Former Alaska game board members hunt for new opinions on panel
Letter to Gov. Palin asks for non-hunting viewpoints for board
Published Sunday, January 11, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — A dozen former Alaska Board of Game members sent a letter to Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday requesting more diversity on the seven-person board that regulates wildlife management in the state.
Specifically, the letter asks Palin to consider more representation of “nonconsumptive users,” such as wildlife viewers, on the board.
“Nonconsumptive users of wildlife in Alaska include tens of thousands of residents and nonresidents alike who contribute significant revenue to the state through their activities,” the letter stated. “Unfortunately, in recent years virtually all Game Board members were appointed to represent hunting and trapping interests.
“We strongly urge you to recruit and appoint future board members who can effectively represent both consumptive and nonconsumptive users of this state’s wildlife,” the letter read.
The letter was written by former Game Board member Joel Bennett of Juneau and was signed by 11 other former board members, including Julie Maier of Fairbanks.
Maier, a biology professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, sat on the board for two years from 2001-03. Maier said she read the letter and agreed to sign it, though there were some parts that she didn’t necessarily agree with.
“I would like to see more diversity, but I don’t expect to because that’s not Palin’s call to fame,” Maier said.
Other former Game Board members who signed the letter include Vic Van Ballenberghe of Anchorage; George Matz of Homer; R.T. Wallen of Juneau; Bruce Baker of Juneau; Jack Lentfer of Homer; Doug Pope of Anchorage; Walker Parker of Anchorage; Nicole Whittingham-Evans of Palmer; Tom Meacham of Anchorage; and Chip Dennerlein of Grants Pass, Ore.
From Maier’s viewpoint, only one member on the current Game Board — Ben Grussendorf of Sitka — serves to represent nonconsumptive users.
“I don’t necessarily think you have to have extremists on there, but I think it helps to have a broader representation,” said Maier, a hunter who describes herself as a consumptive user. “Nonconsumptive users definitely do feel it’s a waste of time to go to this board, and that’s a shame.”
Dick Burley, the lone Fairbanks representative on the current Game Board, disagreed with the letter.
“I feel this board has been very sensitive to all different groups and players,” Burley said by cell phone from San Diego, where he was waiting to board a cruise ship to the Mexican Riviera.
The board will never make all user groups happy, whether they are hunters or wildlife viewers, Burley said.
“It’s easy for people who have a decision made against what they want to say that the board doesn’t represent their views,” he said.
Palin’s communications director, Bill McAllister, said the governor had not yet seen the letter and therefore had no comment.
“I don’t think we can respond until we actually see the text,” McAllister said.
The governor is responsible for appointing Game Board members, who then must be confirmed by the Alaska Legislature. The make-up of the board has been at issue for several years, with groups such as the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Defenders of Wildlife pushing for more balanced representation on the board, which they say is slanted almost exclusively toward hunting and trapping.
Wade Willis, the Alaska representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said he would like to see someone from the tourism industry appointed to the board. Tourism is the second-leading industry in Alaska, and wildlife viewing is one of the main reasons people visit Alaska, he said.
“For the tourism industry, decisions made by the Board of Game are the number one image maker in this state,” Willis said. “It’s not that somebody from the tourism industry is going to say, ‘No, we can’t do predator control,’ but they might say, ‘We need to package it in a way to minimize the negative impact it has on the tourism industry.’ ”
Both Willis and Maier said nonconsumptive users have been largely ignored by the Game Board under the administrations of former Gov. Frank Murkowski and Gov. Palin. The letter sent to Palin by former Game Board members alluded to that fact.
Prior to Murkowski, vacancies on the Game Board were advertised and nominations were solicited from various groups, the letter stated. Now, the process is much more secretive and nominations are not shared or scrutinized like they used to be.
“Our perception now is that these practices no longer prevail and the rule seems to be that only input from hunting and trapping interests is valued,” the letter read.
Maier would like to see more of a scientific voice represented on the Game Board. The more diverse the Game Board is, the more discussion there will be, she said.
“You know how diverse a board is by how much they deliberate,” Maier said. “The meetings are much shorter now because there’s no deliberation because they all agree. That’s kind of a shame.”
Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587.
