Elk numbers down, shoot wolves..............Deer numbers down, shoot wolves..............Caribou numbers down, shoot wolves...................And finally with Moose numbers down on the Kenai Peninsula South of Anchorage, Alaska, a debate continues over whether to allow Wildlife Officials to thin out Wolves through shooting from airplanes..........We never seem to consider how we have manipulated the landscape so as to cause prey animals to go into decline..........We reluctantly if ever, put the health of the land first and hunters need second................So instead of taking the long view as almost any good business does to optimize future results, we "manipulate the books" in the short run by killing wolves so as to be able to say we are doing something about ungulate decline...........Pathetic that this anything-but-positive behavior or ours keeps repeating itself time in and time out................New Years resolution to redouble our efforts to open up State Game Commissions to multiple stakeholders with many points of view so that killing carnivores is not the only tool utilized in wildlfe management

Alaska officials postpone decision on wolf kills

 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska wildlife managers have postponed a decision on a controversial proposal to kill wolves in a region south of Anchorage, a state spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Alaska Board of Game postponed its decision on a wolf-control program for the Kenai Peninsula until mid-January, said Scott Crass, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The board had considered the proposal at a meeting that ended this week, but board members opted against making a decision to obtain more information, Crass said.

The proposal would authorize shooting of wolves from aircraft to thin out packs, with the intention of boosting the moose population in the region.The program would be the first authorized by the state to kill wolves by aerial shooting on the Kenai Peninsula.

Compared to remote parts of Alaska where state-ordered wolf kills have been conducted, the Kenai Peninsula is more densely populated, with numerous cities, towns and connecting highways. It is also a major tourist and recreation destination.

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen: Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis)

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