Helicopter-borne Alaskan predator control agents have killed an entire wolf pack from Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, prompting the National Parks Conservation Association to call for "immediate suspension" of the program near the national preserve.
National Park Service officials, meanwhile, are wondering why the shooters killed two radio-collared wolves, as the Park Service had an agreement with Alaska Fish and Game officials that collared wolves would be spared as they were part of a long-term study of wolf behavior in the preserve.
“We have meetings set tomorrow with state Fish and Game officials to ask that question," John Quinley, the Park Service's assistant regional director for communications and partnerships, said Thursday evening from his Anchorage office. "Basically, 'How did this happen? You’re two days into the (predator control) program and it’s already gone against the agreement that we thought we had pretty well in place, that was easy to understand.' We’re interested in how that fell apart so fast.”
The four wolves from Yukon-Charley's Weber Creek pack were killed Wednesday in the Fortymile area on the northwest side of the national preserve, the Park Service official said.
“We’ve been studying wolf populations in Yukon-Charley for 16 years and have a long data-set to understand the population dynamics," Mr. Quinley said. "These wolves are a value scientifically and they’re a value for visitors. Our position has been that we want to do all we can to maintain the naturally functionally ecosystems, which is a value of the Alaska parklands that you don’t find everywhere else.”
NPCA officials issued a statement Thursday saying "state gunners in helicopters killed the entire Weber Creek wolf pack from Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, including two collared wolves from a 16-year National Park Service scientific study."
"NPCA calls for the immediate suspension of the state’s wolf eradication program in and around Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve until the Park Service is fully satisfied that the biological integrity of Yukon-Charley wolf packs can be evaluated and a healthy population of wolves can be ensured," the parks advocacy group added.
The shootings of the pack came despite a Park Service request that no wolves from the nine packs denning in the preserve be shot due to this year’s high natural winter mortality, NPCA officials said. Park Service officials said the killings of the radio-collared wolves was the result of some sort of miscommunication.
“It seemed like fairly clear communication to us that they weren’t supposed to shoot wolves with collars," Mr. Quinley said. "Maybe that wasn’t as clear to somebody, but it’s definitely a concern to us.
"The number of wolves that in packs which spend considerable time in the preserve is now getting down lower than we would like it to be. I think we were at 30 (individuals), and we’re at 26," he added.
Compounding the problem is that harsh conditions this winter killed 38 percent of the preserve's wolves, a percentage that Mr. Quinley said was "on the high side of normal."
The shootings come less than two weeks after a particularly contentious Alaska Board of Game meeting when it comes to wolves and national parks. While the board was asked at one point to expand a no-take wolf buffer zone in an area surrounded on three sides by Denali National Park and Preserve, the board completely removed the buffer. And the state agency also did away with a regulation that required Alaska game officials to obtain Park Service permission before they conduct any predator control on parklands.
The second action, though, likely will have little affect on park lands, said Mr. Quinley, as the Park Service maintains authority over wildlife in those areas. "Our rules," he said, "prohibit the manipulation of one species to benefit another."
For Alaska game officials, though, the preference is to do away with predators so there is more game for hunters, said Mr. Quinley.
“They want to grow more moose and caribou," the Park Service official said. "They want to do it here in the Fortymile country, they want to do it south of Denali in those game management units. ... There’s a high interest in state Fish and Game and the Board of Game to grow moose and caribou for hunters, both local hunters or those from Anchorage, Fairbanks and the lower 48.”
Friends of Animals has called for a boycott on tourism travel to Alaska this year because of the Game Board's decision to do away with the buffer zone.
Comments
Mr. Hardy...I applaud what you have chosen to do. About the only way the wolf and bear extermination in Alaska is going to be stopped is either by economic means such as what you are doing or by federal intervention (which is so slow by the time it happens there won't be any wolves left). I urge you to contact the Alaska Tourism Board at [email protected] as well as the governor at: http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/contact/email-the-governor.html
Be sure to tell them why you are doing this, roughly how much money you will be withholding as a result, and if you plan on talking to other potential Alaskan visitors in your area to convince them not to visit.
