Lawmakers propose overturning ban on controversial hunting practice: 'Dangerous … for people visiting'

All the political back and forth going on doesn't just affect humans; it can have profound effects on animals. The latest example of this is the fate of bears on public lands in Alaska.

What's happening?

The Alaska Beacon reported on the Trump administration's bid to overturn a ban on bear baiting first put in place by the Obama administration. The ban specifically applies to sports hunters in national preserves and would align the regulations with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

That piece of legislation puts the power in the state's hands to regulate sports harvesting and bear baiting. The practice includes using food to lure bears, which hunters then kill for sport. 

Importantly, these rules don't apply to subsistence hunting, which the local population relies on for food as part of their cultural traditions. Subsistence harvesters are instead regulated by the federal government.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the move by saying it gives proper deference to the state and cuts down on federal overreach. Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, also applauded the move in protecting Alaska's ownership of the issue, its heritage, and its way of life.

Critics, like the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks Executive Director Emily Thompson, said the move was ill-advised and unnecessarily expanded sports hunting.

"Bear baiting disrupts natural wildlife behavior and creates dangerous conditions for people visiting these lands managed by the National Park Service," Thompson declared.

Why is the fate of bear baiting important?

Lifting the restriction on bear baiting can have a major impact on Alaska's ecosystem. For one thing, it could make a major dent in a key predator with ripple effects on other species. Prey populations could expand to unhealthy or unsupportable levels.

Another potential ripple effect is potentially habituating bears to food and making them more dangerous. If bears get accustomed to being fed via an increased amount of baiting, it could make the chance of unprovoked attacks higher, thus endangering visitors. 

The Alaska Beacon noted that when the Biden administration restored the bear-baiting ban in 2024, the National Park Service cited those risks.

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What's being done about the potential lifting of the restriction?

The Department of the Interior said there will be a forthcoming public comment period after the proposal's details emerge in a Federal Register notice. Locals can take action to oppose bear baiting.

How things proceed could make a long-term imprint on bears in Alaska, per Thompson.

"For years, bear-baiting policy in Alaska's national preserves has been treated like a political light switch in Washington — flipped on and off with each new administration," Thompson noted to the Beacon. "But the consequences are anything but political."

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