Voices from the Flats – Shannyn Moore on Skinning the Truth
Shannyn Moore has come up with some more information on Al Barette, Alaska’s newest appointee to the Board of Game. It is not to late to strongly oppose this appointment, as he has not yet been confirmed by the Legislature. You’ll find a call to action at the end of the post. Tell your legislators that not only do you want people who make game management decisions based on science and not the Old Testament, but that you want people who do not stand to benefit financially at the expense of others, from the decisions that they make on the board. Please help send a strong message that we care who sits on these boards, and that the National Park “resources” that they manage matter to all of us.
****Please also heed the authors warning about the embedded video, which is graphic and disturbing. If you don’t watch it, I urge you to listen to the audio and look away.
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Skinning the Truth
Wolves have been in the news lately. In today’s Anchorage Daily News, there was speculation that a wolf might have killed a young school teacher in Chignik. Last week, the Alaska Board of Game voted 4-3 to eliminate the buffer zone around Denali National Park despite the wolf population plummeting to a 23-year low. Late biologist Gordon Haber fought to his early death to protect those wolves. Governor Sean Parnell appointed Al Barrette to replace Bob Bell on the Alaska Board of Game.
Who is Al Barrette? Mudflats wrote a great post that you can find here. Barrette, who has an obvious and unambiguous conflict of interest, cast the deciding vote to open up the northeast periphery of the Denali National Park to wolf trapping. Barrette owns both the Fairbanks Fur Tannery and Alaskan No. 9 Trap Company. The latter manufactures the Alaska Wolf Trap. Apparently, Mr. Barrette didn’t think he had a conflict of interest-despite casting a public vote to bolster his personal bottom line.
There is much we don’t know about Governor Sean Parnell’s ethically-challenged appointee to the Alaska Board of Game. I think Al Barrette best reveals Al Barrette in this short video shot by Backpacker Magazine a little over a year ago. At that time, Barrette was on the Fairbanks Advisory Council to the Alaska Board of Game.
I’m Just a Girl from Homer, and I grew up trapping animals with my father. That said, this video disturbed me. If you feel like you can’t watch it, at least LISTEN to it. Listen to Al Barrette wax poetic about his philosophy on religion, science and wolves…
WARNING! THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND CONTAINS IMAGES MANY COULD SHOULD FIND OBJECTIONABLE!
For those of you who couldn’t watch or listen, I transcribed Mr. Barrette’s comments at the beginning of the film:
Al Barrette on the bible and man’s role in game management:
“…it specifically puts out in the first book of the bible, in Genesis, that we should, uh, subdue nature and control it. We should be the managers of the animals and through the…the sin of Adam and Eve is what brought it on, and, uh, in fact, the first, uh…the first clothes that were made for Adam and Eve were skins of animals…by God.”
VITAMIN DEMOCRACY!
Al Barrette still must be confirmed by the legislature. Find your legislators and tell them to reject Al Barrette for the Alaska Board of Game. Contact your state senator and representative.
Email Governor Sean Parnell or call him at 907.465.3500 tell him to withdraw his conflicted nominee from consideration.
Email the State of Alaska Boards and Commissions at boards@alaska.gov or call them 907.465.3934 and express yourself.
Speaking of wolves, and I hate to be continuing the suggestion that wolves might be involved, but a pennsyltucky woman who was working as a special education teacher was found dead in Alaska. She apparently had gone for a run one day but was not found for some time. In the interim, some hungry critters snacked upon her remains.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/03/pennsylvania_native_killed_in_1.html
The Norman Bates of Alaska. People who do so much killing develop a conscious that makes them feel guilty so they must do what they can to absolve their guilt. Quoting the Bible is no less than that.
I don’t think my Bible says that. Or I guess that’s not my interpretation.
I read the stories from Alaska and it appears that the teacher went for a run and was attacked by hungry wolves as she ran. Running may have been part of the trigger to the animals and the fact that she was wearing an iPod meant that she likely was unaware of the danger in time to take other steps for her safety. She was not gone long.
