Nick Jans

Seth Kantner wasn't putting down New York. He was warning against the loss of some of the nation's last wilderness.

The nation might sense the anguish of those whose lives lie in the path of the Gulf Coast disaster, but thanks to the Exxon Valdez, Alaskans know that hollow ache firsthand. We can only hope our loss isn't a harbinger of what awaits the people and wildlife of the Gulf. Their misfortune, though, might have spared Alaskans a new disaster.

I am a longtime hunter. Like many Alaskans, I was disturbed by the revelation that Department of Fish and Game personnel had killed 14 infant wolves this June on the Alaska Peninsula by shooting each one in the head.