Seward daily gateway., 1932-07-11
SERVICE
 POLICY IN ALASKA
Continued from Saturday.

The question, however, is not one primarily of the interest of the For est Service in game preservation, but rather one of need for protec- tion and how it can best be afford ed and the demands of local and national welfare be met at the same time. A conclusion on the need of protection shouldn't be un- duly influenced by a sentiment which blinds one to consideration of all other facts, but rather by a calm and unbiased analysis of the situation. The Forest Service has attempted such an analysis and has endeavored to chart it's course accordingly.
 In spite of some stories to the contrary the number of bears is not seriously increasing as the re- suit of wanton destruction by AL askans or overhunting by outside sportsmen. There may be fewer than formerly around the few small settlements in the heart of the bear country, as result partly of killing, but largely because the bears, which are not inclined to finger around centers of human activity, have been driven else where.
 The total population, white and Indian, within and adjacent to the range of the bear is only 3D. 900 or one person to three square miles, and most of these people live in towns, mining camps and fishing cetners and do not follow occupations that take them into the wild areas. Also the jungle like forests and brush areas, rough topography, and wet climate dis courage extended hikes and camp ing trips which would afford op- portunities to snipe at bears. The number of outdoor men in the bear country is extremely small, hundreds of miles of coastline be- ing practically uninhabite
 Furthermore, the outdoor popu- lation in the bear country for the past IS years has been less than formerly because of an exodus of prospectors with the dying down of the mining excitement and the moving out of construction crews lines in that region, and also be- upon the completed two railroad cause of the enforcement of the game laws which prohibits the sale of pelts.
 Federal officers, including mem bers of the Forest Service, who deal with Alaskan matters, have a great sentimental interests in the brown bear as one of the finest examples of wild life in the western hemi- phere. They cannot, however, con- scientiously support proposals and institute measures designed to fur sher some project in line solely with this one viewpoint, and which sphere. They cannot, however, con- alterations as bear hunting, other forms of recreation, and the de- velopment of natural resources, as, singly or combined, the latter usu- ally interest vastly greater num- Der of persons and in many cases represent the means of livelihood for present and future AlaSkans.
 The Forest Service looks on the brown bear chiefly as one of a number of resources whose man. agement should be co-ordinated in such way that the interests of all parties will be served. There is an aesthetic, scientific and hunt ing interest in brown bear, and all Of them can be reasonably cared for by a form of game administra- tlon that allows restricted hunt ing and provides other means to insure a sustained number of anil malls in the various sections of the
 SP ECIAL
 For one day only, next monday,