Don't Let Gov. Palin "KILL BABY KILL" Alaska's Wildlife

Alas, Gov. Sarah Palin is back in Alaska, and she is following her same old agenda: “Kill Baby Kill” Alaska’s wildlife. Wolves, bears, whales – they are all targets caught in her lethal crosshairs.

Her administration promotes aggressive predator control programs – including aerial chase-and-kill and denning – to drastically reduce wolf and bear populations. She is actively opposing the federal government’s decision to list the polar bear and beluga whale as threatened species. Late last summer she came out against the ballot measure that would have guaranteed clean water standards for the proposed Pebble Mine, and spoke against the ballot measure that would have stopped airborne wolf hunting by private pilots. Gov. Palin’s intervention, coupled with the state’s serious manipulation of ballot language, caused the defeat of an initiative on which we worked long and hard.

Who will defend Alaska’s beleaguered wildlife? That’s the mission of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. But we can’t fulfill our mission without your help - we are in this together!

Alaska’s wildlife is depending on your
contribution of $35, $50, $100 or more.

This winter, the state Board of Game may attempt to resurrect its barbaric wolf bounty program. Last year, the state offered to pay hunters $150 for the severed left foreleg of each wolf killed. The AWA and other groups filed suit, and fortunately the state court stopped the bounty program in its tracks. The court halted the program based on a technicality, which the Alaska Board of Game will probably attempt to circumvent at the Board’s next meeting.

Unfortunately, the wolf bounty program is not the only assault facing Alaska’s magnificent wildlife. Two species have gained federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2008, but the Palin administration vigorously opposes both listings.

• Cook Inlet Beluga Whales - Endangered. Increasing noise and pollution coupled with less food threaten the fewer than 300 remaining Cook Inlet beluga whales. But the Palin administration favors environmentally damaging resource development over saving this isolated population from extinction.
• Polar Bears - Threatened. Federal and state biologists overwhelmingly agree that global warming is impacting Alaska’s magnificent polar bears, but the Palin administration has gone to court attempting to deny them this lifeline to survival.

This coming year the Alaska Wildlife Alliance will continue its crucial work on behalf of Alaska’s wildlife, facing critical issues such as:

• Bear Denning. Black bears are facing the very real prospect of being mercilessly killed in their dens. While this would be limited to a specified region, it would establish a frightening precedent. Filing another lawsuit against the state is probably the only way to stop this ethically challenged interpretation of existing hunting regulations.
• Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act. Encouraging the incoming environment-friendly Congress and President to pass the PAW Act, so that Alaska’s airborne wolf hunters will be permanently grounded. AWA has already sent more than one million signatures in opposition to airborne wolf killing to Washington, D.C. in support of this legislation.
• Alaska Board of Wildlife. Advocating for the creation of an Alaska Board of Wildlife to replace the current Board of Game, now controlled exclusively by and for hunters and trappers. We believe that all Alaskans must have a voice in the wildlife management process, not just the 14% of residents who hold hunting or trapping license. Changing this entrenched bureaucracy will be a daunting task. However, a properly mandated Board of Wildlife will provide science-based wildlife management for the broad range of interests Alaskans and others have in wildlife, including the ever-growing tourism industry.

The Alaska Wildlife Alliance can – and will – fight the wolf bounty, wolf and bear denning, and other atrocities against Alaska’s wildlife, but we need your help. AWA relies on the generosity of our members to support this critical work.

On a brighter note, with the help of our members, AWA has had some major successes this year:

• Wolf Pup Denning. After significant pressure the state agreed to “avoid” wolf control during May and June, when wolf packs are rearing their pups. The AWA believes and will push for all wolf control being avoided during reproduction, beginning with breeding in early March until the pups have left the dens in late June. And of course no control should be in the hands of private pilots; it must be limited to professionals within the Department of Fish and Game.
• Marten Trapping. The trapping which decimated the marten population on Kiui Island in southeast Alaska will now be banned, a crucial step in their fight for survival.
• Wolverine Trapping. The bag limit for trapping wolverines in southeast Alaska was reduced with our support, another example of stepping in before a regional extirpation took place.

Your generous commitment to America’s last great “wildlife Eden” made these victories possible. Please make a generous contribution so we may have more wildlife success stories in 2009. Your gift of $35, $50, $100 or more will truly make a difference.

Remember, your commitment is their survival.

Please help us continue to be the voice for
Alaska’s precious wildlife by donating today.

Thank you for helping the wildlife we love.