The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, September 11, 1951, Page 8

PAGE EIGHT ~ - Wildlife Service Predator Control Goes Modern; Lethal ‘Bomb’ Fires Death at Ly WINNIE WILLIAMS Destfuction of wolvi coyotes and other animals which prey on game in Alaska is going modern. The “coyote getter"—a north- | land version of a booby trap bomb | —is the blubber-and- supplanting stick method formerly used by Es-| kimos and Aleuts to rid their hunting grounds of predators. Even poison stations still used by the Fish and Wildlife Service are bowing to the “getter.” This was revealed today in the service's annual predator control report released by Maurice Kelly, in charge of predator and rodent control. How it Works The ‘“coyote getter,” an oral bomb designed to deal swift death to wolves and coyotes, has a head which extends about two inches aboye the ground. It is about an inch in diameter, and wound with * scented cloth. Inside is a charge | increased from less than 4,000 head | of éyanide. The head is attached to in 1948, Kelly’s report stated, to| five or six inches into the earth, inside of which is a cartridge attached to a trigger. When an animal pulls up on the bait, the trigger is released and the cartridge shoots cyanide into its mouth. “After that, death is a matter of a few minutes,” Kelly said. It is a long step from the Es- Kimo method of placing a curl- ed-up sharp stick in a frozen ball of seal blubber. The ball melts upon being gulped down, allowing the stick to snap out straight and puncture the ani- mal’s stomach. Wolves are old inhabitants of Alaska. George Steller, naturalist with Vitus Bering in 1741, recorded seeing wolf tracks in the Shuma- gin Islands. Coyotes, Kelly said, are more recent inhabitants—not seen until shortly before 1900. However, Kelly's report says, wolves .are still considered Al- aska’s chief predator with coy- otes second. But even wolverine attack caribou, mountain sheep and goats. The first report of their inroads into reindeer herds was received frem Selawik last winter. Five bears were listed as predators and shot last summer on Kodiak Island where they were molesting cattle. Of the 287 predators taken last year, 81 were coyotes, 201 wolves and the five bear. “Getters” ac counted for 136; poison 91, and 60 were shot. Kelly said _ that probably 130 more were killed by “getters” but a pipe driven His service counts only those whose| ,, bodies are recovered. Moose Take Up The effectiveness of “getters” has been demonstrated around Fairbanks and other northern ar- eas. Before they were introduced three years ago reports of legaljq,y chowed that of four bids re-| shooting of moose in the Forty- Mile country was three animals a season. Since the use of “getters” and consequent drop in the wolf and coyote population, the take rose to 18 last year. Saving of moose and caribou is among calves which fall easy prey to stalking predators. The Nelchina caribou herd has | | over 4,500 last year. After effective “getter” use in the Interior, Kelly is hopeful to introduce them into the upper | Copper River before long, where sheep and game ranges are vir- tually untouched by control work and where predators are numerous. “Of course,” Kelly pointed out, “we know -that. predator control alone will not save Alaska's game. | But we know that in areas where | it is in force, it is a positive fac- tor which brings immediate re; Last year the Territorial Sportsmen, Inc., of Juneau con- tributed $500 toward control in the Taku and Dyea valleys where deer are being planted un- der the federal aid program. Eight wolves were recovered from the Dyea Valley and five from Taku. Strychnine Here Strychnine stations are mostly used in Southeastern Alaska. Dur- ing the past year 116 such lethal stations were established and 28 re-baited. The take was 15 wolves in the Wrangell area; 17 at Ket- chikan and 7 at Craig. None was taken on “getters,” Kelly said, al- though 99 had been planted. Kel- ly said the on for this was ffiuina ‘llilrfine|-Bi;irs ¢ Opened in Denver ‘ Bids for the construction of a 4-mile tunnel, intake works, surge tank and penstock on the Eklutna | hydroelectric project near Anchor- age were opened in Denver, Colo., this morning. Information received by the Bu- reau of Reclamation office here to- ceived, the