The wallet and the voting booth about the only two places where the present Alaskan administration actually listens to people. Otherwise, our wildlife management program has been stolen by the likes of the Alaska Outdoor Council and other pro-trophy-hunting groups.
BTW, if you check the online edition of the game regulations you will find that at the same time this aerial hunting is taking place in this region, the Board of Game has been careful to still allow non-residents to hunt for trophies. Now, mind you, this whole aerial hunting program is predicated on the basis of keeping subsistence Alaskan families from starving (a characterization often used by the AOC and Palin/Parnell to justify the program) so it seems very odd to allow outsiders to come in and shoot those animals they so desperately need. Yet, this non-resident hunting has been allowed since 2006 and continues today.
Sorta puts the pious mouthings of the BOG, AOC, Palin, and Parnell in their true light.
Additionally, state law does not discriminate between the true subsistence hunter (with whom I have no argument) that actually does feed their family on what they can bring back from the bush, and the millionaire businessman sitting in his $500k+ house in the city who hires a bush pilot to take them out to the hunting camp so he can add another rack to his wall. In the eyes of Alaskan government, both are subsistence hunters.
Between the extermination of this collared pack of wolves and McCain & others introducing congressional end-runs around the EIS & planning process for managing low-altitude flights over Grand Canyon just a couple of weeks before the release of the EIS (the result of 10 years of hard, careful work), yesterday was a pretty somber & sobering day for NPS natural resource scientists. Don't expect to hear from them; NPS wants all communication through the official spokespersons not a bunch of loose cannon scientists.
It will be interesting to see how hard Jarvis pushes on both of these issues, although the pushing might be invisible to the rank and file as well as the public. We hear about forthcoming science initiatives and science-based management and making NPS a better place to work and acknowledging that most folks work for NPS because they are dedicated to the mission, not just for the paycheck. Some indication of standing with the scientists could be an important sign that things really have changed.
captcha is relevant: "banding found"
The Governor was, in fact, notified of the decision regarding our trip cancellation.
And to those who term our views as those of "bleeding heart Liberals", thank you. I will not protest the labeling; rather I proudly accept it. Someone has to arise & declare the views of those who refuse to accept the value of nature as short-sighted.
Perhaps more of our bleeding-heart views would have prevented the extinction of other species under the guise of "management", as well as the wholesale slaughteer of the American Bison in the 1800's to near extinction.
And the "captcha" of island states is an odd quirk of fate in this case.......
I also canceled my alaskan summer vacation! I will be spending my tax refund in Las Vegas...just like Obama told me not to.
Does anyone really think that this was an accident? They will say, "Gee, oops," look at the floor and make empty promises that it won't happen again. Then, as soon as the NPS officials walk away, they will congratulate themselves on a job well done and make preparations to do it all over again. My tourist dollars will be spent in Yellowstone National Park where you can see the wolves playing, hunting, and if you're lucky, you'll hear them howling at night.
Our Dept. of Fish and Game is taking bids to produce a series of short videos "explaining" the virtues and necessities of aerial hunting. (riiight...)
One of the claims they intend to counter is that they are calling for total extermination of packs in some areas. Well, beside the fact there are numerous articles in the papers up here quoting them at saying they want 80% to 100% kill rates in certain areas, let's examine that 80% figure a bit more.
If you have a pack of 10 wolves (which is a bit larger than usual but not uncommon) and you eliminate 80%, that leaves 2 wolves. If two males, the pack is essentially finished but they can still claim they only killed 80%. If two females, same thing. In fact, the chances of two wolves holding a territory are just about nil. So 80% may sound semi-acceptable but it is still 100% in effect.
Too, F&G estimates the state population at 7000 - 11000 wolves. The anti-wolf bunch likes the higher figure for the obvious reason that if they can then call for killing off 80% of 11000 wolves (and the genuine figure is anything below about 8800) they have effectively killed all the wolves. Oops! We didn't know it was the smaller number. Our bad!
I think that it is good and a fair decision that you cancelled your plans to vacation in Alaska! I just hope that you also e-mail or write: the Alakan Senators, House Reps & the Visitors Bureau as well.
Thank you for acting upon this.
=^..^=
We need to preserve the wealth and health of our Nation for ALL populations! Not just HUMANS!