AK Sheep, Population Observations

[antlerless]

There wasn't any tags issued for Round Mountain and Crescent Lake area in unit 7 for the 2022 year. The feds shutting it down doesn't ruin anyone's hunt there.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Feds have now shutdown the sheep hunt near Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. Unit 7 IIRC.

Yes, that's the pair of State of Alaska sheep draw permit areas that are on the Kenai Peninsula. The remainder of federal lands in GMU 7 and GMU 15 are still open to recreational sheep hunting and subsistence sheep hunting.

 

[william schmaltz]

Typically you can see a couple dozen sheep on the south face of Round Mtn with the naked eye from the RR mouth. Made a couple trips down there this year and didn’t see a single sheep.

 

[Bambistew]

If you think last year was bad you haven't seen nothing yet. I will bet we don't break 300 sheep harvested this fall.

From boots on the ground in the youth season, pilots flong areas recently and talking to bios, it's worse than abysmal. I can't in good conscience shoot another sheep until something changes. The entire AK range, Whites and Talkeetnas have some if the lowest ewe to lamb ratios ever recorded. The talkeetnas had an estimated 30% mortality last winter in the study area, and over 20% the two years prior. DCUA will have tags slashed.

Dark days ahead. Hope for easy winters, but this one is predicted to be similar to last.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

If you think last year was bad you haven't seen nothing yet. I will bet we don't break 300 sheep harvested this fall.

From boots on the ground in the youth season, pilots flong areas recently and talking to bios, it's worse than abysmal. I can't in good conscience shoot another sheep until something changes. The entire AK range, Whites and Talkeetnas have some if the lowest ewe to lamb ratios ever recorded. The talkeetnas had an estimated 30% mortality last winter in the study area, and over 20% the two years prior. DCUA will have tags slashed.

Dark days ahead. Hope for easy winters, but this one is predicted to be similar to last.

Yep, and it's only going to become worse in the foreseeable future. Were looking at very dark years ahead, in terms of sheep hunting opportunity.

Now's definitely the time to lobby a change to the current statewide management strategy - the overall statewide harvest strategy and the statewide allocation structure.

 

[wantj43]

If you think last year was bad you haven't seen nothing yet. I will bet we don't break 300 sheep harvested this fall.

From boots on the ground in the youth season, pilots flong areas recently and talking to bios, it's worse than abysmal. I can't in good conscience shoot another sheep until something changes. The entire AK range, Whites and Talkeetnas have some if the lowest ewe to lamb ratios ever recorded. The talkeetnas had an estimated 30% mortality last winter in the study area, and over 20% the two years prior. DCUA will have tags slashed.

Dark days ahead. Hope for easy winters, but this one is predicted to be similar to last.

Though sheep harvest has been low, it is important to consider success rates, effort (days hunted), average age and average horn length when using harvest numbers to make a point. And, given the variation between some mountain ranges, location should also be considered. Though numbers may be down in the Brooks, surveys from the early 1950s suggest numbers were even lower then.
Without suggesting there is not "reason for concern", it is important to at least be aware of history of Dall sheep populations in Alaska.

 

[Yellowknife]

For most units, the age and success rate dropped in lock step with harvest. Statewide the success rate is the lowest we’ve seen in recent decades. There are a few pockets that were still holding up last season, so hopefully they survived this last winter also. I’m sure some guys will do just fine, but my favorite spots were hard hit indeed.

You are right about the longer timescale though. Dall sheep have managed to survive these mountains for thousands of years, including winters that were no doubt substantially harder than what we have just seen. And there have been previous large scale die offs recorded in the Brooks and Alaska Range in the last century that they eventually bounced back from. I don’t expect this situation to be permanent, but it won’t work itself out immediately either.

Yk

 

[Kotaman]

Any current info on the Wrangells-St. Elias area?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Any current info on the Wrangells-St. Elias area?

