AnimalVoicesNews SARAH PALIN: THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES? NO!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Source/Letters: www.adn.com/help/letters/ or <letters @ adn.com> Link: <http://dwb.adn.com/front/story/9253882p-9168881c.html> With Comments Anchorage Daily News $400,000 approved to educate Alaskans about wolf killing APPROPRIATION: What state calls education, foes call PR against initiative. By ALEX deMARBAN ademarban @ adn.com (close spaces) Find Alex deMarban online at adn.com/contact/ademarban or call 257-4310. Published: August 26, 2007 Last Modified: August 27, 2007 at 01:28 AM Opponents of the state's predator control program are blasting lawmakers and the governor for approving a $400,000 appropriation to educate Alaskans about the aerial shooting of wolves and efforts to reduce bears in some areas. They say the capital budget money is really an attempt to influence voters, who will decide next year whether to ban aerial shooting and land-and-shoot hunting by private citizens. "It's outrageous," said co-sponsor Joel Bennett of Alaskans for Wildlife. "It looks like it's a clear effort to thwart the public will." State game managers don't know how they will spend the money but it won't be used to influence the election, said Ron Clarke, assistant director for the state's Division of Wildlife Conservation. "We're a science-based agency," he said. The state will try to share that information in a way the public can understand, he said. Aerial predator control lets private citizens shoot wolves from the air or conduct land-and-shoot hunting of wolves in five rural areas of the state. In the last year, the state has also liberalized bear hunting in some of those same areas, including no bag limits and land-and-shoot hunting of black bears in Game Management Unit 16 across Cook Inlet from Anchorage. The effort is intended to boost moose and caribou numbers. More than 700 wolves have been killed since the program began almost five years ago. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates there are 7,000 to 11,000 wolves in Alaska. Wildlife biologists say that population can sustain an annual harvest of 30 percent to 40 percent of that number. The number of wolves the state wants killed each year is a fraction of that percentage. In the most recent season that ended last spring, for example, wildlife managers wanted no more than 664 wolves killed. The initiative, approved for the August primary election ballot, will ask voters to change the law so that only Department of Fish and Game personnel can shoot wolves or bears from the air, or land and shoot the predators. The department would need to prove that a biological emergency exists, said Bennett, a former Board of Game member. In other words, that predators have killed so many moose or caribou that the game populations might not recover. Alaska voters approved essentially the same measure in 1996 and 2000. Both times, the Alaska Legislature allowed the Game Board to create the programs after the two-year initiatives expired. The money for the education campaign will help promote hunting and trapping, but the effort should emphasize the predator control program, according to a project description. A "major public relations effort" is needed to educate Alaskans about the value of the program, it says. Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, requested the measure. He could not be reached Saturday. GETTING THE WORD OUT Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd would not comment about the education money when asked Friday. He wrote a column in the pro-hunting Alaska Outdoor Council's summer newsletter saying the wildlife division plans to educate the public about predator control largely by distributing two publications through Fish and Game offices statewide. A booklet will explain the science behind the program and an annual report will detail its goals and successes. One success has been in the 23,000-square-mile Game Management Unit 13, between Cantwell and Glennallen, where the effort has boosted moose numbers, game managers say. This spring, the state reported that aerial moose surveys show moose increased by 14 percent and calves by 110 percent. The publications will emphasize that wolves and bears aren't threatened and that the program won't change that, Lloyd wrote. They will also note that the state won't eliminate animals from areas where aerial hunting is allowed. Clarke didn't think the appropriation would be used to pay for those efforts, he said. Department officials are still working with the Game Board to determine how the $400,000 should be spent, he said. They hope to start the campaign by this fall. The timing of the education campaign -- months before the election -- makes it propaganda, said Tom Banks, Alaska-based spokesman for Defenders of Wildlife. "If it was some small amount, maybe $40,000 or something, I could see they'd get out basic info, but $400,000 will pay for an awful lot of campaigning," he said. The Washington, D.C.