The Mudflats

Last week, the Alaska Board of Game voted 4-3 to open the Northeast periphery of the Denali National Park and preserve to wolf trapping. What this means is that an area around the National Park, referred to as a “buffer zone” no longer exists. The buffer zone was put into place to help preserve the wolves that live in the park and are a huge draw for tourism and wildlife photographers. In recent years, pack leaders wandered out of the park and fell victim to trapping, raising the hackles of wildlife organizations, conservationists, residents who love wildlife, and the tourism industry.

And now, thanks to the challenged decision-making of our new governor (who is much like the old governor on this issue) the tourism boycott has begun.  Thanks a lot, Governor Parnell.  I’m sure business owners across the state are really excited about this, especially since the economy has already reduced tourism by double digits last summer.

The buffer zone helps to keep these Denali wolves alive, because, frankly, wolves don’t really know where the park boundary ends, and where they need to be to stay safe. These packs, which have been studied since the 1930s, have a natural range and it doesn’t exactly conform to the boundary of the park.  And now the northeast periphery, which was formerly a protected area, is open for trapping thanks to this vote by the Board of Game.

The decision swings in the opposite direction  of what park authorities had asked for. The federal authorities had recommended expanding the buffer zone to protect the wolves that wander outside the park’s boundaries. Those particular wolves are the ones typically seen by busloads of tourists who visit the park every summer.

The wolf population is the lowest it has been since 1987, park authorities say. While they don’t know for sure why the numbers have plummeted, they say there has been trapping pressure on the animals.

There are about 70 wolves left in the 6-million-acre park.

Let’s look at this 4-3 vote.

Sometimes the best way to understand a vote, is to understand the votER.  So, let’s hunker down and learn about the latest appointment to this board, one of those on the “4″ side that voted to remove the buffer zone and increase the trapping of wolves.  Governor Sean Parnell recently appointed a man named Al Barette of Fairbanks to the Board.  Mr. Barette has an interesting history.

He retired from the military in 1993 because of an injury, and now lives in Fairbanks with his wife and three children.  He’s also a business owner.  But his kind of business is not the kind of business that will feel the pinch when environmental and wildlife groups expand the boycott on Alaska travel because of this decision.  He owns the kind of business that thinks this decision is just swell.

He owns the Fairbanks Fur Tannery – the first commercial tannery in Alaska.  He started it in 1993 and business is good, but of course it will be better soon.  Here’s a picture of Mr. Barette on the job.

Then, in 2002 he purchased another business – The Alaskan No. 9 Trap Company.  And, believe it or not, they manufacture The Alaska Wolf Trap.   Business prospects are looking good for that one too.

One of his favorite things to do is to teach young, inexperienced trappers how to do it better, and is often seen discussing equipment and tactics “over the counter” at the Alaska Fur Tannery.

And he is so dedicated to wolf elimination, he was even the recipient of the very first permit to shoot one from an airplane, after then Lt. Parnell’s poorly worded ballot initiative permitting the practice passed.  Thousands of Alaskans, myself included, voted the wrong way on that initiative because it was worded so poorly.  A cynic might say that the obfuscation was deliberate.  Voters had voted against the aerial hunt twice before but this time it passed.

But surely, there are two sides to every story.  Granted that tourists will suffer, and the wolves of course, and wildlife photographers, and those in the tourism industry, and small business owners who will feel the pinch of tourism boycotts…  But someone has to benefit from this other than just Board of Game member Al Barette who will be able to sell more traps, and tan more hides.  There are others who benefit. See my emphasis below.

Alaska wildlife advocate Rick Steiner called the Denali decision a slap in the face to the park service and to its visitors who come to the park to see, among other animals, a wolf.

“It’s an outrageous decision,” he said. “The Board of Game placed the interests of three or four trappers on the eastern edge of Denali over the interests of hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park, and countless public comments from Alaskans asking not only to maintain the existing buffer but to expand it.”

He said the economic impact of the tourists that the wolves draw to the state make wolves “worth orders of magnitude more alive than dead.”

The interest of three or four trappers AND the interest of the man who cast the deciding vote to eradicate the buffer zone.  Conflict of interest?  Sounds like it to me.

Once again Alaskans are caught up in the epic battle of the hunters.  On the one hand are the wolves who bring tourists to the park and are worth their weight in public relations gold.  They have to eat, and they have the misfortune of liking to eat the same things we do.  On the other hand are those for whom the Alaska wilderness of their dreams is nothing more than a moose and caribou farm with us the only predator.  It’s good for people who like to eat wild game, yes.  But the big money comes from those who  come to Alaska, kill something, and leave.  And so the state may as well stack boards with those who can make a pretty penny off trapping.  It’s a win-win situation for them, and a lose-lose situation for the wolves and those who derive joy and economic benefit from keeping them alive.

