Article Summary: The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation has submitted formal comments supporting a proposed National Park Service rule that restores state-authorized hunting and trapping regulations and removes federal preemption on Alaska’s national preserves.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) recently submitted comments in support of a National Park Service (NPS) proposed rule that rescinds prior rules that preempted methods of state-authorized fish and wildlife harvests and revised codified and established procedures for restricting public access and activities in Alaska park lands. Specifically, the proposed rule restores longstanding 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.
Restoring Decades of Proven Wildlife Management Policy
“This proposed rule restores National Park Service interpretations of law, policies, and regulations adopted to implement the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act that were in effect for over three decades,” said Torin Miller, Associate Litigation Counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Those interpretations worked, creating consistent and cohesive procedures and processes for state-led wildlife management on National Preserves in Alaska. We welcome the proposed rule’s return to the tried and true.”
Why the NPS Rule Change Matters for Sportsmen
SAF supports the proposal to remove changes made through 2015, 2017, and 2024 Rules that insulated federal land managers from public involvement, removed required consultation with the state of Alaska, and allowed for discretionary closures without compliance with federal law. Importantly, the proposal aligns state and federal regulations, responds to requests from the public for action, advances multiple Executive Orders and Secretarial Orders, and restores and maintains the NPS’s authority to restrict public access, entry, and uses only for lawful purposes. Specifically, we support removing a prohibition established by the 2015 Rule on using bait to attract or take bears on national preserves in Alaska and revising the definition of “trapping” and removing the definition of “furbearer” in 36 CFR 13.1 for being unnecessary.
A Decade-Long Battle Against Federal Preemption
SAF has been fighting against NPS preemption rules in Alaska for over a decade. We commented in opposition to the 2015 Rule, and in 2017, we petitioned NPS to repeal the 2015 Rule and restore pre-2015 regulations. The petition highlighted the benefits of reinstating well-understood, decades-old procedures which had been successful in managing wildlife on state and federal lands, including NPS lands. SAF also submitted comments opposing the 2017 Rule, again expressing 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, but the 2020 Rule was quickly challenged in court by animal extremists. SAF was granted intervenor status to defend the interests of hunters, trappers, and conservationists.
Protecting the Future of Hunting and Trapping in Alaska
“The Sportsmen’s Alliance has been fighting this issue on behalf of hunters, trappers, and conservationists in Alaska for over a decade,” said Rob Sexton, Senior Vice President at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “We have been consistent in our defense of original National Park Service regulations that aligned and worked in harmony with Alaska state regulations. From the Executive Branch to the court room, we’ve advocated for state-led management and expanded opportunities for hunters and trappers on National Preserves in Alaska. While we’re hopeful a victory is coming, we remain ready to continue the fight.”
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.
