|
|
|
Hunting Alaska
News & Tips This month's tip | News | New on Website | Index of past months
This month we have the first of what I hope will be a long series of hunting tips. Michael Strahan provides this month's tip.
Management of wolves that involves touching them is destined for eternal contention, it seems. If a recently registered ballot initiative petition succeeds....and it probably will, given how people react to these things....Alaska voters will be asked in the 2006 general election whether to ban aerial shooting of wolves or grizzly bears. Again. That carefully regulated management of wolves -- and that means killing some -- has provided much greater populations of moose and caribou AND wolves does not seem to deter these everlasting foes of reasonable management. Some of their concern is understandable. Wolves are a delightful part of Alaska's wild fauna and no reasonable person wants them eliminated. And I understand that for some, the killing of these amazing wild canids is painful to even consider.
Nonetheless, Alaska can provide high quality wild harvest of moose and caribou for many of its people and its visitors. All that is required is good habitat and progressive predator management that balances both predator and prey. It makes far more sense from an environmental perspective to raise moose, caribou and other shared prey than it does to import expensive domestic beef, pork and sheep. And if you don't count leaves as additives, there are none in Alaska wildlife, unlike most meat in the butcher shops. We have parts of Alaska where the killing of wildlife is prohibited. They are called national parks. Why is it not possible to allow reasonable and prudent predator management in other lands in Alaska? It is possible to provide for both points of view, but some Alaskans will not hear of it. It must be entirely their way, it seems. My own view is that ballot initiatives seem like a good idea, but generally don't work well. The reality is that on most issues, the electorate is poorly informed and easily swayed, especially by emotional pitches backed by expensive media campaigns bankrolled by anti-hunting groups. That doesn't mean we are dumb, it just means that we can't know everything, and we can't be expected to make decisions on important issues based on minimal information. And that's the way it works. Generally, in ballot initiative contests, the side with the most money wins because that side can mount the most compelling 60 second TV ads. And initiatives against something usually do best. That's why we as a nation are a representative democracy -- a republic -- and not a pure democracy. We find thoughtful people to represent us, pay them for considering important state issues, and then let them make these choices. If they do a good job, we re-elect them. If they don't do a good job, they don't stay around. The wolf issue an unhappy situation and has been for decades. Another ballot initiative is not going to solve the problem, but it will ratchet up the rhetoric. See? Mine is already up about 3 notches! But, the good news is....it's hunting season! Best of luck.....David
David M Johnson Packing for success One of the most frustrating things for Alaska hunters is the need to return to camp by dark, or the need to hike long distances to prime glassing locations during the best morning hours. Sometimes this puts you out of the prime hunting area at precisely the most productive time of day. You are moving when you should be glassing. Finally, animals are often passed up simply because it’s too late in the day to make a stalk, harvest the animal, and return to camp by nightfall.
A good strategy is to load your pack with the essentials, and bring it with
you every time you leave camp. Being self-contained frees one to roam as
conditions dictate. If need be, you can stay out in inclement weather, make a
long stalk, deal with minor emergencies, field dress and pack an animal and even
spend the night out away from camp.
