It would seem to this casual observer of various news reporting from around Alaska that the rather invasive nature of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game management tree does require an extensive weeding out as well as a good hard shaking from the top!

Word on the street has it that all the honest and hardworking biologists in Juneau and around the state are loath to blow any alarm whistles for real fear of jeopardizing the very wildlife careers they love and pursue.

All this unnecessary angst and pent-up poor morale is due to old politics from a Palinese, spawned-out run of non-scientific, 19th century, backward thinking and generally uninformed wildlife manipulators — who basically just exist as figureheads or are seen as expendable fall-guys for Governor Parnell’s Board of Game.

Said another way: Alaska’s precious wildlife is being officially dissipated and the governor blissfully looks away and fiddles.

Alaska has many times been referred to — and rightly so — as the Serengeti Park of Alaska. Tourists world-wide annually make literally billions of dollars for the cruise industry, etc., by coveting the pristine and primordial nature of Alaska’s wildlife viewing and yet the daft-minded Board of Game, in its seemingly abject arrogance would literally stuff it —along with billions of renewable dollars — just for a bunch of rather macho out-of-state trophy and moose-eating, urban weekend warriors.

After being here for over 40 years I have come to see the Alaskan way as no longer a way of special care for the good-old-boys and their annual hunt-buddies.

This was the case in olden days but now that long-held and slightly romantic notion of an early pioneer has mostly evolved into simply having a deep respect for and caring about all the creatures with which we must share our Alaskan wild places.

I do believe former Gov. Tony Knowles said it extremely well when he testified before the Board of Game in Anchorage recently and told the Board of Game members:

“I believe the vast majority of Alaskans will reject the indiscriminate killing of black and grizzly bears by this unscientific and unethical policy.” Knowles said this in reference to bait-snaring and the killing of large predators from state-sanctioned helicopter hunts to increase moose numbers for an ever-growing urban hunter population.

I could possibly only add to what he said by the inclusion of our Alaskan gray wolf to this growing priority viewing list of Alaska’s sacred wildlife.

Alan R. Munro

Juneau