Yukon River mushers are in dire straits

FAIRBANKS - Anthony Shewfelt has about a month's worth of food remaining for his 22 sled dogs, which gives him more time than some of his fellow Fort Yukon mushers.

If food gets too scarce, Shewfelt will attempt to sell his dogs or give them away. If he cannot do that, he will kill the dogs he has raised since he was 12 rather than let them starve to death.

"The last thing I want to do is starve a dog," he said.

It's a decision he does not want to make, but Shewfelt and several other mushers in the Yukon River city rely on the fall chum salmon run to feed their kennels, and a poor season has left them in a bind.

This is not the first time an insufficient fall catch has translated into trouble for Yukon River kennels. Poor fishing seasons have caused this problem several times in the past couple of decades, spurring massive charitable donations.

The issue caught statewide attention again when Tamara Henry, the natural resources director for Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich'in Tribal Government, sent an e-mail Tuesday to legislators and media outlets across the state, pleading for assistance.

Kevin Solomon is thankful that Henry sent the e-mail.

Solomon does not have a month to wait. The couple of hundred fish he caught disappeared quickly. After losing his job in October, he cannot afford commercial feed.

In Fairbanks, a ton of the cheapest feed - 26 percent protein, 14 percent fat - costs about $1,100. Higher-quality dog food - 30 percent protein, 20 percent

In Fort Yukon, those prices jump to approximately $2,500 per ton for food shipped from Fairbanks, nearly $50 for a 40-pound bag. The same bag costs $63 at the Fort Yukon general store, Shewfelt estimated.

Solomon said he can make it through the winter with a ton of feed. His kennel has shrunk from 15 to 10 dogs. He sold two, gave two away and had to kill one when it tried to eat a pup.

He has not been a musher for long - just seven years - but he hopes to keep Fort Yukon's sled dog tradition alive. He feels it brings the village together and provides a useful alternative to gasoline-fueled vehicles.

"If we can continue with dog mushing, we can help keep our community together," he said. "After a long winter, people look forward to races in the spring."

Not all Fort Yukon dog teams are in dire straits from the shortage.

Clifton Cadzow said he and his son, Josh, usually supplement their fall catch with about a ton of commercial dry feed for their 20 dogs.

This year, the Cadzows plan to buy two tons of commercial dry feed because of the shortage.

Fellow Fort Yukon musher Ryan Strom also has had to buy about a ton of additional commercial feed this winter for his 26 sled dogs, six of which are pups.

In Fort Yukon, the summer runs were a little below average, but the fall chums fell far short of expectations, said Fred Bue, a commercial fish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The Yukon River in 2010 had an inconsistent fall season, Bue said. Some places on the river reported good runs while chum or coho salmon were scarce elsewhere.

Fish and Game had predicted a strong fall run and set restrictions for midway through the season, halting fishing for 2 1/2 days in each of three weeks in Fort Yukon's district 5D.

The high expectations likely caused many fishermen to wait until the weather cooled, Bue said, because they prefer to fish in near-freezing conditions that make meat easy to preserve.

No matter Fish and Game's prediction, the small amount of fish would have led to a bad season in Fort Yukon, he added.

Solomon does not feel the mid-season hiatus was a bad call by Fish and Game.

"I don't have a problem with anybody," he said. "Not Fish and Game, they do what they have to do to count the stocks."

No aid effort to collect dog food has been organized so far.

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