As Aerial Wolf Kill Continues, Alaska Considers Shooting More Bears

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"Hundreds more wolves would come under fire by aerial sharpshooters if the Alaska Board of Game extends predator control to additional areas of the state at its upcoming meeting in Fairbanks.

But wolves won't be the only predators in the board's sights. The seven-member panel will also consider expanding its predator-control program to include brown bears. If it does, grizzlies could be killed in areas where the human harvest of moose or caribou is considered too low.

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Predator control -- killing predators to help their prey animals thrive so people can more easily kill and eat them -- has resumed since Gov. Frank Murkowski took office last year. After he replaced six of the seven Game Board members, the board approved an aerial wolf-kill program near McGrath and another using aircraft land-and-shoot hunting in the Nelchina basin northeast of Anchorage.

In McGrath, none of the 40 targeted wolves have yet been killed. The Nelchina program is aiming to kill about 140 and had taken 39 as of last Tuesday, according to Fish and Game. In both areas, state biologists claim that the moose population is being held down by wolves and black and brown bears. Critics contend the department's scientific data, such as population counts, are inadequate to support the controversial programs."

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