Buck-Only Harvest
Dear Editor: My name is Richard Nelson and I am a recently retired Southeast Alaska Management Coordinator for Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation. My message to all who have values for Sitka black-tailed deer. Please join me in encouraging the Southeast Alaska Regional Advisory Council and Federal Subsistence Board to consider and implement buck-only harvest to allow indigenous Sitka black-tailed deer populations to recover on Prince of Wales Island (GMU 2; POW).
As background, U.S. Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which protects the subsistence needs of rural Alaskans. Therefore, the federal government manages subsistence hunting, trapping and fishing on Alaska’s federal public lands on POW. Simply explained, the federal government through the FSB, adopts game management regulations for Federal public lands.
Protecting black-tailed deer females to maximize birth rates should be the principal federal regulatory management strategy on POW and is necessary to allow Sitka black-tailed deer populations to recover to biological carrying capacity. It is fairly simple – with federal bucks-only harvest regulations, RAC and FSB can expect gradual recovery of deer populations along with the sustained and long-term existence and availability of this important subsistence resource on POW, or conversely, they can expect continued population decline and the subsequent perpetual deterioration of this subsistence resource with continued doe harvest.
A successful and cornerstone principle of wildlife management is protecting females to maximize production. Hunters under the current voluntarily harvest reporting system have reported an annual harvest of less than 50 female deer on GMU 2. However, reliable resident hunters, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and wildlife biologists are convinced that the doe harvest is vastly under-reported. Very likely, actual harvest of does in GMU 2 is closer to 500 or more! In the absence of reliable harvest data, a greater degree of conservative measures to manage female harvest is warranted.
In summary, protecting the limited remaining GMU 2 productive old-growth forest habitats needed for Sitka black-tailed deer, and protecting female deer to maximize birth rates is a biological “no-brainer” necessity for black-tailed deer populations and long-term benefit to subsistence users.
Richard L. Nelson
ARC Field Trip
Dear Editor: The kindergartners from the Sitka Classical Learning Center went on a field trip to the Alaska Raptor Center last week as a culmination of our study of local birds of prey, and we had so much fun!
We were received graciously outside by a young staff member, Hannah, and later indoors, warmly welcomed by Lolly Dahl, the long-time receptionist, and we felt right at home. The small group of little people ages 5 and 6 were enraptured by our visit, and the remarkable tour led by Hannah, the highly educated, very knowledgeable and personable staff member.
We were given the full tour, not a modified abbreviated simpler version for children, and the students proved to be attentive, curious and truly on their best behavior. We learned so much from the outdoor birds, the short video, the indoor rehabilitation habitat, the clinic and physical artifacts, and the grand finale with Hannah bringing out the miniature Saw-Whet owl for up close viewing. It was an experience these kindergartners will long remember.
The Raptor Center is stocking up for the upcoming tourist season, but Lolly shared that visits to the center are free for locals until mid-April. So, if you haven’t paid a visit to our local raptor center where birds come in from all over Southeast Alaska that need help to get back out into the wild, you should. On behalf of the kindergartners, and teachers we are ever so grateful for the wonderful, educational morning we spent with the raptors, and great staff, with a special thank you to the amazing Hannah!
Karen Lucas, kindergarten teacher
Sitka Classic Learning Center
Governor’s Agenda
Dear Editor: Folks, Dunleavy is trying to stack the village schools with red state administrators. Who else will hustle up here for the extra 15K? In Nulato, I had a Texan principal who was violent to elementary students for crimes such as tracking snow inside. Deed declined a PTPC complaint against him. In Grayling, the principal/teacher from Alabama actually stated in a meeting that “Indian kids are genetically incapable of learning.” In Teller, the Oklahoman principal burned all of the YA books, six pickup truck loads of them. The superintendent backed her.
What a perfect way for Dunleavy to cement his anti-education agenda.
A preferable initiative is to increase the preparation of aides and of village teaching candidates. I see this happening in the teaching job listings on Indeed and at ATP. Aides are hired, taking on a stronger role, under the supervision of certified teachers. Would they like a bonus? You bet. But would they really like a vested retirement plan? Now we are talking.
Let’s not bribe red state administrators to come up here and bolster the governor’s agenda. Let’s invest in teachers and in prospective teachers who have a stake in Alaska.
Thanks for considering my further thoughts on the governor’s gambit to stack the deck.
John Welsh, Sitka
