FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is postponing an aerial wolf control program planned for two Interior villages because of too little snow to track the animals, low light and legal issues.
The department had planned aerial wolf control in November for Allakaket and Alatna, two villages about 200 miles northwest of Fairbanks where residents report that predators are killing too many moose. The date now has been pushed to mid-to-late February.
State wildlife biologists were planning to shoot as many as 50 wolves from helicopters in a 1,360-square-mile area around the villages on the upper Koyukuk River, according to Monday’s Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
“Conditions are not ideal for tracking; the light is fading every day; and the legal issues we’re dealing with still haven’t been resolved,” said Fish and Game spokeswoman Cathie Harms.
The Alaska Board of Game approved the move to eradicate wolves in game management unit 24B in March. The program is intended to leave more moose for food for humans by improving the survival rates of calf and yearling moose, Harms said.
The plan called for department staff to eliminate all the wolves in the area this year and shoot any new wolves that move into the area for four consecutive years after that.
“Department staff would be aiming to take 35 to 50 wolves in the first year and probably 15 to 20 every year after that,” Harms said. “We hope to have the whole program finished by 2017.”
The department estimates there are 25 to 50 wolves in the area, which is home to approximately 400 moose. The control area represents about 10 percent of Unit 24B and the area is accessible for hunters in the two villages.
ADF&G studies have shown that bears, not wolves, are responsible for the highest mortality of moose calves in the area. But local residents specifically asked the department to focus on wolves rather than bears because bears represent a commonly used alternative food source.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
Comments (9)
Add commentHelloo???
"ADF&G studies have shown that bears, not wolves, are responsible for the highest mortality of moose calves in the area."
But they're going to kill wolves in the region instead?
"Department staff would be aiming to take 35 to 50 wolves in the first year... The department estimates there are 25 to 50 wolves in the area"
So they're going to exterminate EVERY wolf in the region.
Some obvious questions come to mind:
1. How much is this program going to cost?
2. Is there sound science to back up this plan?
3. Is sport hunting occurring in this region as well?
4. "residents report that predators are killing too many moose" Based on what evidence? How many is "too many"?
I don't necessarily have a
I don't necessarily have a problem with predator control around the villages, as long as it is based on sound science, like we know how many wolves and how many moose are killed by wolves vs bear etc, and that there are no out of state hunters in that area. Take out the sport hunters, and then see what happens to the environment over the next couple of years.
Cheaper alternative
It would be far cheaper to buy the two villages beef cows.
All the wolves?
The article says the plan is to eliminate all the wolves from the area. How is that balanced wildlife management?
i suspect somebody has a grant to eliminate wolves and they want to spend it whether it is needed or not and regardless of whether it's a good idea or not.
Admiralty
I've decided that bears are killing too many deer on Admiralty, which is preventing me from harvesting my full allotment. Therefore I demand that the Board of Game direct the ADF&G to eliminate all of the bears on Kodiak.
There. See how easy it is?
That's O.K.
I can wait 'till February. Too busy right now ,anyway.
"Too many wolves isn't a problem. It's an opportunity ".
*sigh*
*sigh*