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Howling
wolf - public domain
Denali
Citizens Council (DCC), a grassroots
organization with offices at the gateway to Denali National Park, has gathered
more than 500 signatures supporting retention and expansion of wolf buffers on
key border areas next to Denali National Park and Preserve.
“There
is a strong base of support among local, regional and statewide citizens for
proposals increasing the size of existing buffer zones,” said Nancy Bale,
President of the group.
Bale
plans to testify before the Alaska Board of
GameGame this weekend and will read excerpts from comments made on the
petition. The Board will consider five proposals, including one from the
National Park Service, that favor enlargement of no-wolf hunting/trapping zones
on state lands at the northeastern border of the park.
“Denali
National Park has worldwide notoriety for the opportunity to view wolves in
their natural habitat, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer,” Bale
said. “However, the population of these wolves has recently declined to a low of
65. Studies of this problem have concluded that human- caused wolf mortality has
increased.”
Part
of the problem, according to Bale, is that wolf packs travel outside the park in
the winter to key state lands over the northeastern border of the park. These
forays have been studied using radio-collars. Some wolves travel from denning
areas deep inside the park to these lands.
“This
special and predictable vulnerability on certain state lands is a key factor in
Denali Citizen’s Council’s decision to put forth a Proposal to the Board of
Game,” said Bale. “Our Board voted unanimously to put forth this Proposal.”
The Board of Game will
take public testimony this weekend, February 26-28, then will spend the next
week deliberating proposals. The key proposals advocating increased buffer zones
are Prop 55, 58, 59, 60 and 65. The meeting will be held at the Westmark Hotel,
813 Noble Street, Fairbanks, Alaska.
For
more information, contact:
DCC,
PO Box 78, Denali Park, Alaska 99755
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