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Rebuttal to rebuttal ... and a new slogan
Posted by David Johnson (Host)
on Mar 09 2006
Rebuttal rebuttal
Dang…..I wish I had thought of the “I love babies” slogan. I could have added that along with wildlife abundance! It could have been “I vote for babies and wildlife abundance.” No….wait….more babies means more moose eaters. Mmmmm….maybe not….we’re getting into some kind of cycle here. <grin>
To me, wildlife abundance means that there reasonable numbers of moose and caribou in most areas, and in some areas good numbers. It means that the areas where moose and caribou have been depressed for decades are restored to reasonable numbers – abundance is how I would put it.
It doesn’t mean a scarcity of wolves and bears; it anything, it could well mean more than now exist in many areas where their prey base does not support good numbers.
It means ecosystem diversity instead of the huge areas of largely unproductive black spruce that cover much of the Interior; with variegated landscapes that support a wide array of wild things.
It doesn’t mean to me managing universally for maximum sustained yield, although I could see that there might be a few areas where that could be practiced.
It means providing wild protein at a lower environmental cost than the importation of domestic meat produced and imported at high environmental cost. It means managing for moose and raising the value of Alaska wilderness one more notch through its current value to hunters.
I am sobered, as Northway, by the potentials for damage and bad behaviors when wildlife populations are large and concentrated. Alaska has a long history of that. Nevertheless, if it is in our power to create abundance for the benefit of Alaskans and our visitors – and it is - I am of the opinion that we should do so. There are always bad guys and bad behaviors. Do we deny the benefits for the majority so the bad guys just don’t do what they always try to do?
Mark, I have always admired the breadth of knowledge you possess living as you do out in the Alaska bush. I have been continually impressed by your ability to collect and analyze information about complex issues. Your commitment to Alaska and wildlife is obvious, and I really respect that.
It’s just that my sense of which way to go from here is a bit different. Like bwake put it, we have reached two different conclusions based on consideration of the facts.
I still vote for wildlife abundance. <smile>
Previous: I vote for wildlife abundance David Johnson Mar 08 2006
Next: Just a note on "ecosystem diversity" bushrat Mar 09 2006
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