27,000 (NYE*) at Pro Wolf Rally at Capitol in Juneau

About 100 people showed up at a pro-wolf rally to protest the State  policy of killing predators to increase the moose and caribou population for human hunters. That may not seem like a lot, but using *NYE  (New York Equivalency) a measure I created to give Outsiders a sense of proportion for understanding Alaskan crowds, 100 people in Juneau, with a population of 30,000, is about the same as 27,000 people showing up for a demonstration in New York City.

Speakers decried the selection of  Corey Rossi the new head of the Division of Wildlife Conservation.  One speaker said he'd been involved with the Board of Game for over 30 years and there'd been many highly qualified Directors, some even with PhD's in relared fields.  But Rossi, he said, without even a bachelor's degree was totally unqualified.  Sen. Hollis French mentioned a member of the Board of Game as citing the Book of Genesis as the basis for for his wildlife management decisions.

Here are some pictures of the rally that began about two hours ago.  I'll post video later today.

John Toppenberg of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance.

Some of the speakers included Joel Bennett, Greg Brown, Andrea Doll, Alex Simon, John Toppenberg, Vic Van Ballenberghe, Rep. Beth Kerttula, and Sen. Hollis French.  Video later.

Update Monday March 29: Video now available here.