courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News
by Mike Campbell
Ten Anchorage wolves have been killed — nine of them trapped or shot by the state — as a six-month predator-control effort on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson wraps up.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game regional supervisor Mark Burch said the effort to remove wolves considered dangerous to humans and their pets succeeded. All the wolves that were killed were on base property.
“We believe we’ve mitigated the risk,” said Burch, who added that one wolf died after being hit by a car not connected to the control effort. “We’re not trying to eradicate wolves; we’re trying to reduce the risk.”
He estimates four wolves remain in the area.
As spring approaches, trapping conditions worsen and bears begin emerging from their dens, hastening the end of the program.
But some contend the wolves didn’t pose much risk to begin with.
“I’m not a biologist in any way, shape or form,” said Gary Gustafson, chairman of Chugach State Park Citizens’ Advisory Board, which criticized Fish and Game for nearly wiping out the wolf population in that portion of the half-million-acre park. “But what’s troublesome to us is that the department has decided one size fits all and that the plan is to exterminate all wolves.”
Teklanika Nature Photography 