Public Outreach Meetings on Draft Chisana Caribou Herd Management Plan To Be Held in Slana and Tok.

Date: May 27, 2010

Copper Center, AK – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve will hold public outreach meetings on the draft Chisana Caribou Herd Management Plan in Slana and Tok. The meeting in Tok will take place on June 15, 2010, from 7 to 9 PM at Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. The meeting in Slana will take place on June 17, 2010, from 4 to 6 PM at the NPS Ranger Station. After an overview presentation on the plan, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and to comment on the plan.

The Chisana caribou herd is a small international herd occurring in Yukon and Alaska. In Alaska, the animals are primarily found in the northeastern corner of Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve. The objectives, actions, and tasks described in the five-year plan are associated with population monitoring, harvest, habitat, predation, research, and public awareness. The plan has been developed by a working group comprised of members from Government of Yukon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, White River First Nation, Kluane First Nation, U.S. National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The draft plan can be found on the park web site (www.nps.gov/wrst) by clicking on the links on the left hand side of the page for “Management” and then “Park Planning”. The direct link to the plan is https://www.nps.gov/wrst/parkmgmt/upload/DRAFT%20Chisana%20Management%20Plan_March2010_final.pdf.

Written comments on the plan may also be submitted to the Wrangell-St. Elias Superintendent through June 30, 2010. Additional information may be obtained by calling Judy Putera at 822-7241.