Predator control. Airboats. ATVs. Fair chase. Antler restrictions. Bear baiting and trapping. Cow moose hunts.
Those are just a handful of the issues the Alaska Board of Game will tackle as it begins a marathon 11-day meeting today in Fairbanks to consider more than 100 proposals to change hunting regulations in the Interior and other parts of the state.
The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. at Pike's Waterfront Lodge and the first two days will be devoted to public testimony. Individuals may sign up to testify about any of the proposals before the board and are given three minutes to state their case.
The seven-person board is expected to start deliberating on proposals sometime Sunday or Monday, depending on how many people sign up to testify.
The proposals before the board run a gamut that covers virtually every aspect of hunting in Alaska.
Several proposals have been submitted asking the game board to extend current predator control programs in the Interior while also creating new ones. At the same time, the board has received proposals to eliminate all its current predator control programs in the Interior.
There are proposals that would allow the killing of wolf pups and bears in their dens in some parts of the Interior while allowing the trapping of black bears in other areas.
There are several proposals that would limit both airboat and ATV traffic in different areas, as well as allow the use of aircraft and ATVs in others where they are now prohibited.
At least four proposals have been submitted asking the game board to eliminate antlerless moose hunts in units 20A and 20B around Fairbanks, a controversial topic that has divided the local hunting community during the past few years.
The game board also will consider two proposals that would allow hunters to shoot grizzly bears that show up at black bear baiting stations in game management unit 20B around Fairbanks.
There are also proposals asking the board to open moose hunting seasons in several areas in the Interior later because of warming temperatures.
Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587. |
