Predator control gets airing at local show

WASILLA — The state wants residents to know more about its controversial predator control programs.

Alaska Board of Game member Cliff Judkins spent two days conducting an informational seminar on the programs at the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show this weekend. Armed with a PowerPoint presentation and handouts from the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Judkins explained the history of the programs and why he believes they’re useful in helping rural Alaskans have a better chance of harvesting game populations.

In some areas, wolves and bears have become so efficient at harvesting newborn moose calves, there aren’t enough to sustain future populations, he said.

“We have a number of places where 80 percent of [moose] calves are taken before they’re 5 weeks old,” he said.

Judkins said the predator control programs — which involve the taking of wolves and bears in five geographic areas of the state — are working, and pointed to statistics showing that when predators are reduced, moose and caribou populations rebound significantly.

The ADFG is responsible for establishing the number of predators it believes is low enough to allow for more prey and keeps the wolf and bear populations healthy enough to sustain themselves.

“If they harvest enough to get to that number, they stop,” Judkins said.

The predator control programs have come under heavy fire from environmental and animal-rights groups, who claim the measures are unwarranted or cruel. Of particular concern for such groups has been the practice of aerial wolf killing, which has twice been voted against by statewide ballot initiatives only to be overturned by the Legislature and governor.

Connecticut-based Defenders of Wildlife has been the most vocal opposition group, going so far as to try and orchestrate a boycott of Alaska tourism because of the state’s predator control programs. The group says it will continue to try and rally opposition to what it considers an inhumane and illegal practice.

“We continue to fight the Alaska Board of Game’s efforts to expand the killing and we are working to mobilize Alaska’s citizens to band together in opposition of this barbaric practice,” the group says on its Web site.

Judkins said the aerial shooting issue is a moot point since the idea is simply to reduce the number of predators by the most efficient means possible.

“There’s no such thing as fair chase in predator control,” he said.

Judkins also said he believes predator control programs are misunderstood by the public, and that much of the opposition comes from well-financed animal rights groups from the Lower 48.

“Most of them are just Outside people that don’t want to see wildlife killed,” he said.

When Judkins hears from rural Alaskans who rely on moose and caribou to sustain themselves, he said the reaction to predator control is overwhelmingly positive.

“They always thank us for predator control,” he said.

Judkins also noted that Alaska’s game management process is the most open and accessible in the nation, and anyone who wishes to comment on proposals before the Board of Game is welcome to do so.

“I can’t emphasize enough that when we do predator control it is a public process,” he said.

When the public has all the facts, Judkins believes people are more inclined to support intensive predator management options. That’s why the state is sending him and other board members across Alaska to give presentations and answer questions about the program.

“That’s one reason we’re out trying to educate people as to what predator control is so they can make a good decision,” he said. “I think they’re definitely misinformed. There’s a bunch of zealots out there that are anti-hunting, period, and that’s it.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.