The National Park Service has banned hunters from using bait for brown bears and black bears in Alaska, effective July 2024. The ban applies to all NPS-managed preserves in the state, based on a final rule that amends its 2020 regulation for sport hunting and trapping in Alaska national preserves.
The new rule, which applies only to sport hunting, prohibits bear baiting due to significant public safety concerns. The final rule reflects extensive engagement with stakeholders, Alaska Native tribes and corporations, local and state leaders and the public.
“The amended rule will advance wildlife conservation goals and objectives, including a prohibition on bear baiting in our national preserves, as mandated under the NPS Organic Act of 1916,” NPS Alaska Regional Director Sarah Creachbaum said. “We take our responsibilities under ANILCA seriously and the new rule reflects our commitment to providing conscientious service to the American public.” In February 2022, the NPS initiated rulemaking to reconsider the 2020 regulation after early engagement with Alaska Native tribes and Alaska Native corporations. Later that year, a Federal District judge remanded the 2020 regulation back to NPS to address the court’s decision that the 2020 rule violated NPS laws and policies in some respects. The new rule addresses the court’s concerns and is more consistent with NPS obligations to manage for natural processes, protect wildlife and promote visitor safety. NPS accomplished this by focusing the rule to address urgent public safety dangers posed by bear baiting, which had been authorized by the 2020 rule.
Bear baiting encourages bears to become conditioned to human-provided food, increasing the likelihood of negative human-bear interactions. The final rule also affirms the federal government’s role in wildlife management on Alaska national preserves, consistent with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and does not affect activities by qualified federal subsistence users.
