European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                If the wanning in relations continues soviets May be Able to go kayaking on Waters in Alaska is these american tourists Ere doing. They were released Only after concerted diplomatic dict Ivity by the state department and Stevens and after being warned never again to enter soviet Walers. Alaskans Lisa like to contrast recent friendliness with the september 1983 shooting Down of a korean air lines Boeing 747 i homily after the aircraft took Olf from Anchorage and Rayed into soviet airspace. All 263 passengers died and he incident illustrates to Many Here that the soviets were cry nervous Aboul their far Easl Border. Gorbachev s chief spokesman Gennadi i. Gerasimov was a main Force behind soviet approval of the Friendship flight specifically and the new mood of cooperation generally according to alaskan officials who have helped Mph negotiations. Gerasimov visited the state in april for the second Lime n As Many years. He told a chamber of Commerce lunch crowd in Anchorage tha he spent his childhood in far Eastern Siberia and often wondered what Lay across the Bering sea. Gerasimov said the russian people have a romantic Mac Ament to Alaska and hold it close to their hearts. Alaska which Russia sold 1o the United slates in 1867 or 17.2 million is Stilt known in the soviet Union As russian America Gerasimov said. In private meetings Gerasimov was enthusiastic about the Many ideas for opening Siberia although he cautioned both sides Musl be patient and persistent said David Ramseur. Cowper s press Secretary. Tober 8,19bb concern Over the Alaska Walrus though not particularly photogenic walruses Are a . By Dean Fosdick associated press n Oisy sightseers and fishermen intruding on the walruses of round Island Alaska May be causing the blubber beasts to Danec to the soviet Union where they enjoy More privacy. Each summer thousands of Bull walruses haul out on tha huge rocks that ring the Shore of Hal Raisl enshrouded Island 13 Miles Oil Southwest Alaska. The pulling snorting hissing mammals ponderously Heava their 2 tons of bulk from the frigid Waters of the Bering sea and shoulder and poke their Way with their huge Ivory tusks into the overlapping mass of their thick skinned Brethren. Each is seeking a place in the Sun a spot to rest Between seven to 10-Day feeding Menzles. From a distance they look like layers of cinnamon coloured fringe stitched to the base of the Cliffs. Up close they look More like be whiskered bachelors sleeping off the effects of a Boozy Boach parly eyes closed Heads Down their bodies oozing info crevices in the rocks. While the males Are piled up on beaches As far South As Kodiak Island and Yakutat Bay the females and their Young remain with the pack ice North of the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Ocean. But the number of Pacific walruses thai haul out there and in lesser numbers at the other six islands of the Walrus islands slate game Sanctuary have started to decline again after a spectacular comeback thai peaked in the 1970s. On round Island they have enjoyed considerable privacy in the past largely because of the weather and location the nearest Community is Togiak some 33 Miles by charter boat to the Northeast. Summertime weather is characterized by wind rain and High Waves that make approach by floatplane or Small boat hazardous if not impossible. Bui with increased commercial Bottom fishing activity end the Prospect of Oil exploration and development in Salmon Rich Bristol Bay All that isolation May come to an end. And that has some professional Walrus watchers concerned. Walruses Are pretty sensitive to  says Lloyd Lowry. A Marine mammal specialist Ullh the Alaska department of fish and game in Fairbanks. There s More than a Little concern 1ha1 the noise caused by the fishery has adversely influenced Tho haul out. People on the Island say they sometimes can hear the radios on the Bridges of the  Ken Taylor another state biologist monitors Walrus numbers from his office in Dillingham. In the mid-1970s, we had As Many As 15,000 animals there Taylor says. It was 4,400 last year and about 4,500 now. The difficult thing is there Are so Many reasons Tor the numbers to go up and Down to my mind the sheer number of boats out there with motors droning in the water sets up an acoustical noise Hal May be a  the two game technicians on round Island this summer Polly Hessing and Judy Brandt say they counted As Many As 180 boats in the area during a Peak fishing period this Spring. Although the vessels were outside the to the limit established around the Sanctuary the noise they made was loud enough to Force the women to close the windows in their Cabin so they could gel some sleep. The stale set up Iho Sanctuary in i960 to protect the last remaining Walrus hauling grounds in the South Bering sea. Thirty permits a Day Hall for overnight and Hall Lor Day use Are available for people wishing to visit the Island. Access however is restricted to a narrow corridor fronting a Grassy Campground. New arrivals Are asked to Anchor onshore until the technicians can pick them up in their Small inflatable raft. Although walruses get lop Billing the treeless Island also supports nearly 450,000 sea Birds primarily common murres Black legged Kittiwakes cormorants parakeet anklets horned and tufted puffins and gulls. Red Fox on the Island Are unafraid of people and often share trails with campers. Hundreds of sea Lions provide a change in the soundtrack on the Island s Southern beaches and a showy mix of wildflowers anchors the thin soil on ils talus covered slopes. No one scorns to know much about the dynamics of the Pacific Walrus Herd. It s believed to comprise some 234,000 animals dating Back to its 18th Century Levels before commercial harvesting severely depleted ils numbers. We have a lot of Broad scale Inlo Malion but Little in the Way of specifics about haul outs and Lood Lowry says we know the population is Large we Don t know its Bounds. Walrus came Back from virtually no animals in the 40a. To Peak counts in Iho late 70s." the population on round Island dipped As Low As 3,000 in 1983. Changes in the climate variations in the food Chain the growing volume of noise and other human disturbances Are being blamed for what appears to be a downward trend. Two years does no a trend make but to Are becoming concerned Lowry says. Walrus Are fairly irad Lional about where they haul out so Are sea Lions Bui there Are several other places they could go and we Don l know if the Herd is simply splitting up or what it s  the two mile Buffer and surveillance by Lish and game personnel stationed there from May to september o each year is credited with limiting some of the human disturbance such As illegal Hunting spoiler planes from the herring fishery buzzing the Island and boats coming too close. Taylor says the soviet Union is More protective of its Walrus Herd. On the soviet coast aircraft Are held to 10,000-foot minimums and boats restricted to 16 Miles he says it May be because of those More severe restrictions Hal More Pacific walruses Aie hauling out  officials Are considering lightening regulations governing at least the fishery near round Island this is a unique place he largest hauling ground in the United Stales Lowry says. It would be a shame to lose  the stars and stripes Page 15