Management of Ptarmigan in North America

Abstract

Ptarmigan are monogamous, territorial game birds of arctic and alpine tundras. They are gregarious and migratory or nomadic from late summer until spring. Sex-segregation occurs in winter. Populations of rock (Lagopus mutus) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) fluctuate widely from year to year; whether the fluctuations are rhythmic is not known. Breeding densities commonly range from 1 to 10 pairs per square mile. Ptarmigan habitat is unusually free from human disturbance. Most ptarmigan harvested in North America now are killed primarily for food; the main harvest occurs in winter. Sport hunting exists on a small fraction of ptarmigan range. The only active management of ptarmigan is through regulation of harvest. Present regulations are set with no knowledge of ptarmigan numbers, the kill, or the effect of one on the other. Lack of access to ptarmigan range restricts the harvest. Greater future demand for ptarmigan as a recreational resource is expected; research is needed to establish a basis for an intelligent management program. This paper discusses the management of rock and willow ptarmigan in North America exclusive of Newfoundland. The questions examined are: (1) To what extent do people utilize ptarmigan? (2) What management procedures have been applied to ptarmigan? (3) What trends in utilization can be expected in the next few decades? (4) What problems may arise from these trends? Familiarity with Alaska has led me to present more details of ptarmigan use and management there than in other regions. Thanks are extended to Robert A. Rausch, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and David R. Klein, Leader, Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, for their excellent critical reviews of this manuscript. I am grateful to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Branch of River Basin Studies, for the use of unpublished data on the harvest of ptarmigan. Various federal and provincial conservation agencies in Canada gave prompt and courteous attention to requests for information on management practices. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF PTARMIGAN AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT