Summary: The National Park Service has officially rescinded restrictive federal rules, restoring longstanding state-authorized hunting and trapping on Alaska’s national preserves. This decision marks a major regulatory and legal victory for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation following a decade-long effort to protect hunters’ and trappers’ rights.
On October 19, the National Park Service (NPS) (1) rescinded prior rules that preempted methods of state-authorized fish and wildlife harvests and (2) revised, codified, and established procedures for restricting public access and activities on Alaska park lands. Specifically, the rule restores longstanding state-authorized hunting and trapping regulations on Alaska’s national preserves, including the use of bait to attract and take bears and the expanded use of firearms to take furbearers.
A Victory for Sportsmen
“This final rule restores longstanding National Park Service interpretations of law, policies, and regulations adopted to implement the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act,” said Torin Miller, Associate Litigation Counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “For over three decades, this regulatory framework has proven effective. The final rule removes unnecessary restrictions on bear hunting and trapping, and it ensures any hunting closures are properly noticed and that local input is considered. We welcome these changes.”
Alignment With State Regulations and Public Input
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) commented on the proposed rule. SAF pushed to remove changes made through 2015, 2017, and 2024 rules. Those rules insulated federal land managers from public involvement. They also removed required state consultation and enabled discretionary closures.
Importantly, the final rule aligns state and federal regulations. It answers public requests for action and advances multiple Executive Orders and Secretarial Orders. Furthermore, the NPS restores and maintains authority to restrict public access, entry, and uses only for lawful purposes.
Specifically, SAF supports removing the 2015 Rule on using bait to attract or take bears on national preserves in Alaska. The agency also streamlined the definitions in 36 C.F.R. 13.1 by removing unnecessary wording.
A Decade-Long Legal Battle by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation
SAF has fought NPS preemption rules in Alaska for over a decade. We opposed the 2015 Rule directly. In 2017, SAF petitioned the NPS to repeal it and restore the pre-2015 regulations. That petition highlighted the success of decades-old wildlife management procedures across the state and federal lands, including NPS lands.
SAF also opposed the 2017 Rule. We again expressed concerns about State preemption and take prohibitions based on ideology rather than science. A 2020 Rule answered our calls for rescission of the 2015 and 2017 Rules. However, animal-rights extremists quickly challenged the 2020 Rule.
SAF secured intervenor status to defend hunters, trappers, and conservationists. The courts eventually vacated that rule and dismissed the case as moot after NPS launched its new rulemaking process. This let to today’s rule.
The legacy of hunting, fishing, and trapping depends on our actions today. Please stand with us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund in the fight against those who are working to bully and erode our heritage and traditions.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler, and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
