Posted: February, 2000

HJR 53 was introduced, along with HB 349, to alleviate the problems many Alaskans face due to the inability of the State to provide adequate management and protection to those traditional uses of wildlife that have sustained many Alaskans, including Native Alaskans throughout time.

Since the mid-1970's, the imposition of "urban" values on those Alaskans who choose to remain in a culture that is tied closely to the land has escalated. Although little or no scientific evidence exists to discredit traditional management techniques of wildlife resources for human consumptive uses, the zealots in the environmental movement continue to try and force their belief system on the rest of society by denying access to proven remedies supportive of human consumptive values.

Although Alaskans who fish, hunt and trap may not be able to agree upon specific allocation remedies due to competition inherent among all consumptive users of the resource, including non-human predators, we should be able to agree on the necessity of protecting those cultural values from constant attack by those whose values differ. HJR 53 and HB 349 is part of the plan to move us back towards rules that require respect for differing values. I have never heard of a fisher, hunter, or trapper speak in front of the Board of Fish or Board of Game requesting non-consumptive uses be eliminated in any part of Alaska; however we constantly hear from the environmental community about how their beliefs are somehow superior to the beliefs of others and should therefore be imposed upon the rest of us.

Mankind has been competing with non-human predators for thousands of years and part of that competitive struggle has included a variety of measures intended to lesson the competition. With the advent of modern wildlife conservation sciences, we reached a stage where we could insure the health of all species and sustain meaningful levels of human harvests. That is until recently when animal rights activists essentially eliminated sustained yield management.

HJR 53 and HB 349 should mark the beginning of our attempt to fight back by once again allowing for proven management techniques to take place. Sound scientific measures minus the emotional hysteria will insure that the important cultural values attendant to fishing, hunting and trapping are protected. It is also important to make sure that we continue the prohibition against using the government to impose personal values held by one segment of the population on others. And make no mistake about it, the use of government processes by environmentalists has only one intended goal, and that is to impose their values on the rest of society regardless of the facts.