National Park Service fisheries science and management in the Alaska Region: review and recommendations.

Chen, Glen

This review of the National Park Service's Alaska Region fisheries science and management program was conducted from 20. May through 9. July, 2013, and is based on 45 personal interviews with current/former NPS employees (within and outside the Alaska Region), including Natural Resource and Subsistence staff assigned to particular Park units (Glacier Bay, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St. Elias, Bering Land Bridge/Western Alaska, Denali, Yukon-Charley, Gates of the Arctic, Klondike Gold Rush, and Sitka Historical); the Inventory and Monitoring Networks within Alaska (Central Alaska, Western Alaska, and Southeast); Regional Office staff from Natural Resources, Subsistence, and I&M Divisions; and the NPS Western Aquatic Systems Office (WASO, located in Fort Collins, CO). Sessions were conducted via telephone or in-person, and interviewees were asked to provide an overview of past and current projects, scientific studies, and/or management programs related to their Park's fisheries, along with their perspectives regarding NPS fisheries science/management needs, and their recommendations for addressing these. All persons emphasized the high importance and ecological/economic value of the fish habitat within, and fish produced from, NPS waters in the region, and that such resources are key to productive/diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in all of the Alaska Parks. Millions of these anadromous and resident fish species are harvested each year, and they support valuable subsistence, recreational, and commercial fisheries, generating millions of dollars annually to local, State, and regional economies. Most NPS staff interviewed were concerned about the significant decline in available NPS expertise, resulting in a shortage of knowledge and experience to assist Parks and the Region with addressing key fisheries needs. These include obtaining important information and knowledge about fish diversity, abundance, distribution, and life histories in Park units; evaluating the impacts from resource development and infrastructure projects on fisheries resources; and abilities to meet the Service's Federal subsistence fisheries management mandates, as outlined in Title VIII of the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act (ANILCA). While excellent work has been conducted (and continues) in those Parks with fisheries staff, a number of interviewees agreed that the existing number of specialists in the Region were below the minimum necessary to address the Service's many fisheries science and management needs -- and were particularly worried that hiring restrictions and declining budgets could result in further diminishment. Large areas in the Region (Western, Northwest, Arctic, and most of the Interior) do not have a fisheries biologist; furthermore, there will soon be only a single NPS expert in Alaska available to manage Federal Subsistence fisheries. The overall lack of experienced professionals may leave the Service unable to address its legal mandates for protecting and managing NPS fish resources in the Alaska Region - especially given that the need to address aquatic ecosystem perturbations, both natural (e.g., climate variability) and anthropogenic (natural resource and infrastructure development projects), are likely to only increase in upcoming years.

National Park Service fisheries science and management in the Alaska Region: review and recommendations.

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