Why It Matters
The Trump administration has finalized a rule allowing sport hunters to use bait to attract and kill bears in Alaska national preserves. The change reverses restrictions adopted under the Biden and Obama administrations within National Park Service units.
What Happened
The final rule was announced Friday and is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Monday. It is set to take effect 30 days after publication.
Bear baiting involves placing food stockpiles to draw bears into an area where sport hunters can kill and harvest them. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulates the practice.
Alaska national preserves are part of the National Park Service system but remain open to hunting under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, passed in 1980. The bear-baiting provision applies to sport hunting; subsistence hunters already may use bait.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the rule restores Alaska’s role in managing its lands, wildlife and traditions. Doug Vincent-Lang said the previous management framework had served Alaska for three decades.
Opposition came from Jim Adams, who called the policy “outrageous” and “disheartening.” Adams also said, “Allowing sport hunters to lure bears with greased donut bait piles to kill them on those lands is baffling and counter to the mission of the Park Service.” Cooper Freeman called the rule “disgraceful.”
By the Numbers
Friday — day the final rule was announced
March — month the rule was proposed
1980 — year the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was passed
30 days — period after Federal Register publication before the rule takes effect
More than three decades — period Burgum referenced for management of Alaska’s national parks and preserves
Zoom Out
The rule applies to Alaska national preserves, including Denali, Katmai and Gates of the Arctic. It also restores an allowance for licensed trappers to use firearms to harvest animals in national preserves and permits holders to capture live raptors.
Other provisions address public notice and administrative changes at the Federal Subsistence Management Board. The rule also removes a permit requirement for subsistence users collecting animal parts, while an existing federal law granting rural priority remains in effect.
What’s Next
The final rule is scheduled to appear in the Federal Register Monday and take effect 30 days later. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will continue regulating bear baiting.