September 2020 Newsletter

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser Advocating for Alaska's Wildlife Since 1978 Help us safeguard the future of Alaska's wildlife. Join our alliance by becoming a member for as low as $35 a year.    BECOME A MEMBER THE LATEST Our regulatory petition to protect Alexander Archipelago wolves   In 2019, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) opened a 2 month trapping season on Prince of Wales Alexander Archipelago wolves with no limit on the number of trappers and no limit on the number of wolves each trapper could kill.  After the season, the Department of Wildlife Conservation released a report confirming that 165 of the estimated 170 Alexander Archipelago wolves on the island were killed in the two month open season. Under the most optimistic population range (147-202 wolves in fall 2018), that means there are less than 37 wolves remaining after the last season, not factoring in natural mortalities. Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Joel Bennett, under representation of attorney Joseph Geldhof filed a petition to close wolf hunting and trapping in Prince of Wales island by emergency regulation.  Click here to learn more about our petition and how you can get involved Photo by H. Kuchera  Kenai Rule comment period may be revived   Thank you to the THOUSANDS of supporters who commented against bear baiting and liberalized trapping in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge last month! The US Fish and Wildlife Service received over 34,000 unique comments. We requested that the agency hold hearing(s) before the final rule is considered. Stay informed on the Kenai Rule by following us on social media, checking our website, or signing up for text alerts on this issue. Bear caught in out of season trap |Retired Fish and Wildlife Service employee Our petition to stop lynx trapping in Chugach State Park The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued an order to open a trapping season in Chugach State Park from January 1 - February 15, 2021 and open a hunting season from November 10, 2020- February 28, 2021. There will be no limit on the number of lynx a single trapper may take. From the public process, wildlife management, and public safety perspectives, there are many factors that need attention before this season could be legally authorized. Click here to learn how you can take action to help stop this trapping season before it begins  Click here to read Bill Sherwonit's article on the issue Photo of lynx | Upsplash AWA volunteers on the Juneau Bear Committee In the last week of August, the Juneau Bear Committee tagged trash cans that lacked bear-resistant characteristic with informational stickers. The campaign strives to prevent food conditioning by educating the public on the bear resistance of their container and the fines for improperly storing trash. The Committee has members from Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Juneau Police Department, City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Waste Connection, and Alaska Wildlife Alliance. Thank you to superstar volunteer Laurie Craig, who walked tirelessly through the rain to volunteer for this project! Read the full Juneau Empire story here Stickers placed on trash cans that are not bear resistant | Juneau Bear Committee Controversial black bear hunt approved in Chugach State Park Earlier this year, the Board of Game passed two proposals to establish shotgun and muzzleloader black bear hunting seasons in the McHugh Creek and Upper Campbell Creek areas of Chugach State Park. 80 percent of Chugach State Park is already open to hunting, and Superintendent Hensel publicly stated that he felt the hunts were in "direct conflict with park purposes". Further, the McHugh Creek drainage is in a zone that bans firearms. However, Director of Alaska State Parks Richard Gease went above both the superintendent and the Chugach Citizens Advisory Board to approve an "experimental bear hunt" in the McHugh Creek drainage with an executive order exempting the hunt from the firearm restriction. The hunt is set to start October 1st.  AWA and Friends of Chugach State Park filed a Public Records Act request to investigate how such a controversial hunt was approved. These discoveries are covered in Bill Sherwonit's article below.   Read Bill Sherwonit's article here and learn how you can get involved  Chugach State Park | Alaska DNR Meet our new intern, Teresa   In partnership with the University of Alaska we are happy to introduce Teresa Becher as AWA's new Central Kenai Peninsula Intern! Teresa is also serving as our Kenai & Kasilof River Beluga Monitoring Coordinator! When Teresa isn't studying pre-veterinary medicine or monitoring beluga whales, she is hiking with her dogs and exploring Alaska.  Learn more about Teresa here! Photo by/of Teresa Becher LITIGATING  FOR WILDLIFE Our lawsuit to prevent extreme sport hunting in Alaska's National Preserves  On August 26th, Alaska Wildlife Alliance and our allies sued the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service (NPS) for adopting a rule that would allow extreme sport hunting practices in Alaska’s national preserves.   This year, the Park Service made it legal to shoot brown bears over piles of doughnuts and grease; shine artificial lights into dens to kill hibernating black bears and their cubs; shoot wolves and coyotes, and their pups, during the denning season; and hunt swimming caribou using motorboats in Alaska's national preserves.  