In 1957, Henry (Hank) Hansen and Jim King identified important habitat for molting geese in an area now referred to as the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area (TLSA) in northern Alaska. Located within the larger National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-AK), the importance of this habitat was reaffirmed by the Secretary of Interior in 1977 with the designation of the TLSA. In 1976, the Waterfowl Department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Migratory Bird Management-Alaska (MBM-AK) began conducting aerial goose surveys within an area of the TLSA that they designated as the Traditional Survey Area. These surveys continued through 1978, after which there was a three-year hiatus. Surveys began again in 1982 and continued through 2019. In 2010, additional survey areas were added by name (not number) to the annual survey. Details about spatial extent modifications and survey frequencies of the Traditional Survey Area as well as the these additional survey areas can be found under the “Study Area” section of each annual survey report. Another break in surveys occurred from 2020 to 2021 due to COVID-19 fieldwork restrictions; surveys are slated to begin again in 2022. The primary goal of the molting goose surveys is to monitor the abundance and distribution of 4 species of geese [i.e., Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), Taverner’s cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii taverneri), greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons frontalis), and lesser snow goose (Chen caerulescens)] during their flightless wing molt in the area north and east of Teshekpuk Lake. Specific objectives include measuring: 1) annual minimum counts and locations of adult geese and goslings, 2) relative species composition, 3) annual production, and 4) opportunistic counts and locations of loons, swans, and other waterbirds.
