Author Topic: Injunction Request  (Read 272 times)

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Offline Sourdough

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Injunction Request
« on: March 19, 2009, 09:22:02 AM »
Defenders Of Wildlife are at it again.  Last year they were up here raising hub about letting private pilots and gunners shoot wolves.  They insisted that only Fish and Game employees be able to do that. 

So this year Fish and Game employees are doing the shooting from Helicopters and are doing a very efficient job of reducing predictors.  They are finally getting close to the required numbers to make the project work.

Now Defenders Of Wildlife are up in arms over the State doing the job.  Yesterday they filed for an injunction to stop the working Predator Control Program.

I'm going to offer another side of the story from a good friend Greg Compeau of Fairbanks.  One thing Greg does not mention tho is that this is an International Herd.  That means it is a herd that crosses the border in it's migrations.  The Canadians have not hunted this herd for years due to low numbers.  Alaskans are taking a very small number between 2 and 3%, the rest is being taken by predators.  The Canadians are really getting upset that the Americans are doing nothing on our side of the border to build up the numbers of this herd.  One of the major problems is that the Feds will not let us do Predator Control on Federal Lands and they own 74% of Alaska.  We can only do this on state land.   


Rebuild caribou

Craig Compeau, Fairbanks

Published Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Recently, Alaskans have witnessed another substantial decline in the Fortymile caribou herd in Game Management Unit 20E, and we have only ourselves to blame. We have had the tools to help improve caribou calf survival but have done very little from an active management perspective. For either political or environmental reasons (or both), we have failed miserably.

Enter Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a firm grasp on not only what abundance management means but also what it actually takes to achieve it. Add to that some “outside the bureaucratic box” thinking by some new faces within the Department of Fish and Game, as well as a Board of Game that is not afraid of what might be printed in the Mother Earth News, and you begin to see a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Rather than initiating another five-year study (which can be a convenient way to outlast a four-year governor), the Board of Game has voted to take specific actions to turn around these plummeting populations. We know from past experience in this same GMU that targeted, intensive management works, and can have a dramatic positive effect on caribou calf survival. Although very effective, most people are surprised to learn that such intensive management is only being done in about 10 percent of the entire state. (For some excellent factual data on predators and prey, go to www.defendersofwildfood.org.)

However, if you put your ear to the ground near Eagle, that thundering noise you hear is not a caribou herd; it is Priscilla Feral and her radical gang of “do-gooders” riding into Alaska to save us from ourselves. She is here to tell us once again that everything will be just fine if we let nature run its course. Tell that to the Fort Yukon mother of three staring at $8-per-pound hamburger in the local general store, after having bought 5 gallons of fuel for $45.

So, kudos to the governor, ADFG and the Board of Game for standing up for Alaskans. Maybe that thundering noise is applause from our founding fathers.
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Offline Sourdough

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Re: Injunction Request
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2009, 09:32:29 AM »
Here also is a letter from Mike Tinker who I served with on the Fairbanks F&G Advisory Committee.



Protect calves

Mike Tinker, Ester

Published Wednesday, March 18, 2009
   
Great news for all Alaskans who harvest caribou from the Fortymile herd. After several years of minimal success in the approved predator control project in Game Management Unit 20E, the Department of Fish and Game has authorized additional work this spring. The early loss of spring snow and the totally uncooperative posture of the neighboring federal land managers has held recent-year predator harvests to minimal levels. The best year’s calf survival barely maintained the population.

Previous efforts prove that reducing predators on this herd can have significant benefits for calf survival. The earlier work resulted in growth of the herd, and now it’s time to take the next step. If wolves and bears can be harvested at the maximum project target levels, the calf survival will again soar and the population will increase toward the goal of its historical averages. Thanks to Commissioner Lloyd and his crew for the planning and extra efforts.

We should expect the “never have spent a dime on Alaska wildlife management” cry-babies from Defenders of Wildlife to yell and scream about these extra efforts. After all, maybe they can have another fundraiser at our expense.

For Alaskans who hunt to eat these caribou, like to look at them along the Steese and Taylor highways, or just like to know the state is actively managing our wildlife, the latest addition to the predator control efforts is one big step in the right direction.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Spanky

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Re: Injunction Request
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2009, 09:57:13 AM »
Have you guys up there ever heard of something called "survival of the fittest"??
That's the way the food chain works. ;)

There are hundreds of thousands of migrating caribou each year. How many "predators" are there in comparison??

I'm talking actual numbers as to how many caribou per wolf or per bear??

I don't think I've ever seen a caribou on the endangered list.

Bears and wolves on the other hand... :-\     




Spanky


Offline Sourdough

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Re: Injunction Request
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2009, 04:21:09 PM »
Spanky: I don't have the numbers right off my head, but the calf survival rate is so low that the heard is actually in decline.  80% of the mortality rate for the 40 mile herd is by predators, 2% by Hunters, 18% unknown.  But the wolves kill a very large number each year.  And don't believe that old tale that wolves only kill to eat.  They kill just for the fun of it.

As for Bears, the unit they are proposing to do the Control program in has one bear for every Moose in the unit.  Bears are the biggest predator on baby Moose.  They follow the cows around till she calves then the bear will run up and grab the calf.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.