April 12, 2005
Tuesday

Mr. Williams, while I have lived in SE AK for most of my life, I would never proclaim myself to be an expert on wildlife management. I am writing this to ask what authority you have in telling people almost 4,000 miles away how to manage their resources? Your opinions on baiting bears is valid. I'm not sure I agree with it either, but then again what is the difference between baiting animals with food smells and baiting them with sex sounds? Both are very tempting to the animal, and the only difference is the sense being used. You claim to be an avid SE US hunter. I am sure you've used your fair share of game calls during your hunting adventures. What is the moral difference between sound and smell when it comes to killing animals?

As for your issue with people moving to Florida and infringing on the animal's land... how are you any different from the people you're complaining about? No doubt the very land your house sits on right now used to be the home of native animals, but somehow you are exempt from taking away the animal's land?

Trust me, Alaskan's do appreciate their populations of fish and game. We love our fish and game so much that we'd love to be able to manage it ourselves without politicians from DC making decisions for us! While your idea about capturing bears and shipping them elsewhere in the US to stimulate the population sounds like a good idea, I laugh because of personal experience. I live somewhat close to the garbage dump in Ketchikan. When I was younger my parents would take my sister and I up there to watch the majestic black bears and eagles digging through the trash. The city decided to start barging food trash out of Ketchikan and the bears started moving down to people's trash cans in the valley. Fish and Game responded by trapping bears and relocating them. There were several cases of bears returning to their natural home, even if they had to swim and walk over 50 miles to do so. Unfortunately many bears had to be killed because of this. Because of this experience, I really don't think relocating a bear would work. You also have to consider the fact that a SE AK bear would have absolutely no idea of how to live elsewhere in the US. The food, terrain, other animals would all be much too different.

Somehow I seriously doubt that we're going to have a problem with the masses of people invading Alaska, as the population of the region I live in has been declining further and further. In my opinion this is a direct result of people outside of Alaska thinking they know what's best for the resources they know nothing about.

Joey Shinn
Ketchikan, AK - USA
Currently Enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University

Related Viewpoint:

Baiting bears by Joseph Williams - Palm Coast, FL - USA

 

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