Comments on: Palin Was Right About Hunting, After All

By: Reality Bytes

Reality Bytes — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:05:09 +0000

“Can I Get Me A Huntin’ License Here?” – Senator & Former (thank God) Presidential Candidate John F. Kerry 2004

By: canary

canary — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:13:32 +0000

I think the natives fish mostly. It was Tina Fey that portrayed Sara Palin, and misquoted Palin saying she could see Russia from her window or poorch. Many can see Russia from Alaska. I thought her duaghter was 17 when she had her baby. I do not know of her popularity with the Alaska natives.

By: canary

canary — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:39:20 +0000

dobieman/ …can not compete with someone spending $15k to come hunt moose…”
Don’t think the natives in Alaska have to pay 15 grand to come and hunt.

By: MinnesotaRush

MinnesotaRush — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:45:02 +0000

Missed this little bit of info, dobie ..

“The situation is so improved in the Nelchina Basin that for the first time in more than a decade nonresident hunters will be allowed to hunt bull moose.

Bartley said the 50-permit, nonresident hunt should not interfere with the supply of moose for Alaskans because it is being allowed in more remote areas only. Nonresident hunters have been “frozen out” of hunting in that area of the state for years, Bartley said, and there is a benefit to the state to have them in it.”

By: Liberals Make Great Speedbumps

Liberals Make Great Speedbumps — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:51:26 +0000

“So what has Sarah Palin really accomplished? By a brutal and cowardly means (aerial hunting) which many experienced wildlife professionals have spoken out against, she has artificially boosted the numbers of moose and caribou then made available the process whereby the best of them will be killed for trophies.”

Cowardly? Let me guess, you hunt wolves the way John Kerry hunts deer, crawling along the ground with your K-Bar (that’s the really pointy kind of knife that Marines use) clenched tightly between your teeth?

Sounds to me that the program accomplished what it was intended to accomplish, more moose. Where’s the problem Rambo?

By: Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:46:12 +0000

Quite the run-on sentence there Dobie Gillis. Why don’t you go roll another fat one and come back later when you can think more clearly.

By virtue of the government ever getting involved in natural selection either directly or indirectly, the balance was messed up.

The question is, what to do about it, if anything.

I suppose though, you’re one who would prefer a hungry bear in your kitchen going through your cabinets or taking off your kid’s arm as opposed to “harming their natural existence”. But then, your very existence in Alaska’s frontier is anathema to the whole picture, isn’t it?

Your “argument” falls flat. Now go have some sprouts and some whole grain rocks or whatever…take some whale pictures and play some “sounds of the forests” Tapes or CD’s or whatever you do. Thanks for playing.

By: proreason

proreason — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:16:09 +0000

and her kids are real tarts, aren’t they?

Did you see where she thinks she can see Russia from her front porch?

I think she is probably covering up for her 13 year old who really had that last baby.

And did you see the clothing bill during the campaign!!

Thanks for the additional information.

By: dobieman

dobieman — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:43:30 +0000

Actually, Palin got it about as wrong as she could which is in keeping with her usual lack of knowledge.
First, I’ve lived in the Interior of Alaska for over 40 years. That’s longer than Sarah Palin has been in Alaska. I’ve hunted many times including the area this article deals with, the Nelchina Basin. I have had encounters with moose, bears (both grizzly and black) as well as wolves, Dall sheep, caribou, etc. So I have more than a nodding acquaintance with the issue.
Palin claims this is an effort to help the subsistence hunter, the Natives, the bush dweller. Fact of the matter is, the Nelchina Basin is most heavily used by the urban hunters from Anchorage and Fairbanks. It is on the road system and is not a remote area by any means. So the idea she is striking a blow for the subsistence hunter is patently false. Indeed, it even notes in the article that the area is going to be open to non-resident hunters which is the last thing you would do if you were trying to help the resident hunters. Alaskan Natives (who, for the most part, have opposed Sarah Palin on many issues) cannot compete with someone spending $15k to come hunt moose. They do not have the same access to hunting guides with their planes, ATV’s, and riverboats. Non-resident hunting is actually competition with local residents for a limited resource. This “opening” demonstrates where the real goal lies and that is not to help the bush resident but to help the professional hunting faction which contributed heavily to Palin’s campaign.
Another consideration in decimating the natural predator population is what it does to the genetic make-up of the ungulate population. In short, it declines in quality. Wolves and bears are least apt to attack healthy, prime moose. Moose are very dangerous animals when they are attacked and can inflict considerable injury and death with all four feet rather quickly. Predators will take out the old ones, the injured ones, the sick ones before they go after the healthy adults. The result is a natural selection for the best of the population to continue, to breed, to produce the healthiest young with the best chance of survival. Human hunters, on the other hand, and especially trophy hunters (as non-residents are) remove the best from the breeding population. Someone is not going to pay several thousand dollars to take home a sickly, undersized moose. The result is predictable: the overall genetic quality of the population declines. This decline has been documented in the antler records over the years kept by Ak. Dept. of Fish and Game which shows a steady reduction in the average size.
So what has Sarah Palin really accomplished? By a brutal and cowardly means (aerial hunting) which many experienced wildlife professionals have spoken out against, she has artificially boosted the numbers of moose and caribou then made available the process whereby the best of them will be killed for trophies.
Given her record for turning tail and quitting when the going gets tough, a reason many Alaskans rightfully now despise her, it is not surprising that she has left us with a mess that might not be apparent in its damage at present but eventually will make itself known as the general health of the animals decreases.
BTW, across the Tanana River from Fairbanks the wolf and bear populations were similarly hammered by aerial hunting some years ago under the previous governor, Frank Murkowski. The result has been such an overpopulation that for the past three years the area known as 20b has been open to hunting moose cows and calves. Sometimes “more” is not better.