Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, and former state Rep. Les Gara, a Democrat, listen as independent former Gov. Bill Walker speaks at a forum for the candidates for Alaska governor on Sept. 2, 2022, at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, and former state Rep. Les Gara, a Democrat, listen as independent former Gov. Bill Walker speaks at a forum for the candidates for Alaska governor on Sept. 2, 2022, at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)
There are many reasons why we Alaskans would be wise to elect Les Gara as our state’s next governor. Among them are his positions to better address the climate crisis that is taking an increased toll in Alaska and around the world; protect women’s reproductive rights, including the right to abortion; better fund Alaska’s public education system while increasing students’ opportunities for success; better protect — and where necessary, restore — Alaska’s wild fisheries, most notably its wild salmon runs; end the unnecessary and foolish giveaway in tax credits to the oil industry and instead put that money to work for Alaskans (including a more realistic “living wage” for low-income workers); ensure equal rights for all Alaskans; reduce health care costs and better address mental health needs; and support a “vibrant, sustainable” tourism industry. The list goes on, but that’s a good sampling.
Here, I’d like to suggest another reason to support Gara, one that’s not been highlighted in his campaign for governor. Of all the gubernatorial candidates who will appear on the November ballot, he is far and away the most likely to act in the best interests of Alaska’s wildlife and state-owned wildlands.
Two areas that have been poorly served by Bill Walker and Mike Dunleavy during their terms as governor come immediately to my mind. Though neither wildlife conservation nor the Alaska State Parks system have merited a spot on Gara’s “issues” platform, I am confident they will be better served under his leadership. This is especially true given his pledge to “support the development and maintenance of a vibrant, sustainable tourism and hospitality industry.”
Since the mid-1980s, I have devoted much of my “writer’s life” to learning — and writing — about Alaska’s wildlife and our state parks, both of which are unmatched in our nation.
For as long as I can remember, our state parks system has been underfunded and understaffed while largely being neglected by Alaska’s political leaders. What makes this all the more shameful is that several of Alaska’s state parks are premier wildlands that would likely be national parks anywhere else. In fact, lands and waters within three of our state parks were once proposed for national park status but were instead chosen by Alaska through rights given by the statehood act.
There’s no question that a number of state parks — Anchorage’s “backyard wilderness,” Chugach State Park, among them — are world-class attractions and should be treated as such, particularly when an increased emphasis is being placed on tourism. As I’ve written elsewhere, it’s long past time that we Alaskans, the state’s tourism industry, and our elected and appointed officials give our state parks the respect and attention — and funding — they deserve.
Given Les Gara’s strong support for a “vibrant, sustainable” tourism industry and his recognition of the harm that chronic underfunding of Alaska’s infrastructure had done to our state, I am hopeful he will advocate for better treatment of Alaska’s state parks, unlike either Walker or Dunleavy have done.
Another significant problem, in its own way, is Alaska’s wildlife management.
Over the past two decades, I have watched a series of Alaskan governors build — or allow — a wildlife management system that is scientifically regressive, biased to favor the interests of a small percentage of Alaskans, and ethically challenged, particularly when it comes to the management (or mismanagement) of bears and wolves.
Here I will point out two chief examples of a wildlife management system gone awry and only grown worse under Dunleavy.
First, for far too long, the state’s management of bears and wolves has included “predator control” programs that involve controversial and inhumane killing methods; management that widely respected, independent wildlife scientists have described as outdated, regressive, and scientifically indefensible.
At the core of this archaic and too often inhumane system is the Alaska Board of Game (BOG), which is supposed to serve the interests of all Alaskans — not to mention our state’s wildlife — but instead largely serves only the interests of hunters, trappers, and big-game guides, with an emphasis on “sport hunting” and trapping.
This unbalanced approach is reflected in the BOG’s makeup. In short, the board has had minimal diversity for far too long, despite the fact that established state statutes make it clear that “The governor shall appoint each member on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge, and ability in the field of action of the board and with a view to providing diversity of interest and points of view in the membership.”
It continues to amaze and frustrate me (and many other Alaskans) that, first, Gov. Dunleavy — and several governors before him, including Walker — has refused to honor both the spirit and the letter of that statute; and second, that members of the Alaska Legislature don’t insist on the mandated diversity and refuse to confirm any BOG appointees until the governor properly does his job.
I recognize that the legislature is a big part of the problem, but appointments to the BOG start with the governor.
This is not complicated stuff. Our elected state politicians have for far too long ignored or dismissed their responsibilities in this arena, which in turn has contributed greatly to a rigged system that, in some very important ways, continues to mismanage Alaska’s wildlife, particularly with its unacceptable and often unethical and inhumane predator-kill programs.
I am encouraged that Gara has emphasized his belief in “the importance of balance” on the BOG. Though he primarily stressed the need for better subsistence representation, I am sure he’ll also recognize the need for members who represent other interests as state statutes require, for instance, the tourism industry he so strongly supports and also those of wildlife watchers and photographers and others who are more interested in sharing the landscape with bears and wolves, rather than killing them for trophies and furs or as competitors.
Walker and Dunleavy have already had opportunities to act on behalf of Alaska’s state parks and our state’s wildlife and failed badly. Gara now deserves his chance. I’m sure he’ll do better.
Anchorage nature writer and wildlands/wildlife advocate Bill Sherwonit is a widely published essayist and the author of more than a dozen books, including “Living with Wildness: An Alaskan Odyssey” and “Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska’s Wildlife.” Readers wishing to send comments or questions directly to Bill may do so at akgriz@hotmail.com.
