Living with Wildlife in Anchorage:
A Cooperative Planning Effort
Acknowledgments

Development of this plan would not have been possible without the commitment of many agencies and organizations which worked together over the past three years to address the wildlife issues of Anchorage. The full list of participants is included in Chapter 2 and speaks to the broad array of organizations and agencies who claim a stake in the future of Anchorage's wildlife, and who contributed substantively to this plan.

Individuals and agencies deserving recognition for their valuable, substantive contributions to the plan, as well as their perseverance, include (in no particular order): Malcolm Ford of the Anchorage Audubon Society; Karen Deatherage of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance; Evie Witten of The Great Land Trust; Ray Reekie and Patrick Wright of the Anchorage Fish & Game Advisory Committee; Thede Tobish of the Municipality of Anchorage, Community Planning & Development; Judi Ramage of the Chugach State Park Advisory Board; Al Meiners, Superintendent of Chugach State Park; Kate Wedemeyer and Tom Liebscher of U.S. Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base; Bill Gossweiler and Laurie Angell of U.S. Army, Ft. Richardson; and Karen Laing and Maureen de Zeeuw of the U.S. Fish and Widlife Service. These representatives consistently offered valuable insight and contributions to the substance of the plan and gave freely of their materials, time and good will at public meetings. Their expertise, dedication and patience are sincerely appreciated.

We extend our special thanks to the following individuals:

  • David Fulton (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), who structured the process, formed the group, and led the process through its first, critical year;
  • Maureen de Zeeuw (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), who gave generously of her time to incorporate photographs and professionally edit the manuscript;
  • Rick Sinnott (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), who shared his considerable expertise as Anchorage's Area Biologist;
  • Jonne Slemons (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), who managed the project; and
  • Doug Whittaker (Three Rivers Research, Inc.), who led the group and the process during the final two productive years, who maintained focus in the maelstrom, and who “brought it all together,” writing the lion's share of the final manuscript.

Finally, we thank the many members of the Anchorage public who attended both working meetings and public meetings; who took the time to call and write with their comments and suggestions; and for whom this plan is written.