In the last newsletter, we informed everyone how hunters were again trying to open hunting near McNeil River so they can hunt the bears that make the McNeil River viewing area so unique. There were two proposals presented to the Board Of Game at their March meeting to allow hunting on the state lands in the Douglas River area. The Board was to consider opening the area in their March 1997 meeting. However, after hearing the public testimony and considering all factors, the Board tabled the proposals and allowed them to die an unnatural death.
The proposals were tabled primarily to prevent the McNeil vote from being used against three newly-appointed Board members, who were not yet confirmed by the Legislature. With the current legislature favoring, and even overtly supporting, the positions and recommendations of the Alaska Outdoor Council, it was a fortuitous decision to table the proposals to open the Douglas River area to hunting. Unfortunately, the action did not prevent the Legislature from rejecting Ms. Nicole Whittington-Evans, a very qualified and open-minded candidate.
She has been replaced on the Board by Bob Churchill, past president of the Anchorage Advisory Board. I visited with Mr. Churchill and observed that he strives to represent all members of the public. We hope that he will approach any issues at McNeil with an open mind and a desire to consider non-hunting interests as more important in the McNeil area than those of hunters.
Since the Douglas River hunting issue was not rejected by the Board, we can expect to see it come up for consideration again. We will advise everyone when this happens and again call for letters to the Board of Game.
The only way this issue will be laid to rest is to have the Legislature add the area to the Refuge or Sanctuary, or to complete a land exchange with the Park Service and have the lands added to Katmai National Park. A land exchange will be difficult to obtain, so we ask everyone to advise their legislators of the need to add the Douglas River area to the McNeil River State Refuge. By adding the lands to the Refuge, bear hunting would be terminated, but all other public uses of the lands would continue, including moose and caribou hunting.