EXISTING CONDITIONS

NATURAL RESOURCES

Thirty-three air miles east-southeast of King Salmon lies Brooks Camp. The camp is situated on a peninsula at the mouth of Brooks River, hence its name. The area consists of white spruce forest south of the river and a mosaic of deciduous woods and open grassy areas north of the river on the slopes of Dumpling Mountain. Marshy areas are common along the floodplain in the oxbows and at the river mouth. Brooks River flows from Lake Brooks (commonly called Brooks Lake) on a meandering course eastward for about one and one-half miles before it empties into Naknek Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the national park system.

About midway down Brooks River is Brooks Falls. The six foot high falls are a critical component of the ecological web along Brooks River. By creating a partial barrier to salmon migration the falls provide a position from which brown bear are able to catch salmon as the fish jump the falls or school in the pools below. Bears congregate at the falls and along the river below the falls during the sockeye salmon run that occurs in July. In September the bears return to Brooks River to eat the spawned-out salmon from the July run. The number of bear viewers is currently unregulated which can lead to human/bear encounters that are deleterious to the maintenance of a wild, free roaming bear population in the area, and potentially injurious to park visitors.

The sockeye salmon run and resident rainbow trout population provide excellent sportfishing opportunities. This combination of bear viewing and photographic opportunities and salmon and trout fishing is what attracts people to Brooks River. Sportfishing in the area is regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the National Park Service. No threatened or endangered species of plants or animals are known to occur in the Brooks River area. Bald eagles frequent the vicinity of Brooks River to feed on fish carrion created by the bears and to catch fish in the lakes and river. None are known to nest in the immediate area.

Visitation to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, under existing conditions, is inextricably tied to the Brooks River area because of the location of the lodge and the transportation system. Thus the geologic and scenic resources of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes must be considered as natural resources that can affect, and are affected by, the existing conditions at Brooks River.

Relevant Findings of the Brown Bear Behavior and Human Activity Study

The National Park Service commissioned a formal scientific study of the interaction of bears and people at Brooks River. The need for this study was referenced in the General Management Plan. Its findings and recommendations will be major factors in the proposals and conclusions drawn in this DCP. The final report, BROWN BEAR BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN ACTIVITY AT SALMON STREAMS IN KATMAI NATIONAL PARK, ALASKA was submitted to the National park Service in June 1990.

The following quotes are particularly relevant to understanding the existing conditions of brown bear utilization of the Brooks River area.

Brooks River is unique in the park....Although the ecological importance of this small area has not been determined quantitatively, the energetic contribution of these salmon must certainly be fundamental to a significant proportion of the park's bears. Planning and management for growth in visitation at Brooks River should recognize the implications of loss of access to this resource [p. 104].

The stability of Katmai National Park's brown bear population is tied to the food sources upon which the bears depend, particularly to the salmon concentrations such as Brooks River [p. 14].

Current levels of human use are effectively excluding some classes of bears (nonhabituated families, non-habituated singles; about 45 percent of all bears) from lower river zones and limiting fishing time within these zones [p. 104].

In July females with cubs of the year were observed approaching the river, then turning back when large numbers of people were encountered. Although the effects of such situations on survival and population productivity were not determined in this study, special management efforts to protect this cohort of bears are indicated by our observations. Nutritional and security needs of these families derive from the following considerations:

1) Females with two or three nursing cubs have high demand for nutritious salmon, and low body reserves of energy, especially early in the season.

2) Protection of cubs limits the range of river locations that such females can use because of potentially infanticidal males, and swift water. Also, some family groups tend to avoid people, which is especially difficult at the peak sockeye fishing season in July.

3) The first females with tiny cubs to approach the river near camp attract throngs of people. The numbers of people, combined with their resistance to abandoning fishing temporarily of aggressiveness in obtaining photographic opportunities can overwhelm the capability of rangers to provide these bears access to the river.

4) The task of simultaneously leaving cubs on a bank in order to rush into the river to catch fish, while remaining close and vigilant enough, appeared stressful to some females. Finding people on all sides caused some females to abandon their attempts to fish. [p. 105]

This research has demonstrated the importance of Brooks River below the falls as feeding habitat for bear families....Angling is the most intrusive human activity in this prime habitat because it requires that the person be in the river in direct competition for space with foraging bears. Resolution of this conflict through bear management is difficult without a policy determination about the relative priority of bears versus [sport]fishing [p. 108].

