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Senator Pete Kelly State Capitol, Room 510 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-2327 Fax: (907) 465-5241 Send E-Mail |
For Immediate Release: April 21, 2000 Juneau -- The Alaska State Legislature overrode Governor Tony Knowles' veto of Senate Bill 267 in a joint session of the Senate and House Friday. This bill allows people with valid hunting or trapping licenses to hunt for wolves on the same day that they are airborne, but only in areas designated by the Board of Game for intensive game management. "Unmanaged predators are causing game populations to plummet throughout Alaska," said Senator Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks), the bill's sponsor. "Rural communities have made continued appeals to the Legislature concerning starving packs encroaching into Alaska's villages because their hunger has overcome their natural fear of man. We must control the wolf population and today the Legislature stepped forward to protect the people and resources of this state." While SB 267 allows people to hunt wolves on the same day they are airborne, it only applies to approximately five percent of the state. Specifically, it only affects areas where the Board of Game, through an extensive public process, has established a wolf-control program. "This legislation was carefully drafted to minimize intrusion into the 1996 initiative that generally banned people from hunting on the same day they are airborne," said Kelly. "This bill does not allow hunters to chase, harass or shoot wolves from airplanes. It does provide the Board of Game with an effective method of predator control." Today's 42-17, bipartisan vote overrides the governor's veto making the bill become law.
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