FY2008-25 Sitka Deer State ResolutionKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
RESOLUTION NO. FY2008 -25
Introduced by: Assembly
Requested by: Dr. Jake Jacobson
Drafted by: Dr. Jake Jacobson
Introduced: 02/21/2008
Adopted: 02/21/2008
A RESOLUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
REQUESTING STATE FUNDING OF RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSE OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN
SITKA DEER IN THE KODIAK ARCHIPELAGO AND HOW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM
WHEREAS, since perhaps 1994, the population of Sitka black -tail deer on the Kodiak
Archipelago, especially on Aliulik Peninsula with 70% affected males, increasingly has displayed
a birth defect termed bilateral cryptorchidism, rendering males sterile because their testes never
descend into the scrotum (another 6% on Aliulik Peninsula have only 1 scrotal testis); and
WHEREAS, an unusually high incidence of cancer cells has been found in scrotal testes of
otherwise normal appearing male Sitka black -tail deer on the Aliulik Peninsula; and
WHEREAS, because wildlife often serve as a sentinel for human afflictions, the incidence of
testicular cancer and cryptorchidism in Sitka black - tailed deer on the Kodiak Archipelago has
implications for the health of residents of this Borough; and
WHEREAS, this birth defect is a threat to the deer population of the Archipelago, because of
reduced numbers of fertile breeding males and possible yet undetected defects occurring in
female deer; and
WHEREAS, sport hunting and wildlife viewing are important to the economy of Kodiak Borough,
and these activities and local subsistence hunting may be negatively affected by these birth
defects; and
WHEREAS, study of the nature and magnitude of this problem afflicting Sitka black - tailed deer
on the Kodiak Archipelago has been spearheaded by Dr. James P "Jake" Jacobson, of Kodiak,
and publications by he and colleagues in peer- reviewed journals (eg, Environ Health Persp
114(Suppl 1): 41 -59, 2006) have been accomplished without funding by the State of Alaska; and
WHEREAS, ignoring this multi- faceted problem in Kodiak's deer population would be imprudent;
and
WHEREAS, the National Institutes of Health or similar Federal agencies are unlikely to fund a
study of deer movement patterns, favored browse, or content of potential causative agents in
browse;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND
BOROUGH THAT the Assembly urges the State of Alaska to fund a project, potentially led by
Dr C Loren Buck of the University of Alaska Anchorage with assistance of Dr Jacobson and
others, to study movement patterns, favored browse, and fetuses of female Sitka Black- tailed
deer and also to analyze and link concentrations of potential causative agents in body tissues
Kodiak Island Borough Resolution No. FY2008 -25
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and browse, with the goal of identifying the underlying cause of these birth defects in deer and
publishing the results, so that wildlife personnel can recommend a course of action.
ATTEST:
ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
THIS TWENTY FIRST DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2008
Nova M. Javier, CMC, Borough Clerk
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
Kodiak Island Borough Resolution No. FY2008 -25
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