This is truly a horrible story, but I don’t think that we should demonize the animals for doing what is instinctual to the species. It appears that the village was well aware of the wolf pack and may not have warned the teacher in strong enough language how dangerous it would be to run – alone – away from the village. This is not meant to place any blame on the villagers, or the teacher, or the wolves.
This was simply a horrible consequence of not being aware of the dangers of in the natural world and making some decisions that put a person in harm’s way.
My condolences go out to her family in PA and to all the students and families she touched in Alaska. This is a great, and painful, loss to all of them.
Good lord, the music alone gives me the willies! His ideas are creepy and I hope that Alaskans can block his appointment. He should definitely NOT be making any decisions about game conservation in your state. Good luck!
I’ll watch it later. It is dinner time here and I just know I am going to find it upsetting.
I believe these people on the Board are the same ones that Palin appointed and that Parnell just left in place. Parnell didn’t replace any of the Palin Administration as far as I know. He kept them all ( or 99.9 %) there.. plus Sarah and him are close friends and go to the same Church.
Ashley Judd’s endorsement with the ” Eye on You ” commercials that ran last year created a LOT of noise and Press.
Has anyone from that Organization stepped forward again..? Why not..?
They are already in place and I assume they have lists and names of people to call. And This Board still represents ‘ Sarah’s beliefs ‘ on how they should ‘ control ‘ the wolves.
It just seems like these people would be out in front with a message or maybe a New commercial. Do they have a phone number to call..?
A true hunter..is able to balence what is killed..and when..and how. Any person who enters the wild world.. is most unwise..if wearing items which obscure the normal cues..from the area they are in..be it an Alaskan wilderness trail..or Central Park. That said..to have a bible-spouting fellow..in the position he seems to be moving into..needs to be spread across all media/talking heads..etc..so that ..once again..the lines of a minority view (religion ..calls ‘shots’)..can be seen..evaluated..as to the idiocy quotient!
The tragic situation of the woman who was killed may have many components. This is only the second person killed by wolves in Alaska since the 1920s. She was a small woman – 4’11″, and running alone listening to an iPod. Also, incidents of rabies in that area are not uncommon. Wolves can be hungry for a variety of reasons. There are so many questions that may never be answered. It’s such a horrible thing.
I hope it is not turned in to a specific reason to increase predator control. Moose and polar bears have killed many more people than wolves have. People have killed many more people than wolves have. This type of tragedy is exceedingly rare.
Is this the United States or some insane imam mixed up in politics up there because it’s coming across as some stone-age place. Religion and State – all mixed up – by some weirdo pseudo-(not-ready-for-prime-time) religiousoes who are tilting the entire country into bizarro-country. People better wake up and smell the roses PDQ – the country’s taking the low road and it’s a shocking sight. I know the majority of Americans are good, decent people BUT where are they and why aren’t they taking their country back from this irrelevant minority of manipulative and sleazy hicks?
End of rant – but daily, it seems to becoming more and more brutal. It seems the really, really bad and disgustingly callous people are walking all over the good guys – and the innocents, be they human or otherwise, are the ones suffering and dying.
Ewe, yuck, could not watch, scary, creppy. Please, Alaska, make sure this loony gets the boot. And what is it with Alaska and crazy religion? I thought these folks were freethinking pioneers? Here’ they are blind sheep. How sad.
Since Barrette has *not* been confirmed by the Legislature, *how* can his tipping-the-scales ‘vote’ on wolf hunting in/removing the buffer zone of the N’rn edge of Denali National Park, possibly count?
Wouldn’t the ‘vote’ be declared null and void *because* a non-confirmed *appointee* was acting/voting as if they had been confirmed? Doesn’t the 4-3 ‘decision’ by the Board of Game have to be struck down?
