Of the estimated 1,500 mountain goats that range in the Chilkoot and Chilkat drainages, there are seven, geographically discrete sub-populations, according to Kevin White, a wildlife research biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Preliminary research suggests there may even be genetic differences between those populations. That’s because goats don’t like to cross open water or valley floors, said White, who has been studying goats between here and Juneau since 2005.
“There are fairly large differences between animals in relatively close proximity,” White said this week. That means that if a goat population at a certain location disappears, it can’t be assumed the animals will be “backfilled” by ones from other areas, he said.
White has tracked 55 goats in the Haines and Skagway area using radio collars since 2010. At a presentation set for 7 p.m. Monday at the Chilkat Center, he’ll present initial findings from his ongoing study, started in 2010 and funded by the Department of Fish and Game and Bureau of Land Management.
The study includes identifying important summer and winter habitats, estimating reproduction and survival rates, and population sizes.
Haines appears to be a transition zone for how goats use winter habitat, he said. Animals tend to come down mountains to near sea level during winter in locations near town like Taiyasanka. But closer to the border at places like the Kelsall Valley, most goats remain at high elevation, living on exposed forage on windblown slopes.
Mountain goats don’t wander very far. Their typical home ranges are 2-5 square kilometers, White said. One female goat he tracked stayed within a 200-yard area half the winter.
With four years of data, White said he has just enough information to start looking at population trends and hasn’t done formal analysis to make definitive statements. However, some areas have shown population declines, which are not surprising considering “a significant run of severe winters” in recent years that have reduced overwinter survival. Populations in most areas appear to be stable.
White is not studying the impacts of helicopters on goats – a perennial concern regarding the heli-ski industry – but said his work may be able to inform management decisions about helicopter permitting. “We’re going to say what we’re doing and how it could be used to resolve thorny questions about goats and helicopters,” he said.
A recent study of goats and heli-skiing near Smithers, B.C. is particularly relevant to issues in the Chilkat Valley, he said. A site-specific study of helicopter impacts on goats in the Chilkat Valley would be helpful, he said, but money for such studies is limited, he said.