Public process biggest winner in board ruling

A state Board of Game decision earlier this week to kill a proposed bear hunt in a popular viewing area is a victory not only for those bears, but for Alaskans and the public process.

For more than 20 years, the bears of the Kamishak Special Use Area have lived and fished in close proximity to photographers and wildlife lovers in the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, one of the most popular bear-viewing areas in North America. During that time, the bears have become acclimated to human presence and built up the bruin equivalent of trust that the two species can co-exist without fear of attack.

The decision to nix the hunt, then, is also a victory for true hunters, who recognize the lack of sport - and morality - in drawing a bead on a largely docile animal not accustomed to regular pressure from human predators.

The hunting of animals that are acclimated to human presence was a bad idea from its inception. That it was proposed in a popular tourist destination elevates it from a regional issue to a statewide concern.

Fittingly, it was widely opposed by the public. The board, meeting in the state's media capital - Anchorage - heard from a large number of people who turned out to testify.

Those who took the time to do so were clear in their message, and the board listened. Its decision to keep the area closed to hunting should be encouraging to critics of the seven-member, all-hunter board who accuse it of favoring hunters - despite the minority status of hunters in the general population and the board's charge to &#8220conserve and develop” the state's game resources for the benefit of all.

It's the second time in three months the board has made such a move. At its Southeast Region meeting in Wrangell in November, the board heeded public testimony and refused to open a bear-viewing area on Admiralty Island to hunting.

We remain steady advocates of hunting and hunters' rights. But in a state as large and sprawling as Alaska, with so many of its square miles open to hunting, there simply is no need to destroy a tiny wildlife-viewing resource like the McNeil River just for the sake of a handful of trophy hunters who are too lazy to seek out a truly wild bear.

The board deserves the thanks of all Alaskans for recognizing the importance of the issue and acting accordingly. We applaud the board - under the leadership of Wasilla resident Cliff Judkins, the board chairman - for its responsiveness and sense of responsibility in fulfilling its mission.