1999-07-28                     Senate Journal                      Page 1815
SB 74                                                                        
Message dated and received July 9, stating:                                    
                                                                               
Dear President Pearce:                                                         
                                                                               
Under the authority vested in me by art. 2, sec. 15 of the Alaska              
Constitution, I have vetoed the following bill:                                
                                                                               
HOUSE CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 74(RLS)                                          
amH An Act relating to hunting on the same day                                 
airborne.                                                                      
                                                                               
Alaska voters made it clear in 1996 that any predator control                  
program to shoot wolves from the air could only be done as a last              
resort  when a biological emergency existed and no alternative                 
method for rebuilding the population was possible. This bill guts that         
citizens initiative by lowering the standards to allow bear and wolf           
control while weakening public oversight in that decision.                     
                                                                               
There is no evidence these changes are needed; the state's                     
professional game managers have not requested this derailment of               
strict standards to allow aerial predator control. The public has not          
asked for it; on the contrary, this bill defies public sentiment.              

1999-07-28                     Senate Journal                      Page 1816
SB 74                                                                        
We have come a long way since the disgraceful and indiscriminate               
wolf killings of 1994, which were done in the name of predator                 
control. Since then, we have initiated a new approach based on                 
sound science and management under standards defined by the                    
National Academy of Sciences, cost effectiveness, and enhanced                 
public involvement. This bill undermines this process and would only           
serve to lose public confidence in the state's overall wildlife                
management.                                                                    
                                                                               
					Sincerely,                                                                
					/s/                                                                       
					Tony Knowles                                                              
					Governor