… Or do Alaska’s Constitution, statutes, and/or bylaws allow anyone, through the mere act of being ‘appointed’ by the Gov, full authority to actually be a bonafide member of a board, authority, etc., without confirmation? If that’s the case, then there’d be no point in contacting anyone in the Legislature to voice objection to Barrette’s appointment to the BoG…and his subsequent ‘vote’ against the protections of the buffer zone ~ albeit as a *non*-confirmed member of said board.
Am I missing some vital information with this whole: appointed, non-confirmed, voted anyway, deal? beth.
Don’t you just love it when folks quote the Bible to justify their idiotic and inhumane actions? By that logic, we should all be stocking up on stones. I wonder if Al Barrette has been entirely faithful to his wife? I get dibs on throwing first.
Nobody could state a better case for an absolute separation of church and state.
Reference the women’s death supposedly by wolves. Is it possible she
died before the wolves got a hold on her?
Gasman: I have a pretty good arm. I bet I can reach him from here if I try.
AKM, I cannot play that video. I cannot listen. There is nothing I can do from here except encourage all Alaskans to step up and make some noise about this, no matter your feeling about wolves. Having someone on a voting board with a vested (money) interest in the outcome of a vote is simply corrupt.
They need to know that people are paying attention. Thanks to Mrs. Palin, that is. Nobody has been minding the store for so long that the morally bankrupt up there are running the show. Rise up, AK Mudpups.
I’ve emailed the gov, representatives, and the Board of Game. I’d like to say that I think this will make a difference and I hope so, but I won’t hold my breath. I don’t understand how this appointment can go through. At best whatever vote the man casts will stink of possible impropriety and at worst, he stands to gain personally for his decisions. This would, in my opinion, appear to be fodder for legal action…but then what do I know, I’m not an attorney and I don’t play one on TV….
How does this guy get to vote on issues, when his appointment hasn’t been approved yet. Why is Alaska so corrupt? It is as though being an outlaw and breaking the law and ethics is just normal.
Gasman — I couldn’t agree more, but until they showcase their fundamental dishonesty and their inability to perform anything that would pass for sound, logical reasoning, in this culture people are still going to look at them as “those nice church-going people down the street,” and not be willing to say a word against them. Hopefully that social taboo will change before it’s too late, but considering they’re still allowed to label their reckless extremism conservative, I don’t look for it to happen anytime soon.
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As for the video, it is – as intended – shocking and offensive. I am also offended by the decision to include it, and find it entirely unnecessary. The partial transcript said everything that needed to be said about Barrette’s view of the world. When I saw anti-abortion ads featuring aborted fetuses solely to evoke shock and revulsion, I didn’t expect I was looking at a model Progressive bloggers would one day adopt. Was that video somehow deemed to be journalistically necessary to complete a report about shady politics?
I forced myself to watch the video. The truth of brutality is not easy to look at, but for me it further enforces my committment to help. 34 years ago, I decided to stop eating animals – my journey to instill my pledge to vegetarianism began at the slaughterhouse in CO. Yes, I watched. I looked into the eyes of the cows just before they were electrocuted.
Not everyone needs to observe man’s inhumanity in order to be committed to being a voice for the voiceless.
But for me, it just makes my committment stronger.
“The same force formed the sparrow
That fashioned Man, the King;
The God of the Whole gave a spark of soul
To each furred and feathered thing.
And I am my brother’s keeper,
And I will fight his fight,
And speak the word for beast and bird,
Till the world shall set things right.”
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox “Voice of the Voiceless”
full poem at: http://www.allcreatures.org/poetry/voiceofthevoiceless2.html
Fig leaves.
God gave Adam and Eve fig leaves to cover themselves with in the Garden of Eden after The Fall from Grace.
Get your mythology correct Mr. Barrette.
And may Thor’s Hammer show you no mercy.
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Jim Keating Says: According to the med. ex. she died from animal attack, her throat was ripped. They are guessing wolves because that is the only tracks they found, and no bears have been sited yet.
oops that was to answer your question Jim Keating. The paper also stated in a couple of stories that the villagers had not complained about the wolves hanging around but had complained that they were taking all the moose and caribou.
