Last night University of Alaska PHD student Tim Mullet presented his thesis on the effects of noise on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge at the Kenai River Center.
Caribou Hills Cabin Hoppers President Rick Northey attended the meeting.
Northey: “This gentleman was doing a thesis on the effects of noise from snowmachines on moose habitat and then the plant life on the refuge and this was a four year study that he had done and this was the end result of the study.”
Northey said as a snowmachine user group they wanted to take away what they could from the study in order to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to lessen impacts but still use areas on the Kenai Peninsula.
Northey: “Snowmachining is a big sport on the Kenai Peninsula and over the years we have lost a lot of our area, particularly the Caribou Hills area due to native corporation lands being shut down on both sides and then the refuge, of course we can only go in there when there’s enough snow cover which we don’t have any problems with that, that’s kind of a given, we’ve done it for 50 years up there and it seems to work our pretty good it’s just a matter of communications between us and the land managers on the refuge so as long as we can keep that open.”
He said about 25-30 people attended Mullet’s presentation which has reportedly gained national and international attention by scientists in the field of soundscape ecology.
A map of the areas in the KNWR where snowmachining is permitted can be found by clicking here.
