Wolf killings upset National Park Service

  • By The Associated Press
  • Monday, March 3, 2014 10:06pm
  • News

FAIRBANKS (AP) — Alaska Fish and Game officials killed an Eastern Interior wolf pack last week, and the National Park Service — which had been studying the animals — is none too pleased.

All 11 wolves in the Lost Creek pack near Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve were shot, as were four wolves from another unnamed pack, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. That included the Lost Creek pack’s alpha pair, which had been fitted with tracking collars as part of an ongoing research project.

Doug Vincent-Lang, acting director for the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, said the wolves were in an area adjacent to the preserve that has been targeted for aerial predator control to boost moose and caribou numbers. The area includes calving grounds for the Fortymile Caribou Herd.

“This is basically within our predator-control program in an area we’ve seen benefits from that predator-control program,” he said.

But Yukon-Charley Superintendent Greg Dudgeon said the shootings are a setback for a two-decade-old study of wolf behavior. The Lost Creek pack had been monitored for the past seven years as part of the study, which looks at wolf migration patterns, denning habits and population changes, he said.

State predator-control efforts last spring killed 36 wolves in the area, reducing the population in the preserve by more than half, he said.

“With the loss of packs and collared animals, frankly it makes it difficult to do that work and maintain those sets,” he said.

It isn’t the first clash between the state and park service over aerial wolf shootings.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game shot two collared wolves in 2010 near Yukon-Charley, which the department attributed to “complicating factors” that included a possible collar malfunction.

There used to be an informal agreement between the Department of Fish and Game and the park service to avoid eliminating entire wolf packs near the preserve, particularly collared animals. Dudgeon said that arrangement “sort of went by the wayside” about five years ago.

Without assurances that its research subjects won’t be shot, the long-term study is in flux, park service officials said.

“It certainly puts a crimp on it,” said Jeff Rasic, chief of resources for the preserve.

But Vincent-Lang said the Board of Game reviewed the wolf-control program for the area at its meeting last month in Fairbanks, and decided it should continue.

“It’s our intention to continue with the program,” he said.

More in News

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee, speaks in favor overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
By 1 vote, lawmakers sustain Dunleavy veto of education bill

The bipartisan bill included $680 increase to per-student funding

The Sterling Highway crosses the Kenai River near the Russian River Campground on March 15, 2020, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Russian River Campground closed for construction

The campground is expected to reopen on June 2

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Most Read