Board denies wolf trapping extension
By CHRIS TALBOTT, Staff Writer
The Alaska Board of Game unanimously overturned a request to issue an emergency order that would have extended the wolf trapping season in the McGrath area another month.
In the Thursday teleconference meeting, board members reaffirmed their support for wolf control to boost moose population numbers around the Interior town, but turned down the request because it likely would have had no practical value.
By definition, an “emergency” involves “an unforeseen, unexpected event,” said Cathie Harms, Fish and Game information officer. The board did not feel that definition matched the situation.
“They do want people to know this is a dire circumstance out there,” Harms said of the board’s opinion, “but there was no unforeseen, unexpected event like an emergency calls for.”
In fact, the issue of predator control in the McGrath area has been debated for more than a decade. Previous Gov. Tony Knowles chose not to pursue wolf control efforts during his administration. And while Gov. Frank Murkowski supports the idea, he has said no state employees or aircraft will be used to directly cull the wolf population.
He opted instead to assist locals in thinning packs. The request to extend the trapping season was seen as an attempt to help those trappers catch more wolves this year. Despite aerial reconnaissance and renewed efforts, McGrath-area trappers were only able to take 13 wolves this season, one more than the annual average.
The source of the request to extend the season was not clear during the board’s meeting. The request came from Fish and Game Commissioner Kevin Duffy, according to Matt Robus, acting director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation.
When asked if the request originated in the governor’s office, Robus said he “assumed” that it did. Murkowski spokesman John Manly said he was unaware of the request and the board meeting and could not confirm that the extension idea started with the governor.
Board Chairman Mike Fleagle made it clear that the vote did not reflect a division between the governor and his board. When word of the proposal first surfaced earlier this week, observers on all sides expressed skepticism. Wolf control advocates saw it as impractical given the difficulties tracking and killing wolves without snow upon which to travel, not to mention the low quality of pelts this time of year.
Opponents noted the presence of pups and nursing mothers this year. Fish and Game estimated that the extension might net one to three additional wolves. Toby Boudreau, the department’s McGrath biologist, surveyed the area’s seven trappers and found only one interested in pursuing wolves at this point in the year.
“Under the circumstances, it’s too little, too late,” said Dick Bishop, a former regional supervisor with the Division of Wildlife Conservation and a past president of the Alaska Outdoor Council. “There’s not really a lot of incentive or practical methods to do this.”
While the board turned down the extension, a wolf control opponent noted a subtle but significant action it did take. The board voted to put the issue on the fall meeting agenda and will take up the McGrath area’s “intensive management moose population objective” at that time.
Fish and Game sets a target for optimal game numbers in a certain area. In 2001, that number was reduced in the McGrath area, given low population numbers of roughly 1,300 moose. Shortly thereafter, however, the state raised the target to approximately 2,800.
Board members will re-examine that optimal number this fall and Paul Joslin of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance fears they will push it up into a range he sees as impossible to reach. The board could decide to leave the number alone or push it lower, but a higher number likely would increase the need for predator control.
“The implication is to push it back to where it was,” said Joslin, a conservation biologist. “Our concern is they’re setting a population objective that’s way out of line.”