We the people of Alaska are getting fed up with the Federal Government and the people of the United States that feel they own us. We are treated like a colony, not like a state. In how many states does the Federal Government control hunting and fishing over 3/4s of the state? Do you have to get congressional approval to drill an oil well in Texas, or a gas well in Tennessee? Does your state have to get federal permission to build a road? Are many of your remote streams and rivers classified as "Wild and Scenic areas", preventing access to the area by motorized vehicles, basicly closing off the areas to the point that no one ever goes there. Do you have to get federal permission to open up a mine to remove valuable minerals, or to access the mine area since the only way in is across Federal land. Does the Federal Government (EPA) come in and tell you your heat source is too polluting and you can not use it any more, yet you have no other means of heating your home. When talking to the people of the United States about the problems we are having, they say "Well we should have a say in what you do in Alaska, since we own it". There, the people of the United States are telling us we do not rate as a State like the other 49. Therefore we are a colony, they own us.
Well after 50 years of living with broken promises, and failure to follow through on acts agreed to during the Statehood Process, we have decided to fight back.
The Federal Government has decided they have control over the wildlife on federal lands. Our constatution says we have control over the wilflife state wide, and this was agreed to by the Federal Government in the "Statehood Act". So the Feds decided to close hunting and trapping seasons this last spring on certain Federal Lands. Now they are refusing to co-operate in a Preditor Control program to save a Caribou herd from extinction. So we are going to act, and I am sure we will end up in court over this, but it is time we fought back. We are tired of being stomped on by the Feds, and them telling us "Federal Law Trumps State Law".
With only 10 bulls left the USF&W service says they need to study the problem before they can take action to reduce the number of preditors on Unimak island. The residents have been screaming for some type of preditor control for several years to the deaf ear of the USF&W Service. The numbers of Caribou have plumited from a high of around 25,000 animals down to around 300 animals. Wolves are the main preditor on the island, and their numbers a high according to the residents of the island. After deciding the USF&W service is willing to let this herd go extenct, and USF&W refusal to cooperate in a preditor management program, the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game decided to take action. While the Feds may own the land, the State Of Alaska owns the animals, and has the authority to manage them state wide. Here is a copy of the article from the Anchorage Daily News.
By Mike Campbell | The Anchorage Daily News
Concerned that wolf predation may imperil the remaining caribou on Unimak Island, managers with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Thursday afternoon they'll launch predator control in less than two weeks on the largest island in the Aleutians, preferably by helicopter.
"The situation constitutes a dire conservation emergency," Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd said in a letter sent to Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "Immediate action is necessary."
Missing from the announcement at U.S. Fish and Game headquarters was any representation by Fish & Wildlife, on whose land wolf control would take place. Unimak Island, the only island in the Aleutians with a native caribou population, is dominated by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Federal managers are in the midst of making an environmental assessment of reducing wolf numbers.
"I've heard nothing about a response today," said Bruce Woods, a spokesman for Fish & Wildlife in Alaska. "We're conducting a review and continue that process."
But the state intends to act.
"We will do something by about June 1," said Pat Valkenberg of Fish and Game. "We are the primary wildlife managers on all federal lands in the state."