Brown bears to become targets if they wander off sanctuary

Some of the most- photographed wild brown bears in the world are scheduled to be targets for guns.

The Alaska Board of Game has opened state lands next to the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary to hunting starting this fall. The 114,400-acre sanctuary is home to the largest congregation of brown bears on the planet.

The sanctuary, as well as the state lands to the south and southeast, have been closed to brown bear hunting for more than 20 years.

For 40 years, however, the sanctuary has been established to protect this rare bear activity area. And a strictly controlled bear viewing program has become one of the most coveted wildlife experiences in a state that’s not short of wildlife adventures.

When salmon begin their spawning runs up the McNeil, Alaska Fish and Game employees lead small groups of wildlife enthusiasts and photographers each day to designated pads to watch dozens of bears feast on fish.

Sometimes the huge bears pass within a few feet of the tourists as they come and go from the river. Up to 72 bears have been counted at one time fishing for salmon as the fish try to jump up through low waterfalls.

For decades, Larry Aumiller led these groups of awe-struck bear watchers, who can fly in and visit the sanctuary only after being selected in a lottery drawing.

But the former sanctuary manager quit his job and moved to Montana last year after the game board’s decision to allow hunting on the 95,000 acres of state land where the bears range before and after their salmon runs.

“To be honest, it was so heartbreaking, I just couldn’t be around it,” he said.

Hunt opponents say it’s not sporting to hunt the McNeil River bears, which are accustomed to humans and routinely amble harmlessly to within 10 or 15 feet of bear viewers.

Hunt supporters say the bears are fair game when they wander outside the sanctuary.

Even without hunting, the number of bears has been declining in recent years, according to Alaska Fish and Game surveys.

Aumiller fears for the bear population as well as for some of the individual bears that have become famous with McNeil visitors and staff.

One bear, nicknamed Teddy, has become so tolerant of humans she nurses her cubs just 10 feet from the viewing platform next to the falls.

But the state constitution requires that Alaska wildlife be managed for maximum benefit to Alaskans, said Game Board Chairman Ron Sommerville. The board decided that some lucrative hunting would not severely impact the established bear viewing.

Residents of Homer, which has a number of pilots, lodges and other businesses that cater to the McNeil bear viewing industry, are hoping that bills introduced in the Alaska Legislature will derail the hunting plans.

Under mounting pressure, the game board is expected to reconsider the issue at a meeting in March in Anchorage.

“Alaska has plenty of places where brown bears can be hunted without involving lands surrounding the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary,” said Dave Bachrach, a Homer-based bear-viewing guide.

The Alaska Professional Hunters Association Inc. has proposed keeping the state lands closed to hunting because of the bad publicity that could result by opening them, said Bobby Fithian, executive director.

As it is, he said, the McNeil sanctuary gets great publicity worldwide.