Update: Stop Congress from harming Alaska's Wildlife

The H.J. Resolution 69, which was authored by Alaska’s Representative Don Young, was voted in Congress yesterday, and was in favor 225 to 193. A federal rule was overturned, that was years in the works, crafted by professional wildlife managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the goal to stop some of the most appalling practices ever imagined in the contemporary era of wildlife management. Denning of wolf pups, killing hibernating bears, spotting grizzly bears from aircraft and then shooting them after landing, and trapping grizzly bears and black bears with steel-jawed leghold traps and snares.

"What’s the point of having a national wildlife refuge if the federal professional wildlife staff there automatically default to the management authority of the state? Congresswoman Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, whose late husband, Sen. Paul Tsongas, helped write the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act (to create a good share of these refuges), specifically stated that Congress never intended to cede complete wildlife management authority to the states. In this case, Alaska has a bloodthirsty Board of Game, whose members enthusiastically implement a draconian policy called “Intensive Management.” That policy dictates that state managers drive down wolf, bear, and coyote numbers to boost caribou and moose numbers for hunters — turning Alaska’s wildlife refuges into what retired Arctic National Wildlife biologist Fran Mauer calls “game farms” — the very thing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted to stop."

The U.S. Senate and President Trump are the only ones who can now stop this.

Please contact your U.S. Senators and tell them to stop this from being implemented. You can find the contact information of your Federal Legislators here:You can find the contact information of your Federal Legislators here: http://action.humanesociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials_federal&s_src=blog_post_021717_idhome-page

The full article can be found here: U.S. House sanctions killing hibernating bears, wolf pups in their dens on federal refuges in Alaska

Don Young has an official Facebook page. You can voice your opinion there also.