Fish capture [by bears] in the lower river appeared directly affected by human activity, either through interruption of feeding, or more subtly, by reduction of the amount of alert fishing by scanning bears [p. 36].

The relative impact on bears of structures and activities in forested areas at a distance from the river is infinitely smaller than similar development near the river, which disturbs a myriad of ecological processes based on salmon consumption [p. 104].

Noise produced by aircraft, boats, and construction, constitutes intrusive stimuli which may be differentially experienced by the various age-sex classes of bears frequenting the river. Displacement of family groups in particular could have population-level effects [p. 14].

Late season visitation at Brooks River risks aggressive confrontations with bears unaccustomed to meeting people; disruption of habitat use by families of bears is also likely. If the visitor season were to be extended, special precautions and restrictions would be necessary since the pattern of human use would become less predictable to the bears. Unexpected encounters are associated with aggressive interactions and injuries from bears worldwide [p. 106].

The Brooks River area qualifies as key habitat for brown bears not only because of the abundance of salmon in Brooks River, but also the exceptional availability of these fish at the Falls in July and the post-spawning salmon numbers in September and October....Brooks Camp could hardly have been located in a worse place for conflict with bear movements and access to the river's fish. Increased visitation has only exacerbated this conflict. A longer-term plan for Brooks Camp is being developed by the National Park Service, including an option to relocate the camp. From the perspective of reducing the multiple sources of disturbances to bears, a change in camp location is the one option that could resolve a host of management problems [p. 107].

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Extensive archeological remains indicate that people have lived in the Brooks River area for over 4000 years. These remains include at least 22 sites containing over 750 pit house depressions and other types of cultural resources, which constitute the Brooks River Archeological District. This property has been determined to be nationally significant for its potential to yield scientific information regarding the prehistoric human occupation of Alaska.

The Brooks Camp development has been built on top of four archeological sites, some of which contain the oldest human remains yet discovered in the Naknek Lake region. The foot trail to the bear viewing platform runs the length of one archeological site, containing evidence of the earliest habitation of the falls area by humans. The vehicle parking area at the end of the road to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is adjacent to an unstudied, but apparently large archeological site. The NPS facilities on Brooks Lake are next to an apparently extensive site dating to at least 2000 years ago.

The Brooks River area also contains one structure constructed in 1940 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (referred to as the old Log Cabin in this workbook). It once served as the field base for fish research throughout the Bristol Bay region. It has not been evaluated for its historic or architectural significance. The Log Cabin is old enough to qualify for evaluation of its significance to the National Register of Historic Places by virtue of its age. The park has no List of Classified Structures.

VISITOR USE, EXPERIENCE, AND INTERPRETATION

Before arriving at Brooks Camp, visitors presently have little opportunity to orient themselves to the resource or plan their trip. The present Park Headquarters and the multi-agency orientation kiosk in King Salmon provide a limited NPS presence. The National Park Service is very successful in contacting visitors as they arrive at Brooks Camp. Approximately 97 percent of all Brooks Camp visitors receive the Bear Safety Message during their orientation at the visitor contact station.

The interpretive program at Brooks Camp is minimal. Roving rangers are in a protection mode, protecting people from bears and bears from people, leaving them with little time for formal interpretation. The bear viewing platform near the falls is the highlight of most visits. Visitor demand and crowding have prohibited guided interpretive tours to the platform; however a roving ranger is assigned during peak periods. Only one guided tour is given a day to other areas of interest.

The Visitor Center (VC) is temporary (a converted construction crew barracks) and the interpretive media presentations are dated and do not address Brooks Camp specifically. The VC is not successful in presenting an overview of the Brooks Camp story (the interrelationships of the volcanic story as related to bears, fish, and people over time) and does not serve as an anchor for the interpretive program. The cultural story is an obscure element of the interpretive program. The reconstructed Eskimo Pit House is an effective means of interpretation; however, the noncentral location of both the VC and the pit house limit the number of visitors. Less than 10 percent of visitors go to the VC or pit house. The recent conversion of the Ranger Station to the function of primary contact station for visitors arriving at Brooks Camp has greatly improved communications and information exchange between rangers and visitors. Concession operated tours take visitors to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes; however interpretation on the bus, at the Three Forks Overlook, and along the valley trail is minimal. The visitor experience at Brooks Camp is focused on the activities of bear viewing, fishing and touring the valley with limited opportunity for understanding the themes of each area and their interrelationships. The current interpretive program at Brooks Camp is one of missed opportunity.

