Community Flyer for USGS Walrus Carcass Surveys

This is a community flyer for distribution in Point Lay, Alaska, to alert community members of USGS activities in the area. A collaborative team of USGS, the North Slope Borough, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Point Lay residents will assist in surveys of walrus carcasses at a remote coastal haulout that has been used by hundreds of thousands of walruses each autumn since 2007. The team will survey the currently vacant haulout site using a small survey drone so USGS can develop methods to estimate numbers of walrus carcasses at this and other remote sites in Alaska and Russia using satellite imagery. The North Slope Borough Wildlife Veterinarian will screen walrus carcasses for algal toxins and wildlife diseases.