low was submitted by a combination of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Co., Coker, and Morrison-Knudsen for $17,348,865. This is approximately $4,000,000 less than the lowest bid received on the same project last June 25, Re- clamation officials said. The pre- sent low bid still exceeds engineers’ | mark. As our Wolves probably lack of training of per- sonnel making the sets. He said it | is hoped this year to have better success from them. “There is no reason they should not work as well in South- | eastern Alaska as in the Inter- ior,” Kelly said. He added that of 8} coyotes killed in the In- terior last year 66 were taken on “gette Of 201 welves, “get- ters” got 0. Safe to Humans Once a “getter” is planted, Kel- | ly pointed out, it can be stumbled over, walked over or kicked and it will not go off. “The only way they can be exploded is by a dir- ect upward pull.” He told of one section where after a “getter” line had been out 13 months it was still effective. “Predator control is new to Al- aska,” Kelly said, “but we are making progress each year. In 1949 only 116 predators were taken; last year we accounted for 287. This year we hope to better that personnel becomes more familiar with “getters” and we are able to broaden our spheres of activity, we look forward to a sharp drop in the marauding pop- ulation which preys on Alaska’s game.” Juneamhégrs‘figl Rehearsal Scheduled The Juneau Singers will be di- rected this year by Miss Marjorie Iverson, who returns to Juneau as director of choral music in the pub- lic schools. Mrs. Jane McMullin, who led the singers the past two years, will be piano accompanist. “We are very fortunate in having the leadership-of these two talented musicians,” says Will Reedy, presi- dent of the singers. did outstanding work with the school choruses last year and also assisted with the Juneau Singers. And we all enjoyed Mrs. McMullin’s leader- ship during the past two years; her contribution as accompanist will be just as valuable.” Miss Frances Paul is chairman of music committee for the coming year. The first rehearsal of the Juneau Singers will be held Sept. 20 at 8:45 p.m. at the Methodist church. There are no “try-outs” for membership. All persons in the Channel area who like to participate in choral singing are welcome to join, Reedy said. AT THE BARANOF Donald and Frank Johnston of Kirkland, Wash., are guests at the Baranof Hota! EASTERN STAR Home coming bers, escorts, dinner for mem- visiting members, ular meeting Juneau Chapter No. 7 at 8 p.m. Alice Brown, Secre- tary. 908-2t CLASSES STARTING Red Cross Nurses Aid Classes starting this month. Call 434. 906-tf estimates by about $7,000,000. YOUR LIFE (NSURANCE . . . “James J. Hill, tne great rail- road builder, once said that if a Young man wishes to be a fi- pancial success he must learn how to save. Otherwise he will surely fail. Very often a young man feels that he.ought to wait until he is earning more. But older men will tell him a really conven- jent time to start saving never comes. The best time to begin 1§ now, when his necessary ex- penses are probably much low- er than they will be later on. Many older men would also tell him that much of their fi- nancial worth today is the re- sult of their having bought life insurance when they were younger, and that they found it eagsier to pay insurance pre- miums regularly than not to have ‘some definite financial plan. As a first step towards fi- nancial success, consider a New York Life policy. Call, telephone or write Special Agent Keith 6. Wildes Member Million Dollar Round = Table Office in Shattuck Agency PHONE 601 NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 106 Years of Protection f widely known THE NUGGET o is Limited, so don't delay in making your gift selection in Alaska's most Gift Headquarters MANY, MANY OTHER EXCLUSIVE GIFTS Come in and Browse Around THE GIFT STORE of a thousand happy surprises! A New Shipment of Beautiful Orginal Exclusive Hand Painted Ties in unique Alaskan design has just arrived The PERFECT GIFT or the Man You Want to Please We have them exclusively and the supply SHOP “Miss Iverson | Tuesday, Sept. 11th, 6:30 p.m. Reg- | IStudents Leave on ‘Aleutian fo Enfer (Colleges in States | The southbound steamer Aleutian | | which left Sunday night, had