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Dear Alliance members,
The days are getting longer here in Alaska. The snow is melting, bears are waking up, birds are chirping, and moose are bending branches in search of fresh buds. Each day, we see new growth and new life, longer sunsets, and fewer jackets.
Yesterday, I went for a jog in Chugach State Park and saw a yearling black bear scurry from the trail as I rounded a rocky corner. We both recovered from having surprised the other, and as I watched its fuzzy black body crash away through the trees, I reflected on how new and scary this world is to a young bear on it's own for the first time. (You can watch our Wildlife Wednesday talk on yearling black bears by Ryan Scott here).
That bear knew nothing of Covid-19, conference video calls, or social distancing. It was navigating the world one step and sound at a time, observing and exploring our shared home. I am comforted when I see the moose munch, hear the birds sing, watch bears crash and whales spout because it feels familiar in a time when everything else seems uncertain.
We continue to work from our homes and inform you of actions to help Alaska's wildlife. We also compiled a list of wildlife education and citizen science activities you can do from home or outside while practicing responsible social distancing. We've transitioned our wildlife education programming to virtual platforms, and will be offering an online Wildlife Wednesday every Wednesday in May! As we gear up for Endangered Species Day on May 15th, please consider supporting our projects that protect Alaska's endangered species through a donation or membership.
We hope you all are safe and well, and thank you for speaking up for Alaska's wildlife.
With warmth from our homes to yours,
Nicole and the AWA staff & Board
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May 6th, 7pm-8pm online: Virtual Wildlife Wednesday: Bear and Moose Safety with Tom Griffin, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
May 13th, 7pm-8pm online: Virtual Wildlife Wednesday: Bears of the Alaska Peninsula with Drew Hamilton, Friends of McNeil River
May 20th, 7pm-8pm online: Virtual Wildlife Wednesday: Being an Ethical Wildlife Photographer with Carl Johnson, Alaska Photo Treks
May 27th, 7pm-8pm online: Virtual Wildlife Wednesday: Canada and Cackling Geese in Alaska - What's the Difference? with David Safine, US Fish and Wildlife Service
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THE LATEST
APRIL IN REVIEW
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Virtual Beluga Monitoring Opportunities
Even though it was the right decision, all of us with the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership were disappointed to cancel the first spring beluga monitoring season due to Covid-19. But, that doesn't mean you can't help celebrate the spring return of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale to Turnagain Arm, hunkered down style!
Learn about all our virtual beluga monitoring opportunities here!
Photo of AKBMP volunteers beluga monitoring Fall 2019 | Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership
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Board of Game Special Meeting on Spring Bear Hunts
The Board of Game is calling a Special Meeting Regarding Spring Bear Hunts on June 03, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.
The Alaska Board of Game has scheduled a special meeting to consider two proposals that “help address the loss of spring bear hunting opportunity for residents and nonresidents due to the travel restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.” The proposals, if passed, would:
1) Allow the transfer of spring season drawing hunt permits to a future year for black bear hunts in multiple game units.
2) Open a special spring season for certain registration brown bear hunts in Unit 9 (Alaska Peninsula) in 2021. Currently, a portion of the spring bear hunting in Unit 9 occurs on an alternating schedule: open for spring hunting in 2020 and closed in 2021. This special season would be for one year only.
The public comment deadline is Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Alaska Wildlife Alliance is concerned about the second proposal, as it would enable consecutive hunts in an area with an overall bear population decline.
Learn about how to comment and read the biological concerns outlined in our pre-proposal comments here.
Sow with cubs in Katmai National Park | National Parks Service
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Prince of Wales Island wolves decimated
In an advisory announcement from the State Division of Wildlife Conservation, managers reported that between November 15 - January 15, hunters and trappers killed almost as many wolves as had been estimated to live on and around Prince of Wales Island (Unit 2). 165 wolves were hunted or trapped in Unit 2 — the most recent Unit 2 wolf abundance estimate from fall 2018 is 170 wolves, with a possible range of 147-202 wolves.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance is currently working on strategies to secure protections for these wolves and ensure their recovery. We will update members through our website and newsletters. In the meantime, read AWA member Bill Sherwonit's piece, State mismanages killing of Southeast Alaska wolves.
Read Alaska Wildlife Alliance blog on the issue here.
Alexander Archipelago Wolf | AK Dept. of Fish and Game
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Impacts of Oil and Gas Exploration on Polar Bears
In February 2020, the Trump administration opened an unprecedented public comment period to solicit public feedback on a peer-reviewed scientific study. The study, authored by scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Geological Survey, investigated the effects of oil and gas exploration on polar bears.
Opening a public comment period on published research signifies to federal scientists that their employer does not trust their work or the scientific peer-review process. Putting science itself on trial also calls into question the extent to which biological data is in involved in this policy process. If the administration heeds comments from non-experts, this could lead to the peer-reviewed study not informing decisions to protect polar bears from the effects of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
Read our joint letter, prepared by Trustees for Alaska in solidarity with nonprofit groups from across the state, on this issue.
Polar Bear | NOAA
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May 4, 2020: Comment on Supplemental EIS for Willow Project. Despite the pandemic and closure of public meetings, the BLM has released the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement reflecting changes in ConocoPhillips' plans for extensive infrastructure expansion. The Willow oil and gas prospect is located within the Bear Tooth Unit of the National Petroleum Reserve in northern Alaska. The BLM had previously identified impacts to subsistence use and access; biological resources, including caribou, polar bears, spectacled and Stellar eiders, yellow billed loons, and fisheries; social and cultural resources; air quality and climate; and aquatic resources associated with this project. Ensure that the supplement addresses these environmental concerns by commenting.
May 27, 2020: Comments to the Board of Game on Special Meeting Regarding Spring Bear Hunts. The Alaska Board of Game (board) has scheduled a special meeting for June 3, 2020 to consider two proposals to “help address the loss of spring bear hunting opportunity for residents and nonresidents due to the travel restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.” Details to be considered for each of the proposals are currently being developed and will be available to the board and the public prior to the meeting's comment deadline set for Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
June 29, 2020: The National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on a proposal to align its regulations with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sturgeon v. Frost. In March 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court in Sturgeon v. Frost decided that the NPS could not enforce a regulation prohibiting the operation of a hovercraft on part of the Nation River that flows through the NPS-managed Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. It was decided that NPS regulations apply exclusively to federally managed lands and waters within the boundaries of national park areas in Alaska. Lands that are not federally managed, including submerged lands under navigable waters, are not subject to the NPS’s regulatory authority. The proposed regulation would provide clarity regarding navigable waterways within national parklands in Alaska. Members of the public are invited to submit their comments on the proposed regulation by June 29, 2020.
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Check out these new ways to give to Alaska Wildlife Alliance!
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Alaskans, don't forget!
Even if you've already filed for your PFD, it's not too late to add a donation through Pick.Click.Give.
Though it may not seem like much, small donations really do add up, and allow us greater flexibility in planning for the months ahead.
Thank you for thinking of us when you Pick.Click.Give!
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