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Alaska
State & Federal Employee Information Sharing
Hallo Bay Wilderness has always embraced our responsibilities
to land and wildlife as an environmentally
sensitive wilderness operation in our own right and without peer. We believe
it is time for Hallo Bay to go
one step further and provide State and Federal agencies the first hand opportunity
to draw from the wealth
of knowledge we have acquired observing wildlife and human interaction over
many years. In this regard,
Hallo Bay Wilderness will arrange, without cost, temporary lodging at Hallo
Bay for Alaska State and Federal employees involved in managing and developing
methods to better manage watchable wildlife. By assisting
land and wildlife managers, we can learn to better understand the difficulties
they face and share information
to help improve management of these precious resources while setting precedence
for others to follow. As early as 1990 the management
of Hallo Bay observed an increasing growth pattern in non-consumptive
use of wildlife or "watchable wildlife" by visitors to Alaska.
Hunting and fishing license sales began declining
as consumptive use began to decrease in popularity to non-consumptive
use. Cruise ship lines with 1000
plus passenger capacity vessels began to market Alaska as a destination
for their multitudes while promoting visions of exotic scenery and wildlife.
Perhaps the mentality was "if we do not kill it, how can we hurt
it", little realizing the sensitivity of wildlife habitat and intrusion
of humans upon that habitat. Public land and wildlife agencies were not
prepared for the dramatic use changes to come so quickly of non-consumptive
use.
Land and wildlife management agencies, which formerly
depended on hunting and fishing license sales and
bag limits to determine use of land and wildlife resources in Alaska,
are now facing management of a fast
growing non-consumptive user group which currently does not have any standardized
fees associated with
it or responsibilities placed upon them. Unlike a $300 bear hunting license
with rules of use and associated penalties for misuse, a single non-consumptive
user armed with only a camera and a 25 cent candy bar can
just as surely cause the death of a magnificent bear as a high powered
rifle bullet. Add to that the lack of responsibility of the non-consumptive
individual and it would seem we have a crisis brewing. In the 11th hour,
public land and wildlife managers pushed to create stopgap rules and regulations
regarding the fast growing numbers of non-consumptive users. While Hallo
Bay Wilderness applauds the efforts of State and Federal
agencies to meet this rising use, we feel their efforts are not based
on viable information. Viable information
of any type, without a funding source, is difficult, if not impossible
to attain in a timely manner with the current state of the economy.
In Alaska with her vast public lands, management tools
to assess reasonable use for the non-consumptive
user are at best, stopgaps. Management of non-consumptive resources which
do not currently generate fees associated with them, unlike hunting and
fishing (i.e. license sales, etc.) will be under-funded for some time
to come and viable information supporting any changes or decisions will
be lacking at best. Left alone with their current recourses during this
transition period, wildlife and habitat will suffer for years to come
as a result of
the current political process.
It is the belief of the staff at Hallo Bay Wilderness
that private sector Alaska businesses involved with the
"watchable wildlife" in the field are the best immediate resource
of viable data available to State and Federal
land and wildlife managers. Over the years, hundreds of wilderness guides,
many living in the field 24 hours
a day for months at a time, have amassed a wealth of first hand information.
It should be noted that the credentials of these wilderness guides have
evolved, where today many carry bachelor, masters and PHDs,
yet State and Federal agencies seem hesitant to accept this free source
of information.
I have always felt that "Responsibility" for
one's actions should be the main guiding factor of enjoying public
lands and wildlife. "Rules" for one's actions, on the other
hand, seem to be more of a punishing nature after
the fact for those who did not accept the "Responsibility" for
their damaging actions. Therefore, it would seem common sense that "Shared
Information and Education" would enhance "Responsibility"
which in turn would
better serve land and wildlife use rather than penalties after the fact.
Clint Hlebechuk
For more information feel free to contact us.
1-907-235-2237
hallobay@acsalaska.net
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