Community Discussion
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I'm sure it was Vic van Ballenberge, when he was a BOG member made the comment heard by myself and 1 other, in mid-day at a BOG meeting, half the way thru public testimony, ",.don't worry, we have the votes", of course this was at break time and in a hall way, and he was speaking to the Denali park superintendent,, thinking no one could hear him. This was on the issue of the 'wolf buffer zone'. I felt for the people who were waiting to give their testimony against the buffer zone as it was apparent it was a 'done deal'. Wildlife politics stink when this happens!
AS 16.05.255, the state law defining the BOG, makes it clear that regulating game with respect to maximum consumptive use is a primary function of the board.
To appoint a member whose interests are "non-consumptive" is a contradiction; "protecting" wildlife from human harvest does not 'protect' them from the climate or other natural predators.
In short, non-consumptive use is a meaningless term: everything is consumed. The question is only who has the right to consume first: the cold, a disease, a predator, or a hungry human family?
A true diversity of opinions on the Board of Game would be good: bring in a wildlife scientist, a habitat scientist, someone from wildlife tourism industry, a representative from the military, one trapper, one trophy hunter, one subsistence hunter, one game guide, one animal-rights person, one kill-em-because-it's-my-god-given-right person, a wildlife veterinarian, and a business person. If we are truly worried about moose and caribou, then bring in a moost scientist and a caribou scientist. Twelve to fifteen folks--let them meet in public, let them be chosen in public. Heck, why don't we elect the members of the Board of Game? Then we can let the majority rule.
A while back (during the Murkowski regime,) of the seven Board of Game members, 4 were biologists. This group of whiney letter-signers are basically all just anti-hunting and anti-management. They don't really just want "biologists" on the board, they just don't like hunting or hunters.
They had their time on the Board. Now it's someone else's turn. If another anti-hunting/trapping Governor like Knowles gets elected, he will go ahead and appoint a bunch of antis like the letter signers to the Board.
Folks like Julie and Joel Bennet claim to be hunters, but apparently just having a hunting license in your pocket doesn't mean you are a hunter or have common sense. When Julie was Tony Knowles' "darling" on the BOG she voted against hunters and trappers a great deal of the time.
If the Game board would managing wildlife for sustainability and the protection of the resource as its primary objective, with subsistence and sport hunting as secondary objectives, there will be plenty of animals for non-consumptive users. The Alaska Constitution does not require resources be managed for tourists. Non-consumptive users are residual users otherwise the moose and bear in Anchorage would be a management goal and not nightmare.
Get the posey sniffers on the board and bye bye hunting
It's incorrect to write that "The governor is responsible for appointing Game Board members, WHO THEN MUST BE CONFIRMED BY THE LEGISLATURE."
If the board members MUST BE CONFIRMED, what's the point of submitting their appointments to the legislature for consideration.
The writer should have written: "The governor is responsible for appointing Game Board members, WHO ARE SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION by the Alaska Legislature."
Joe LaRocca
jlar5552@verizon.net
Good morning all. -51 on the bank of the Yukon.
I just showed the article to my dad (93). He served on the fish and game board for almost twenty years and in that time fought for state policies that first assured securing wildlife abundance; and that would benefit all Alaskans. While his heart was always for doing what’s best for the resource he also, when a particular resource was less abundant, fought in favor of those whose maintenance for living really depended on it. Living all his life in the village he knew from experience what happens when inactive management methods don’t put the resource first in priority. He said, “Before statehood I have seen some lean years when at times we wondered if we were going to make it. There was times we come to know what it meant to be hungry. We need active management systems that focus on sustainable abundance so that we never see those times again.” He went on to say, “I know those people that agree with the idea of that letter and I know that they are not good for the resource. They have ideas that they call management that are not management at all. Oh! Yes they do know a lot about the animals; they are good information gatherers and know the science but they are less than passive when serious management becomes necessary. God forbid! If those people, with the ideas they have, one day prevail as our state’s policy makers; if that happens it will not take long when new day will come when we will not be eating off the land. We will not be viewing any wildlife and us village people are the most active wildlife viewers; over all! There won’t be anything to look at; accept maybe in a city zoo!” This is his most passionate subject and when he gets going the tone of his speech and his body language depicts his great concern. (I think my visit with him on this was good for him and his 93 year old body; he needed to get his blood really going.) As a past game board member myself I agree with a lot my dad said. Scrupulous management systems are necessary to maintain wildlife beneficial to all.
read this: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/...
