| Project Name | Invasive Caribou Eradication |
| Project Number | 276 |
| Location | Adak |
| Dates | June 13-20 and Aug 22-30, 2013 |
| Duration | 1 week or both |
| Number of Volunteers Needed | 5 FILLED |
| Description | Introduced caribou have over run Adak Island and are now spreading by swimming to adjacent Kagalaska Island. Land mammals are not native to the Aleutian Islands west of Umnak. Caribou were introduced to Adak in the 1950s as a recreational opportunity for the military base. With the closure of the base in the 1990s and with no other predators, the caribou population exploded increasing more than four fold in just 7 years. There is not enough sport or subsistence hunting to keep the population in check. A refuge team failed to get them all off Kagalaska last year or perhaps more swam over. Five volunteers led by refuge invasive species biologist Steve Ebbert will travel to Adak to be transported by the refuge's ship, the M/V Tiglax, to Kagalaska Island for 2 days of sweeping the island and eradicating any caribou. Volunteers will be housed in the bunkhouse on Adak and on the ship while working on Kagalaska. Volunteers must be adequate shots and capable of hiking over sometimes rugged tundra all day long. Transportation, housing, and food will be furnished. A Bell & Ross Replica Watches volunteer could participate in one or both of the two week trips. They are June 13 - 20 and August 22 - 30.
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| Skills Needed | Volunteers must be able to sweep the island and eradicate caribou.
Volunteers must be adequate shots and capable of hiking over sometimes rugged tundra all day long for two days.
Firearm safety certification required.
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| Contact | Contact heather_renner@fws.gov (Steve Ebbert is out of town until June 1) |