as pas | sengers several Juneau people bound | for school in the states. Among them were: Rosemary Theile and Lynn Bod- | ding who were to enter their fresh- man years at the University of Ore- gon at Eugene. Both were graduates| of Juneau High School last spring. | ! Miss Theile was accompanied by her | | mother, Mrs. Karl Theile who is on | | vacation from the Office of Price | Stabilization and will visit in' San | Francisco before returning home. Miss Bodding is the daughter of | | Mr. and Mrs. Olaf Bodding. She plans to major in business adminis- | tration Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Zinck (Rob- erta Messerschmidt) who were mar- ried t Saturday evening, were ! returning to Washington State Col | : lege where Zinck is a senior and his | | bride will enter her sophomore year. | Donna Wood, daughter of Mr. and | Mrs. William A. Wood, was bound ! for her former home in Boise, Idaho, to begin studies in home economics at Boise Junior College. She was graduated with the 1951 class of Ju- neau High School. | Donald MacKinnon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. MacKinnon, was ‘enrnute to Corvallis, Ore., to enter { his first year at Oregon State Col- | lege. He is another 1951 Juneau | High School graduate and for his | first year in coljege will take a gen- | eral course, Doris Ann Bartlett, who has been | visiting in Juneau most of the sum- | mer with her mother, is the daughter | of Alaska’s Delegate to Congress, | E. L. (Bob) Bartlett. She was grad- ! uated from Anacostia High School in | Washington, D. C., last spring and will enter Middlebury College in | Vermont for her freshman year. She | plans to major in foreign languages. Another passenger bound for his | first year of higher education was] | Donald Burford who will start his | Tirst year at the University of Wash- | ington. He was accompanied by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bur ford. Hospital Nofes Admitted to St. Ann’s Hospital Monday were Jacob Aardal. Eusto- chio Binongeal, John Joseph; dis- missed were William Dick, Sgt. Chester Sfrohmyer. ] Born at St. Ann’s Hospital to | Mrs. Donald Vertin Monday at 10:12 am., a girl weighing 7 pounds 1 jounce; to Mrs. George Benesch at 18:35 p.m. Monday, a boy weighing 7T pounds 10 ounces. Admitted to the Government Hos- | pital Monday was Johanna Peck of | Sitka; dismissed was Daisy Crans- ton of Juneau. | Pl S ‘i FROM KETCHIKAN i _ Elmer G. Johnson of Ketchikan | is registered at the Baranof Hotel. THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA 3 Polio (ases Hit Fairbanks Since Aug. 21 Three cases of poliomylitis have TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1951 Amateur Golf | _ Champ Whipped | AT STEVENS, been reported from Fairbanks BETHLEHEM Pa., Sept. 11—{®— since Aug. 21, the Alaska Depart-| Willie Turnesa, twotime national - ment of Health revealed today.|amateur golf champion, failed to ® © & o o 0i~(30ul'se.' This brings the total in the Ter- ritory to 12 for the summer. All were reported as non-par- alytic. Illness of Mrs. Jane Simp- son was diagnosed as polio last week. Others were Frances Con- way, 11, and William Simpson, 7. Two cases of the disease were survive his first match in the 1951 amateur championship today when | he took a 3 and 2 beating from | youthful William Picard of Charles- ton, 8. C. Turnesa, penalized a hole for ar- riving late at the starting tee, never really got started as he went over par on the last three holes of the front nine and lost the first three coming back. Picard, 19-year-old son of the vet- | eran pro, Henry Picard, ended the reported from Fairbanks earlier in the summer, five from Nome, and two from Ketchikan. Last year the number of cases increased the end of September to hit - a high in October, records show. | match on the 16th which they halv- ed in par fours. It Costs Only $1.50 Extra To Get This Label In Your Coat & It means NEW Rainwear for OLD [ Our guaranteed “Cravenette” reproofing restores water. repellency so_tha again shed showers exactly as it did when new. Naturally, your coat must first be drycleaned to remove soil and improve appearance. SAY “CRAVE TRIANGLE "for better appearance” ‘ PHON | | D-WAY TEST PROVES mEH[“HY JUNEAU MOTOR CO. 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