Game Board looks at protection for wolves on Douglas Island
Members of the state Board of Game seemed to be searching for a compromise over the weekend as they questioned Juneau residents about a proposal to ban hunting and trapping of wolves on Douglas Island until a population has built up.
The proposal has concerned some deer hunters, who think wolves will kill so many deer that hunters will face new restrictions. Hunters kill several hundred deer a year on the island, which accounted for about three-quarters of the Juneau area's deer harvest over the past decade.
The seven-member Game Board began its meeting at Centennial Hall on Saturday and Sunday with public comments. Member Tim Towarak of Nome was absent. The panel, which sets rules for hunting and trapping, is expected to deliberate today and Tuesday on about 58 proposed rule changes from the public and state wildlife managers.
One of those changes would permanently ban hunting white-colored black bears in Juneau.
The Douglas Island wolf proposal dominated public comments.
The proposal was spurred by the legal trapping in January of seven wolves on a Douglas Island beach. Many people assumed they were an entire pack, the first to establish itself in recent memory.
But Dave Horton, who photographed the wolves caught by another trapper, today said the breeding adults were not trapped. It's not known whether any wolves remain on the island.
Supporters of a trapping ban said it was unfair for one "user group" to take the wolves away from other users, such as hikers, tourists and kayakers. Douglas Island resident Tom Waldo said he felt "cheated and robbed and angry."
Richard Gard, a Juneau resident who said he's hunted and skied on Douglas Island for 41 years, said he's never seen a wolf there.
"I would gladly trade a deer for a glimpse of a wolf," he told the Game Board on Saturday. "Predators are an essential part of any balanced ecosystem. They are more interesting and exciting to me than herbivores."
Douglas Island resident K.J. Metcalf said the board faced a political decision, not a biological one. He said he was greatly concerned wildlife will be managed for human consumption only, and added the board had the opportunity to bring some balance to the issue.
Game Board members questioned residents about whether there were other places nearby to see wolves, and whether local deer hunters often hunt elsewhere than Douglas Island. Board members brought up the option of emergency trapping closures when wolves are on the island. And they asked whether a bag limit or a beach closure would be a workable compromise.
Deer hunter Leon Shaul told the board Sunday it would be very difficult to manage the island for deer hunting and wolf viewing. The number of wolves would have to be large enough to sustain itself, but not so large that the wolves depleted the deer.
The state Department of Fish and Game considers wolves in the Juneau area to be one population. Wolves wander back and forth from the mainland to the island. The agency has said the island, at 78 square miles, may be too small to support one or more wolf packs in the long term.
Game Board member Rob Hardy of Wasilla, a big-game guide and ecotour operator, said a pack of seven wolves kills 220 to 300 deer a year. "I started looking at those numbers and thought, 'How sustainable is this?' "
The Game Board also heard concerns from the public about the board's expressed intention to consider making permanent a temporary ban on hunting white-colored black bears in the Juneau area. Photographs of such a bear by local resident Pat Costello were publicized worldwide, and the board issued an emergency order in August to protect the animal.
Costello gave the board a stack of letters supporting a permanent ban. And resident Barry Brokken turned in a petition signed by about 110 people who opposed the special protection. They were concerned the term "white" was undefined and hunters would be penalized for killing other light-colored bears. They also were concerned about the idea of managing a species by human values placed on the color of an animal.
"If we start managing wildlife based on emotions it could end up in hands decidedly less knowledgeable than those here today," he told the board Sunday.
But board Chairman Ben Grussendorf, who saw a photograph of the white bear, said, "By gosh, that bear was white, other than a little bit of soot around the eyes. ... I don't see how a mistake can be made."
In other comments, trappers opposed proposals to ban snares, to require them to check their traps and snares every 24 hours, and to prohibit them from trapping near roads, trails, buildings and the shoreline.
The Game Board's meetings start at 8:30 a.m. A recorded message at 465-8901 provides information about the schedule.
Eric Fry can be reached at efry@juneauempire.com.