F&G mistakenly shoot studied wolves

"due to a series of misunderstandings" and neither agency acted inappropriately."

That was the amicable conclusion officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and National Park Service reached after a meeting to review the incident on Tuesday in Anchorage.

Though it is not under any legal obligation to do so, the state had agreed not to shoot any collared wolves that were part of a research study in the preserve.  The Webber Creek Pack was one of seven packs in the study.

"Due to a series of misunderstandings, the Webber Creek pack frequencies were not in the hands of the Fish and Game team conducting the control program," the press release issued Tuesday read.

After noticing the collars, the biologists attempted several times to hear signals from the collared wolves and, hearing none, concluded that the collars were inactive before shooting the wolves.

source

I guess the bottom line is it isn't illegal to go back on your word but it is hard to understand shoot and kill "after noticing the collars."

It took almost a month, but the National Park Service has CLOSED sport hunting and trapping for wolves in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve east of Fairbanks.

The closure is effective today and comes nearly a month after state wildlife biologists in a helicopter shot and killed four wolves, including two wearing National Park Service radio collars, near the boundary of the preserve as part of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s predator management program.

The incident on March 17 triggered a brouhaha between state and federal officials because the Department of Fish and Game had agreed not to shoot any collared wolves that were part of a park service research program.

source

say it loud.  speaking up and out does work.

Chris, I'm thrilled to hear this news and shocked that finally justice was served in AK!

        Wolf figurines, Wolf t shirt, Wolf pictures

Denali National Park and the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve have seen a drastic decline in their wolf populations.

In a little over two years the wolf population dropped from 147 animals to 59; a 60 percent decline.

Steiner says Denali National Park is down nine wolf packs, and that includes some of the park's most notable.

Biologists say the situation is more serious at the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

article and VIDEO

Some say natural cycle of life, others a biological emergency.  That is quite a difference in opinion.  If the prey populations so far are fairly stable, the wolf population should not be declining?  If the fairly stable prey population is taken by more than what they consider a small role by subsistence and sport hunting, it would be an emergency for the wolves?