Rick Steiner, an advocate for wolf protection, said Al Barrette stands to see a financial gain from his vote and should have recused himself. Steiner has submitted a challenge to Gov. Sean Parnell, attorney general Dan Sullivan and Fish and Game commissioner Denby Lloyd, asking them to toss Barrette's vote.
The board voted 4-3 on March 5 to eliminate the buffer zones in a narrow wedge of state land that juts into the national park's northeastern corner, and the buffer zone along the Parks Highway.
Parnell appointed Barrette in February. He has not been confirmed by the Legislature but is considered an official board member until that happens.
Barrette said he based his vote on laws, boundaries and biology. He said if he followed Steiner's reasoning, he would have to recuse himself from every issue that goes before the board.
"So would every (board) member with a hunting license," Barrette told the Anchorage Daily News.
Barrette said he sells traps throughout the U.S. and Canada and does not target customers who take wolves at Denali Park.
Only the state attorney general could potentially change the outcome of the Board of Game's decision, said Kevin Saxby, the state's Fish and Game law adviser. He noted that a formal challenge must be processed under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, a step Steiner has yet to take.
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Yes springing a trap or preventing a hunter from hunting is illegal. I believe in trying to change a situation (like the BOG) by legal means such as petitions, comments,letters, votes,and what Steiner is doing. Calling someone a jerk even when they are one is totally unnecessary and a childish way of dealing with the issues.
use_your_ head I don't know if messin w/somebody trap-line in Ak. is a good idea..It is still legal in Alaska to trap a varmit with a gun. Messing w/someones traps is like panning gold on someones mining claim..If caught you probably won't have a head_to_use...
“…it specifically puts out in the first book of the bible, in Genesis, that we should, uh, subdue nature and control it. We should be the managers of the animals and through the…the sin of Adam and Eve is what brought it on, and, uh, in fact, the first, uh…the first clothes that were made for Adam and Eve were skins of animals…by God.”
Unbelievable for a government official!
Wolves are the most dangerous creatures alive, they eat thousands of people every day and none of us are safe as long as those demons roam the wild.
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Seriously- Why all FEAR?
I've never seen a tougher acting group of people act like such wimps when it comes to wildlife, no wonder why y'all cling to your guns. I guess it's just like the folks who wiped the wolves out down in the states- FEAR of the unknown, and the bog apparently doesn't know anything more about wolves than what their hides are worth.
Trapping is a whole 'nother sorta wimpiness altogether. I don't care how "hard" it is to set a trap-line, the traps are still doing all the work, trappers just reap the benefits.
Anyway, if y'all have such a problem living around wolves then why would y'all live in Alaska? That's as dumb as a person moving to Africa and declaring a lion "epidemic".
HELLO! This IS "Alaska", and "Alaska"= "dangerous wildlife".
I say that a person who is voting on anything that could bring more money to his pocket should step aside based on a conflict of interest.
Its an old fashioned word called integrity.
"I am told that a member of the Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee was prevented from voting in their resolution regarding the wolf buffer because she was a member of the Denali Citizen's Council."
I was the Chairman of the Middle Nenana River AC, and present at the meeting, when we discussed writing a proposal and submitting it to the BOG for the Interior Region Meeting. A member of the committee made a "motion to support" writing a proposal and it was seconded by another member. When I called for the question, (took a vote) 8 members voted to support writing a proposal and 1 member abstained
from the vote. This person abstained from the vote because of his/her (I'm not going identify this person) affiliation with the Denali Citizens Council and the fact that the Denali Citizens Council was writing a proposal in support of the buffer zone. He/she cited a conflict of interest which I accepted. He/she was not prevented in anyway from voting on this issue. I just looked at my minutes from the meeting and you can get a copy from Board Support at the FBKS office of ADF&G. So whoever told you is WRONG!
Another thing,
"Just like the Board of Game these committees are unbalanced and undemocratic. These people will stop at nothing to keep those who have a different point of view casting an opposing vote."
This is a bunch of BS as well. We just had an election meeting for 4 Healy seats on January 4, 2010. The meeting was well advertised and flyers posted around the community at least 2 weeks before the meeting. Anybody who lives in the Healy/Denali area can serve on the AC, via a Healy Seat or McKinley Village seat, and the public is casting the votes. SO DON'T PISS AN MOAN AND WHINE ABOUT NOT HAVING A VOICE, OR US DENYING A VOTE OF AN OPPOSING VIEW. I'm sick of hearing this crap. Instead maybe you should show up to some of these meetings and voice your opinion. Better yet you and your friends should show up to an election meeting and vote yourself on the AC. Then you can donate your time, money, and energy to try and represent the public, propose regulations, solve some problems, and come up with workable solutions instead of letting others do the work ( You know, the people who actually show up to these meetings)and then sit back and bitch and whine when things don't go your way.
I see the Anchorage AC voted in support of the buffer zone as well. IMAGINE THAT Their proposal was basically the same as Alaska Wildlife Alliance's last proposal dealing with the buffer zone. It may not have been word for word, but it wasn't far off.
Legislation will not resolve this issue. Education will help. The local residents around Healy could spring the traps they find objectionable within the town's limits, they could tie up their dogs or make sure they do not stray from home, and finally the residents should be aware of the fact that people can legally trap in their area and should know enough to look for traps when they are out away from town. I would wager that the trails they are running/skiing/snowmachining upon are made by trappers running their lines.
On the bright side at least it IS a local raising the objection not someone from the Lower 48.
Every Alaska governor from year one has stacked the fish/game board with his/her political appointees. It's called "winner takes all," and "majority rules." Every governor uses the power of political appointment to implement his or her political philosophy and policies. That's the way it's supposed to work.
Joe LaRocca
The Board of Game needs to be balanced with all the user groups to be democratic and to compromise on some issues. This is up to the legislature to do something so the governors do not stack it with their political appointees as the last three have.