FAIRBANKS — For the second year in a row, the Alaska Department of Fish
and Game plans to use a helicopter to shoot wolves from the air in the
Fortymile region near Tok as part of its predator control program.

In a report to the Alaska Board of Game in Fairbanks on Thursday,
Tok-area biologist Jeff Gross said the department will take to the air as
soon as there is fresh snow to help track and find wolves.

“We’re hoping for new snow to cover up the old tracks,” he said.
“Generally, we like to go out within six or eight days after snow.”

Last year in March, department personnel shot and killed 84 wolves during
six days using fixed-wing aircraft to find the wolves and a helicopter to
shoot them.

The upper Tanana/Fortymile region is one of five areas in the state where
aerial shooting or landing and shooting of wolves is allowed under the
department’s predator management program. 

Hunters doing so must have a permit from the state.

But, similar to last year, Gross said aerial wolf hunters haven’t come
close to killing the number of wolves the state wants to cull from the
Fortymile region to boost moose and caribou numbers. Only eight wolves
had been killed by aerial hunters at last report, he told the board,
which is in the midst of a 10-day meeting in Fairbanks scheduled to end
Sunday.

The department wants to cull almost 200 of the estimated 300 wolves that
biologists said range in the control area.

The total harvest of wolves in the control area last year was 220 wolves,
with helicopter shooting accounting for 84 of the kills; harvest by
gunners in fixed-wing aircraft, 49; and trapping and hunting, 87.

Gross said he would consider it a success if the department is able to
approach last year’s helicopter harvest of 84 wolves. Lack of snow this
winter has hindered control efforts by gunners in fixed-wing aircraft and
has hampered trapping and hunting of wolves, so there might be more
wolves, Gross said. 

“Trappers and control permittees had been a lot more successful to date
last year,” he said. 

Predator control appears to have a positive effect on the moose and
caribou populations in the Fortymile region, Gross told the board.

“I’d say we’re seeing progress on both fronts in part because of it,” he
said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle, with weather being the driving
factor.”

After Gross’ report, game board members Al Barrette and Ted Spraker
suggested the department explore the possibility of employing helicopter
shooting in other areas to meet harvest goals quicker so aerial control
programs won’t be needed.

Barrette encouraged the department’s “helicopter cleanup,” as he put it,
and said the department should consider using a helicopter earlier in the
season, especially in forested areas such as the Fortymile country.

“Once you get the wolf populations down to a lower level, trappers have
shown they can get the job done on the ground,” said Barrette, a trapper
from Fairbanks.

Spraker agreed, saying the department should focus on areas where
trappers and aerial gunners haven’t been successful.

“The department should not wait until March and April and risk losing the
snow you need to do this,” said Spraker, of Soldotna. “Go in there after
the first snow in the fall.

“If you’re able to remove some of those important packs, they won’t be
operating on your moose all winter,” he said. “If we can be as efficient
in these areas, we can reduce the number of years we’re involved in
predation control.”
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