It’s time to elect a new governor.  Before you cast your vote in November, find out what your candidate thinks about the current mission of the Board of Game, and find out if they are appalled by the current conflict of interest that exists on the Board, and the administration’s war on tourism and small business.

While waiting to cast your vote, feel free to let the governor know how you feel about this.  And remember, the wolves of Denali National Park belong to ALL of us, wherever in the country we live.  So, even if you’re not in the state, you have a stake in this.

Governor Sean Parnell – http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/contact/email-the-governor.html

CALL  907-465-3500   FAX: 907-465-3532

PLEASE ALSO CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM NOT TO CONFIRM BARETTE’S APPOINTMENT. More details on this story to come.

No, not even a blizzard could keep me away from the Bartlett Democratic Club luncheon today.  Diane Benson was going to be “announcing her intentions,” which means she decided to run for something, or not run for something, and I wanted to be there to see which it was.  She ran against Don Young 2 terms ago, and got 40% of the vote with a lot less money, and a lot less name recognition.  It was incredibly impressive.  Last time she tried again, but couldn’t defeat Ethan Berkowitz in the primary.  And Berkowitz couldn’t defeat Young.  So there he still is, stripped of plum committee assignments, looming indictments, $2 million in payments to his lawyers, and crooked as a dog’s hind leg… daring the next contender to knock him off.  Rep. Harry Crawford threw his hat in the ring and will be giving it a shot in November.  Harry’s a good egg, a hard worker, a bridge builder and a great guy.  I have high hopes.

Would Diane go for a third attempt at Young?  Or maybe something else…  I left work very early so I wouldn’t miss it, which was a good thing since I had to drive about 15 miles an hour the whole way and could barely see the car in front of me.  I drove past two major accidents, and a couple cars that slid off into the ditch, but finally – Denny’s – the home of the Bartlett Democratic Club’s weekly luncheon!

I had a nice chat with Rep. Pete Petersen who faces a challenge this November from a “Kodiak Karpetbagger” named Gabrielle LeDoux.  She’s well funded, and will be a legally qualified resident of district 19 with 10 days to spare.  Timing is everything.  Pete had a fundraiser recently, and could really use some of your support before the session starts.  He can’t take donations after January 15th, so if you want to throw a few coins in Pete’s stocking this Christmas, we’ll ALL be grateful.  He can take in-state and out-of-state donations.  Pete is a really decent guy, and a great progressive who I actually knew “in real life” before I started blogging and before he ever ran for office. He’s one of those people you actually want to be in government.  So, even if he’s not in your district (or your state for that matter), you’ll be adding to the net sum good of the whole process.  I just did, and I liked it!

But back to Diane Benson.  She started off witha a great talk about women in politics in Alaska.  She noted that despite the fact that Alaskan women lead the nation in rates of professional jobs, we elect few women to executive positions and we have never elected a progressive woman to statewide office.  We lack a Women’s Commission in the state, and we have no women’s caucus in the state legislature.

She also spoke at length about her own experience after getting dissed by the Alaska Ear on Sunday.  She talked about her experience as a mother, managing a home, directing and overseeing a large number of events for the Arctic Winter Games, a NOW conference, and a huge amount of volunteer work.  She has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of violence against women, and has been involved in advocacy, teaching, public speaking, holding workshops and being featured in several publications.  She’s taught upper division courses at UAA about Native women surviving violence, and women and social action.  She served two terms in the Alaska Native Sisterhood, and served on the board of Healing Racism in Anchorage.  She also was featured prominently in the PBS documentary “For the Rights of All” where she played the role (brilliantly) of Alaska Native civil rights pioneer Elizabethe Peratrovich.

I know I’ve missed a lot because my fingers were flying trying to keep up with her many accomplishments.  She summed it up well by saying, “Leadership comes from many places.”

~Benson getting the mic from KTUU

She talked about Governor Sean Parnell’s recent moves toward addressing the issue of violence against women in the state, and noted that it was well past time that this became a political issue that got some attention.    She noted that Parnell’s plan fails to address the cause. “We don’t just need more arrests and more shelters,” she said.  “We need it to stop.”  This happens through education, addressing the issues in the open and talking about it, supporting drug and alcohol treatment, addressing wage equity, affordable child care, and good mental health treatment.  She also suggested that forming a Women’s Commission is in order.  What is good for women is good for society as a whole and everyone benefits.

