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Updated: Alaska 'Gunners' Wipe Out Wolf Pack From Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

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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

@Art Greenwalt:

I kind of like your hard-a$$ed approach!

Most of all, your last post, about the numbers, really hit home. The biologists will tell us that for a pack to really succeed, there needs to be an alpha male and an alpha female. If both of those are gone, then you have a family of pups who haven't been trained and will probably have a hard time surviving.

Wolf families are complicated, endearing, and dedicated to each other -- much like our own families. Why would we want to kill them? I just can't understand that.

They don't kill for fun. They kill to survive -- much like we humans do.

Leave them alone, and let them survive to keep our world healthy. It's so tenuous now. We don't need to make it worse.


@Anonymous 3/19:
"...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.
-------------------

I know a number of those Natural Resource folks. And let me tell ya, when I heard about this, they were my first concern. My only hope is that someone stands up for what is right!
Yeah, me too -- I want to hear something positive. If that doesn't happen, we need to carry it on ..........


I will be calling the governor of Alaska in the next few days to voice my outrage regarding these precious wolves. They will pay dearly with their karma.


I find it encouraging that most of the comments are questioning the "rightness" of how the Dept. of the Interior, which does set the policy that FWS/FGS must follow. I have talked with Federal officials and Idaho state officials before the wolves lost their protection, i.e Endangered Species List early last year, in what is esssentially all of the lower 48 states, with a few exceptions. Alaskan wolves have not had any Federal protection and is somehow off by itself, and has few rules to protect the wildlife there, which btw is as much our responsibility in the lower 48 as it is in Alaska.

I was told the wolf population in Idaho was @ 500-800 by one State offcial and 800-1200 by another Idaho State official. I was/am very concerned about the hatred of the wolf in the midwest, where most of them are in the lower 48. I contacted Mr. Salazar, on many occasions, and never received the responce I was promised. I find it very dangerous to have a hunter, cattleman, and big oil concerns, which all are part of Ken Salazar, as head of The Dept. of the Inerior. As a veteran, I know he has done some good things for veterans, and that I do appreciate. However, to place the TOP man responsible for all wildlife in the US that has these interests is at best irresponsible and a direct conflict of interest.

Once the killing was scheduled for last fall as a "citizen hunt" in Idaho, I knew the wolves were in trouble. Particularly having 10,000 permits/tickets that they were allowing to be bought, even though I believe about 4500 have been purchased so far, that number could well be larger now for the up coming fall hunt. I shared my concern with Federal and state oficial and got the "talking points" that we have it under control. I asked how are you going to have it under control when so many wolf hunters will be out there for the first time "legally" killing wolves. They won't be able to supervise, even a fraction of the hunters and the number of "real" kills, as oppossed to what they may tell you. I'm not impling all the wolf hunters would kill more than there alloted 1 wolf per "ticket", but I know for a fact some significant number will see this as "revenge" and break the law. As we all know, the law is broken all the time in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and certainly other states as well. They don't hide it, they are proud to go out and kill as many wolves as they can. The term " Shoot, shovel and shutup", is more than words it is a code some of these people have lived by for years. I also know there are many good people who (don't want the wolves to be killed). that live in these states. So at this point in time fall of 2009, the wolf hunt begins and we hear numbers ranging from 250-600 wolves killed, that the officials know about. I promise you that no one knows the real number killed, not even close. Yet, they now have a "Predator Derby" which includes wolves, coyotes, fox, and a few others. Based on how many of each of these animals one kills they receive points, 3 for wolves, 2 for coyotes,etc. The one with the most points wins. Now the States are asking for help from the feds to help kill more wolves, and Federal sharpshooters who are going to kill even more wolves.

I fully believe that the extermination of the wolves for a third time in this nations history is already set into place. First, being the later part of the 1800's, by the Biological Survey that had as it's official mission to conduct scientific studies and surveys throughout the country. That proved to be a front for hired killers and federal officals to exterminate the wolves completely from the lower 48. They did in fact accomplish this goal. In the mid to late 1930's the wolves were making a small comeback on their own, with @ 650 wolves nationwide. Once again the Federal Government, sent out Interior Dept. employees and paid killers, and the result was not unexpected; all wolves killed.

