Wolf hunting will resume Monday near Denali National Park and Preserve despite calls from conservationists to reinstate a “wolf buffer” near the park.
Alaska’s Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten closed the season at in May in an area to the north and east of the park after reports that two wolves were legally shot in the area.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports that the issue stems from a 2010 decision by the Board of Fame that removed a buffer zone around the northeast area of Denali National Park where wolf hunting and trapping was banned.
The buffer-zone debate has resurfaced as the park’s wold population wanes. A recent report from the National Park Service showed 48 wolves living in Denali, down from more than 100 ten years ago.
