266 Alaskan Science Conference 



extremely hard to get facts before the public. Too often the 

 subject of predation, with all its heated repercussions, beclouds 

 the real problem and draws attention and enthusiasm way from 

 the fundamental ecological basis for management. 



In the final analysis, should wildlife management be an 

 isolated field apart from other public planning? Conversely, 

 should commercial fisheries, agriculture, any one business ven- 

 ture, be planned and established as special fields of endeavor, 

 apart from each other, and apart from wildlife management? 

 And should wildlife management be pursued without con- 

 sideration of all the facets of recreation? We are discovering 

 that a single field of planning can not be successful in the demo- 

 cratic sense if it exists with complete indifference toward other 

 fields. The conservation effort today has taken new direction. 

 The emphasis lies in a widespread plea for integration of the 

 many phases of public planning. The earnest plea is for sym- 

 pathetic consideration for each interest that may be in conflict 

 with another. Especially, the plea is for the elimination of 

 political bias from planning, for a sharing of opportunity, for 

 democracy. 



Wildlife planning for Alaska is part of a wider endeavor. It 

 is being recognized that mountains, streams, forests, and wild- 

 life are an important part of human environment, which con- 

 tribute in diverse ways to the many kinds of human aspirations 

 and enjoyment. Physical welfare alone, of material goods and 

 opportunities for individual accumulation of dollars, are use- 

 less without the opportunity for contentment in a suitable 

 environment. 



To be more specific, planning for wildlife in Alaska involves 

 a procedure that completely ignores the spirit of personal ex- 

 ploitation of resources. It means careful study of land use 

 possibilities, on a regional basis, with an eye to determining 

 what areas are best fitted for agriculture, what localized places, 

 if any, are suitable for national parks, which should be left in 

 a primitive state for the wilderness type of recreation. Several 

 of these needs, especially in the diverse field of recreation, can 

 be combined in the same area, provided that the management 



