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Trump Administration Forces National Park Service To Weaken Its Hunting Regulations In Alaska

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National Park Service forced to relax hunting regulations in national preserves in Alaska/NPS file

The National Park Service is relaxing hunting regulations in national preserves in Alaska/NPS file

In a move critics say runs contrary to the National Park Service's mission to manage for naturally-functioning ecosystems and processes, the agency in Alaska is relaxing its hunting and trapping prohibitions in national preserves so they'll align with the state's regulations. 

Three years ago Interior Department officials told the Park Service to relax their regulations in Alaska.

While acting National Park Service Director David Vela said the new regulations "will support the (Interior) Department's interest in advancing wildlife conservation goals and objectives, and in ensuring the state of Alaska’s proper management of hunting and trapping in our national preserves," National Parks Conservation Association President Theresa Pierno said the adopted regulations will not only harm bears and other wildlife but also deprive visitors of seeing some of these animals in the wild.

“National preserve lands at Denali, Katmai, Gates of the Arctic and others are the very places where people travel from around the world, in hopes of seeing these iconic animals, alive in their natural habitat," she said. "Through this administration’s rule, such treasured lands will now allow sport hunters to lure bears with greased donut bait piles to kill them, or crawl into hibernating bear dens to shoot bears and cubs. Shooting hibernating mama and baby bears is not the conservation legacy that our national parks are meant to preserve and no way to treat or manage park wildlife.” 

Back in 2017, the Interior Department ordered the Park Service to reconsider wildlife regulations that were at odds with hunting and trapping regulations enforced by the state of Alaska. The order, signed by Virginia Johnson, then Interior's acting assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, directed the Park Service to reconsider rules it adopted in October 2015 concerning hunting and trapping on national preserves in Alaska where sport hunting is allowed. Under those regulations, hunters on national preserves could not:

  • Use bait (donuts, grease-soaked bread, etc.) to hunt bears;
  • Use of artificial light to spotlight dens to kill black bears; and
  • Kill bear cubs or sows with cubs.
  • Take wolves and coyotes (including pups) during the denning season (between May 1 and August 9)

  • Take swimming caribou
  • Take caribou from motorboats under power
  • Take black bears over bait
  • Use dogs to hunt black bears

"I have concluded that it would be prudent to reassess the need for the rule and give further consideration to certain elements," wrote Ms. Johnson in a memo to Mike Reynolds, then the Park Service's acting director. "I anticipate that you will focus this recommendation on certain aspects of the rule that I believe are particularly worthy of additional review. Most notably, these include the various prohibitions that directly contradict State of Alaska authorizations and wildlife management decisions, thereby potentially reducing opportunities for sport hunting and commercial trapping on National Park Service lands."

Under the rule change announced Wednesday, the Park Service removed those 2015 prohibitions on harvest practices. The changes apply to national preserves in the state, such as the preserve sections of Wrangell-St. Elias, Denali, Katmai national parks as well as Yukon-Charley and Gates of the Arctic national preserves.

In announcing the change, the Park Service said the new rule "affirms the state of Alaska’s role in wildlife management on Alaska national preserves, consistent with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and Department of the Interior policies guiding the federal-state relationship in the management of fish and wildlife." 

“Today’s announcement confirms the sovereign authorities the state has with respect to managing wildlife on our national preserve lands. This is a step towards acknowledging Alaska’s rightful control over fish and wildlife resources all across the state,” added Alaska Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy. “Hunting and responsible management of wildlife are an integral part of the Alaskan lifestyle and this will further align hunting regulations on the federal level with those established by the State of Alaska for the benefit of Alaskans.”

But Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, said the Park Service has the authority to manage wildlife within parks and preserves. 

“We are appalled by the Secretary of the Interior’s decision to adopt these cruel and unsportsmanlike hunting practices on National Park Service preserve lands in Alaska. The Coalition supports legally authorized sport and subsistence hunting in national preserves in Alaska; however, it must be regulated by practices that align with long delineated NPS laws, regulations, and policies," said Francis. "Techniques such as killing bear sows with cubs at den sites or harvesting brown bears over bait are clearly inappropriate within units of the National Park System. The Organic Act, which established the National Park Service, mandates that the NPS manage native wildlife populations to maintain the natural abundance, diversity, and distribution of those populations in ALL park units throughout the country, including in Alaska. This means allowing natural predator-prey relationships and population dynamics to occur, rather than removing the predators through objectionable hunting practices.

"Secretary Bernhardt’s decision to force the NPS to adopt these hunting practices at national preserves in Alaska is ill-considered, politically motivated, poorly justified, and antithetical to the national values which are so clearly stated in the NPS Organic Act," he added. "In total, up to 20 million acres of preserves could be affected as well as up to 8 million acres of Congressionally-designed Wilderness Areas. This issue cuts to the core of the important national values of our country that the NPS is mandated to protect for all Americans."

