Board to allow bear snares

The Alaska Board of Game has made its decisions on this spring’s proposals.

The Board of Game this week decided to authorize the use of helicopters to transport permittees and their equipment to and from camps intended for bear bait sites.  They are also authorizing an experimental program using foot snares for taking bears.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials say they hope the ruling will help restore depleted moose populations in unit 16 B, which is the area west of the Parks Highway and the west side of Cook Inlet. 

Some of the reasoning of using this area as an experimental program is the region’s remoteness.

The use of helicopters for hunting will remain illegal in Alaska, except for the west side of Cook Inlet, although they might be authorized in other predator control. 

The Board says another source of predation in 16B is wolves. The Board of Game states that 16 wolves have been taken from the air this winter.  If private pilots are unsuccessful taking more wolves this spring, ADF & G will be authorized to use helicopters to help remove wolves in the predator control program.

The proposed changes that the Talkeetna Community Council was concerned with in unit 13 failed for the most part.  There will be no predator control for brown bears in unit 13 and modified boundaries for predator control failed.  The black bear baiting season HAS been lengthened to June 30^th in Units 11 and 13.