After 18 months of work, the Unit 4 Brown Bear Management Team recently released a final Management Strategy report for brown bear on Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof islands in northern Southeast Alaska. The comprehensive report makes recommendations affecting a broad range of issues and user groups. The process we used promotes reaching consensus to provide for a broad range of uses while maintaining healthy and accessible non-habituated brown bear populations. This sort of result is all too rare in Alaska where wildlife uses can become polarized. My hope is that this approach will serve as an example for reaching consensus on predator management issues elsewhere in the state.
Members are from both large and small communities.
Copies of the 100-page report can be viewed at local libraries. All Rights Reserved.