Fish and Wildlife Service Considering whether to approve Aerial Wolf
Killing in the Unimak Wilderness, Alaska. Deadline for comments is
January 31, 2010
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is considering allowing the
State of Alaska to shoot and kill adult wolves from helicopters within
the Unimak Wilderness beginning this spring. If the state's propsed
action is selected, pups could also be gassed in their dens. According
to the FWS’s environmental assessment (EA), the purpose for killing
wolves is to increase the number of caribou for subsistence hunting. The
caribou population has declined recently. Causes for the decline are not
known, although caribou numbers on the island have significantly
fluctuated in the past. . You can access the EA at:
http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm.
Unimak Island, part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, lies
just off the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and is the largest and
easternmost island of the Aleutian island chain. Ninety eight percent of
the island (910,000 acres) is Wilderness. The only human community on
the island is the village of False Pass (pop. 54). According to
subsistence studies, local hunters primarily hunt caribou from the nearby
Southern Alaska Peninsula herd— more easily accessible by boat. All
reported harvest of the Unimak herd since 1999 has been by non-local
Alaska residents and non-residents. The vast majority of hunting is done
through two commercial guide services and is focused on killing trophy
bulls.
The EA reports caribou numbers fluctuating from an estimated 7,000 in
1925 to about 400 now. The herd was estimated at 1,200 caribou in 2001
when the State of Alaska initiated its hunting program. Several times in
the past 80 years the herd has been much smaller than now including years
when no caribou were found, so this cycle does not seem atypical. The EA
acknowledges a lack of assessment of caribou habit and forage on Unimak
Island, but studies on the nearby Alaska Peninsula showed lichens, an
important caribou food source, depleted and a likely cause of low caribou
birth/survival rates and population decline. Alaska Department of Fish
and Game estimates about 20 to 30 wolves on Unimak Island, however the
population experiences periodic rabies epidemics.
Fish and Wildlife Service has not picked a preferred alternative, but the
state’s proposed action calls for the extermination of all wolves found
in areas where caribou are located at calving time in May. If lactating
females are killed, AGFD will search for and gas wolf pups in their dens.
An intensive study of caribou calf mortality will be initiated and will
include capture and radio collaring. The study will also require
helicopters to deploy transmitters and access mortality sites, and use
fixed wing aircraft and temporary field camps.
This action will violate the fundamental principles of the Wilderness Act
by allowing human intervention of the natural processes at work in the
Unimak Wilderness. If approved, it will set a terrible precedent for
predator control on National Wildlife Refuges and designated Wilderness
elsewhere in Alaska. This project will also rely heavily on aircraft
use, further degrading the area’s wilderness character. Take Action
Now--write by Jan 31:
You can access the EA at: http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/nepa.htm
Please send your comments to the FWS by January 31, 2010.
Some talking points to consider:
• Support the “no action” alternative, which would maintain the
untrammeled, wild character of the Unimak Wilderness and allow natural
ecological processes to continue.
• Killing wolves to attempt to artificially boost caribou numbers is
completely unacceptable in a National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness.
Killing females and gassing their pups in their dens is entirely
unacceptable.
• Helicopter use is extremely intrusive and has no place in
Wilderness stewardship. It is also prohibited by law except in very rare
circumstances. No helicopter use should be allowed as part of this
project even if alternatives to wolf killing are pursued. • The goal
of increasing caribou numbers for subsistence hunting is at odds with the
reality that subsistence hunters don’t hunt here. All caribou killed in
the past decade were killed by non-local and non-resident hunters, most
of whom were commercially guided trophy hunters.
• The EA lacks scientific evidence to support FWS’s proposed action.
Essentially nothing is known about the condition of the habitat or the
numerous other possible causes for the herd’s decline.
• Before any further consideration is given to this proposal, a full
environmental impact statement must be prepared to assess the numerous
factors impacting the herd. Send comments by January 31, 2011 to:
[log in to unmask] or fax to: 1-800-507-8557, or mail to:Gap
Solutions, Inc.Unimak Caribou Herd Environmental AssessmentPocatello, ID
83206-2026
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