Smart hunters know that preparation is the key to success. Nowhere is this truer than in Alaska, where the difference between harvesting game and simply “camping with guns” often lies with simply bringing your pack along every time you leave camp. Michael Strahan is an Alaska hunting guide, author, and regular presenter on hunting topics at sportsman's shows and other venues. He is a frequent contributor to the Alaska hunting forum. NEWS: September 30, 2005 -- The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the un-met caribou quota along the Steese Highway is being transferred to the winter hunt. Staff writer Tim Mowry quoted ADFG Tok Area Game Biologist Jeff Gross: "The winter hunt will begin on Dec. 1 and the harvest will be split up between the Steese and Taylor highways. The bulk of the quota will go to the area where the caribou are accessible to hunters." Check the regulations for details on this hunt. NEWS: September 30, 2005 -- The ADF&G website today has a reminder that all waterfowl hunters requiring a state duck stamp are also required to be enrolled in the Harvest Information Program (HIP). NEWS: September 28, 2005 -- The Alaska Department of Commerce has reorganized its website to encompass guide use areas. Substantial information about the regulatory requirements for Alaska guiding, and maps of the guide areas can be found here. NEWS: September 28, 2005 -- ADF&G has closed mountain goat hunting in a portion of GMU 6 (south Gulf coast) in registration permit area RG266. NEWS: September 24, 2005 -- The Alaska Board of Game has announced revised meeting dates for its spring meeting in Fairbanks and issued a call for proposals to changes in the hunting and trapping regulations. The Game Board will deal with changes in the Interior Alaska game regulations. NEWS: September 21, 2005 -- The Division of Wildlife Conservation has closed several hunts around Alaska: the Lake George registration goat hunt, part of the Haines area for goats, moose hunting in the Gustavus area, and the Martin River bull moose hunt. In season closures are normal methods of adjusting harvest when quotas are reached. FORUM: September 19, 2005 -- A very helpful thread on emergency locator devices has been posted on the Alaska Hunting Forum. Alaskans with substantial experience in search and rescue and outdoor skills have posted detailed information that will be of interest to all hunters traveling off the road system. RESOURCES: September 16, 2005 -- The Division of Wildlife Conservation has published new information about the moose population in the Gustavus area in northern southeast Alaska. NEWS: September 14, 2005 -- ADF&G has made important changes in the Gustavus (SE Alaska) moose hunting regulations. NEWS: September 14, 2005 -- The Alaska Board of Game has changed small game hunting regulations in the Skilak Loop Wildlife Management Area (Kenai Peninsula) to delay the use of firearms in the area until July, 2007. NEWS: September 11, 2005 -- The hunting season for Fortymile caribou in the drainages of the Salcha, Goodplaster, Charley and Fortymile (Middle Fork) Rivers closes September 12, 2005. An ADFG emergency order has additional detail. Some areas of this hunt remain open. NEWS: September 11, 2005 -- The Anchorage Daily News reports that biologists believe extensive beetle kill and wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula are already starting to provide improved habitat which will improve moose numbers there. NEWS: September 9, 2005 -- Mountain goat registration permit hunt RG868 in Unit 14(C) (Anchorage area) closed September 10, 2005 by emergency order. NEWS: September 8, 2005 -- Antlerless moose hunting in registration permit hunt RM764 on the eastern flank of the Tanana Flats ends at 11:59 PM on 9 September 2005. The zone six quota was expected to have been reached by that time. NEWS: September 8, 2005 -- A Nome area registration permit hunt (RM840) has been closed by emergency order effective 11:59 PM on 8 September. The harvest quota of 33 bulls was expected to have been reached by that time. NEWS: September 8, 2005 -- ADF&G is reminding hunters that an error in the printed 2005 regulations booklets showing the brown bear hunting season starting earlier than its actual 1 October 2005 opening date. Hunters may be cited if found hunting before the first day of October. NEWS: September 7, 2005 -- Young people age 10-17 accompanied by an adult will be able to practice shooting skills for free at ADF&G operated ranges in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau at the first "Youth Day at the Range on Sunday 18 September 2005." ADF&G staff will be on hand to provide instruction in shooting skills and safe firearms handling. NEWS: September 7, 2005 -- ADF&G is reminding hunters that antler restrictions are in effect for the entire season in the area of the Little Tok River and Tuck Creek. There is an error in the printed regulations, according to a state news release. NEWS: September 3, 2005 -- The Alaska Board of Game has released proposals for the November 11-14 meeting scheduled for Kotzebue. Written comments must be received by the Game Board no later than 28 October 2005. NEWS: September 1, 2005 -- The Juneau Empire reports that a ballot initiative petition was filed August 30 in the Alaska Lieutenant Governor's office to place the issue of aerial shooting of wolves and grizzly bears before voters in the 2006 general election. Alaska hunting news from August 2005 >>>
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
