Two federal agencies this week took steps to increase hunting and trapping on several national preserves in Alaska and in the popular Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
The moves drew alarm from conservation groups who said the new rules will support extreme measures to kill predators and their young in national preserves in Alaska. They said a proposed rule change would allow brown bear baiting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge for the first time.
Alaska leaders praised the changes, and hunting groups and a tribal consortium said the new rules will support sport and subsistence hunters in the national preserves.
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in separate statements that their actions are designed to align federal and state law.
In the broadest action, the park service announced a final rule that will roll back 2015 prohibitions, adopted under President Barack Obama, affecting hunting and trapping in national preserves in Alaska.
The agency manages 10 preserves in the state, including at Denali National Park and Preserve, where the preserve lies west of the park.
Park lands would not be affected by the new rule, the agency said. The new rule should be published in the Federal Register at the end of the month, said Peter Christian, a spokesman with the agency in Alaska.
He said the new rules are designed to allow hunters to take:
• Black bears, including cubs and sows with cubs, with artificial light at den sites.
• Black and brown bears over bait.
• Wolves and coyotes, including pups, during the denning season.
• Swimming caribou.
• Caribou from traveling motorboats.
“These harvest practices would be allowed in national preserves where authorized by the state of Alaska,” Christian said.
In a statement, Defenders of Wildlife called the plans part of an “onslaught” against wildlife by the Trump administration. They allege that the state wants to increase game populations by driving down carnivore numbers, and they say the federal changes are meant to support that effort.
“The Trump administration has shockingly reached a new low in its treatment of wildlife," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “Allowing the killing of bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens is barbaric and inhumane.”
by Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News | Read more:
Image: Bob Hallinen /ADN archive
[ed. Unbelievable.]
The moves drew alarm from conservation groups who said the new rules will support extreme measures to kill predators and their young in national preserves in Alaska. They said a proposed rule change would allow brown bear baiting in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge for the first time.
Alaska leaders praised the changes, and hunting groups and a tribal consortium said the new rules will support sport and subsistence hunters in the national preserves.
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in separate statements that their actions are designed to align federal and state law.In the broadest action, the park service announced a final rule that will roll back 2015 prohibitions, adopted under President Barack Obama, affecting hunting and trapping in national preserves in Alaska.
The agency manages 10 preserves in the state, including at Denali National Park and Preserve, where the preserve lies west of the park.
Park lands would not be affected by the new rule, the agency said. The new rule should be published in the Federal Register at the end of the month, said Peter Christian, a spokesman with the agency in Alaska.
He said the new rules are designed to allow hunters to take:
• Black bears, including cubs and sows with cubs, with artificial light at den sites.
• Black and brown bears over bait.
• Wolves and coyotes, including pups, during the denning season.
• Swimming caribou.
• Caribou from traveling motorboats.
“These harvest practices would be allowed in national preserves where authorized by the state of Alaska,” Christian said.
In a statement, Defenders of Wildlife called the plans part of an “onslaught” against wildlife by the Trump administration. They allege that the state wants to increase game populations by driving down carnivore numbers, and they say the federal changes are meant to support that effort.
“The Trump administration has shockingly reached a new low in its treatment of wildlife," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “Allowing the killing of bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens is barbaric and inhumane.”
by Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News | Read more:
Image: Bob Hallinen /ADN archive
[ed. Unbelievable.]
