photo by Steve Hughes

We won one! Proposal 140 made to the Board of Game for consideration at its Spring 2011 meeting would have opened a large portion of Chugach State Park near Anchorage to wolf hunting. We beat it. It failed to pass.

And there is more good news.

Here’s a brief recap:

Chugach State Park has been closed to hunting and trapping of wolves since it was created in 1970. Eight years ago the Anchorage Advisory Committee to the Board of Game made a serious effort to open CSP to trapping and hunting of wolves. We fought it then, and we stopped it then.   

They tried again this winter. This time it looked like Chugach State Park would be opened to wolf hunting. Our success was sweet because Proposal 140 looked like it was unbeatable. The proposal had been made by the Anchorage Advisory Committee, which usually carries great weight, and it had been recommended by the new Alaska Department of Fish & Game biologist for Anchorage.

In addition, this past winter several wolves at Fort Richardson (the army base bordering Anchorage and Chugach State Park) threatened female joggers and their dogs on more than one occasion. These incidents gave the proponents of Proposal 140 great ammunition.   

As many of you probably know, 9 wolves were killed recently on Fort Richardson by the ADF&G as a result of these incidents. Although we think the state overreacted in killing what appears to be the entire Fort Rich wolf pack, Proposal 140 represented a far greater threat because passage would have allowed permanent elimination of all wolves from a large portion of Chugach State Park.

But we beat Proposal 140, to our surprise. The AWA as an organization submitted written comments opposing Proposal 140 and several other bad proposals. Several members of AWA attended the Anchorage meeting and testified. Other members sent in written comments. Several of us spoke to members of the BOG as they took breaks in the proceedings, and to other officials, including ADF&G’s regional director and its Anchorage area biologist. We made pests of ourselves.

Crucial allies in the fight for wildlife were the Chugach State Park Advisory Committee and the CSP Park Superintendent. But we know we made the difference. Several BOG members made comments on and off the record indicating that they had read our comments, heard from our members, and listened to our testimony.

When the vote was finally taken, the BOG members voted 0-6 on Proposal 140. And so the half-million-acre Chugach State Park remains closed to the trapping and hunting of wolves.

Not only did the BOG members reject Proposal 140, but there were several other “good” votes by the BOG regarding wildlife management in the greater Anchorage area. Numerous proposals to increase black bear and brown bear bag limits were all rejected. Also rejected were proposals to increase moose hunting, including one which would have let hunters target the magnificent bull moose – favorites of photographers and wildlife watchers – which congregate in the fall rut near the Chugach State Park Glen Alps parking lot.

When it came time for the BOG members to vote, several made speeches clearly aimed at AWA members in the audience. They said things like how their votes were in support of conservation and their desire to satisfy local residents who like to see bears, moose, and other wildlife when hiking. One BOG member said on the record that he understood that Anchorage residents like wolves, and treasure the opportunity to occasionally hear them howl, or to see a wolf track in the snow. These kinds of statements are very different from what we have heard dozens of times before.

As usual, many proposals bad for wildlife in other parts of the State were approved by the BOG, including proposals expanding predator control measures. But for the Anchorage area – where the meeting was held and the BOG members had to come face-to-face with the opposition - the results were far better than we anticipated.

We sometimes hear it said that there is no point in organizing against the BOG’s extreme programs. This news regarding Chugach State Park and the Anchorage area tells us a different story. The results would have been different if we hadn’t made the effort.

Thank you for your support for AWA. You helped make these local victories possible.

Sincerely,

Kneely Taylor