I’m responding to Sam Cotton and Lisa Murkowski’s op-eds claiming federal overreach with hunting rule changes in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. These are National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, it doesn’t seem like they get that. The rules that the feds banned are all things that most people are repulsed by: brown bear baiting, killing bears in their dens, if cubs are with them killing them as well, killing wolves and coyotes during denning season, same day flying and killing brown bears, trapping or snaring brown bears. Most people including many hunters are disgusted with these practices.
Are these two even aware that the large majority of Alaskans, who commented and testified, supported the rule changes? Once again they’re going to bat for the 15 percent of Alaskans who want to kill off the wolves and bears and make Alaska into a moose and caribou ranch. Have they ever bothered to ask Alaskans what they think about this? Have they done any surveys? I think the answer is no. Like the Board of Game they don’t seem to have any interest in the views of 85 percent of Alaskans who don’t hunt or trap. And they certainly don’t have any concern or interest in the opinions of the overall U.S. population, whose views are even more overwhelmingly in favor of these rule changes. If there’s any overreach I think it’s state overreach.
Sean McGuire,
Fairbanks