Personally, I'm getting real tired of hearing about stories like this...
- -----Original Message-----
From: Wolfhawk.s Lady <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Wolfhawk's Lady <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tuesday, August 04, 1998 3:22 AM
Subject: EMERGENCY!!!!!
ALERT
OPEN SEASON ON THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS WOLVES
On August 10 the hunting season for wolves and their four month old pups will begin
outside Denali National Park and Preserve, and on over half the lands on the inside.
The bag limit is ten wolves for park land subsistence hunters and five for those with
a regular state hunting license.
This summer's hunt could result in the extinction of the world's most
famous pack. The Toklat (East Fork) family was the first group of wolves studied in the
wild, and the resulting book by Adolph Murie has become a classic. Even more
remarkable,
the Toklat wolves have been continuously monitored for over half a century, making
them the oldest family lineage of wolves known to science. Dr. Gordon Haber, who in
1966
took over from Adolph Murie in researching the Toklat and other wolves of Denali,
says,
"I have felt a great sense of wonder in having personally watched this fascinating
group since my arrival.
They have a sophisticated family structure that provides invaluable insight about the
dynamics of social systems in general".
"Giving complete protection to the Toklat wolves also makes good economic sense", says
Dr.
Paul Joslin, wolf biologist and executive director of the Alaska Wildlife
Alliance. "For more than 60 years the Toklat family has been seen by park visitors.
300,000
to 400,000 tourists visit Denali annually. Studies have shown that the average
tourist is willing to spend over $4,000 on a trip to Alaska that includes the
expectation of seeing a live wolf.
The Toklat wolves are the most viewed in the world. Considering that no wolf family
has yet been given full legal protection anywhere in Alaska, protecting these wolves
would have special significance".
A precedent already exists for an animal that is much more abundant. The Denali
caribou herd, which currently numbers about 2,500 head, is protected both inside and
outside the park and preserve, and has been since 1976. There are over a million
caribou in Alaska, and their numbers have more than tripled in the past two decades.
The Alaska Wildlife Alliance has asked the park authorities to consider
giving legal protection to the Toklat wolves when they are within the reserve, and to
request the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) to take similar action whenever
the pack
moves onto state lands. The need for action is critical. This past year the Toklat
wolves
plummeted from 12 to two adults. Much of the decline occurred when they moved onto
state
lands where hunting and trapping was in full swing. The Alliance has also discussed
the matter
with Governor Tony Knowles and the ADFG in hopes that federal and state agency
cooperation, coupled with public support, will result in swift action.
We need your help. Please contact Stephen Martin, Denali Park
Superintendent, P.O. Box 9,
Denali Park, AK 99755, tel. 907 683-2294, fax 907 683-9612, and Governor
Tony Knowles State
Capitol, P.O. Box 110001, Juneau, AK 99811, tel. 907 465-3500, fax 907
465-3532, e-mail
[EMAIL PROTECTED], and ask them to give the Toklat wolves full legal protection
from both hunting and trapping.
"If this family is destroyed", says Joslin, "along with them will go their traditional
knowledge. New wolves moving into the area will not know where to den, where, when,
and what to hunt, or what trails to follow. Much strife can be expected to occur
between the newcomers and their wolf neighbors, other predators and with their prey,
all of which may take years to stabilize. We are just beginning to understand the
complexities that go on in the functioning of a wolf family and how it relates to the
ecosystem.
The good news is that the remaining pair of Toklat wolves have given birth to four
pups, so
there is still a chance to keep the lineage going, if we will just stop killing them".
"I agree", says Joel Bennett, Alaskan representative for Defenders of Wildlife, and
former member of the Alaska Board of Game. "To save these wolves is to put them on a
par with saving the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, or the tigers in India".
For more information, contact The Alaska Wildlife Alliance, P.O. box
202022, Anchorage, AK,
99520, tel. 907 277-0897, fax 907 277-7423, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED],
Tim Hundsdorfer
(303) 556-2770
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