In preparing an environmental assessment on the rule change, Park Service staff relied on the state of Alaska's position that increased hunting of the predators would not have an overall impact on their populations. But the regulatory changes likely would reduce opportunities for wildlife viewing and degrade wilderness character in the preserves, the Park Service added in its assessment of the rule changes.

The EA also noted that bears drawn to baits could become habituated to human foods and so possibly turn into problem bears.

"The proposed action would also result in conditioning of bears in areas where bear baiting occurs to human foods, which could lead to altered behaviors at a local scale that have the potential to increase the likelihood that more bears are taken in defense of life and property," it said.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife, said Wednesday that "(T)he Trump administration has shockingly reached a new low in its treatment of wildlife. Allowing the killing of bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens is barbaric and inhumane. The proposed regulations cast aside a primary purpose of national preserves to conserve wildlife and wild places.”

But U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said "(T)his final rule protects Alaska’s hunting and fishing traditions and upholds longstanding states’ rights. I thank the Department for bringing the rule into alignment with Alaska’s statutes and regulations and restoring Alaska’s authority to determine the best practices for wildlife management on all Alaska lands.”

And Victor Joseph, chief and chairman of the Tanana Chiefs Conference that represents 42 tribes, said the "previous rule was implemented without adequate tribal consultation, in disregard to rural Alaska's dependence on wild food resources. The previous limitations enacted in 2015, threatened our way of life and our centuries long sustainable management practices. Tanana Chiefs Conference supports these revisions.” 

The Park Service release announcing the changes said the 2015 harvest prohibitions "were not required for conservation purposes and removing them will not result in significant impacts to park resources nor the maintenance of healthy wildlife populations in national preserves. The NPS retains the authority to close areas in national preserves to hunting under federal law where there is a conservation concern or for public safety, use and enjoyment."

The rule, “Sport Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves in Alaska,” is to be published in the Federal Register next week. After the proposed rule publishes, it can be found at www.regulations.gov by searching for “1024-AE38.” The final rule will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The NPS released an environmental assessment (EA) for public review and comment in September 2018. In support of the final rule, the NPS has released a revised EA and Finding of No Significant Impact, available at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/AKROWildlifeEA.

Comments

Alaska is the last vast wilderness. Tth wild animala need to be protected from human beings.  It is outrageous to even think about harming them in any way.  I strongly protest any ideas of sacrificing animals for any reason.

 


As a park ranger in an Alaskan national park,  this is sad news indeed. Hunting  bears over bait goes against everything we strive to teach the public  about not habituating bears and presents a danger to other park visitors who may run into these habituated bears. The hunters in our area who apply for these tags are not local subsistence users, but generally temporary residents attached to the various military bases. And it seems to me that hunting bears or wolves with offspring in their dens should be just plain wrong. I do understand though, about ANILCA provisions and generally support them, except in this particular instance. Alaskan parks ARE different.

 


Bernhardt is nothing but a paid for political operative, with no regard for our Federal Heritage Lands and the sanctity of our National Parks. All these resources are at risk as long as he is in his current posistion. I encourage everyone to write their congresspersons and object to this travesty of overreach by Interior's leader.


None of this makes sense at all, we will be taking food off the table of the sustenance hunters and depriving our land of it's natural resources. It's all too obvious the federal government aka white house has a few personal favors to pay for as he runs for another term. He will soon open up more federal land in our national park system for oil to fulfill the promises to his cronies. I for one will not be voting in favor of this ridiculous act in the fall. It's time to move on!


This is a travesty and a moral sin against nature. I cannot begin to list the ways in which this is so wrong. It is just one more sordid reason we have to remove this madman and his cronies from office in Novemember. But what do we do about the animals and ecosystem suffering this fate in the mean time? My hope is that Alaskans stand up and make this crime against nature be heard loud and clear for the rest of the country. We are witnessing disaster capitalism in full bloom!


Gerry, you do realize all the administration has done is make the regs the same as the rest of the state.  If you want Alaskans to "stand up" it should be against their own government.  I agree some of the practices such as baiting and killing cubs are far from sporting.  Why just protect those in a National Park?


No! Please don't allow hunters to kill wolf pups and bear cubs for trophy huntings, because it's very naughty! This is upsetting! These mother bears and wolves won't have anymore babies if you kill more like that, so please don't do it! Humans should leave these beautiful animals in peace!


I am not quite sure what to take as gospel here for on one hand, leftists have cried wolf so much that I do not want to believe anything they say. On the other hand, I find it quite difficult to see any benefit to the true sport hunting populace or this in any way might be some sort of political favor. Anyone cowardly enough to take the life of any animal while it is sleeping or feeding is in my opinion, one lousy and idiotic "Hunter".

There surely must be more to this story as simply opening season on resources makes no sense to me.


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