Recent comments

Don't be too hard on yourself Marion. Even the acknowledged best of the best, photogs who employ with and free-lance for National Geographic, Nature, Smithsonian and the like, can't make every shot perfect. For every one the makes publication there are literally DOZENS that end up in the round file. Perfection is a noble goal towards which to reach, but in reality, too many times unattainable. But by setting your sights lower, you'll never reach your full potential. Your lack of satisfaction is noteworthy, but then again, so is this shot!!

I too would like to thank FACT for providing us that information. Mark, Thank You! finally an intellegent educated hunter Outdoorsman who no doubt hunts with ethically and morally as well as skill. I would like to hear from more hunters that understand the issue of fair chase hunting and who beleive the bear hunting on Katmai Nationa Preserve is nothing more than mindless target practice for skill-less hunters. Bear Hunter", please don't lecture us about not having great outdoor hunting skills or experience!! As aprofessional photographer I've spent many years out on the Katmai, on Kodiac and in Canada with the bears. I've had a young brown bear walk up to me lick my boot and paw at my tripod so don't lecture me or anyone else about your great hunting skills. It takes no mind or skill at all to step off a plane walk a few feet and slaughter a bear or anyother animal with a gun. Why don't you try hunting wildlife with a camera instead of standing in-between them with a 7mag or H+H 375 mag and tell me if you don't wet your pants?? The issue is unethical hunting of brown bears in the Fall on Katmai National Preserve. Bear Hunter watch the video, pay attentionand listen... "what a great shot, the bears, they just don't even care. " another hunter says wow' the bear's walking right up to us" Fact" brought up some excellnt points about the age of the animals being shot on Katmai. They're becoming younger and younger and I know a group of people who have to go out every year at the end of the hunt and deal with the orphaned cubs wow" what a job!! You see, what the Alaska BOG doesn't mention is the "water-shed" affect killing a female with cubs has on the bear population because killing one bear may lead to the death of two or three bears, which is one reason the bear numbers are dropping. I'm not calling all hunters ruthless savages, just the hunters/guides out on Katmai gunning down the bears pointblank. I've had many conversations with hunters about this issue and all are in agreement, this is not hunting in any stretch of the imagination, but ruthless slaughter of our wildlife. No doubt the big bear hunters come back home and tell everyone about their big bear hunt and how tough and dangerous it was, why tracking a huge Grizzly through miles of bush; well the video is now showing the people what's really happening on Katmai. The Park does belong to all Americans, not just Alaska based hunting guides.

PLEASE WRITE YOUR LOCAL CONGRESSMAN IN PPROTEST OF SLAUGHTERING BEARS ON KATMAI NATIONAL PRESERVE. GMU 9C 703 KATMAI NATIONAL PARK.

SEND EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF THE NATIONAL PARKS VIDEO LINK SO THEY TOO CAN SEE THE VIDEO FOR THEMSELVES AND READ THE COMMENTS.

When all land is private, there wont be any place to have a private picnic!
Yes it will come. Just a matter of when>

Blaszak's response is pure bureaucratic agency speak. It reminds me of the form letter I get back from my Congressman after writing him about nerve gas leaks and above ground bomb tests.

"We appreciate your concern for the park and its resources and welcome your continued participation in the public process."

These are the words of a person secure in their permanent civil service status with a fat & happy government retirement package safely on the horizon.

These are people I would not trust to mow my lawn, much less manage a vast and complex wilderness on the edge of nowhere. She is just a small cog in a massive bureaucracy that is unnaccountable in more ways than any of us would care to contemplate. Worst of all there is very little we can do about it short of a tax revolt.

Ms. Blaszak is the impersonal and obfuscating face of a Kafkaesque nightmare of an agency that is unable or unwilling to call this hunt what it really is: a bloody slaughter.

Oh, I doubt if you could mount much of a case to support your statement insinuating that I'm ignorant of wildlife issues, and that the almighty Board of Game, NPS, DF&G, or other all-knowing agencies should be held in the highest reverence and left to their own devices in their decision making processes regarding the "resources" contained within our parklands. Nobody is above that measure of scrutiny Bear Hunter. The last time the American public left an elected official above the level of scrutiny, we were treated to an up-close and personal view of an idiot who claimed that he didn't even know what sex was, and I cannot EVER allow for that puny level of intellect to become the leading influence on policy that directly impacts some portion of my life, since after all, they're spending MY money, and every taxpayer should demand accountability. It's not only our right, it's our duty as citizens. If you enjoy being a sheep and following orders without question, that's your call. But don't expect or demand that others swear that same blind oath.

What's your problem Gerald!? You seem to despise anyone that offers constructive criticism.

This is such a tragic incident, and while I do think the parents could have been watching her more carefully, accidents do happen, and in most cases they are not as fatal as this. This should remind us how lucky we are to be alive. My heart goes out to the mother and father, and the young girl whose life was tragically cut short.

Sell it to the national forest service ------- they are more friendly toward
public use than the national park sevice can be.

Gerald, what is your Ph.D. in?

How many of you people commenting have even hunted brown bears? How many of you live in Alaska? Most brown bears this time of year do ignore you as they are more concerned with finding food. It doesnt matter if you are in Katmai reserve or the yukon river or king salmon, if you are hunting a fall bear theres a good chance he wont notice you if you walk up to him. For you people that call the hunters ruthless and savages - why dont you come walk within a couple feet of a mature brown bear and see if you dont wet yourself? How about you Bob? You say a 2 year old could make that shot? I could walk you up to 100yards away and I would probably have to pull the trigger for you. The Department of Fish and Game and the Parks Service has reasons for this hunt. It should not be questioned. They understand the wildlife issues, you dont. You should also realize that the film crews were harassing and interfering with a legal hunt, including a news station. If I was one of the guys being harassed there would multiple lawsuits going by now.

Oh my Lord, you people can find negativity in anything!
Ya'll are gonna die young from all this angst!!