The State has been ordered to pay over $500,000 in legal fees following AWA’s win of the 2024 Mulchatna bear control lawsuit.
Once again going to court in defense of Alaska’s bears
On October 14th, Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin affirmed her finding that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game acted in bad faith when they shot 11 bears from the air this spring.
On June 6, the State released a public notice that the Board of Game has proposed to adopt regulation changes to the 2011 Mulchatna wolf predator control program that would allow ADFG to also aerially gun black and brown bears.
“When it comes to types of trapping that clearly infringe on the ability of other groups to safely use outdoor public spaces, decisions should be made in a collaborative process that involves representation from a more diverse range of affected groups. Parents of young children, skiers, hunters, hikers, search and rescue volunteers, mushers and others deserve to have a seat at this table.”
There are no trapping regulations in the state of Alaska- it’s time for the Alaska Board of Game to make the change. Read on to learn more about this issue.
“The BOG received almost 500 written comments in support of setbacks and only 36 comments against them, and still these handful of trails were rejected. We ‘compromised’ at a 95%-5% split (losing 95% of the initial request) and, with almost no discussion, they brushed that aside. The vote signaled to me that the Board of Game is not interested in public participation, nor is it interested in carrying out the agreements of a stakeholder group they themselves developed and organized. If they don’t listen to literally hundreds of commenters who don’t meet their worldview, or the stakeholders they called together to negotiate, who do they listen to?”
Read on to learn more about AWA’s failed Proposal 199 that requested 50-yard trap setbacks from select multi-use trails in the Matanuska-Susitna region.
Read more to learn about Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s involvement in assisting to file a legal petition to induce the National Marine Fisheries Service to explore whether allowing a certain number of incidental deaths of critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales in connection to oil and gas development in the region should be tolerated.
Check out this op ed that our very own Executive Director, Nicole Schmitt, wrote for the Alaska Landmine. Nicole wrote on our proposal to establish 50-yard trap setbacks on over 200 trails in the Mat-Su Valley in an effort to help reduce conflict between user groups on multi-use trails.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s Kenai coordinator, Teresa Becher, made another great appearance in the news for monitoring of critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales as part of the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership! Read on to learn more about this past spring’s observations of belugas and how you can help these whales this fall.
The Peninsula Clarion published a fun read written by one of our board members, John Morton. John is our current board Vice President and is a former Supervisory Biologist at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR), and he knows a lot about where to explore! Read more about the public use cabins in the KNWR where you can see glaciers, wildlife, lakes, and historical sites… you may just be reserving one after this!
There’s a mystery waiting to be solved in Alaskan waters, and it could take your help to crack the case. Along the west coast of the United States, gray whales have been having unusually high mortality events since 2019. National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) is looking to continue collecting data on these whales to further gain insight as to what could be causing this unusual occurrence.
It's not fun to talk about, but it's important to know. An article published by Alaska Public Media discusses the story of a family who lost their dog to a Conibear trap located near a trailhead parking lot this past February. Read more about Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s (AWA’s) efforts to understand this issue and provide solutions.
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