Harvests and uses of wild resources in Dillingham, Alaska, 2010

Description:

This report presents information about subsistence uses of fish, wildlife, and plant resources in Dillingham, located in Southwest Alaska. Dillingham is the hub community of the Bristol Bay region. This is the final report for a multi-year, multiphase study conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Subsistence in collaboration with Stephen R. Braund & Associates. This study is in response to the need for updated information about subsistence harvests and uses of wild resources as background for consideration of the development of a large scale mine called the Pebble Project-a mineral deposit in an advanced exploration stage located near Frying Pan Lake, which is 125 miles northeast of the study community of Dillingham. Information was collected through systematic household survey and mapping interviews. In total, 200 households were interviewed, an estimated 28% of the year-round resident households. The study documented the continuing importance of subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering to Dillingham residents. In 2010, an estimated total of 94% of households in Dillingham participated in subsistence activities and 97% used wild resources. Subsistence harvests were large and diverse. Estimated wild resource harvests were 212 lb usable weight per capita in Dillingham. Most participants in this study reported their subsistence uses and harvests have changed in their lifetimes and over the last 5 years, changes which they ascribed to reduced resource populations, shifts in the locations of moose and caribou, competition with nonlocal hunters, and a changing climate. Study community residents voiced concerns about the development of a mine and its impacts on water quality in and near their traditional subsistence harvest areas.

subjects: Subsistence fishing,  Subsistence hunting,  Subsistence economy,  Fishing surveys,  Hunting surveys,  Mineral industires,  Pebble Project (Alaska)

Places: Alaska,  Dillingham,  Bristol Bay Region