Date of Award

Fall 11-21-2026

Document Type

Masters Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.S. in Geographic Information Science

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment

First Advisor

Steven Hick

Second Advisor

Kyle Joly

Third Advisor

Kristopher Kuzera

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Caribou, Non-local hunting, Alaska, Migration, Hunting pressure

Abstract

Indigenous Alaskans rely on subsistence hunting for food, with Barren-ground caribou making up approximately 27% of their diet. It is believed by subsistence hunters that non-local hunting is forcing a change in caribou migration behavior. This study examined non-local harvesting records from 2013 – 2025 in the northwest and interior Game Management Units (GMU) and Alaksa’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) migration range data to answer the question, is there a spatial relationship between non-local harvests and WACH migration behavior. Mixed methods included spatial autocorrelation and local statistics. Findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis which will help inform caribou management policies and regulations for non-local hunting that meets Indigenous Alaskan food security needs while improving wildlife management decision-making.

Copyright Date

6-4-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Brittney L. JiménezSzabo

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

42 pgs

File Size

9.1 MB

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