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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Alaska Wolves Run Aerial Gauntlet Again
Alaskan wolves are once again the targets of a state-sponsored aerial gunning program this winter.
The Alaska Board of Game in November
issued permits for the aerial shooting of
wolves for the third straight year.
Past winters have seen more than 400 wolves killed in the program, and hundreds
more will be targeted again this season. Additionally, hunters will be allowed
to kill 60 percent of grizzly bears in an area along the Canadian border using
bait—a practice not formerly allowed for grizzlies. And, the Board of Game has
authorized the possibility of using aerial land-and-shoot killing methods on
grizzlies.
"Alaska's populations of wolves and bears are an integral part of the few natural ecosystems that remain in America," says Karen Deatherage, Alaska representative for Defenders of Wildlife. "We need to protect these animals as part of our national heritage."
Defenders has been working to stop Alaska's aerial wolf shooting programs for more than 30 years. Most recently, Defenders has twice petitioned the federal government to enforce the Federal Airborne Hunting Act, which would halt the practice. At press time, the Department of Interior had not yet responded to our most recent petition. In the meantime, conservationists are attempting to protect Alaska's wolves and bears through other means.
According to the state Board of Game, the goal of aerial gunning is to increase the population of moose and other big game for hunters. But in a letter to Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) this past year, more than 100 scientists countered that the effort has no ecological justification, and is an artificial and arbitrary way to control the balance of nature.
Under the aerial programs, hunters are allowed to shoot wolves from airplanes,
or chase the animals with
aircraft to the point of exhaustion, and then land and kill them on the
ground. The permits cover millions of acres in central and southern Alaska.
Alaskans have twice before, and by significant majorities, passed ballot
measures to stop the practice. They have been thwarted by Gov. Murkowski and the
state legislature, who in 2003 overturned the will of the state's citizens and
resumed the aerial killing.
A local group of Alaskans is spearheading a new effort to pass another initiative to ban aerial gunning by the public. The group, Alaskans for Wildlife, at press time was gathering signatures to get the initiative on the state ballot next November. At least 31,000 signatures from state voters are necessary for ballot initiatives in Alaska.
"The voters of Alaska should not have to go through this again," says Joel Bennett of Alaskans for Wildlife. "But the state legislature has ignored the clear will of the people and is encouraging excessive wolf control using aircraft."