Having this as our legacy, does not bode well for the wolves this time around. The attitude towards wolves are very polorized and passionate to say the least. The hunters who what the wolves eliminated, the inceasing need for more "public lands" for cattle, and an administration that has totally turned their back on the protection of wolves. They have their nice talking points down, but the reality is many, many wolves are being killed as we speak, and no one knows, as I said earlier what the number of "actual" wolves still living is. It takes months if not a year or more to get a rough idea how many wolves are out there, yet the killing continues.

As many of you know an entire wolf pack was killed within in the Yellowstone National Park ecological border, just a few weeks back. The wolves simply have no where to go, without facing death, and a rocket scientist, I am not, but I do see the writing on the wall. Consider the lame rational of the Wild Horses and Burro round-ups recently, that are in direct violation of the heart and intent of the 1971 Wild Horses and Burro Act. Many of these wild horses will be sold, and there is no way to prevent the buyers from taking the captured animals to Mexico or Canada for certain death (slaughterhouses), the government wil lie and mislead all of us to achieve their #1 goal, and again that is land for the cattle, because so much of public lands has already been destroyed for decades to come by over grazing by the cattle. The buffalo has such a restricted area to live in that out of @ 5,000 buffalo in this country, @ 1500 were recently killed "to manage them". At their peck in the early 1800's there was @ 20,000,000 with a "M" million, and like the wolf was completely exterminated. Now 5000 is too many? I hope all of you, if so inclined will check me on all of this and please bring to my attention if you disagee with all or part of what I have said here today.

Thank you for reading!

Regards,

Paul Hester
[email protected]


"The wolves simply have no where to go....."

Thank you, Paul Hester. That about sums it up.


Biologists seek ouster of new wildlife chief

By MARY PEMBERTON
The Associated Press

(03/22/10 12:04:33)
Dozens of former Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists and supervisors have signed a letter requesting that Corey Rossi be replaced as the head of the Division of Wildlife Conservation.

The letter, signed by 39 former Fish and Game biologists and supervisors, was sent to Commissioner Denby Lloyd late Sunday and to Gov. Sean Parnell on Monday.

The letter says Rossi lacks the academic and professional experience for an entry-level biologist position with the agency because he has no college degree.

It says Rossi also lacks the training to ensure that wildlife management in Alaska will be based on sound science in the future. His choice, they say, indicates that professional wildlife management is being replaced by a model to maximize production of wild game meat.

Some background here..


I don't think any wolves should be killed because they are on the brink of extinction anyways. That is all I have to say.


I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and we now have a thriving wolf population and cougar seem to be doing pretty good too. I'm a woman who has always utilized the woods and what it had to offer. Yes, I hunt, but never violate; I fish, kayak, camp and have a great love of the outdoors. Everything has it's place. While I was growing up we never had wolves or cougar, so I never had to feel the need to arm myself going out in the woods, because most of the time I'm out there by myself. Times have changed here. This is how I look at things. If you go out in the woods and there are these types of predators you have to make a conscious decision if you want to take a walk alone, or take your kids out picking berries, or fishing from a shoreline. People just need to be open their eyes and use common sense. Don't believe what everyone is saying and check things out for yourself. Now if I see sign that there are a lot of predators in a certain area, I'll go somewhere else and do what I like to do. We have a lot of lakes and rivers here. I don't feel the need to wipe out the whole population. I certainly don't applaud any hunter that hunts from the air. You call that hunting, not me, I call that slaughter. Where's the game in that? Do I think there needs to be a balance, sure, but that should be for the people who live in the area to decide that. What would you do if you were in that situation and it was your backyard? Hey, what do I know, I'm just the average person who tries to do what's right. Do you? What if you had a cougar looking in your patio door eyeing up your child? What if you were out for a walk with your dog and wolves attacked and kill it? Things are not always black and white, there's a gray area too. I don't want any species wiped out, but I want my family to be safe too. Makes for quite the controversy doesn't it?


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