-based group blasted the measure in a fundraising e-mail sent to members last week, saying Gov. Sarah Palin signed off on the "propaganda campaign to justify the state's barbaric wolf slaughter from the skies." The group is wrong, Palin said Friday. "My understanding is this program was funded by the Legislature to factually explain game management practices to Alaskans, and I don't have a problem with that," said Palin, who supports the state's predator-control program. -------------COMMENTS---------------------------- Comments Please log in to post comments. 23Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 10:02pm | awimages Watch Important New Video As a fellow hunting family, I invite you to see the new video, Ending Aerial Wolf Hunting ( http://current.com/items/88811075_end_aerial_wolf_hunting )Created by long-time wildlife photographers and residents of Alaska, this explosive video blasts the justification for Alaska's current aerial wolf hunting program and rallies voters to end it. Using testimony from Alaska Department of Fish & Ga ... read more 22Sunday, September 30, 2007 - 12:58pm | aksniper_1 Control??? Too much about Control. We humans were never ever, really in control ever, in the past or future, the earth is tired of man and his illusion of control that he thinks he has. its all around us its happening, 100 years from now will it matter? Everything is changing and it does not look like we can CONTROL it, just be glad when we wake in the morning or evening, if you work the night shift,or do no ... read more 21Friday, September 14, 2007 - 2:58pm | kmkmci Alaskans Know More Than Legislators/Governor Alaskans already know that the healthiest moose, caribou, and Dall sheep populations in the State are in places like Denali National Park where the wolves are allowed to flourish, habitat is protected, and nature keeps the predator/prey population in balance. I suspect most Alaska politicians know this as well. It would be interesting to know the full story behind the lobby and pressure for thi ... read more 20Friday, September 14, 2007 - 10:24am | jillvic Wolf Slaughter All over the world it seems that wherever there are humans who want to hunt an animal, the natural preditors get slaughtered. Its the humans who should be stopped from hunting, they are the problem. 19Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - 7:55am | tlevings Wolf and Bear control I seem to be missing something here. Slaughtering bears and wolves because of the moose population is declining is supposed to be the answer to help increase the moose population but giving folks the right to kill the moose, including the cows that carry the calf, is alright to do. If the moose population is in danger why are hunting permits being given out?? What's wrong with this picture? Th ... read more 18Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 12:20pm | Gammerway $400,000 Did someone say "tax payer money"? What state taxes do any of us actually pay? If it's so important that someone "educate" the public about this program why aren't there organizations like Defenders but with a different view point out there doing so? Get the NRA interested, that might help.I think that a decline in the population of moose & caribou might need to be researched more deeply-- ... read more 17Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 9:46pm | tundraheart $400,000.00 to educate Alaskans about wolf killing I am an Alaskan resident. Just WHY do I need to be educated about the massacre of wolves from a plane being a great idea and a perfect way to "save" the moose population? What part of nature's cycle don't I understand? What part of man's interference, disrespect, stupidity don't I understand? What do I need to be further educated on the number of moose killed on the road, by trains, poachers, in d ... © Copyright 2008, The Anchorage Daily News, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Judy Reed AnimalVoices Speaking For Animals & Their Environment This is distibuted for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. [Ref.http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html] You are invited to read past articles and alerts, subscribe, or unsubscribe at: AnimalVoicesNews: www.groups-beta.google.com/group/AnimalVoicesNews AnimalVoicesAlerts: www.groups-beta.google.com/group/AnimalVoicesAlerts BushWatchersNews: www.groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=bushwatchernews&start=0&scoring=d To unsubscribe, send email to: (close spaces around @) <AnimalVoicesNews-unsubscribe @ googlegroups.com> <AnimalVoicesAlerts-unsubscribe @ googlegroups.com> <BushWatcherNews-unsubscribe @ googlegroups.com> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
