Palin Versus the Wolves

Sarah Palin, soon after assuming the office of Governor of Alaska announced a $150 bounty per wolf killed. According to the Defenders of Wildlife, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and the Alaska Chapter of the Sierra Club the Governor was overstepping her legal authority in doing so.

When Rep. George Miller, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced federal legislation last year to end Alaska's policy of allowing people to shoot wolves from airplanes, according to a California paper, Governor Palin objected:

"Congressman Miller doesn't understand rural Alaska (and) doesn't comprehend wildlife management in the North," the Alaska governor said in a statement issued last September.

A letter was signed by many scientists in 2007 beginning with the following paragraph:

As scientists and other wildlife professionals , we urge you to strengthen the application of science-based wildlife management to sound policy decisions, especially for those Alaska programs related to predator control. We are concerned with potential problems of managing and conserving large mammalian carnivores and their ungulate prey resulting from recent approval of predator control programs designed to severely reduce populations of gray wolves, black bears and brown bears. We strongly urge the State of Alaska to gather data necessary to justify, implement, monitor and evaluate these programs so that management practices will ensure sustained populations of both predators and prey.