Hunting // Current

Obama seeks changes in Alaska hunting, fishing oversight

Sarah Palin won't be happy.

The Obama administration is launching a rapid, sweeping review of the way the federal government manages subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska, Interior Department officials said Friday.

"The system, frankly, today is broken," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in a video shown at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention in downtown Anchorage.

Subsistence rights -- the battle over who gets the first opportunity to hunt and fish on state or federal land -- is a headline issue at this year's convention. For decades, the debate has pitted rural Alaskans and Alaska Natives, who say they hunt and fish to survive, against sports groups and urban hunters and fishermen, who argue everyone should have equal access to fish and game.

The state makes hunting and fishing rules across Alaska. But the feds regulate subsistence on federal lands, creating a confounding, overlapping system.

In contrast to the state Constitution, a 1980 federal law guarantees rural Alaskans priority when it comes to subsistence. Some Alaska Native leaders say the feds haven't done enough to protect that right, and are proposing a resolution at the convention today that calls for broad changes to subsistence management.

AFN leaders met with Interior officials at least twice in the past four months, outlining some of those requests, said state Sen. Albert Kookesh, an AFN co-chairman who praised Friday's announcement.

"We couldn't have asked for more," he said.

Gov. Sean Parnell couldn't be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Parnell served as lieutenant governor to Sarah Palin before inheriting the job in July. Palin opposed a rural preference for subsistence hunting and fishing. Parnell's rural affairs adviser, John Moller, answered an interview request with an e-mail:

"The administration is interested in hearing more about the suggested federal review," he wrote. "We plan to take an active role in the review and look forward to hearing details on what changes the federal government believes would make the existing dual-management system more workable."

In a statement explaining Friday's announcement, the Interior Department said subsistence is vital to the physical and spiritual culture of Alaska Natives, and federal oversight needs to be retooled to better meet the needs of Native communities.

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Deer in Water was Crime of Poachers - See Removal

Yesterday I had found a dead deer in the Prentice Cooper State Forest and its carcass lying in water that flows into Suck Creek in Marion County just north of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I reported it to the State Forestry officials upon my finding it. No one from the Tennessee State Forestry Prentice Cooper Division called me back. So, I went prepared today to remove the deer from the water of the Prentice Cooper State Forest property. I discovered that this deer had been killed by poachers. The video shows that the area where the antlers were was cut out with precision. I, on the video, had said someone had removed its brain, but I was kind of upset and not thinking clearly. What I should have said was that someone had removed its antlers.
When I got home, I tried to contact the Prentice Cooper State Forest officials to tell them that I had removed the deer and they could come retrieve the carcass and dispose of it, however, I could not reach them. So, I called the Tennessee Environmental Assistance Center of the Tennessee Department of Conservation and spoke thoroughly about this matter describing it to him. He told me that based upon what I was telling him, poachers had killed this animal and cut off the antlers and bone out of the head with a saw. He was very concerned and said that I could rest assured that he was as concerned about this matter as I was and that he would follow through on this matter and have the carcass picked up. He also went on to say that this was a crime and that the officials of the Prentice Cooper State Forest should have immediately followed up on this from the initial report and that they would be hearing from his office. I admit I do not remove dogs or animals on a daily basis and this was kind of an emotional incident for me and at the same time it made me angry. I do not mind getting my hands dirty. I do not mind taking part in keeping our natural resources clean and well-kept. I am very much for the protection of our natural resources and am not afraid to say it or show it.
So, anyway. I hope that everyone will try to bare with me and understand that this was a threat to the health of others; it also is a federal offense to kill deer when out of season as it is against the law to kill other animals; it is also an outright shame and is disgusting to throw the carcass of a dead animal into the area of a State Forest or anywhere in the water that leads into our creeks and rivers. This is a felony. Should they ever catch someone committing or taking part in this activity there will be grave penalties. It is a highly punishable crime to kill wildlife when it is prohibited or no license or not in season.
I know that looking at it from the sick individuals point of view that did this, they did not have time to take it away, "man, just cut it off and lets go." Well, that view is WRONG! So suck it up if you want to argue about this. Because it is flat out WRONG! Take a stand for what you say you believe in.Yesterday I had found a dead deer in the Prentice Cooper State Forest and its carcass... more

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'The End of the Line' examines the perils of overfishing

Whoever thought that our heart-healthy, low-cal, doctor-approved trips to the supermarket fish counter would become fraught with moral choices?

That's exactly the case being made by "The End of the Line," the disturbing new documentary on what overfishing is doing to the world's oceans. (It opens in Los Angeles next Friday.) The film from director Rupert Murray and investigative journalist Charles Clover was screened Monday at UCLA to mark World Oceans Day. Producer Lawrence Bender and longtime environmental activist Kelly Meyer (wife of Universal Pictures President RonMeyer) hosted a crowd that included Rosario Dawson, Saffron Burrows and Kimberly Estrada.

Later this summer, the campaign will include broadcast and online public service announcements featuring Martin Sheen, Alyssa Milano, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Page, Kelly Preston, Anthony LaPaglia, Gia Carides, Brenda Strong, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Shawn Pyfrom, Keisha Whitaker, Ken Baumann, Kelli Williams, Dave Lieberman, Rene Auberjonois and former NBA player John Salley.

There's a new optimism stirring among activists in this community because after eight years of outright hostility emanating from the Bush White House toward environmental issues, the Obama administration is more willing to engage questions that involve complex international questions.

"The End of the Line," based on Clover's groundbreaking book of the same title, is the first feature-length documentary to take on the overfishing crisis.

According to the filmmakers, failure to take quick action will mean the end of most commercial fishing within less than half a century with dire consequences both in terms of depleting the food supply and the loss of jobs.

To make their case, Murray and Clover not only traveled to fishing grounds all over the world, but also confronted politicians and celebrity restaurateurs on camera.

As examples of what's in store for other popularly consumed species, Murray and Clover examine in detail the near extinction of commercial cod stocks and the impending collapse of bluefin tuna populations around the world, much of the latter caused by the West's newly aroused appetite for sushi and sashimi.

(Add that happy thought to your deliberations the next time you're trying to decide whether to spring for the toro at the local sushi bar.)Whoever thought that our heart-healthy, low-cal, doctor-approved trips to the... more