Informant38

the cash:

Conservation groups today asked an Alaska judge to immediately stop the state from paying a bounty for dead wolves.
The new state program aims to boost wolf kills by paying aerial gunners and pilots $150 for the left foreleg of wolves.
[...]
State officials last week said the "incentive program" - designed to boost wolf kills this spring - is not a bounty because it’s being offered to a select group of people for a select time and will yield scientific information. Past bounty programs were more widespread, they argued.
State officials said they shifted to the new program because this winter's wolf-kill program is behind schedule and the snow that allows pilots to track wolves is melting.
The predator-control program was begun four years ago to boost moose numbers.

Anchorage Daily News 27.Mar.07
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Moose numbers being a given good, and not needing a cause, a "moose numbers are important because". Except what that is is hunters killing moose for sport provide large amounts of cash to the Alaskan tourist economy. It has nothing to do with regard for moose, or the health of moose populations in their natural place, or Alaska or Alaskans. It's about the money.
Oh and that part about the snow is melting...
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But reduced sea ice is causing massive damage in coastal communities because it no longer provides a buffer to damaging ocean waves, said Partain from the National Weather Service.
It doesn't take a scientist to notice that, now, if the wind blows at 30 knots in Barrow, you need a gravel berm to protect the roads. That wasn't the case in the past, Partain said.
Not only are coastal Native villages at risk, but the sea-level rise is causing saltwater intrusion in low-lying rivers in the Yukon-Kuskowkim region, he said.
The National Weather Service is also recording more variable and unpredictable weather. Though Anchorage and Fairbanks had near record snow years this winter, the snow is melting very rapidly, Partain said.
Rapid melt off doesn't penetrate the ground but instead flushes into the streams and rivers. That won't be good for the state's fire season, he said.
Fisheries are another economic engine that could get swamped. Alaska's fisheries provide half of the country's seafood.

SIT/Anchorage Daily News 14.Apr.07
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Defenders of Wildlife