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The slope is steep and muddy
Posted by bushrat on Jan 31 2006
Brian,
I'm pretty depressed over the BOG proposals coming down the pike. The great bear will soon have the reputation the wolf has among so many. I truly fear the direction our BOG and a lot of hunters are moving in.
I'm sure some will say that if they're going to allow the hides/claws (together) and skull to be sold, why not the gallbladder? In 20E, where this will take place, there aren't a lot of "trophy" quality bears, compared to coastal bears, which is why a lot haven't been taken with the increased season and bag limits and waiver of the $25 tag fee. I don't honestly see this "incentive" doing anything more that killing a few more bears at the expense of making hunters look bad and having absolutely no effect whatsoever on overall moose calf survival. Unit 20E is too remote except for access right off the Taylor hwy...which is why proposals are calling for same-day airborne "hunting" of bears in this unit as just another part of the "fix" for what is a perceived problem of too many bears and too few moose.
Below I'll paste in part of a policy statement letter sent by the International Assn. for Bear Research and Managment(IBA)to the Alaska Board of Game. One of the most respected bear biologists in the world, Harry Reynolds, recently retired from ADFG and is president of IBA. I spoke with Harry at length about all this last year. I think we should consider what bios like him, and orgs like IBA have to say. They try to balance hunting and ethics with conservation of bears. I also want to note that no definitive density estimates of the grizzly population in 20E was done prior to the pred-control plan. They were too costly and no funding was available. However, recent word from within ADFG is that if funding is available a hair-snag capture/dna program may commence by next summer. I can't overemphasize how important it is with brown bears/grizz to get current density figures and to continue to monitor the efficacy of this kind of program and the recovery of the bears. Best, Mark
http://www.bearbiology.org/alaska_board_2004_02_20.html
"Alaska’s past bear management has been held in high esteem by other jurisdictions throughout the world. Its balanced regulatory approach that focuses on sustained populations has shown that bears are a valued and integral part of the ecosystem that can be managed for a wide variety of human uses.
However, the Alaska Board of Game now has before it many proposals that would significantly liberalize the take of Alaskan bears and devalue their status as an important wildlife resource. Proposed regulation changes would allow hunting of female brown bears with dependent yearlings, baiting of brown bears, hunting bears from motorized vehicles, using snares or traps to take bears, smoking bears from dens, and sale of bear parts. These proposals are highly controversial. Most represent practices that wildlife agencies have specifically culled from their allowable hunting practices in recent decades, either because of their potential for major impact on populations or because a growing proportion of both the hunting and non-hunting public felt them to be unethical.
In our view, these concerns are still valid. We believe that the potential detrimental effects of such regulation changes have not been adequately addressed and that their implementation could jeopardize sustained yield management and public use of Alaska bear populations.
If Alaskan wildlife management goals require reducing bear numbers in specific localities, the IBA strongly urges that acceptable methods be employed, such as adjusting season restrictions and bag limits. We recommend that any major change in regulations be accompanied by rigorously designed monitoring, so that effects of such changes can be scientifically evaluated.
We urge the Alaska Board of Game to deny these proposals.
Sincerely,
Karen Noyce
Vice President (Americas)"
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