Research by Gordon Haber suggested that young wolves left to their own devices when too many alpha wolves have been indiscriminately trapped or hunted may have less information and ability to make the usual traditional hunting plans and choices.
The tragic incident near Chignik occurred in an area where folks are allowed to harvest ten wolves per person per day. The question needs to be seriously explored whether or not excessive and indiscriminate harvest of wolves leads to the breaking up of important wolf family units and wolf family hunting knowledge that is passed down to younger wolves, resulting in young hungry wolves with a greater tendency to experiment rather than to do what they would have been taught by the alpha members of the wolf families.
Are dangerous wolves the result of too much culling of alpha wolves and the breaking up of wolf families and the society that teaches young wolves the traditional way to behave? This question merits serious research and scrutiny.
We will likely never know for certain the complexities involved in this very sad incident. We do know it’s sad, tragic, and highly unusual.
Moose Pucky, you ideas put another angle on this horrific story. 10 wolves/person/per day seems very high to me, but that could be because I am a city girl. But unless there are hundreds and hundreds of wolves, this seems to be on the high side – particularly compared to the small numbers of wolves in Denali that will be culled simply by going outside the man-made designated area.
I like the way you think.
Al Barrette: “We should be the managers of the animals and through the…the sin of Adam and Eve is what brought it on, and, uh, in fact, the first, uh…the first clothes that were made for Adam and Eve were skins of animals…by God.”
Sounds just like Palin’s interview with Couric. The only thing he left out was “shore up the economy.”
Al and S’error: Two crazy peabrains in a pod.
The legal definition of “conflict of interest” states that one should refrain from voting on or substantially participating in decisions in which one has a substantial financial interest.
Barette, Gov. Parnell, and the Alaska Legislature need to brush up on their public service ethics.
Moose Pucky , @ 22
I can relate to that. I have talked to many guides and researchers studying animal behavious in Southern Africa. Depending on the country, they were undiscriminatly culling heards of elephants, keeping the calves to repopulate deserted reserves. It often happend that the young grew to be violent and dangerous, totally unpredictable, even to well seasoned guides. We just can’t mess around with nature like this. It always gets back at you.
Moose Pucky @22 asks, “Are dangerous wolves the result of too much culling of alpha wolves and the breaking up of wolf families and the society that teaches young wolves the traditional way to behave?” I hadn’t thought about that before, but in my experience, Education is crucial for All Young Ones, and Our Elders are our first and most important Teachers… good call for scrutiny and research.
Although we are allowed to kill up to 10 wolves, the same general rules and area as the Chignik villages, each year there is NO WAY anyone usually even comes close.
Living in a village with avid hunters, and wolves a good prize, the most I have heard of anyone getting in a year was 3 wolves.
The most I have seen the entire village has gotten was 4-6 in a year.
You can check the harvest levels with the F&G but as a whole very little is done by locals.
It is VERY unusual, as AKM said earlier only the second since the 20′s, for wolves to attack. Also the Troopers were VERY careful to not confirm it as a wolf attack until the ME determined that.
It is actually more common to confront a bear in the summer than wolves. Most villages are careful to keep garbage contained and other items that attrack them under control.
Although I support predator control, in a case by case, this should NOT be used as a reason to do huge kills on wolves.
The area, students, school district and others are shocked and saddened by this event and are thoughts are with her family.
Go after this Game Board member for not being open minded, possible conflict of interest, or any number of totally valid reasons but please leave the wolf attack out of it.
I have had some family members who were/are hunters and, although I could never do it myself, I can accept the idea of hunting to obtain food. I can also somewhat understand the traditional practices behind some native cultures who hunt, as they are usually following traditions started as a means for survival, although often not needed for that purpose today.