It's all speculation right now within the Department (ADF&G) because US Dept of Interior money wasn't available for an aerial sheep survey in GMU'S 11 and 12. But speculation within the Department (ADF&G) is that those units suffered the same fate as everywhere else in Alaska.

 

[slick]

Rob @Mykolaivka887
What’s the speculation within the Department (ADF&G) for GMU’s 16 and 19?

 

[D.W.T]

It may be a very sensitive topic, but I believe it is time to start prioritizing harvest opportunities for Alaskan residents. To be clear I'm not advocating for eliminating non-resident opportunities, but to my knowledge we are the only western state that doesn't limit the allocation of non-resident tags.

 

[VernAK]

It may be a very sensitive topic, but I believe it is time to start prioritizing harvest opportunities for Alaskan residents. To be clear I'm not advocating for eliminating non-resident opportunities, but to my knowledge we are the only western state that doesn't limit the allocation of non-resident tags.

Certain to be a topic in next BOG meetings as a deluge of proposals arrive.

 

[slick]

@Mykolaivka887

Hey ADFG spokesman can I get what the speculation is on sheep in 16/19? I’d like to hunt that next year, but want to know what the speculation is?

 

[dallen]

Depressing. I started sheep hunting at the end of the 80’s….. little did I realize how good we had it back then. It’s been tough this last decade…..

 

[Yellowknife]

@Mykolaivka887

Hey ADFG spokesman can I get what the speculation is on sheep in 16/19? I’d like to hunt that next year, but want to know what the speculation is?

I'm not the oracle... but 16/19 have been hit worst than most.

Resident Harvest for 19C specifically:

2019 - 38 rams
2020 - 14 rams
2021 - 5 rams

A shocking decline for what was prime sheep country very recently. NR harvest also down over 50% from 2019. Reports from every pilot, guide, and hunter I know out there in the last two years has been dismal.

If you want the straight skinny, call the ADF&G office in Anchorage. They usually aren't shy about sharing.

Yk

 

[slick]

Thanks YK. Figured I’d save a call and just have @Mykolaivka887 speak for the biologists and ADF&G.

That’s super dismal. 5 rams? Yikes.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I'm not the oracle... but 16/19 have been hit worst than most.

Resident Harvest:

2019 - 38 rams
2020 - 14 rams
2021 - 5 rams

A shocking decline for what was prime sheep country very recently. NR harvest also down over 50% from 2019. Reports from every pilot, guide, and hunter I know out there in the last two years has been dismal.

If you want the straight skinny, call the ADF&G office in Anchorage. They usually aren't shy about sharing.

Yk

It's like that in all the ranges - consistent and steady and dramatic decline in harvest rates. No suprises there.

Like dallen had mentioned, it's depressing.

It'll require quite a change in management strategy, harvest strategy and the allocation process to get back to pre-1990 levels of population and harvest.

 

[Ariettabob]

It's like that in all the ranges - consistent and steady and dramatic decline in harvest rates. No suprises there.

Like dallen had mentioned, it's depressing.

It'll require quite a change in management strategy, harvest strategy and the allocation process to get back to pre-1990 levels of population and harvest.

Have you given us your management solution yet?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

It's like that in all the ranges - consistent and steady and dramatic decline in harvest rates. No suprises there.

Like dallen had mentioned, it's depressing.

It'll require quite a change in management strategy, harvest strategy and the allocation process to get back to pre-1990 levels of population and harvest.

C’mon Rob hardy, tell us more about ADFG and your expert solution to this problem.

 

[wantj43]

I'm not the oracle... but 16/19 have been hit worst than most.

Resident Harvest:

2019 - 38 rams
2020 - 14 rams
2021 - 5 rams

A shocking decline for what was prime sheep country very recently. NR harvest also down over 50% from 2019. Reports from every pilot, guide, and hunter I know out there in the last two years has been dismal.

If you want the straight skinny, call the ADF&G office in Anchorage. They usually aren't shy about sharing.

Yk

Are these numbers for 16 and 19?