their management plan. The designation directs managers to intensify efforts for the herd's survival to the maximum extent possible.
Hansen also urged the working group to be pointed with their recommendations to the Alaska Board of Game, which meets every three years. Under state law, that board is ultimately responsible for any regulation changes.
Hansen says if the board doesn't act in 2027, the herd's steep declines could continue unabated for another three years.
"We can kick the can down the road. 'Another few more years, let's not do anything for the Board of Game this time. Let's wait til the next time,'" Hansen said. "That's about five or six years from now. What do we have at that point? Maybe nothing."
At last year's Board of Game meeting, the caribou working group recommended that the board dramatically reduce the caribou harvest for the region's hunters to four animals per year, with just one permitted cow or female caribou.
The board didn't follow that recommendation, which disappointed many subsistence users throughout the herd's range. Instead, it set the limit at 15 caribou per year, only one of which could be a cow. The board also opened up hunting to up to 300 non-resident hunters to take one caribou a year through a draw permit for Game Management Unit 23, which covers most of the Northwest Arctic. Typically, non-resident hunters don't hit that limit.
Charlie Lean is a member of the working group that advocates for the herd. He represents the Nome region.
"I think we need to make suggestions, as we did two years ago at the Board of Game," Lean said. "Maybe the Board of the Game will see the light."
The working group voted again to recommend a limit of four caribou per year and to close hunting for non-residents for the management area that includes most of the Northwest Arctic. They also recommended that if the herd population drops to 75,000, all hunting would automatically cease. Hunting could resume if the population rebounded to 100,000 caribou or a level that allows for a healthy sustained population.
Tom Gray, who represents reindeer herders, shared the same sentiment of many of the working group members.
"It's not my freezer that I'm worried about, it's the caribou herd itself," Gray said. "We need to keep that in the back of our heads as we're trying to preserve this caribou herd."
The working group also recommended a proposal to the Board of Game to make it legal for private citizens to shoot predators from aircraft, within the herd's range.
Predator control for caribou in Alaska is a controversial practice, but it has been used in Southwest Alaska to try to boost the Mulchatna caribou herd's calf population.
Those who support reduced harvest limits could also request an emergency action through the Federal Subsistence Board, which is scheduled to meet in April.
On the state management side, next the Board of Game meeting is scheduled for January 2027. The deadline for proposals to the Board is May 2026.
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