She talked about our former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan and his great idea about having teams of judges and law enforcement that work together on sexual assault issues.  Restructuring into localized teams improves response times and gets help to victims more quickly.

Then she shared a fact that stunned the room.  Anchorage right now has forensic rape kits that it has not tested.  Victims do all the things they are supposed to do, samples are taken and they are sitting there unlooked at, untested.  The city doesn’t even know how many of these untested kits have been set aside.  Why are they not being tested?  Lack of funds.  What does that say about our priorities?

Palin chose to charge the victims of rape to have their evidence examined and their rape kits tested.  We don’t charge the families of murder victims for forensic tests.  “How is it just to charge a victim, or to just disregard evidence altogether?  Do only those with money have justice?  If protection of our citizens is not a fundamental priority, then what is?” Benson asked.

In the 2008 election, she was advised not to talk about these things because she’d be considered a “one issue candidate.”  The election cycle before, she was accused of being a “one issue candidate” about veterans’ issues.  She was accused of being a “one issue candidate” about the war.  All of these are important issues and we need to talk about them.

She talked about how progressives need to really get out there and support women candidates.  More than just weighing resumes, we need to find and support sensible, intelligent, thinking women to run for office.

As we neared the end of our time, she confessed, “I wanted Don’s seat so bad, and I still do.  I wanted to win that more than anything, and we had a chance.  We came close.”  But at this point, she noted, she doesn’t have the personal wealth it takes to survive the lengthy campaigning for office for that position. “As much as it pains me, I won’t be seeking to unseat Don Young in 2010.”  She noted that Don Young has called her several times since the 2008 election.  She also told about how she and Young’s late-wife Lu had become friends.  He would say, “Uh-oh.  My wife and Diane Benson are friends. Should I be worried?”  Then she told us that Don Young had said to her that if she had won the primary, she might very well be sitting in his seat today.

And then, the moment we’d all been waiting for. “I’ve given this a lot of thought,” she said. “People have been saying I’m ‘too green’ in every sense of the word.” With a twinkle in her eye she said, “They think I’m one of those Native women who cares too much about the land and the people.”  Then she asked the question, “Would anyone be interested in seeing me as the Lieutenant Governor?  Are you willing to step up and put money on the table to see me there?”

The room erupted in applause, and everyone stood.  She got almost a full minute of enthusiastic clapping.  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, smiling.

Welcome to the ring, Diane Benson!

~Diane Benson (D) Candidate for Lt. Governor and Bob Poe (D) Candidate for Governor.  If these two end up in office together, we will totally win the “Battle of the Teeth” competition with Governos and Lt. Governors of other states.  OK, well… we should start one.

~The Fuel/Tank Farm at Nunam Iqua.  Photo taken in spring flood of 2008.~

For those of you who visit the blog Anonymous Bloggers you know that we have been trying for months to find out whether or not the villages in rural Alaska have enough fuel to make it through this winter. After last years crisis, we wanted to ensure that everyone got their fuel deliveries and are set for the winter.

Now this in no way means that the residents have enough money to buy fuel and food for this winter. We first wanted to make sure that fuel was simply available. That can’t be that hard of a question. Surely that State of Alaska has a program to monitors this type of thing, especially after last winters fuel issues across rural Alaska, right?

They do! It’s called “Fuel Watch,” and it is run by the Department of Community and Rural Affairs (DCRA) In fact, even Governor Parnell wants to know what the fuel situation is.

So I tried sending out an email to get some answers:

Dear Mr. Parnell, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Moller, and Ms. Jollie;

Waqaa! I am writing to inquire as to whether or not any of your offices have completed fuel inquiries for rural Alaska? There was mention that villages were being contacted to assess their fuel situations and preparedness for this winter.

Additionally, what happened and/or what is the status of the Yukon Fisheries Disaster Declaration that was sent to DC?

Any information you could provide me about these issues would be greatly appreciated. I am gravely concerned that this winters crisis in rural Alaska will be far worse than last winters, is there anything you can tell me that is in the works or under consideration to avert another crisis in bush Alaska this winter?

Quyana Cakneq in advance for your help in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at the below contact information.

After sending that email one of the staff here at AB found this report thanks to ADN’s Kyle Hopkins.

I read the report and had some questions.   Since the report clearly states at the top:

Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA)

Report to the Commissioner

September 18, 2009

From Director Tara Jollie

I thought I’d contact Ms. Jollie.   I mean it does say it’s from her, right?   So I called her.   I about fell off of my chair when she actually answered the phone!  I asked her my questions, specifically related to clarifying her report.   Did I get answers? Nope!  Instead, I got the run around and a broken record response of … “We are having a meeting today (Oct. 2, 2009) and I was planning on answering your email after this meeting.”

