 Alaska Wildlife Alliance
You Can Help Preserve Wolverines
in Alaska's Most Visited State Park
Written e-mail comments are needed by January 2nd to prevent wolverines from potentially being eliminated from Chugach State Park.
This 19,000 square mile park near Anchorage is visited by over a half million people annually. Only 6-12 wolverines are estimated to be surviving in the Park. Proposed regulation changes would help minimize the impact of the Board of Game's recently authorized wolverine trapping. This would be the first time in the 30-year history of the Park that wolverine trapping has been authorized.
The state biologist responsible for this region advised the Board of Game against this reckless trapping authorization, which created an obligation for the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation to adopt regulations mitigating this threat to wolverines, Park visitors, and their pets.
The Alaska Wildlife Alliance was instrumental in forming a group known as Team Wolverine! Thanks in part to the work of this exceptional group of Alaskans, we now have this positive development that can be viewed more fully online. Basically, the proposed new regulations will prohibit trapping:
- Within a half mile radius around developed facilities or trailheads.
- Along portions of the Seward Highway within 200-yard-wide corridors along designated trails.
- Within the Bird Creek Regional Park.
While these proposed changes go a long way toward improving public safety, it still permits trappers to kill these rare but viewable wilderness icons.
Team Wolverine! has submitted comments asking the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation to expand their proposed regulation changes.
IMPORTANT! Please read Team Wolverine!'s letter below and feel free to state in your comments that you agree with the recommendations submitted by Team Wolverine!, and add any personal stories you may have. We encourage you to implore State Park officials to use their authority to further protect wolverines and Park visitors.
Please note that you do not need to be an Alaska resident to comment on these proposed changes.
Your brief comments can be submitted by Wednesday, January 2, 2008 to:
Please forward this e-mail to those you know who might be interested.
Thank you for caring about Alaska's wildlife,
John Toppenberg Director
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