The Alaska Department of Fish and
Game has reported that the Central Arctic
caribou herd, which occupies summer ranges
that include the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk
oil fields, grew sharply in numbers between
2002 and 2008.
The herd included approximately 67,000
animals in summer 2008, compared to
32,000 in 2002. The herd had less then
5,000 animals in 1975, several years before
North Slope oil production commenced.
The Teshekpuk Lake herd to the west
of Kuparuk also increased in population to
64,000 animals in 2008, up from 45,000 in
2002. The two herds are the only ones in the
Arctic known to be increasing at this time,
the Department said. The other two Alaskan
Arctic herds, the Western Arctic herd, whose
range is west and south of the Teshekpuk Lake
herd, and the Porcupine herd, with a summer
range in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
east of Prudhoe Bay and winter ranges in the
Brooks Range and Canada, are decreasing,
as are many herds across Canada.
The department has not yet determined
the causes of the changes in numbers in the
different herds, but believes good reproduction
rates, good weather, low predation and good
habitat have combined to allow the Central
Arctic and Teshekpuk Lake herds to increase
rapidly. Movement among the herds may
also account for some of the relative increases
and decreases in numbers.
The increase in population is good news
for many North Slope communities that hunt
caribou. The Teshekpuk herd is an important
subsistence resource for Barrow and villages
in the region while the Central Arctic herd is
commonly hunted by Alaskans from all over
the state.
“Although some local disturbance
impacts may occur, North Slope oil field
developments have not resulted in decreased
numbers of caribou,” noted Dr. Matthew
Cronin, a specialist in animal genetics
and a research associate professor at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks School of
Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences
in Palmer. “This indicates that oil and other
resource development can occur without
major impacts on wildlife resources,” Cronin
added. “The North Slope oilfields and
caribou herds are a good example of achieving
multiple use management.”
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