BLM REA YKL 2011 Subsistence Harvest Areas of Ptarmigan and Grouse in Nondalton, Alaska.

This report presents updated information about subsistence uses of fish, wildlife, and plant resources in 5 communities of southcentral Alaska -- Iliamna, Newhalen, Nondalton, Pedro Bay, and Port Alsworth. The Division of Subsistence of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted the study in collaboration with the National Park Service and Stephen R. Braund & Associates. The Pebble Project is a proposed open pit mine located 18 miles to the northwest of Iliamna and 18 miles southwest of Nondalton. The potential development of the mine requires updated baseline information about subsistence harvests and uses. Information was collected through systematic household surveys and mapping interviews. Scoping meetings were held in each community to elicit ideas about research questions and to learn more about issues. After preliminary study findings were available, a second round of community meetings took place to review the results. In total, 116 households were interviewed, 79% of the year-round resident households. The study documented the continuing importance of subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering to the study communities. In 2004, virtually every person in each community participated in subsistence activities and used wild resources. Subsistence harvests were large and diverse. Estimated wild resource harvests were 469 pounds usable weight per person in Iliamna, 692 pounds per person in Newhalen, 358 pounds per person in Nondalton, 306 pounds per person in Pedro Bay, and 133 pounds per person in Port Alsworth. Most participants in this study reported their subsistence uses and harvests have changed in their lifetimes and over the last 5 years, due to reduced resource populations, shifts in the locations of moose and caribou, competition with nonlocal sport hunters, and a warming climate. Residents voiced concerns about the potential development of a mine and the construction of a road through and near their traditional subsistence harvest areas.