Endangered Public Input?
Governor Palin is pushing legislation that flouts the will
of Alaskan voters and paves the way for a rapid expansion of predator control
programs across large portions of our state.
On January 30th, there will be an important committee
hearing on this bill.
Help spread the word about this important action.
Forward this message to others who believe that our state should have wildlife
management policies that reflect the pride Alaskans feel for our wildlifeŠ
Governor Palin wants to make a bad law worse, cutting
the public out of key decisions and making it even easier to kill brown bears,
wolverines and wolves from airplanes in large areas of our state.
Instead of respecting the will of the people of Alaska --
who have twice voted to restrict aerial gunning of wolves -- or listening to
the concerns of scientists and conservationists, Governor Palin
has introduced a bill that would eliminate the few remaining
standards governing predator control in our state.
The pending legislation, House Bill 256 (HB 256), adds
brown bears and wolverines to the list of species that can be targeted
by aerial gunning and casts public input and science off to the
side.
This bill would leave all decisions about using planes to
manage Alaska's wildlife to the complete discretion of the Board of Game -- a group of political appointees that consistently favors hunting and
trapping above all other uses and values of wildlife, regardless of
scientific evidence or public opinion to the contrary.
The Board of Game's policies have been
used to thwart the will of Alaskan citizens by allowing aerial hunting
of wolves and permitting private gunners to carry out work
that should be handled by professionals. These misguided policies aim
to artificially and unsustainably boost game populations
-- and cost Alaskans millions of dollars.
This is outrageous, but it's true.
Governor Palin, rather than correcting the mistakes
made by former Governor Frank Murkowski (who ignored the wishes of the majority
of Alaskans that twice voted against using airplanes to kill wolves and
other predators), has followed in his footsteps -- speaking out in
strong favor of aerial predator control and announcing her intention to expand
these practices and flout the will of the people once again.
Alaska needs wildlife management laws that promote effective, science-based, and economically feasible wildlife planning and take Alaska's diverse wildlife and the views of all Alaskans --
not just the big game sport hunters -- into account.
I hope you will defend your right to be included in the
decision-making process when it comes to Alaska's wildlife and make your voice
heard on this important issue today.
Tom Banks
Alaska Representative
Defenders of Wildlife
P.S. There's an
important Board of Game meeting in Anchorage coming up this January
25-28th. If you live in the Anchorage area, I hoe
you'll attend as much as you can, listen, and show your support for
wildlife conservation!
Send me an
email if you're interested in attending. I will be testifying at
the hearing, so be sure to look for me there!
When: The meeting begins on Friday, January 25th at
8:30 a.m. and will run through late afternoon each day through Monday, January
28th. Where: The Coast International Inn (just north of
International Airport Road and just west of Spenard)
Click here to see a full
agenda for the Board of Game meeting (pdf).
