LAST EDITED ON Mar-19-10 AT 07:33AM (MST)[p]I would have to agree that things can be spooky in Alaska; however, just because you are an Alaska resident doesn't mean you know squat about survival and how to deal with AK conditions and bears. I've spent time in Anchorage and it is a big city and there are likely a lot of city slicker Anchorage residents that could potentially be just as lost in the outdoors as nonres. I have seen some pretty funky things by AK residents in the time I've spent in Alaska!
If AK was really concerned about search and rescue costs they would require ALL hunters to pass some type of survival class before hunting. You would have a hard time convincing me why I can legally hunt caribou, moose, and sitka deer in the same country where there are loads of brown bears but I can't hunt dall sheep, mtn goats, brown bear etc without a guide? I can legally camp, hunt, and shoot a sitka deer and sling the bloody carcass over my shoulder in brown bear country but I can't hunt several species in the same country without a guide?
Right now AK nonres don't have the chance to experience hunting the species listed above unless they are willing to fork out the cash for a guided hunt. Doesn't seem fair to me....just like the Wyo guide in wilderness law there is something stinky going on!