We vigorously opposed unethical hunting methods on Alaska’s national preserves in 2015, and won. Now, we're fighting to defend those basic protections for bears, wolves, coyotes, and caribou in Alaska Wildlife Alliance v. Bernhardt. Thank you to the legal team at Trustees for Alaska representing us in this suit! Click here to read more about the lawsuit   Photo by Schaef, brown bear fishing at Katmai National Park Our lawsuit to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge On August 24, 2020, Alaska Wildlife Alliance and 12 other organizations joined together in a coalition to take the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to court for their illegal plan to open the entirety of the Coastal Plains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to foreign oil companies. Stopping these lease sales is essential to protecting Arctic wildlife already stressed by climate change. Share in our thanks to Trustees for Alaska for representing us and our allies in this suit.  Click here to read more Photo of polar bear in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by Matthew Studebaker Our lawsuit to protect Brooks Range wildlife On August 4, Alaska Wildlife Alliance and our allies filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Army Corps of Engineers for approving the 211-mile industrial Ambler Road across the pristine southern Brooks Range. The Ambler Road would cut through the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, giving private mining companies access to undisturbed regions for hard rock mining. The road will expose critical watersheds to pollution, fragment caribou herd migrations, threaten critical bird habitat, and put stress on moose populations along the Koyukuk, Kobuk Wild, Alatna, and John Rivers.  The road also threatens the culture and way of life of local communities, which need healthy ecosystems to subsist. We thank Trustees for Alaska for representing this coalition in court! Click here to read more about the lawsuit and our concerns for wildlife Caribou swim across the Kobuk River | US NPS Quick hits Public Comment: Right-of-Way Certificate of Access for North Tract of Johnson Tract An Environmental Assessment evaluating a Right-of-Way Certificate of Access for the North Johnson Tract within Lake Clark National Park is now available for public comment.The proposed action would issue a right of way to HighGold to provide access across the park's North Johnson Tract lands for purposes of subsurface mineral exploration of CIRI-owned subsurface rights. The proposed eight-year seasonal permit would allow helicopter access and exploratory drilling with a maximum season including 150 days of drilling between June 1st and October 31st annually. Click here to read the Environmental Assessment and comment before October 16th! Fat Bear Week is upon us! Get your bracket and vote on Katmai's fattest bear | Katmai National Park   Denali National Park officials kill a food conditioned grizzly bear | Anchorage Daily News UPCOMING EVENTS October  7th, 7pm-8pm online: Wildlife Wednesday - Unraveling the Mysteries of Bats in Alaska with Marian Snively, wildlife education specialist with Alaska Department of Fish and Game October 15th, deadline to submit your Alaska wildlife photos for the annual AWA calendar photo contest! Email up to 5 of your favorite wildlife photos to mandy@akwildlife.org for your chance to win! Selected photographers get two free calendars and other AWA swag! We use the calendars to thank our members and raise money for our advocacy work.  October 21st, 7pm-8pm online: Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Wednesday: What you need to know about the upcoming trapping season with Alaska Wildlife Alliance staff October 28th, deadline to submit your pumpkin to our annual wildlife pumpkin carving contest! Email photos of your wildlife-themed pumpkin to mandy@akwildlife.org for your chance to win! Winning pumpkins get AWA swag and are featured in our 2021 calendar! PAST EVENTS If you missed our past Wildlife Wednesdays, have no fear! You can watch recordings of our previous talks on our website: Avian Influenza in the seabirds of Beringia with Maile Branson How hungry Humpback whales work smarter, not harder with Madison Kosma Management changes at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge with Dr. John Morton Career Spotlight Wild Alaska Veterinary Pathology with Dr. Kathy Burek Bears of the Alaska Peninsula with Drew Hamilton Career Spotlight: Being an Ethical Wildlife Photographer with Carl Johnson Belugas in Our Backyard with Dr. Alison Gardell and Teresa Becher Check out these new ways to give to Alaska Wildlife Alliance! All of our work, from advocacy to education, is member-supported. If you believe that this work is important, please consider supporting us by becoming a member.   BECOME A MEMBER Our members make our work possible. Become a member for only $35 a year.  V I S I T our W E B S I T E F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K F O L L O W on T W I T T E R F O L L O W on I N S T A G R A M Thank you for being engaged with the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, we hope to "see" you at our of our virtual events soon! Copyright © *|2020|Alaska Wildlife Alliance|* All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: PO Box 202022, Anchorage, AK 99520  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.