However, I see absolutely no purpose in people who come from outside (or inside) the state and hunt wolves just for bragging rights. I find it infinitely more enjoyable and admirable to catch a glimpse of a wolf in the wild than to see a stuffed wolf in a glass case in someone’s trophy room.
I find this man’s professional abhorrent and I am disgusted that someone with such a clear financial stake in decisions could be appointed to the Board of Game. One more strike against you, Parnell.
I couldn’t watch or listen – that kind of stuff gives me nightmares. But someone should send him a new Bible. That’s probably the dumbest interpretation of Genesis I’ve ever heard. We are to be caretakers and stewards of the earth and its creatures, not beat it into submission. Good grief – I can’t stand people that misuse the Bible in that way.
It also says in the Bible that not one bird falls that God does not know about it. He created them all, he loves them all. To kill for the sake of killing or just getting fur… just makes no sense to me. I could not get past the first few seconds. It would be like doing that to my dog who I love and care for like a child. He is a BAD MAN…………….
I saw this post on Shannyn’s blog the other day and could not listen or view the video. I still can’t bring myself to view it today. The video about the aerial hunting of wolves haunted me for days after I saw it. I’ll try to steel myself to watch tomorrow.
“Please help send a strong message that we care who sits on these boards, and that the National Park “resources” that they manage matter to all of us.”
Be aware that the BOG does not manage game on federal lands, such as National Parks. They make decisions about state land game management.
The BOG appointment process is especially prone to nepotism and corruption, as members often represent a particular agenda or special interest. Also, the BOG does not believe in managing game for the non-hunting Alaskan public, and are working diligently to make sure that consumptive use as a priority is a concept that is permanently enshrined in our laws and constitution. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as a hunter I believe in the right to kill what I eat. Just be advised that the BOG is an extremist organization that is advancing extreme management strategies that will, I believe, end up degrading our wildlife diversity and health over the long haul.
Also, it is never, ever a good idea to wear any sort of device that limits your hearing while walking (or running) anywhere outside of a city in Alaska. The poor woman who was killed by wolves may have been able to save herself if she had been able to hear properly, and if she had carried either pepper spray or a sidearm. I feel very bad for her family, and hope they find some comfort somewhere.
It’s one thing to believe in God and the bible and all that, it’s another thing to exploit the bible and god in order to do your bidding.,,i.e killing. It’s hard to believe that even in this day and age, more and more people are STILL exploiting the name of God AND the bible for political gain, AND to do their bidding…i.e. Sarah Palin. When will people realize, that not ALL people believe in God, not ALL people believe in the Bible, and not ALL believe are blinded by the excuse to kill other living things in the name of God and in the name of the Bible. When God and the Bible are taken out of the equation it just seems like a crazy man on a killing and torturing spree. But as long as God told him its ok then, I guess it makes it ok. Do you see? We are all living beings on this AMAZING planet. We all deserve to live as long and as healthy and as wonderful lives as possible. Killing for survival is one thing, killing humanly and with as little trauma is one thing, killing and using the entire animal for YOUR survival is one thing. But please, leave God out of your bloodlust killing fest.
Very interesting article on that suggests the way we’ve understood “alpha” in the wolf world isn’t accurate:
http://www.wolf.org/wolves/news/iwmag/2008/winter/alphawolf.pdf
This video didn’t seem that special to me. Yes, he has ridiculous religious beliefs, but so do most of the people who have watched this video. Yes, he thinks we should be very active in managing the predator-prey relationships for human consumptive benefit. I disagree with him, but this isn’t that controversial, considering that our present ecosystems have evolved with humans doing just that for thousands of years, so it’s arguably more natural than non-interference, and Alaska state law arguable requires it. Yes, he’s skinning a wolf, and as an animal rights proponent, I find this vile, but quite frankly, most of you enjoy Fur Rondy in Anchorage, and needlessly eat hamburgers/chicken/pork that is procured in much more cruel ways than wolf fur. So by all means, protest this fellow’s nomination and block his confirmation, but please also look at your own standards, and ask if you actually care about this, or it you are okay as long as it’s out of sight, out of mind, or benefits you.
