Next month (Feb. 26) will mark the 100th anniversary of Alaska’s most iconic tourism destination — Denali National Park &Preserve. This would be the perfect time to finally resolve the century-old problem of protecting park wildlife along the park’s eastern boundary.
When the original park was established as a “game refuge” in 1917, the precise boundaries necessary to protect park wildlife were unclear and imperfect. Since then there have been many unsuccessful attempts to protect lands along the northeast boundary, known as the “Wolf Townships,” to conserve park wildlife. None of these efforts have succeeded.
Today, against the wishes of many Alaskans, the state continues to permit hunting and trapping of Denali wildlife along the northeast park boundary, and this has had a significant impact on wildlife viewing in the park.
Studies confirm that killing Denali wolves along the park boundary (conducted by just two or three locals) has reduced the park population, denning near the park road, and visitor viewing success.
Just since the state eliminated the wolf buffer in 2010, visitor viewing success for wolves plummeted from 45 percent to only 5 percent, and has remained at this low level for the past four years. This is an additional 250,000 visitors per year being deprived the opportunity to view wolves in Denali.
One of the primary reasons visitors come to Alaska is to view wildlife. A 2011 study estimated that wildlife viewing in Alaska supported over $2.7 billion in economic activity — over twice that generated by hunting. Wildlife viewing supports an estimated 18,820 sustainable jobs in Alaska, with visitor spending per trip averaging $6,000.
Denali is Alaska’s most visited national park, with 650,000 visits last year, 70,000 of whom were Alaskans. Visitor spending generated by Denali in 2015 was estimated at $567 million (exceeding Yellowstone and Yosemite), supporting some 7,300 jobs. In fact, Denali is the third largest revenue generating national park in the nation.
Much of this economic value is driven by wildlife viewing. A majority of Denali visitors cite wildlife viewing as the main purpose of their trip, and that viewing wolves and grizzly bears is a main indicator of a satisfying visitor experience.
At Yellowstone, with an average visitor viewing success for wolves at 45-85 percent, the value of wolf viewing alone is estimated at $35 million per year. Some Alaskans who want to view wolves in the wild now go to Yellowstone, not Denali.
Denali wildlife is worth far more alive than dead.
The Board of Game cannot provide a lasting solution to protect Denali’s watchable wildlife. The Board remains ideologically opposed to protecting wildlife in parks, and even if the Board were to enact a closed area, it would almost certainly be insufficient and could easily be rescinded by subsequent Board action (e.g. the initial 1992 Denali buffer was eliminated by the same Board only two months later for political reasons).
To restore, sustain and enhance the valuable wildlife viewing resource of Denali, an authentic and durable solution is needed.
In commemoration of Denali’s centennial, many Alaskans are asking Gov. Bill Walker to establish a permanent Denali Wildlife Conservation Area along the northeast boundary of the park (similar to the 300,000-acre bison conservation area established last year on the boundary of Yellowstone by Montana’s governor).
As proposed, the Denali conservation area would prohibit take of predator species (bears, wolves, wolverine, lynx, etc.), and would remain open for take of ungulates and small game as currently permitted. The conservation area would have minimal impact on overall wildlife use patterns in the region.
Thousands of people have expressed support for permanent protection for Denali wildlife along the park boundary. The state’s main tourism association — the Alaska Travel Industry Association — supports the effort. An online citizens petition in support of a Denali wildlife conservation area has over 330,000 signatures, from over 100 countries, all U.S. states, and many from Alaska. And last August, the Fairbanks North Star Borough adopted a resolution in support.
Denali’s watchable wildlife is one of the most important tourism assets in Alaska.
Hopefully, Gov. Walker will respond to this historic opportunity, and give Alaskans, Americans and the world a long overdue birthday present for Denali’s centennial by establishing the proposed Denali Wildlife Conservation Area.
• Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist with Oasis Earth in Anchorage, and was a professor with the University of Alaska from 1980-2010, based in Kotzebue, Cordova and Anchorage.
