WASILLA -- The state Department of Fish and Game is considering splitting the state's most populous region to make wildlife management more efficient.

Mat-Su Fish and Game Advisory Committee members support the move. They believe it would allow more focused attention on issues that are important in the region and reduce overall workload for employees.

In a draft letter to state officials supporting the split, Advisory Committee Chairman Stephen W. Darilek called the Anchorage office "a 'mega-region' with eight area offices, an increasingly urbanized local constituency and nearly 70 percent of the state's human population within the region."

Region 2 includes the Valley, Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, but it also stretches west to encompass Cordova, Glennallen and land up to the Canada border, then east and south to include Dillingham, the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak.

"We definitely seem to have different agendas coming from the backcountry and the Mat-Su Valley than (Anchorage does) when we go to speak to them in Region 2. We're not getting our full attention that's due," Darilek said.

Doug Larsen, the Wildlife Conservation Division director for the state Fish and Game Department, said the division always strives to do what's best for the resource -- in this case, the wildlife. It can be difficult to tailor those needs to different communities, but the department does that all over the state.

"When you're in one community versus another, there's always going to be a different viewpoint, different needs and desires, given the different geographical needs," Larsen said.

But in Region 2, some of the differences in opinion are glaring. In Anchorage and Kenai, for example, nuisance wildlife is a big focus. In more rural communities, including the Valley, predator management like bear populations and wolf control is a primary concern. Aerial wolf hunting has sparked protests in Anchorage, but for some parts of Region 2 biologists believe the practice helps keep other wildlife populations healthy.

Other differences come down to money and resources. About one quarter of the state wildlife division jobs are held in Region 2. The area gets about 32 percent of the division's annual budget for wildlife management and research, Larsen said.

"With the Mat Valley growing the way it has, with Anchorage being the largest population in the state, one of issues is insufficient resources," Larsen said.

There's always a need for more funding for research and more employees. Darilek said hunters and sportsmen outside Anchorage often think the money they contribute to wildlife conservation gets lost in the shuffle.

Larsen said splitting the region is not the only option being considered.

Department employees are looking at concerns raised about how wildlife management works in the region. Larsen said he expects a report on those concerns in the next few weeks.

With that in hand, department officials will begin talks about how to solve them. Maybe splitting is a solution, he said. Or maybe not. Perhaps there are other ways to address the concerns raised, he said.

"We've obviously heard the concerns. Now let's see if we can't sort out what those different concerns are and, rather than jumping on a solution, let's back up and find out what issues need to be addressed," he said.