Wilderness--is it for the Birds??

Many folks in Alaska hate anything that has to do with protecting wilderness areas. They simply believe that land "locked up" as protected wilderness wastes opportunities for economic growth and development. Today, I heard a comment by an Alaskan that wilderness advocates and environmentally minded folks simply care "more about birds than people".
What I find interesting about this comment is that environmentalists, greenies, bunny-huggers--whatever you may call them are PEOPLE after all. So, if people are the ones passionately fighting for the wilderness, doesn't that easily make environmentalism a people issue??
It's ridiculous to believe that Alaskans will simply fall over and starve to death if their land is not developed. But what they really want is the opportunity to build bigger houses, drive more ATV's--to feed their wants and desires. Yet the poor environmentalist and his need to feed his soul with the wilderness is mocked. If one can not come to Alaska in order to live & experience the wilderness--what else is left for them ???