Help AWA Save Alaska's Toklat Wolves

Trappers are targeting Denali National Park's wolves, and we need your comments to the BOG to stop this slaughter!

Toklat Wolf

Denali's Toklat wolves, the most studied and viewed wolf pack in the world, are being trapped as they migrate outside the Park boundary following their winter prey. This opportunistic trapping, some of which is being conducted by seasonal contract employees of the Park Service, has been a hotly disputed topic for more than a decade. These employees use their "insider knowledge" of the wolf packs' movements to set their traps at prime locations just outside the Park boundary.

There are currently two small buffer zones - where trapping is not allowed - on State land adjacent to the Park. One of those areas has been downsized in recent years by appointees of the Murkowski and Palin administrations.

The Alaska Board of Game will meet the end of February to consider several good proposals that would expand the buffer zone, and several proposals that seek to reduce or eliminate the current buffers. Denali's wolves need your comments to the BOG to maintain and expand their protection.

This is a critical issue, and could determine the long-term survival of the Toklat pack lineage. It is imperative that EVERYONE send a message to the BOG.

We need your SUPPORT for the following proposals:

Proposals 55, 58, 59, 60 and 65
These proposals seek to expand the current buffer zone adjacent to the Denali National Park boundary.

We need your OPPOSITION to the following proposals:

Proposals 56, 57, 61, 62, 63, and 64
These proposals seek to shrink or eliminate the current buffers, thereby allowing trapping right up to the Park boundary.

For a detailed review of these specific proposals, download the BOG's Spring, 2010 Proposal Book, Interior Region.

Comments must be received by 5pm Friday, February 12.

Here are some points to think about as you are writing your comments:

Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel the Park road hoping to see these wolves every year, and 19 percent of these visitors have the great fortune to see or hear these wolves.
Few individuals would be impacted by an expanded buffer zone. There are only about five trappers targeting these wolves on the Park border.
The trappers who target the Park wolves are extraordinarily successful. Research shows that 30 percent of Park wolf mortality is human caused, i.e. trapping and shooting. This is because the wolves are habituated to human activity and the trappers know exactly where to set their traps.
The proposals seeking to expand the buffer zones are modest, extending the protected zone for wolves by less than ten miles. This is no land grab, because there are many millions of acres of land outside the proposed buffers where wolf trapping and hunting are legal.
Gordon Haber, a wildlife biologist, spent a lifetime studying Denali’s Toklat wolves and was a tireless advocate for expanded buffer zones around the Park. He died in a tragic plane crash while tracking these wolves last fall, and expanded buffer zones would be a fitting memorial.

Comments must be received at the Board of Game office in Juneau by

5pm on Friday, February 12, 2010.

THE BOG DOES NOT ACCEPT E-MAIL COMMENTS.

ATTN: Board of Game Comments
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Boards Support Section
PO Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526

FAX: 907-465-6094

Your comments have greater impact if sent directly to the BOG. But if you are unable to send a fax or mail your comments in time, you may email us by 8pm THURSDAY, February 11th at info@akwildlife.org, and we will deliver the printed comments to the BOG for you.

Please forward this e-mail to those you know who might be interested.

Thank you for helping us protect the Denali Toklat wolves.

Kneeland Taylor
Board Member
Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Pick.Click.Give.

The PFD Charitable Contributions Program. A new way to give.

The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is pleased to announce that we are part of a new way of giving. Starting January 1st when Alaskans go online to sign up for their PFD, they will see a page entitled Pick.Click.Give. within the application. It takes just 3 simple steps to make a donation to AWA:

In the Region box, select South Central / Third Judicial District from the drop-down list.
Then to the right under Organization select Alaska Wildlife Alliance from the drop-down list.
Finally, enter the amount that you would like to donate from your PFD. The Add button will allow you to donate to more than one organization.

You're done! Click Continue to complete and file your PFD application.

If you would like a tax receipt/acknowledgement for your donation, please fill in the requested contact information. This is the only way we at AWA will know who gave the donation.

You can find more information about the program, including frequently asked questions at www.PickClickGive.org. Or you may email us at info@akwildlife.org.