Field Reports

NATIONAL PARKS

Court boosts Glacier Bay

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Alaska’s ownership claims of the waters of Glacier Bay, one of the state’s most visited national parks and a popular cruise ship destination.

The ruling released Monday was praised by conservation groups as way to control cruise ship traffic that could threaten the bay’s marine wildlife. Gov. Frank Murkowski has lobbied to increase the number of cruise ships allowed in the bay.

The ruling ends a five-year lawsuit in which the state attempted to wrest control of Southeast Alaska’s waterways. Both federal and state governments had previously agreed to Alaska’s claims to about 80 percent of the submerged land in the region.

The Supreme Court ruled the state can’t claim, under the Alaska Statehood Act, land set aside by the federal government for the protection of wildlife, which includes Glacier Bay’s submerged lands.

The court also ruled against other submerged lands claims in Southeast Alaska made by the state.

Marcia Blaszak, National Park Service regional director for Alaska, said she was pleased the court recognized the federal ownership of the disputed waterways and said because of the decision there will be no changes in the management of the park.

However, she said, a study is under way to find out if more cruise ships in Glacier Bay will harm the wildlife there. A decision on whether to increase the number of ships into the park is expected in October.

Associated Press

BIRDWATCHING

Sibley Guide updated

Published copies of the fabulously popular Sibley Guide to Birds have a short tip of the hat to nine “extinct species” in the introduction.

Thanks to the Internet, artist and author David Allen Sibley was able to react quickly with a guidebook update upon the recent re-discovery of the ivory billed woodpecker.

Check it out at www.sibleyguides.com/ ivorybilled.pdf.

Rich Landers

BOATING

County projects funded

Spokane and Stevens counties are among eight in Washington receiving grants totaling more than $4 million, the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation announced this week.

The public boat launch at Silver Lake 15 miles west of Spokane will be improved and made accessible for people with disabilities with a $287,427 grant issued to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The department also received a $289,103 grant to improve the public boat access at Waitts Lake, 30 miles south of Colville.

Since 1965, the Interagency Committee has awarded about $90 million to local and state governments for 559 projects through the state’s Boating Facilities Program to accommodate state’s 250,000 boaters.

Rich Landers

HUNTING

Dakota pronghorns boom

Hunters will likely be able to shoot a lot more antelope in South Dakota this fall because the antelope population has vastly increased, particularly in the northwestern part of the state.

The South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Commission last week proposed a season that would boost the number of tags offered to nearly 20,000, about double the number from last year.

The commission will make a final decision on the antelope and East River deer seasons when it meets July 7-8 in Sioux Falls.

George Vandel, assistant state wildlife director, said the antelope population has recovered fully from the winter of 1996-1997, when harsh conditions decimated the animals.

The increase is particularly noticeable in Harding, Butte, Perkins and Meade counties, which hold an estimated 80 percent of South Dakota’s antelope population, Vandel said.

Drastic steps are necessary to stabilize or reduce that antelope population to prevent a huge dieoff should the next winter be severe, he said.

Associated Press

HUNTING

Bear hunters cited

Four men, including one from Washington state, have been charged in an illegal black bear hunt on Prince of Wales Island after an undercover investigation by Alaska and Idaho authorities posing as hunters, Alaska State Troopers say.

The men were arrested last month in the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan as they got off a commuter ferry bringing them back from the seven-day hunt.

The men face numerous misdemeanor criminal charges, including operating without a state guiding license, leaving carcasses to rot and taking more than the legal limit. More charges are expected to be filed, troopers said.

Authorities were tipped to the case in an e-mail that Gary Sanders of Goodyear, Ariz., was advertising his guiding services on the Internet, offering hunts for black bear in Alaska and deer in Idaho even though he’s not licensed to do so in either state, Waldron said. Sanders, 40, was convicted last year for unlicensed guiding in Idaho, Alaska authorities said.

Alaska and Idaho wildlife authorities worked together on the current case. An undercover officer from each state posed as a hunter and made online arrangements to join the excursion on the island about 140 miles south of Juneau.

Also along for the trip were were two other hunters and Robert Novak, 40, of Auburn, Wash., accused of working as Sanders’ assistant.

Associated Press

CAMPING

Video primes campers

A whimsical introduction to getting away from it all in a tent has been captured on a 26-minute video called “The Beginner’s Guide to Camping.”

The DVD shows how to choose a car-camping destination, select the proper gear, plan the trip, pack the car, set up the tent, and make the perfect s’more plus lots more. It’s filmed from the perspective of a camping enthusiast rather than that of a gear manufacturer.

The video retails for less than $20 and is sold through online outlets such as Amazon.com and in retail outlets such as REI.

Rich Landers