Governor Sarah Palin has an extreme anti-conservation record on issues ranging from global warming, energy and drilling to wildlife and habitat protection.
The History
When John McCain chose her as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund launched a swing state ad campaign to expose her anti-conservation record to the American public.
Defenders Action Fund ran two TV ads across six swing states, highlighting Palin’s support for the aerial killing of wolves and the McCain Palin ticket lost all six of those swing states. See Defenders Action Fund’s ads from the 2008 election.
Now Palin is back in Alaska pursuing her extreme anti-conservation agenda. The election might be over, but eyeonpalin.org will continue to shine a light on Palin’s record and her policies.
Aerial hunting of wolves and bears
Governor Palin is an active promoter of Alaska’s aerial hunting program whereby wolves are shot from the air or chased by airplanes to the point of exhaustion before the pilot lands the plane and a gunner shoots the animals point blank. The program also targets bears.
- Palin offered a $150 bounty for wolves to entice hunters to kill more wolves in certain parts of the state, with hunters having to present a wolf’s foreleg to collect the bounty.
- She actively opposed a ballot measure campaign seeking to end the aerial hunting of wolves by private hunters and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign aimed at swaying people’s votes on the issue.
- She also introduced legislation to make it easier to kill wolves and bears and which would have also removed the aerial hunting initiative from the ballot and block the ability of citizens to vote on the issue.
- The Board of Game, which she appoints, has approved the killing of black bear sows with cubs as part of the program and expanded the aerial control programs.
- The media and state officials are currently looking into reports that state officials implementing one of the aerial wolf killing programs illegally killed five-week old wolf pups just outside their dens.
Another Palin Falsehood…
“…this is about feeding Alaskans”
–Palin spokesperson
If that’s true Governor Palin…
- Why are sport hunter groups the biggest advocates of aerial hunting as opposed to advocates for the poor or hungry?
- Why does the Palin administration allow out of state hunters to hunt and directly compete with rural hunters for supposed limited resources in most of the areas where aerial hunting is done?
- Why does Palin oppose what is called “rural preference” which would give true rural subsistence hunters priority access over sport hunters to the areas where aerial hunting is conducted?
- Why did she file an appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block the Cheesh-na Tribal Council from expanding their subsistence hunting in key areas?
Aerial hunting is done by private citizens flown by private pilots in private planes. They get to keep and sell the skins of the wolves they kill. Some even pose for traditional hunting trophy shots.
Endangered Species
Palin has repeatedly opposed the listing of endangered animals under the Endangered Species List despite overwhelming scientific evidence that such listings are warranted.
Polar Bear
The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that loss of summer sea ice – crucial habitat for polar bears – could lead to the demise of two-thirds of the world’s polar bears by mid-century, including all of Alaska’s polar bears. The Bush administration has proposed listing the polar bears as threatened under the ESA to help protect polar bear habitat from threats such as oil and gas development.
Governor Palin has actively opposed the listing of the polar bear despite the fact that Alaska’s top marine mammal biologists agreed with the federal scientists who believed the bear should be listed. She wrote the Secretary of Interior urging him not to list the bear on the ground it might hurt the state’s oil- and gas-dependent economy. After the bear was listed, she filed suit seeking to overturn the listing of polar bears.
Beluga Whales
Alaska’s Cook Inlet beluga whales are a unique group of white whales whose numbers have dramatically declined in the past two decades due to pressures ranging from pollution to increased ship traffic. Governor Palin opposes the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whales, citing the listing as a threat to oil and gas development, despite their genetic uniqueness and the fact that their numbers have decreased from 1,300 in the 1980s to about 350 today. She has indicated her intention to file suit to block the listing.
Drilling
Palin is a strong supporter of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a vital wilderness area. It is home to hundreds of thousands of caribou who use the refuge as a calving ground, more than one million migratory birds, and countless other wildlife. It’s the most important onshore denning habitat for female polar bears. Palin is also a supporter of drilling in Bristol Bay and other offshore sites despite the risks to sensitive marine wildlife in the area, including the endangered polar bear and Beluga whale.