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Sunday evening, May 21, 2006, spotting waterfowl with my binoculars during a quiet evening on the lake I saw a young man exhibiting some unusual behavior. He was crouched down inside a boat pointing what looked like a short black pole, then he would stand up and look back at the shore, squat down again and point the pole again. The fact that he kept repeating this action, and looking back at the shore seemed strange. It was unnatural. Most people fishing on the lake seem oblivious to what is happening on shore. They seem to in their own zone, concentrating, preoccupied. This kid seemed to be concerned that someone could see him.

I zoomed the binoculars in for a closer look. He was holding some kind of rifle, or shotgun, and would squat down and point it toward the water. Within a minute he would fire a round, stand up and pump the action of the gun, look back over his shoulder towards the houses then squat down and shoot again! Good grief, I was horrified! I couldn’t figure out what his target was, let alone think about the safety issues of shooting into a public lake. So, heart pounding, I settled in to watch and figure out what was going on.

In a few minutes a Red Necked Grebe swam into full view in front of his boat. The boy took aim and shot at the Grebe, water splashed and the duck disappeared under the surface! Stunned at what I just saw I faced a dilemma about what to do. Should I take action and go confront the boy? This might not be a wise choice since I did not know him and I was alone. What he was doing seemed wrong, but was it? I am new to the lake and even though I didn’t like what I saw, it might be legal. I told myself to calm down and think.

About this time my common sense took over and I decided to check out my facts before I took action. I found out several things from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. First, there are no open hunting seasons at this time. Second, the Red Necked Grebe is a protected species and cannot be hunted at any time, ever! Third, I was advised to call the Alaska State Troopers the next time I observe this illegal activity. And, believe me, I will!

But, first we will speak to the boy’s parents and hopefully enlighten everyone to what could become a serious situation. Please, parents, teach your children to respect nature and to learn about, and obey the regulations protecting our precious resources including the protection of wildlife and waterfowl. And, I ask all of you as you read this to please pray for us, pray for wisdom and guidance as we deal with this difficult issue. Thank you.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 12:39 am and is filed under Birds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.