Ok, well now I am getting somewhere, right?   Just to make sure that she didn’t forget my questions I immediately sent a follow-up email:

Ms. Jollie,

Quyana Cakneq (Yup’ik for “Thank you very much”) for speaking with me earlier on the phone.

I am glad to hear that you are meeting today to discuss the FUEL WATCH for rural Alaska.

I look forward to your email in response to my questions. Here is a recap with a few extra questions:

What is the fuel status for rural Alaska?

After reading report #5 from your dept. I am assuming that only those 13 communities identified in the report are having fuel issues?  I am assuming the remaining 567 are all set fuel-wise for the winter? Would you please clarify that?

I expressed my concern that even if these communities have or will receive the fuel they need for the winter that I am concerned about at what cost, and how will people be able to afford the fuel.?  You stated that it was not your departments job and/or responsibility to set fuel prices, which I understand. But I am still concerned and would HOPE that you would bring this to the Governors attention.  Simply because a community has fuel available, it does not ensure that residents will be able to afford said fuel. Especially due to the poor commercial fishing this past summer.

What is the current status of the the villages listed in report #5 from your dept? Are they all set and have their fuel for the winter?

Does the public have access to the whole database? I would like to review it to ensure that all communities were identified. I am concerned b/c I don’t see Alakanuk nor Kotlik nor other YK Delta Villages listed.

Could you please include me on your mailing list for future reports on the fuel watch?  I am working on a post for my blog and would like to be able to keep up to date on current fuel information. I will be going into wait to have a baby in a few very short weeks and intend to fill my time actively advocating for rural Alaska.

Quyana Cakneq again.   I look forward to your response.

Surely I’ll get a response.  I mean, Ms. Jollie told me on the phone that she’d respond!

(Note to self:   Just because Ms. Jollie SAYS she’ll respond to an email doesn’t mean she actually intends to follow through!)

I gave her 7 days to respond, then I sent a courteous reminder.

Dear Ms. Jollie, (AG and Mr. Moller see below)

It has been 7 days since I not only emailed you about the Fuel Watch meetings/information, but also spoke to you on the phone. You assured me that you were going to respond to my email when I spoke to you on the phone. I have attached that email again. I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions.

Like I mentioned I am working on a post for our blog (http://anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/) and I had hoped to include information about the meeting that you said was happening on Oct. 2. But since it looks as if you will not respond to my emails, I will just include what information I have managed to gather from other sources, and will also mention that I have been unsuccessful getting any type of response from you or your office/department.

I plan on putting that post up tomorrow, Oct. 9, 2009 and following it up with an interview I am doing for APRN. I would really like to include POSITIVE information that I have received from you and/or your office but since you don’t seem to want to respond to my emails…..sigh.

I really would like to include up-to-date information concerning the fuel watch meeting that you said occurred on Oct 2. I am anxiously awaiting your response to my email below.

Quyana Cakneq in advance for you assistance in this matter.

AG Sullivan and Mr. Moller,

Would either of you be able to offer any answers to the questions below?
Ann Strongheart

Well I sat here with bated breath (NOT!) and waited for her to respond.  Well, that never happened. And I suspect it never will!

So, with all of that said, I invite all of you to try where I have failed! Yes I am woman enough to admit I failed.  I failed to get any additional information. So I remain clueless as to whether or not rural Alaskan villages have enough fuel for the winter. My questions may go forever unanswered. But, I thought maybe Mudflatters would like to try where I have failed! What do you think?  How would you like to try to get answers about the fuel situation in rural Alaska?

Here’s how.  You too can email Ms. Jollie and ask her if rural Alaskans will have fuel this winter if you are so inclined.  (friendly reminder: don’t hold your breath waiting for a response!)

Here’s Ms. Jollies contact information:
Email: tara.jollie@alaska.gov
Phone: 907-269-7959

Now this isn’t the first time that Ms. Jollie’s contact information has appeared online, and her email is listed on the DCRA website also, so  I just saved you the time.  Additionally, I always like to include the Attorney General and Mr. Moller in my emails, so here are their email addresses:

“Attorney General” attorney.general@alaska.gov
”John Moller” john.moller@alaska.gov

Quyana Cakneq in advance to all who decide to brave the mighty internet to try to seek the truth! Please feel free to post any replies that you receive here in the comments or email them to me at: nunamiquayouth@yahoo.com