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Judge: No aerial wolf hunt in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, (UPI) -- A federal judge Monday rejected an appeal to permit an aerial wolf hunt in Alaska that state officials say is needed to protect caribou in the Aleutian Islands.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preventing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game from conducting the aerial wolf hunt, with federal officials saying the caribou on Unimak Island need protection but that they are not convinced of the need for a hunt at this time, the Los Angeles Times reported.
U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland ruled Monday federal officials are authorized to complete their evaluation of the matter and determine the best way to address the caribou population decline.
State officials say the caribou population on the island has fallen to an estimated 250. It was measured at 1,200 in 2002.
The island is home to fewer than 100 people, many of whom depend on the caribou, as well as on fishing, for subsistence, the newspaper reported.
Cindy Beamer, who manages the Isanotski Corp., which represents Alaska Natives on Unimak Island, said wolves in search of food have moved close to houses where children live, the Times reported..
"Where the wolves are camping out now are houses that have little 7- and 10-year-old children," she said.
State officials say the law requires them to maintain a healthy caribou herd.
Larry Bell of the Fish and Wildlife Service said federal biologists expect to complete their assessment of the matter by December.
"While we see there is urgency to this matter, we don't believe it's such a dire situation that we can't take time to conduct a thorough analysis prior to acting," Bell said.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, (UPI) -- A federal judge Monday rejected an appeal to permit an aerial wolf hunt in Alaska that state officials say is needed to protect caribou in the Aleutian Islands.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preventing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game from conducting the aerial wolf hunt, with federal officials saying the caribou on Unimak Island need protection but that they are not convinced of the need for a hunt at this time, the Los Angeles Times reported.
U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland ruled Monday federal officials are authorized to complete their evaluation of the matter and determine the best way to address the caribou population decline.
State officials say the caribou population on the island has fallen to an estimated 250. It was measured at 1,200 in 2002.
The island is home to fewer than 100 people, many of whom depend on the caribou, as well as on fishing, for subsistence, the newspaper reported.
Cindy Beamer, who manages the Isanotski Corp., which represents Alaska Natives on Unimak Island, said wolves in search of food have moved close to houses where children live, the Times reported..
"Where the wolves are camping out now are houses that have little 7- and 10-year-old children," she said.
State officials say the law requires them to maintain a healthy caribou herd.
Larry Bell of the Fish and Wildlife Service said federal biologists expect to complete their assessment of the matter by December.
"While we see there is urgency to this matter, we don't believe it's such a dire situation that we can't take time to conduct a thorough analysis prior to acting," Bell said.