ADMINISTRATION AND GENERAL DEVELOPMENT

Administration, management, and maintenance of the Brooks River area and the adjoining road to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (Valley Road) constitutes the park's major investment in terms of money, personnel, and resources management. It has been estimated that 80+ percent of the total park budget of $1,049,000 is used to directly and indirectly support the Brooks River area operation. Even with this level of funding, normal maintenance, visitor services, and resource protection is difficult to fully achieve. Preparation for the seasonal operation of Brooks Camp begins in May with the process of thawing frozen water and sewer lines, repairing utilities, opening buildings, grading the Valley Road, clearing trails, replacing the built-up gravel trail along the lower river, placing the floating bridge in the river, etc. This activity requires that both wheeled and tracked equipment be driven across the lower river to access the camp area. This may compact the gravel in the salmon spawning beds. During this time it is not feasible to use boats for transportation, so all access is via floatplane.

By the last week of May, a full staff of NPS and concession employees is in place. The park staff currently summering in the Brooks River area consists of a Park Ranger Supervisor, Interpretive

Specialist, Wildlife Biologist, nine seasonal ranger/interpreters, five volunteers, and 10 seasonal maintenance workers. The concession operation normally consists of an on-site Manager and eighteen employees. Other park staff periodically involved in the Brooks River area operation include the Superintendent, Chief Ranger, and Concessions Specialist. Available housing limits the number of employees summering in the Brooks River area.

The summer visitor season for Brooks Lodge begins June 1 and extends through September 10. The 60 person concession guest facilities are usually full throughout the season. Campground use is generally light to moderate through late June, but demand usually exceeds the 60 person limit throughout the month of July. Campground use gradually declines in August and is light during September.

Day visitation has constituted the greatest increase in human use of the Brooks River area. This began in the late 1970's and early 1980's when the area was opened to Commercial Use License operations. Numerous private lodges from as far away as Lake Clark NP&P flew increasing numbers of guests to Brooks River to sport fish and watch bears. The development of a large hotel in King Salmon and recent involvement of major tour companies led to increasing numbers of persons being flown to the Brooks River area to view bears and take the bus trip to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Over the past few years there has been an increasing number of foreign visitors. A small, but growing number of backcountry canoeists and backpackers begin and end their trips at Brooks Camp.

Although park rangers orient arriving visitors to bear safety concerns, ranger patrols are often focused on preventing close encounters between fishermen and bears. The scatter of fishermen and photographers up and down Brooks River often results in rangers alerting fishermen and photographers to warn of an approaching bear and to direct them to move out of the area. In many cases, close encounters between bears and fishermen or photographers are only discovered through secondhand reports. During July, rangers are frequently called upon to lend assistance during their off time. In August, when visitation declines slightly and bear numbers drop dramatically, conflicts decrease. Ranger efforts seek to prevent excessive habituation and food-conditioning of bears, and to insure that bears are allowed necessary access to the river in competition with human visitors.

Bears return to Brooks River in greater numbers during September, therefore, the National Park Service requires the concession operation to close on September 10. An additional 10 days are required to complete winterizing the facilities. A battery powered electric fence is erected around the concessioner's lodge and office/trading post buildings to discourage bear damage. Two park staff remain in the camp to study bear behavior and meet visitors through the first week of October.

The current facilities and visitor access in and around the Brooks River/Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes area directly influence both the safety and enjoyment of park visitors. The following describes existing development conditions:

Campground: The existing size, design, and location are inadequate to meet visitor needs. Occupancy is now limited to 60 campers and 7 day camping limit. Demand often exceeds 100 during peak season. The campground is also subject to bear traffic and requires campers to walk between the developed area and camping area along a heavily used bear travel route. Campers walking to and from the campground frequently conflict with bear movements along Naknek Lake beach. The campground is in a poor location. Drainage