Dear Governor Murkowksi:

I am the director of the Bear Education And Resource Group, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to fostering peaceful coexistence between black bears and people.

Last year, members of my organization visited Alaska and were very impressed with the stunning mountains and beautiful wilderness. We were thrilled to see bald eagles, moose, wolves, and grizzly bears (which we unfortunately do not have in New Jersey!). Most tourists to Alaska come for the very same reason…to see unspoiled wilderness and wild animals.

It was with much dismay that I learned that Alaska is now allowing the aerial hunting of wolves. Don’t you realize that wolves and other animals are the primary “tourist attractions” in Alaska? No amount of hunting money can ever equal the tourist dollars that they generate. There are so few places in our country where one can go to see these magnificent animals. Please stop this unnecessary and unethical killing immediately. As governor, I hope you will make preservation of the environment and its inhabitants a top priority. Otherwise, your state will become like all the rest”¦overdeveloped, with no room for or tolerance of the beautiful animals who were here first.

My organization has cancelled the trip we had scheduled for this August, to support the boycott of Alaska tourism caused by the wolf hunt. I was hesitant to deprive the wonderful eco-tourism company we use of anticipated income, but in light of the wolf hunt boycott, we simply cannot justify spending our money in Alaska.

Please do everything in your power to stop this senseless killing.

Thank you,

Lynda M. Smith
Director, the Bear Education And Resource Group

This letter, posted with permission, was sent to Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski to alert him to the cancelation of a five-day bear-watching expedition scheduled for August. The organization will spend their travel dollars elsewhere, out of support for the Alaska tourism boycott.