Alaska; Wildlife, Harvest, and Access

Key claim: The National Park Service is rolling back 2015, 2017, and 2024 hunting and access restrictions in Alaska park areas and restoring the 1981 ANILCA-era system that splits management among the State of Alaska, the federal subsistence program, and the Park Service.

Abstract

(Rule · Interior Department, National Park Service) The National Park Service (NPS) amends its regulations for hunting, fishing, trapping, and other harvest-related activities in Alaska and the procedures used to restrict public use and access in Alaska park areas, including for subsistence. This rule restores the regulatory framework adopted to implement the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) in 1981 that guided management for more than three decades, with targeted updates to that framework in response to public comments and further agency review. The restored framework recognizes the complementary and distinct roles of the State of Alaska, the Federal Subsistence Management Program, and the NPS in managing public uses and resources in Alaska park areas. The rule removes regulatory changes made in 2015, 2017, and 2024 that departed from that framework. These amendments are consistent with Executive Orders 14153 and 14192 and Secretary of the Interior’s Orders 3422 and 3447.

Why this matters

Alaska’s national park areas cover tens of millions of acres where hunting, trapping, and subsistence rules directly shape wildlife populations, rural food security, and recreational access. Swapping the 2015–2024 federal restrictions for the 1981 ANILCA-era split hands more day-to-day wildlife management back to the State of Alaska and the Federal Subsistence Board, which changes which methods and harvests are legal on park lands. The practical effects — on predator control, bear baiting, same-day airborne take, and ORV access — are contested between state wildlife managers and conservation groups.

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