This video was a lot less graphic than one you’d see if it was taken at the local slaughtering and meat packing plant where most of you get your meat and leather from. I have my own problems with Mr.Barrette, such as the bible quoting for justification on how to manage a public resource, or indiscriminately killing predators to sustain the faulty biology behind the Intensive Management many are pushing in Alaska. The idea behind intensive management is to artificially inflate the herd numbers of ungulates so there are more animals for hunters to hunt. The trouble is, this type of management has been shown to be faulty in the past. Sure you can get the numbers up for a while, then the habitat is destroyed and one real bad winter causes devastation to the herds. There are a couple groups behind this push now. One is a local Alaskan group, the Alaska Outdoor council and the other is a group based out of Utah called SFW or Sportsmen for Wildlife. SFW seems to be better pushing this agenda and getting people put into the state management system to get this agenda pushed. Recently, they got Doug Larsen replaced with Corey Rossi as the Director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation in Alaska. Corey Rossi is a board member of SFW-Alaska. http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=75046
Now a little about SFW. They are in it for the money and power. They have pulled these stunts in numerous other Western States and their goal is to get tags handed to them under the guise that they are doing something to help game populations in the States they infiltrate. They have a big gathering every year in Utah and raffle off the tags they are given. They make big bucks off these. You need to know they are making a big push in Alaska to get “their” guys in place to run wildlife management in Alaska.
If most of you don’t know SFW was behind the decision to allow bear snaring in Unit 16 with the use of helicopters. That was a test to show what they could do. Now there is a push to allow bear snaring (both black and brown) outside of any predator control implementation plan. http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=74402
You may have to register to see the links. I’m not sure.
One last comment. I hunt and fish for food. I won’t apologize for that. So do the people who live out in bush Alaska that this site was trying to help last winter. Trapping was an important way to help many Bush Alaskans get by. Yes skinning an animal can be upsetting to some, but it’s a necessary step in using an animal for food or fur. Hunters and trappers do the dirty work themselves instead of having somebody else do it for them and pretending they aren’t the cause of an animal’s demise.
@Concerned Too
Thanks for that input from the village. So sorry for your trauma.
This is a nifty tool for contacting your Alaska legislators. You must be a registered voter in Alaska to use and match up info with your voter registration card.
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/poms
If you have trouble getting logged in to use the tool for any reason (like it comes up with “cannot locate your name”), simply call 1-800-478-4648, and you will be referred to a very nice person who will help you through the glitches and get you set up easily and perfectly for all time.
This tool allows you to send one message to any and/or all legislators that you choose, just by typing in the (must be brief) message and checking off the names of legislators you want to receive the message.
http://www.savebiogems.org/tongass/ is the link for those of us “Outside” to take action to preserve the forest, and therefore the wolf habitat.
As I’ve said elsewhere, Alaska needs jobs/income totally unrelated to extractive, environmentally devastating industries (timber, gas and oil, trawling, mining). If those jobs don’t materialize, Alaska’s tourism industry, which is huge, could crater. After all, we Outsiders visit Alaska to get up close and personal with wilderness. We can see Taco Bell and Starbucks anywhere, but not caribou herds and salmon runs.
On a small jet to Kalispell Airport to attend a wedding on Flathead Lake in Montana 5 years ago, one of the wedding guests in the seat behind mine asked, “What are those white lines in the forest?” I turned around and asked, “Are you sure you want to know.” When she said “Yes!” I answered, “Logging roads.” She was, predictably, sorry she asked. Fortunately, the Sierra Club and others (like Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, etc.) use some of the funds they raise to replant trees on old logging roads. Sealaska must be stopped, and those of you in Alaska, please call your legislators and oppose Barrette’s appointment (barrettes are only good for keeping hair out of your face, IMO).
Health and peace to all.