Wildlife management most often involves managing humans. Research allows biologists to understand the needs and habits of wildlife, and this research hopefully leads to management policies to enable human populations to better coexist with wildlife. Wildlife management is never easy, and Kodiak is no different from anywhere else. Various user groups attempt to pressure wildlife managers into making decisions to further their particular interest, and managers struggle for a balance to try to accommodate a variety of users while protecting the wildlife and the habitat.

On the Kodiak Archipelago, I am proud to say the management of bears and their habitat is not only done well, but it is done so well, it is considered one of the best models of wildlife management in the world. The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge managers, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the native corporations, and the citizens of Kodiak work well together to safeguard bears and protect their habitat.

History has shown us that protecting wildlife habitat is often the most difficult aspect of wildlife management, whether there is oil to be drilled, copper to be mined, trees to be cut, or roads and houses to be built, economics often wins while wildlife loses huge chunks of critical habitat. Brown bears require large tracts of wilderness to survive, and as the human population grows, it becomes more and more difficult to protect the bears’ home from economic and residential development.

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is the largest intact, pristine island ecosystem in North America. The Refuge encompasses 16 lakes, 117 salmon streams, wetlands, grasslands, shrublands, Sitka spruce forest, tundra, and alpine meadows. This habitat supports 250 species of fish, birds, and mammals, including 400 breeding pairs of bald eagles. It supports 3000 bears, and an estimated 3500 bears live on the Kodiak Archipelago.

One of the stated purposes of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity, including, but not limited to, Kodiak brown bears, salmonids, sea otters, sea lions, and other marine mammals and migratory birds.

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 in response to concerns by bear hunters for the health and survival of the Kodiak brown bear population. The original mission of the Refuge was “to protect the natural feeding and breeding range of the brown bears and other wildlife on Uganik and Kodiak Island.” Without the strong lobbying efforts of hunting groups, it is doubtful the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge would have been formed. The sale of bear hunting licenses and bear tags on Kodiak generates over $250,000 annually, and much of this money is used for research and habitat protection.

Bear hunting on Kodiak today is very tightly regulated. Each year, 4500 people apply for the 495 available bear-hunting permits. Of these 495 hunters, approximately 175 are successful, and 75% of the bears killed are male. All hunters must check in with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Kodiak before going into the field, and they must check out with Fish and Game before leaving the island. Every bear killed must be inspected by an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist before it can be taken off the island. Because these strict regulations have the overwhelming support of guides and residents, illegal bear hunting on Kodiak is rare.

Perhaps the most telling fact proving the Kodiak bear and its habitat are well managed is the 3500 brown bears currently living on the Kodiak Archipelago. Biologists believe this is the largest the Kodiak bear population has ever been.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.