Refuge Urged to Protect Alaska's Rare Kenai Bears From Overhunting
August 14, 2014
“Kenai’s bears have taken a beating ever since Alaska’s game commission loosened hunting rules. If the killing continues at this pace, these bears - which are isolated and genetically unique - could face the real possibility of disappearing from our public lands,” said Kiersten Lippmann, a biologist with the Center’s Alaska office. “That’s why we need science, not politics, to drive management. Unfortunately politicians want to manage Alaska’s wilderness as a giant moose farm, bereft of the bears, wolves, lynx, wolverine and other predators that make Alaska such a wild place.” The following day, August 12th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposed temporary closure of sport hunting of brown bears on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The closure would take effect on September 1, 2014, and would remain in effect until May 31, 2015. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold public hearings to provide notice of and additional information on the proposed temporary closure. The public hearings will be held at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage on Tuesday August 26, 2014, and at the Soldotna Sports Center, Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna on Wednesday August 27, 2014. Both hearings will be held from 6-9pm. The Service will be accepting both verbal and written testimony at the hearings. Monday’s petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, requests that the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge begin a process of official rulemaking, resulting in a permanent ban on brown bear hunting on the refuge. The refuge has already taken steps toward protecting brown bears on its lands with a ban on brown bear baiting. In fall 2013, the refuge imposed an emergency halt to brown bear hunting as the death toll neared 100 bears. This year, with the fall hunting season set to begin Sept. 1, could be just as deadly for the bears. “The vast majority of Alaskans, and visitors to Alaska, enjoy viewing and photographing bears, not shooting them,” said Lippmann. “The Board of Game catered to the whims of a few when they enacted a policy designed to kill off as many of these iconic bears as possible.” Quoting a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity, Kenai Peninsula brown bears are genetically unique and physically isolated, making them more vulnerable to decline. Analysis shows that if bears continue to be killed at the rate they were in 2013, the Kenai brown bear has a 33 percent chance of going extinct on federal lands within 25 years. “Kenai brown bears are running out of time,” said Lippmann. According to unpublished data provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to date in 2014, a total of 54 human-caused brown bear mortalities have been documented on the Kenai Peninsula. Of these, 52 were taken by hunters during spring (from late April to the end of May). Of the 52 brown bears harvested, 40 (77 percent) were taken over bait. Take of brown bears over bait at registered black bear baiting stations was legal under State of Alaska regulations for the first time in spring 2014, but was not allowed on the Refuge under Federal regulations. The sex and age composition of the harvest included 30 adult males, 5 adult females, 9 sub-adult males and 8 sub- adult females. Two additional bears (1 adult male and 1 sub-adult female) have been killed in defense of life or property this summer on the Kenai Peninsula. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service anticipates that the number of brown bear mortalities will continue to rise in 2014 until the cap of 70 bears (or 17 adult females) is reached, at which point the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced that it will close the sport hunting season. Hunting under State regulations will resume in spring 2015, including continued harvest of brown bears at registered black bear bait stations. Information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted that the actual human-caused mortality levels are higher than those documented, meaning that population level impacts may be more substantial than those suggested by modeling reported levels. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently accepting written comments on the proposed temporary closure. Written comments may be submitted by mail to: Refuge Manager, P.O. Box 2139, Soldotna, AK 99669; by fax to 907-262-3599 (attention Refuge Manager), or by email to kenai@fws.gov. Written comments will be accepted through August 27, 2014.
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