Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
March 2010

Tasers for Moose and Bears
Alaska Explores Law Enforcement Tool for Wildlife

By Elizabeth Manning

Law enforcement officers have long used Tasers, generally known as electronic control devices, to safely subdue humans. But what about using them on wildlife?

Some wildlife managers might have wondered about the concept, but until recently no one had seriously investigated using the electronic immobilization guns as a wildlife management tool.

That attitude now could be changing due to groundbreaking work by Larry Lewis, a wildlife technician with the Alaska Department of Fish ...   Tasers for Moose ArticleContinued


The Wood Bison Roundup

By Cathie Harms, Randy Rogers, Bob Stephenson and Rita St. Louis

"Ready?” whispers Mike Taras, head of the gate crew.

Wood bison cow #36 moves forward through the series of chutes. Like clockwork, heavy steel gates are slid open and closed by team members to allow her to pass to the scale.

Dr. Robert Gerlach, state veterinarian, nods his head, and the final gate is opened to let cow #36 leave the scale and enter the hydraulic squeeze chute where she is held safely. There a team of veterinarians, technicians and wildlife biologists gives ...   Wood Bison Roundup ArticleContinued


The Saltwater Sport Fish Charter Logbook
New Changes for 2010

By Dora Sigurdsson

Sportfish charter boat guides in Alaska are required to provide information on their clients' catches to fisheries managers. The data from logbooks are compiled to show where fishing effort occurs, the extent of participation, and the species and numbers of fish kept and released by individual clients. This information is used for regulation and the development and management of fisheries, for project evaluation, and for formulation of department policies and priorities that reflect angler needs, ...   The Charter Logbook ArticleContinued


No Monkeys Allowed

By Riley Woodford

Alaska will essentially be a monkey-free zone, thanks to recent actions by the state Board of Game

I can appreciate the attraction of an exotic pet. When I was a 10-year-old kid in Oregon I desperately wanted an ocelot. An ocelot seemed like a super-cool giant housecat. It never occurred to me it might deliver dead opossums and raccoons to the doormat. Or that it could trash the house and go feral. My folks nixed the ocelot so we had tabbies instead, and between cats we had parakeets, ...   No Monkeys Allowed ArticleContinued