Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve to survey Copper Center and Silver Springs residents about subsistence

Date: April 7, 2011

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Subsistence Division will be surveying a random sample of Copper Center and Silver Springs residents during April about their subsistence activities. The information collected will help state and federal agencies to better manage subsistence. The survey will kick off with a public information meeting at the NPS Visitor Center in Copper Center on Thursday, April 14, starting at 7 PM.

The survey is used to estimate subsistence harvests and to describe community subsistence economies. The information collected will assist state and federal resource managers in their subsistence management responsibilities and will also be used by local and regional advisory councils in making recommendations regarding the fish and wildlife management in the region.

This project involves a household survey documenting households' subsistence harvests and activities, followed by analysis of the data and the preparation of a technical report. Many of the questions concern harvests in the past year, but we are also interested whether and how subsistence harvests might have changed in the last 5 years. Participation in the survey is voluntary, although we hope that most people will be willing to be interviewed. The data will be collected in such a way that the names of households or families are not associated with the results. In other words, we will not identify individual households. We will also not use this information for law enforcement.

For additional information, contact Barbara Cellarius, NPS, at [phone]; or Robbin La Zine, ADF&G, at (907)-267-2362. 

Any changes to the meeting time or place will be announced on the radio.

-NPS-