While Native Alaskan interviewees generally depicted the Alagnak River corridor as place that was inviting and safe historically, they did make occasional reference to hazards that largely pre- date the period of pronounced non-resident visitation. Among these hazards, bears were said to always be a potential threat on the Alagnak historically, and were mentioned in passing by a number of interviewees. Brown bears were said to be especially menacing along the river during fish runs, which is, regrettably, when the peak Native Alaskan visitation has occurred along the river historically. Speaking of the elders of earlier generations, Mary Tallekpalek recalled,
“they…was scared to walk, [on the banks] too far… in springtime. Brown bear, too many, Branch River, when you walk around” (M. Tallekpalek in Tallekpalek and Tallekpalek 1998).
This coexistence of Native Alaskans and bears along productive fishing rivers at the time of the salmon runs is a recurring theme throughout many parts of Native Alaska, and communities typically have prescriptive and proscriptive guidance regarding the conduct of human-bear encounters embedded within their oral traditions. Regrettably, little of this oral tradition was recoverable in the existing ethnographic record or in the course of the meetings held for the current study. Comments by Mary Olympic and others do indicate that “brushy” areas along the shoreline were known to be especially hazardous as they restricted visibility and increased the odds for accidental bear encounters. Speaking of the old village on the river, probably Alagnak Village, Mary Olympic recalled,
“Boy, I really don’t like that place. There’s just…too many trees, you know, too many bushes, and too many mosquitoes. Bushes in these places I don’t like. [When I was young] I tell my mom, “Gee, we should not move [here]. We should go back to Kukaklek. Good place”… we had fun alright. But I just, really don’t
like too many bushes. Can’t see no farther. And lots of mosquito, too” (Olympic 1995).
However, interviewees generally expressed the view that the threat from brown bears had increased significantly with the rise in recreation non-resident visitation of the Alagnak Wild River corridor. Threats associated with brown bears along the Alagnak River have been widely documented within literatures addressing the Wild River corridor (see, e.g., Olson et al. 1990; Braaten and Gilbert 1987). The National Park Service has been aware of the increased potential for human-bear encounters as visitation has risen along the Alagnak; indeed, “human/bear conflicts” have emerged as one of the major concerns discussed by park staff and
superintendents when discussing the impacts of increased visitation along Alagnak Wild River (e.g., Katmai Research Project 1997).
Several Native Alaskan interviewees expressed concern about the safety of the Alagnak River due to what is perceived as an increase in the bear population generally, and an increased potential for bear-human conflicts in particular. Interviewees suggest that they “have to act differently and be much more careful on the river due to boats, and off the river due to bears” (Katmai Research Project 1997: 12); “it is crazy on the Branch, bears everywhere” (Katmai Research Project 1997: 9). Some families have apparently changed their patterns of river use, and even stopped camping on the shoreline, due to an increased fear of bear encounters. One Katmai Research Project interview recounted his own family’s experiences:
“He said a big change on that river during his life time is the dramatic increase in the number of brown bears along the river. [Another interviewee] said that you now must always worry about protecting yourself. When they travel up the river they no longer make a camp on the shore but instead sleep in their skiff as they are worried about bears” (Katmai Research Project 1997: 13).
Some particularly express concern over taking children to the Alagnak River when there are mothers and cubs present:
“they get more bears over there now. On Branch River, sometime even around town here. They’re a danger, we have to get rid of them. ‘Cause the kids, y’know. The family with a bunch of kids playing around…Yeah, it’s momma [bear] over
there letting the baby go in the old Branch River catching all those trouts and rainbows, and moose, kill them and just leave ‘em there” (A. Tallekpalek 1998).
This increase is attributed to a number of factors including hunters and fishermen leaving animal carcasses along the banks, such as the carcasses left behind by trophy hunters. In addition, some note that bears are drawn to the food, trash, and human waste that have been increasing along the river’s banks in correlation with the general increase in human population along the River. This observation has paralleled a general trend in brown bear populations on the Alaska Peninsula, which have been drawn to human communities and camps throughout the region. As Behnke noted shortly before the designation of Alagnak Wild River, “Productivity is high, and there have been increasing numbers of bears around canneries and communities in the area (Behnke 1978: 128). Some residents report seeing an increase in the number of bears injured or killed after being shot by fishermen, who are unnerved by the presence of so many bears and may also be unaccustomed to fishing in places as bear-rich as the Alagnak.
Some suggested that increased bear and human traffic displaced game, including moose, from the river corridor:
“right now it’s hard to get a moose on Branch River because of so much traffic and so many bears, you know, you’ve got a combination of the two. And moose, they just don’t like all that traffic, and then the bears, there’s so many bears eating the dead salmon that…the moose just don’t want to be there” (Alvarez 2002: 45).
As a result of the increased number of brown bears, some suggest, there has been a lower calf survival rate in the area, which they suggest has contributed to ADF&G closures of the cow moose season on the Alagnak. Some also suggested that the increased presence of bears and people, coupled with the trampling of the shoreline, had adversely affected plant gathering practices tied to the Alagnak corridor – especially berry picking (Morseth 2000).