Before too long if we do not fight with wisdom and with tenacity in favor the prevailing wind in favor of responsible management the storm entailing the liberal’s agenda will make our current arguments over Alaskan resources moot.
Correction: Before too long if we do not fight with wisdom and with tenacity in favor of the prevailing wind for responsible management the storm entailing the liberal’s agenda will make our current arguments over Alaskan resources moot.
Both the Fortymile Caribou Recovery Team and the Wood Bison Restoration Team had nonconsumptive users on them. In the end, good work was done and folks learned to respect and work with one another. The Board of Game under Govs. Hammond and Knowles also had nonconsumptive users appointed to it. When Gov Palin ran for governor she said she wanted to bring Alaskans together. Her Board of Game appointments have done just the opposite. Most adult Alaskans do not hunt--that is a fact. And they have no representation on the current BOG.
Joe Parks should double check his memory. It was October 2002 when I was on the Board as it dealt with the Denali buffer issue (not mid-May). I doubt if I said anything to the Denali Superintendant--the Park Service was not supporting the buffer and I was. Why would I tell him we had the votes? This is yet another example where false "facts" are put forth to discredit me. Can't we stick to the truth?
The Board (and I) listened to all the testimony on the buffer and considered everything that was presented. We acted based on the available information. I'm proud of my contribution toward solving a complex problem in an open and transparent manner. Claims that we acted otherwise are false, pure and simple.
Vic Van Ballenberghe
The BOG sets wildlife management policy for a small percentage of Alaska. The Federal Subsistence Board's decisions apply to lands covering the majority of the state. They have failed to manage wildlife in the best interests of Alaska due to several factors, including heavy influence from Defenders of Wildlife type thinking and the goal to keep animal populations sufficiently low that "subsistence" priority will continue to divide Alaskans in perpetuity.
The key term is management of wildlife. Managing wildlife for abundance provides a win/win scenario for the resource itself, the hunting, trapping, photographic and non-hunting public.
What would be the litmus test for new BOG appointees to create a "balanced" board and satisfy the proponents of balancing the Board?
The key issue for any BOG member always remains having the strength of character to make decisions that benefit ALL Alaskans and the resource itself.
Whenever I have submitted proposals and lobbied the Board at their meetings, I always consider the effects regulation changes would have on anyone affected before making the proposal. Some proposals have been accepted, some amended and others denied, but knowing that you have a fair hearing and that the majority of the Board is sufficiently competent to make sound decisions is critical.
The common agenda held by the authors of this letter is obviously a desire to end sound management policies.
Next thing PETA will be demanding a seat. Oh, that is what this is about.
when board of game sets seasons and licences for veiwing then the nonconsumptive users can get a seat on the board.
People...please keep in mind the difference between good scientific game management, the requirements of the Alaska Constitution, the whining by some wolf-huggers, and a good news story (as defined by a reporter/editor). So PETA wants a seat on the board. I hope we have the strength to ask what they would do differently, and judge their whining based on their response.
Village My Choice, If you are from the Galena, I am pretty sure I know your father. He is a very astute man, and very intelligent in the ways of maintaining game for ALL Alaskans, and in accordance to our Constitution. As was stated earlier, Consumption IS the purpose of the board, and as PathFinder so eloquently states, non-consumptive user is a moot term. Let us all let our Legislators know that they need to follow the Constitution on this one and keep the board filled with CONSUMPTIVE users.
Sooooo. Is there any such thing as a non-consumptive "user" of wildlife. How do these folks "use" wildlife? How much do they pay for their "use." When my boys buy their hunting license the money goes into the Fish and Game Fund where it (along with matching federal dollars from a tax on guns, ammo, etc.) is used to pay for fish and game management. Tell me of a single dollar any anti-hunter has paid for anything wildlife related. Bet you can't.
Then, according to the laws of common sense, management for abundance makes more animals available for people to watch and for people to harvest. I don't want to disappoint any of the anti-hunters but the more there are to harvest, the more there are for locals and tourists to watch - at least when it comes to ungulates. A high level of predators, however, soon leaves nothing to watch - predator or prey.
The fairy tail about "balance" of nature is just that - a fairy tale. There is no "balance." Everything - unmanaged - is in a dynamic - either increasing or decreasing. Alaska's constitution requires management - not just monitoring the ebb and flow.
I hope our governor appoints and the legislature will confirm someone who will promote good management practices so there will end up being more for all.
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